Events in Sport
- Jan 1 32nd Rose Bowl: #2 Alabama beats #11 Southern California, 34-14
- Jan 1 12th Sugar Bowl: #5 Oklahoma State beats #7 Saint Mary's (CA), 33-13
- Jan 1 12th Orange Bowl: Miami (FL) beats #16 Holy Cross, 13-6
- Jan 11 Bert Bell becomes second NFL commissioner, moves Chicago headquarters to Philadelphia
- Jan 12 NFL champs Cleveland Rams given permission to move to LA
- Jan 14 1946 NFL Draft: Frank Dancewicz from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Joyce Fitch 6-4, 6-4 for her 3rd Australian singles crown
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: John Bromwich wins his 2nd Australian title; beats fellow Australian Dinny Pails 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
Birthdays in Sport
- Jan 1 Rivellino, Brazilian soccer midfielder and broadcaster (92 caps; 1970 FIFA World Cup; Corinthians; TV Cultura), born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Jan 3 Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek soccer striker (28 caps; Olympiacos), born in Kaisariani, Greece (d. 2002)
- Jan 6 Harold Jackson, NFL wide receiver (LA, New Engl), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Jan 8 Elaine Cheris, American Olympic fencer (Olympics 1996), born in Dothan, Alabama
- Jan 8 Fritz Künzli, Swiss soccer striker (44 caps; FC Zürich, FC Winterthur, FC Lausanne-Sport), born in Glarus, Switzerland (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Jean-Pierre Lux, French rugby union centre (42 caps; US Tyrosse, US Dax) and administrator (President European Rugby Cup 1999-2014), born in Saint-Vincent-de-Tyr, France (d. 2020)
- Jan 10 Alexis Nihon Jr, Canadian-born wrestler (Olympics 1968), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Jan 11 Ludmila Poradnik, USSR, team handball (Olympic gold 1976, 80)
- Jan 20 Johnny Oates, American MLB baseball catcher, 1970-81 (Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and 3 other teams), and manager, 1991-2001 (Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers), born in Sylva, North Carolina (d. 2004)
- Jan 23 Asif Masood, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani quick with long & erratic run-up), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Jan 23 Don Whittington, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1979), born in Lubbock, Texas
- Jan 31 Subroto Guha, Indian cricketer (right arm swing bowler for India 1967-69), born in India
