Events in Sport
- Dec 2 New York Giants name Mel Ott as player-manager; replaces another future Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Terry, who heads Giants' farm system
- Dec 9 7th Heisman Trophy Award: Bruce Smith, Minnesota (HB)
- Dec 11 Australian state cricket associations, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales decide at meetings with new Prime Minister John Curtin to abandon all interstate first class matches for the duration of WWII
- Dec 11 NY Giants acquire future Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman Johnny Mize from Cardinals for 3 players & $50,000
- Dec 14 1st NFL division playoff, Bears beat Packers 33-14
- Dec 21 Chicago Bears Ray McLean makes last NFL drop kick for an extra point
NFL Championship
Dec 21 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 37-9; first team in NFL championship game era (since 1933) to win consecutive titles; Bears 5th title overall
Mel Hein
- Dec 22 1942 NFL Draft: Bill Dudley from University of Virginia first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers
Birthdays in Sport
- Dec 2 Mike England, Welsh soccer defender and manager (44 caps, Tottenham Hotspur; mgr Wales), born in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
- Dec 2 Sugar Ramos [Ultiminio Ramos], Cuban-Mexican boxer (World Featherweight champion 1963-64), born in Matanzas, Cuba (d. 2017)
- Dec 4 Raul Blanco, Argentine-Australian soccer coach (Australia 1996-97), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Dec 4 Marty Riessen, American tennis player (9 Grand Slam doubles titles), born in Hinsdale, Illinois
- Dec 8 Geoff Hurst, cricketer (Essex 1962, better known as soccer immortal)
- Dec 8 Ed Brinkman, American baseball player
- Dec 10 Jeff Jones, Welsh cricket fast bowler (15 Tests England, 44 wickets), born in Dafen, Carmarthenshire, Wales
- Dec 14 Barry Hadlee, New Zealand cricket batsman (brother of Sir Richard & Dayle; NZ World Cup 1975), born in Christchurch, Canterbury
- Dec 18 Jan Kowalczyk, Polish equestrian rider (Olympics gold show jumping individual; silver team 1980), born in Drogomyśl, Poland (d. 2020)
- Dec 23 Serge Reding, Belgian weightlifter, born in Auderghem, Belgium (d. 1975)
- Dec 28 Intikhab Alam, Pakistan cricket leg-spinner (1959-77)
- Dec 30 Mel Renfro, American football player
- Dec 31 Milkha Singh, Indian cricketer (brother of Kripal Singh India batsman in 4 Tests), born in Madras, India (d. 2017)
- Dec 31 Sir Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager, born in Glasgow, United Kingdom
Deaths in Sport
- Dec 1 Horace Chapman, South African cricket all-rounder (2 Tests), dies at 51