Historical eventJune 21962

1962 FIFA World Cup

During the FIFA World Cup, police intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.

Everything on June 2Original source

In context

When
Saturday, June 2 196264 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1960s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: 1962-05-30 – 1962-06-17.

Place: Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium, Chile.

Type: sports season.

Key figures / parties: Helmut Haller.

Timeline

Follows: 1958 FIFA World Cup. Followed by: 1966 FIFA World Cup.

What happened

The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between August 1960 and December 1961, with 56 teams entering from six confederations, and fourteen qualifying for the finals tournament alongside Chile, the hosts, and Brazil, the defending champions.

June 2 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 19621962 FIFA World Cup
  2. 1995Bosnian War
  3. 1997Denver
  4. 1998Space Shuttle Discovery
  5. 2003Mars
  6. 2008Tim Buckley (comics)
  7. 2010Cumbria shootings
  8. 2012President of Egypt
  9. 2014Telangana
  10. 2022Ankara
  11. 20232023 Odisha train collision

Also in 1962

  • September 9Charles de GaulleFrench president Charles de Gaulle delivered his "speech to the German youth" to 20,000 people in the courtyard of Ludwigsburg Palace (pi…
  • September 12We choose to go to the MoonIn a speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, U.S. president John F. Kennedy reiterated an aspiration to land a man on the Moon before 1970 (vi…
  • September 13James MeredithAn appeals court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the segrega…
  • September 15Soviet UnionThe Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  • September 17NASANASA announced the Next Nine astronauts selected for the purpose of landing on the moon.
  • September 18Aeroflot Flight 213Aeroflot Flight 213 crashed into a mountain near Chersky Airport, killing 32 people.
  • October 20ChinaChina launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.
  • July 13Cabinet reshuffleIn an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan (pictured) dismissed seven members of his cabinet.

Everything we record for 1962 →

Sources

Cite this page

“1962 FIFA World Cup”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/1962-fifa-world-cup-1962-june-2, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did 1962 FIFA World Cup happen?

June 2 1962 — 64 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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