Events in Sport
- Jan 1 24th Rose Bowl: #2 California beats #4 Alabama, 13-0
- Jan 1 4th Sugar Bowl: Santa Clara beats LSU, 6-0
- Jan 1 4th Orange Bowl: Auburn beats Michigan State, 6-0
Donald Bradman
- Jan 16 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg retains title by a massive 14 strokes ahead of Jane Cothran
- Jan 18 Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 31 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Dorothy Cheney wins her only Grand Slam singles title; beats Dorothy Stevenson of Australia 6-3, 6-2
- Jan 31 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: American Don Budge wins the 1st-leg of his Grand Slam; beats John Bromwich of Australia 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
Birthdays in Sport
- Jan 5 Edwin Elliason, American archer (Olympic-92), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 5 Jim Otto, NFL center (Oakland Raiders), born in Wausau, Wisconsin
- Jan 5 Piet Kruiver, Dutch soccer star, born in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands (d. 1989)
- Jan 7 Lou Graham, American golfer (US Open 1975), born in Nashville, Tennessee
Frank Mahovlich
Jan 10 Frank Mahovlich, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame left wing, politician (6-time Stanley Cup winner, born in Timmins, Ontario
Frank Mahovlich
Willie McCovey
Jan 10 Willie McCovey, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (6 x MLB All Star; NL MVP 1969; NL home run leader 1963, 68, 69; SF Giants), born in Mobile, Alabama (d. 2018)
Willie McCovey
- Jan 13 Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
- Jan 15 Chuni Goswami, Indian soccer striker and captain (30 caps; Mohun Bagan) and cricket all-rounder (captain Bengal), born in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh (d. 2020)
- Jan 18 Curt Flood, American baseball player (St Louis Cards), born in Houston, Teas (d. 1997)
- Jan 22 Altair, Brazilian footballer
- Jan 22 Corra Dirksen, South African rugby union winger (10 caps; Northern Transvaal), born in Vereeniging, South Africa (d. 2020)
- Jan 24 Gyula Torok, Hungarian boxer (Oly Gold 1960), born in Kispest, Hungary (d. 2014)
- Jan 28 Leonid Zhabotynsky, Ukrainian weightlifter
- Jan 29 Bill Christian, American ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1960)