Events in Sport
- Jan 1 33rd Rose Bowl: #5 Illinois beats #4 UCLA, 45-14
- Jan 1 13th Sugar Bowl: #3 Georgia beats #9 North Carolina, 20-10
- Jan 1 13th Orange Bowl: #10 Rice beats #7 Tennessee, 8-0
- Jan 7 Australia v England at MCG drawn in 6 days, 1st cricket draw in Australia since 1882
- Jan 8 Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores 5 goals in a game
- Jan 9 Providence Steamrollers guard Dino Martin becomes the first NBA player to ever score 40 points in a game, in a 91-68 win over Cleveland Rebels at Rhode Island Auditorium
Contract of Interest
Jan 18 Detroit Tigers sell Hank Greenberg to Pirates (for $25-35,000)
Hank Greenberg
- Jan 24 NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton wins 3rd consecutive Australian singles crown; beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-3, 6-2
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Dinny Pails beats fellow Australian John Bromwich 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6 for his only Grand Slam title
Donald Bradman
- Feb 6 Compton & Arthur Morris both complete dual tons in same Test Cricket
- Mar 1 Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck sets up spring training camp In racially tolerant Phoenix, AZ in anticipation of signing team's first black players; Larry Doby is first acquisition later in the season
- Mar 21 Test Cricket debut of Bert Sutcliffe, NZ v England at Christchurch
- Mar 25 9th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Holy Cross beats Oklahoma, 58-47; Crusaders' first victory in first title game
- Mar 25 Last day of Test cricket for Walter Hammond (v NZ, Christchurch)
- Mar 29 101st Grand National: 100/1 Irish outsider Caughoo ridden by 35-year-old jockey Eddie Dempsey wins by 20 lengths from Lough Conn
- Mar 30 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins her first of 3 Titleholders titles by 5 strokes ahead of Dorothy Kirby
US Masters Golf
Apr 6 11th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jimmy Demaret wins his 2nd Masters by 2 strokes over Byron Nelson and amateur Frank Stranahan
Byron Nelson
Event of Interest
Apr 9 Baseball suspends Bkln Dodger Leo Durocher for 1 year
Leo Durocher
- Apr 10 Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler suspends Leo Durocher, first day of the season
Contract of Interest
Apr 10 Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign a MLB contract; Brooklyn GM, Branch Rickey announces Dodgers had bought Robinson’s contract from Montreal Royals
Jackie Robinson
- Apr 15 Jackie Robinson becomes 1st African-American to play in US major league baseball (Dodgers)
- Apr 17 Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit
- Apr 19 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs edge Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 for a 4-2 series win; first all-Canadian final since 1935
- Apr 19 Suh Yun Buck wins world record marathon (2:25:39)
Event of Interest
Apr 19 After scoring 45 goals during the regular season, Maurice Richard is named MVP.
Maurice Richard
- Apr 19 England beats France, 6-3 at Twickenham to be level on points with Wales for a share of the Five Nations Rugby Championship; first appearance of France in tournament since 1931
- Apr 21 51st Boston Marathon won by Yun Bok Soh of Korea in 2:25:39; world best time
- Apr 22 1st Basketball Association of America Finals: Philadelphia Warriors beat Chicago Stags, 83-80 to take inaugural series, 4 games to 2
- Apr 25 Lou Thesz beats Whipper Watson in St Louis, to win National Wrestling Association world heavyweight title
- May 1 Cleveland Indians abandon League Park (venue for weekday games) to play all MLB games at Municipal Stadium
- May 3 73rd Kentucky Derby: Eric Guerin aboard Jet Pilot wins in 2:06.8
- May 8 A movement among Card players to protest its 1st meeting with Jackie Robinson & the Dodgers is aborted by a talk from owner Sam Breadon
- May 10 72nd Preakness: Doug Dodson aboard Faultless wins in 1:59
- May 18 A's catcher Warren Rosar catches his 147th game without an error
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Mauri Rose wins in 4:17:52.159 (187.228 km/h)
- May 31 79th Belmont: Ruperto Donoso aboard Phalanx wins in 2:29.6
- Jun 12 British Amateur Women's Golf, Gullane GC: Babe Didrikson becomes first American to win event; beats England's Jacqueline Gordon 5 & 4
- Jun 13 1st night game at Fenway Park (Red Sox 5, White Sox 3)
US Golf Open
Jun 15 US Open Men's Golf, St. Louis CC: Lew Worsham defeats Sam Snead by 1 stroke in an 18-hole playoff for his only major title
Sam Snead
- Jun 18 Cincinnati Red Ewell Blackwell no-hits Boston Braves, 6-0
- Jun 24 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Plum Hollow CC: Jim Ferrier becomes first Australian to win a major title; beats Chick Herbert, 2 & 1
- Jun 24 Jackie Robinson swipes home for 1st of 19 times in his career
- Jun 29 US Open Women's Golf, Starmount Forest CC: American Betty Jameson wins her only US crown, 6 strokes ahead of runners-up Polly Riley and Sally Sessions, both amateurs
- Jul 4 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Jack Kramer wins his only Wimbledon singles title beating fellow American Tom Brown 6-1, 6-3, 6-2
- Jul 4 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Liverpool: Irishman Fred Daly wins his only Open, 1 stroke clear of Reg Horne and Frank Stranahan
- Jul 5 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Margaret Osborne beats Doris Hart 6-2, 6-4 for her only Wimbledon singles title
- Jul 5 Cleveland Indians rookie Larry Doby becomes 1st black player in AL when he strikes out in 6-5 loss vs Chicago WS
- Jul 8 14th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 2-1 at Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Jul 20 34th Tour de France won by Jean Robic of France
- Jul 26 46th Men's French Championships: Jozsef Asboth beats Eric Sturgess (8-6, 7-5, 6-4)
- Jul 26 46th Women's French Championships: Patricia Todd beats Doris Hart (6-3, 3-6, 6-4)
- Jul 30 Cincinnati Reds 16 game winning streak ends, losing to NY Giants 5-4
- Aug 4 American boxer Ike Williams knocks out Bob Montgomery in 6 rounds in Philadelphia to unify the world lightweight title
- Aug 20 Boston Braves hit a million attendance for 1st time
- Aug 21 1st Little League World Series Maynard Midgets of Williamsport PA win
- Aug 22 14th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 16, Chicago Bears 0 (105,840)
- Aug 26 1st black baseball pitcher Don Bankhead (Hit a HR on 1st at bat)
- Aug 31 NY Giants set season record for HRs by a club 183 (en route to 221)
- Sep 1 Infielder Jack Lohrke hits NY Giants' 183rd homer of season in 2-1 win v Boston Braves; breaks NY Yankees MLB mark of 182 set in 1936
- Sep 3 Philadelphia A's rookie pitcher Bill McCahan no-hits Washington Senators, 3-0
- Sep 3 New York Yankees total 18 hits, all singles to rout Boston Red Sox, 11-2 at Fenway Park
- Sep 4 Champion Middlesex cricket batsman Denis Compton scores 101 for South of England in tour match defeat to South Africa at Lord's; his record 17th century of the English season
- Sep 14 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Jack Kramer wins second straight US title; beats fellow American Frank Parker 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
- Sep 14 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Louise Brough beats Margaret Osborne duPoint 8-6, 4-6, 6-1 for her only US singles title
- Sep 17 Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of Year by Sporting News
- Sep 19 Jackie Robinson is named 1947 "Rookie of Year"
- Sep 22 Brooklyn Dodgers clinch NL pennant defeating St. Louis Cardinals 94-60
- Sep 26 Happy Chandler announces Ford & Gillette to sponsor World Series
- Sep 29 Former Yank manager Joe McCarthy signs to manage Red Sox
- Sep 29 Record World Series crowd of 73,365 at Yankee Stadium ($325,828)
- Sep 30 Yanks beat Dodgers 5-3-largest WS crowd 73,365-1st WS televised
Baseball Record
Oct 2 New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra hits the first pinch-hit home run in Baseball World Series history off Ralph Branca in the 7th inning of a 9-8 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 3
Yogi Berra
Event of Interest
Oct 5 Brooklyn outfielder Al Gionfriddo makes famous catch off Joe DiMaggio in Game 6 of Baseball World Series; Dodgers beat Yankees, 8-6; catch inspires "back-back-back" expression
Joe DiMaggio
- Oct 6 NY Yankees beat Dodgers 4 games to 3, in 44th World Series
- Oct 7 Larry MacPhail resigns as Yank GM after final game of World Series
- Oct 13 1st NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3
- Oct 20 Radio rights for the World Series sell for $475,000 for 3 years
- Oct 25 Bradman scores 156 for South Australia v India, 152 mins, 22 fours
- Nov 2 After just 6 games of the season, Chicago Blackhawks trade NHL scoring leader Max Bentley along with Cy Thomas to Toronto Maple Leafs for Gus Bodnar, Bud Poile, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham, and Ernie Dickens
- Nov 8 Bradman scores his 99th 1st-class cricket century, 100 South Australia v Victoria
- Nov 15 Bradman scores his 100th 100, 172 v Indians at the SCG
- Nov 15 Soccer team GVVV forms in Veenendaal
- Nov 21 Bill Longson beats Lou Thesz in St Louis, to win National Wrestlingg Association world heavyweight title
Event of Interest
Nov 23 Washington Redskin Sammy Baugh passes for 6 touchdowns vs Chi Cards (45-21)
Sammy Baugh
- Nov 27 Joe DiMaggio wins his 3rd MVP, beating Ted Williams by 1 vote
- Nov 29 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Argonauts win 3rd straight and 8th title; beat Calgary Stampeders, 10-9
- Dec 1 In first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 58 by Australia in Brisbane; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 5 for 2 off 2.3 overs; Don Bradman scores 185 as Australia wins by an innings & 226 runs
- Dec 2 13th Heisman Trophy Award: John Lujack, Notre Dame (QB)
- Dec 4 In the first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 98 by Australia in Brisbane to lose by an innings & 226 runs; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 6 for 29 for match figures of 11 for 31
- Dec 5 Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- Dec 11 Pacific Coast League application for major league status rejected
- Dec 14 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-3 in AAFC championship game
- Dec 14 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida
- Dec 19 1948 NFL Draft: Harry Gilmer from University of Alabama first pick by Washington Redskins
- Dec 28 Chic Cards beat Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 in NFL championship game
Birthdays in Sport
- Jan 1 Leonard Thompson, American golfer (3 x PGA Tour, 3 x PGA Champions Tour wins), born in Laurinburg, North Carolina
- Jan 2 Aleksandr Tikhonov, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold biathlon relay 1968, 72, 76, 80), born in Uyskoye, Chelyabinsk, Russia
- Jan 2 Calvin Hill, American NFL running back (Pro Bowl 1969, 72–74; All-Pro 1969, 73; Super Bowl 1971; Dallas Cowboys), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Jan 2 Lanny Bassham, American sports shooter (Olympic gold small-bore rifle, 3 positions 1976; silver 1972), born in Comanche, Texas
- Jan 3 Fran Cotton, English rugby union prop forward (31 caps England, 7 British Lions; Coventry R.F.C., Sale), born in Wigan, England
- Jan 5 Mercury Morris, American football player, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Jan 6 Ian Millar, Canadian dressage rider (World Cup 1988, 89, Olympics 1996), born in Halifax, NS, Canada
- Jan 8 Igor Ivanov, Russian-born Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985- ), born in Leningrad, USSR
- Jan 12 Tom Dempsey, American NFL kicker (Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro 1969; New Orleans Saints; longest winning field goal, 63 yards), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2020)
- Jan 13 Peter Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 1968)
- Jan 13 Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
- Jan 14 Bill Weberniuk, Canadian snookers player, born in Winnipeg, Canada (d. 2003)
- Jan 14 Rubén Olivares, Mexican boxer (4-division world champion), born in Mexico City, Mexico
- Jan 18 Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseman nicknamed Tetsujin, meaning "Iron Man", born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 2018)
- Jan 20 Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist & directeur sportif, born in Bouguenais, France
- Jan 24 Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian soccer striker (14 caps; Lazio, NY Cosmos), born in Carrara, Italy (d. 2012)
- Jan 24 Masashi 'Jumbo' Ozaki, Japanese golfer (record 94 Japan Tour titles), born in Kaifu District, Tokushima
- Jan 25 Tostão [Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade], Brazilian footballer, born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Jan 25 Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer, born in Zamora, Spain (d. 2017)
- Jan 29 Michael Mavor, Head Master (Rugby School)
Nolan Ryan
Jan 31 Nolan Ryan, American baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB no-hit leader [7], strikeout leader [5,714]), born in Refugio, Texas
Nolan Ryan
- Feb 2 Aleksandr Medved, USSR, wrestler (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72)
- Feb 3 Joe Coleman, baseball pitcher (Washington, Detroit)
- Feb 5 Darrell Waltrip, American motorsport analyst and race car driver, born in Owensboro, Kentucky
- Feb 6 Charles Hickcox, American 200m/400m medley swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1968), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 2010)
- Feb 8 Sam Gannon, cricketer (Austr lefty quick, 3 Tests v India 1977-78)
- Feb 13 Mike Krzyzewski, US basketball coach, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Feb 14 Heidemarie Rosendahl, German FR, long jumper (Olympic gold 1972)
- Feb 14 Salah-ud-Din, cricketer (played 5 Tests for Pakistan 1965-69)
- Feb 18 Carlos A Lopes, Portuguese marathon runner (Olympic gold 1984)
- Feb 18 Keith Nelson, New Zealand soccer striker (20 caps; Mount Wellington), born in Renfrew, Scotland (d. 2020)
- Feb 20 Peter Osgood, English soccer striker (4 caps; Chelsea, Southampton), born in Clewer, Berkshire, England (d. 2006)
- Feb 23 Geoff Cope, cricketer (England off-spinner 1977-78)
- Feb 25 Eddie Thomson, Australian soccer coach (Socceroos 1990-96), born in Rosewell, Scotland (d. 2003)
- Feb 25 Lee Evans, Madera, California, American 400m runner (Olympic-2 gold-1968)
- Feb 27 Ashley Woodcock, Australian cricketer (one Test Aust v NZ 1974, only knock 27), born in Adelaide, Australia
- Mar 2 Harry Redknapp, English soccer winger (West Ham United; AFC Bournemouth) and manager (Bournemouth, West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, QPR, Southampton), born in London, England
- Mar 3 Otto Stuppacher, Austrian racing driver (d. 2001)
- Mar 5 Kent Tekulve, American baseball player
- Mar 6 Dick Fosbury, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1968, "Fosbury Flop"), born in Portland, Oregon
- Mar 7 Walter Röhrl, German race and rally car driver
- Mar 9 Dougie Morgan, Scottish rugby union halfback (21 caps Scotland, 2 British & Irish Lions; Stewart's Melville FP), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2020)
- Mar 13 Tomas Hinojosa, jockey
- Mar 15 David Colley, cricketer (NSW quickie, 3 Tests for Australia 1972)
- Mar 15 Tomas Pettersson, Swedish cyclist (Olympic silver 1968)
- Mar 18 David Lloyd, cricketer (England opener, 214 v India 1974)
- Mar 19 Earlie Fires, jockey (Hialeah Park)
- Mar 19 Marinho Peres, Brazilian football player
- Mar 27 Dough Wilkerson, American football player, born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Apr 1 Norm Van Lier, American basketball point guard (NBA All Star 1974, 76, 77; Chicago Bulls) and broadcaster (Comcast SportsNet), born in East Liverpool, Ohio (d. 2009)
- Apr 4 Ray Fosse, American baseball player and broadcaster, born in Marion, Illinois
- Apr 14 Bob Massie, cricketer (Aust swing bowler, 16 wkts on debut v Eng 1972)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Apr 16 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [Lew Alcindor], American Basketball Hall of Fame center (6 x NBA champion; NBA Finals MVP 1971, 85; 6 × NBA MVP; 19 × NBA All-Star), born in NYC, New York
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Apr 17 Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, born in Rumoi, Hokkaidō, Japan
- Apr 25 Johan Cruyff, Dutch soccer player and coach (Ajax/Barcelona), born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (d. 2016)
- Apr 26 Donna De Varona, American swimmer (Olympic-2 gold-64), born in Greenwich, Connecticut
- Apr 29 Jim Ryun, American 1500m runner/broke 4 minute mile (Olympic silver 1968)
- Apr 29 Johnny Miller, American golfer (US Open 1973, British Open 1976), born in San Francisco, California
- May 1 Jerry Heard, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles), born in Visalia, California
- May 6 Andy Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (NZ batsman 1976), born in Te Aroha, New Zealand (d. 1989)
- May 13 David Hughes, cricketer
- May 14 Dick "Dirt" Tidrow, baseball pitcher (NY Yankees)
- May 17 John Traicos, cricketer (in Egypt South Africa 1970, Zimbabwe 1992-93)
- May 21 Dorothy Germain Porter, American golfer (US Curtis Cup winning captain 1966), born in Philadelphia, PA (d. 2012)
- May 26 Glenn Turner, New Zealand cricket batsman (41 Tests, 2,991 runs @ 44.64; top score 259; chairman national selection panel), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
- May 27 Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach, born in Ljubljan, FPR Yugoslavia
- May 30 Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer (Canadian Open 1973), born in Shawinigan, Quebec
- Jun 3 Mike Burgmann, Australian racing driver (d. 1986)
- Jun 4 Saoul Mamby, American boxer (WBC super lightweight title 1980-82), born in Bronx, NYC, New York (d. 2019)
- Jun 6 Marion Coakes, English equestrian show jumper (Olympic silver 1968), born in New Milton, Hampshire
- Jun 6 Ada Kok, Dutch swimmer
- Jun 7 Thurman Munson, American baseball catcher and captain (NY Yankees), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1979)
- Jun 10 Ken Singleton, baseball player (Orioles), born in Mt Vernon, New York
- Jun 12 Ron Freeman, American athlete, 4x400m runner (Olympic gold 1968), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
- Jun 22 Murray Webb, cricketer (NZ fast bowler in 3 Tests, 4 wkts at 117 75)
Pete Maravich
Jun 22 "Pistol" Pete Maravich, American NBA star (Atlanta Hawks), born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania (d. 1988)
Pete Maravich
- Jun 29 Jeff Moss, Australian cricketer (one Test Australia v Pakistan 1979), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jul 1 Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese auto racer (Fuji 1,000 1985), born in Shizuoka-shi, Japan
- Jul 2 Ervin Hall, 100m hurdler (Olympic silver 1968), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jul 3 Rob Rensenbrink, Dutch soccer left winger or forward (46 caps; Anderlecht), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2020)
- Jul 4 Morganna Roberts, Baseball's kissing bandit, born in Louisville, Kentucky
- Jul 6 Lance Clemons, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
O.J. Simpson
Jul 9 O.J. Simpson, American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, broadcaster and actor (Heisman Trophy 1968; NFL MVP 1973; Buffalo Bills), born in San Francisco, California
O.J. Simpson
- Jul 12 Pollamani Krishnamurthy, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (1971 WI tour)
- Jul 14 Steve Stone, sportscaster (Monday Night Baseball), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Jul 19 Hans-Jürgen Kreische, East German footballer, born in Dresden, Germany
- Jul 20 James Harris, Monroe La, NFL quarterback (Buffalo, LA, San Diego)
- Jul 21 Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricket batsman (40 Tests; regular opening partner of Sunil Gavaskar), born in Meerut, India
- Jul 23 Torsten Palm, Swedish racing driver, born in Kristinehamn, Sweden
- Jul 24 M Jacques Fouroux, rugby player
- Jul 24 Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer (probably Pakistan's finest batsman ever), born in Sialkot, Punjab
- Jul 28 Barbara Ann Ferrell Edmondson, Miss, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1968)
- Jul 28 Elena Novikova-Belova, USSR, foils (Olympic gold 1968)
- Jul 28 Miguelina Cobian, Cuban 4x100m runner (Olympic silver 1968), born in Santiago de Cuba
- Jul 29 Dick Harmon, American golf instructor (Fred Couples, Jay Haas, Craig Stadler, Lanny Wadkins, Steve Elkington), born in New Rochelle, NY (d. 2006)
- Jul 31 John Vukovich, American baseball infielder, manager (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2007)
- Aug 1 Chris Barnard, Welsh footballer, born in Cardiff, Wales
- Aug 5 Bernie Carbo, American baseball player
- Aug 6 Tony Dell, cricketer (Australian left-arm quick, 2 Tests 1971 & 74)
- Aug 7 Kerry Melville Reid, Australian tennis player (Australian Open 1977), born in Mosman, New South Wales
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
May 17 NBA center George Mikan (22) weds college sweetheart Patricia Lu Daveny
George Mikan
Deaths in Sport
- Jan 23 Roy Park, Australian cricketer (prolific Victorian bat & official), dies at 54
- Jan 29 Fred Barratt, cricket (5 wkts at 47 in 5 Tests for Eng 1929-30), dies
- Feb 27 Francis MacKinnon, English cricketer (Tests Eng v Aust 1879) and later the 35th Mackinnon of Mackinnon, dies at 98
- Mar 9 Stanley Jackson, English cricketer (20 Tests for England 1893-1905), dies at 76
- Mar 27 Charles Smith, cricketer (batted for South Africa in 1902-03), dies
- Apr 2 Joe Hardstaff Sr., English cricket batsman (5 Tests; umpire 21 Tests), dies at 64
- Apr 18 Benny Leonard, Jewish-American lightweight boxing champ (1917-25), dies at 51
- Apr 19 Charles Bidwill, American NFL team owner (Chicago Cardinals 1933-46), dies of pneumonia at 51
- May 5 Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player, dies at 30
- May 27 Ed Konetchy, American MLB player, dies at 61
- Jun 6 Norman Reid, cricketer (Test S Af v Aust 1921-22, 11 & 6, 2-63), dies
- Jul 13 Warwick Armstrong, cricketer (50 Tests 1901-21, 2863 runs), dies at 68
- Jul 30 George Challenor, West Indian cricketer (played in 1st WI Test side 1928), dies at 59
- Oct 12 Nelson Betancourt, cricket wicket-keeper (WI Test 1930), dies at 42
- Nov 1 Man o' War, American thoroughbred racehorse (Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes 1920), dies from a heart attack at 30