Events in Sport
- Dec 1 Wendell Scott wins the Grand National Series Jacksonville 200 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, becoming the first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level
- Dec 2 MLB Rules Committee bans oversized catcher's mitts; rule effective only in 1965
- Dec 2 1964 NFL Draft: Dave Parks from Texas Tech first pick by San Francisco 49ers
- Dec 4 Boston Bruins' right wing Andy Hebenton sets a new NHL record by playing in his 581st consecutive game in 2-2 tie with Chicago Black Hawks; reaches 630 straight games
- Dec 6 Test Cricket debut of Graeme Pollock at the Gabba
- Dec 17 Ballon d'Or: Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Lev Yashin wins award for best European football player; beats Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera and Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves; first Russian national to win trophy
Davis Cup
Dec 28 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Adelaide: American Chuck McKinley beats Australia's John Newcombe 10-12, 6-2, 9-7, 6-2 in the deciding rubber to give US a thrilling 3-2 victory
Chuck McKinley
- Dec 28 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins his record 7th Grand Prix of the F1 season, the South African event at Prince George Circuit; first Scotsman to win the World Drivers Championship
- Dec 29 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 14-10; Giants 3rd consecutive championship defeat; played in temperatures under 10 °F (−12 °C)
Birthdays in Sport
- Dec 1 Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricket batsman (93 Tests, 269 ODIs) and politician (MP 2004-present), born in Gampaha, Sri Lanka
- Dec 1 Marco Greco, Brazilian motorcycle road racer and auto racer (Indy Racing League 3rd 1996-97), born in São Paulo, Brazil
- Dec 1 Nathalie Lambert, Canadian short-track speed skater (Olympic gold 3,000m relay 1992; World C'ships gold overall 1991, 93-94), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Dec 2 Rich Sutter, Canadian NHL right wing and broadcaster (Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues; Rogers Sportsnet), born in Viking, Alberta, Canada
- Dec 3 Ashley De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket wicketkeeper (3 Tests; 4 ODIs), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Dec 3 Steve Hegg, American road and track cyclist (Olympic gold individual pursuit 1984), born in Dana Point, California
- Dec 4 Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter (Olympic gold 1988; World C'ship gold 1983, 87, 91, 93, 95, 97), born in Luhansk, Ukraine
- Dec 4 Nigel Heslop, English rugby union and rugby league wing (10 caps RU; Orrell RUFC, Liverpool St Helens; Oldham RLFC), born in West Hartlepool, England
- Dec 5 Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, English ski jumper, born in Cheltenham, England
- Dec 7 Theo Snelders, Dutch football goalkeeper, born in Westervoort, Gelderland, Netherlands
- Dec 9 Barry Wilburn, American NFL full safety (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Dec 9 Dave Hilton, Jr., Canadian boxer, born in Port Credit, Ontario
- Dec 10 Doug Henry, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets), born in Sacramento, California
- Dec 10 Gerald Sandel, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in The Hague, Netherlands
- Dec 10 Michael Lofton, fencer-sabre (Olympics 1996), born in Montgomery, Alabama
- Dec 11 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, German tennis star, born in Saarbrücken, West Germany
- Dec 11 John Lammers, Dutch soccer player (NAC), born in Tilburg, Netherlands
- Dec 11 Mark Greatbatch, New Zealand cricketer (big-hitting NZ opener), born in Auckland
- Dec 15 David Wingate, NBA guard/forward (Seattle Supersonics)
- Dec 16 Cathy Johnston, American golfer, (du Maurier Classic 1990), born in High Point, North Carolina
- Dec 18 Charles Oakley, NBA forward (NY Knicks)
- Dec 18 Lori McNeil, tennis star (1995 Oakland doubles), born in San Diego, California
- Dec 18 Karl Dorrell, American football coach
- Dec 19 Karen Bliss-Livingston, Quakertown PA, cyclist (Olympics 1996)
- Dec 20 Pam Casale, American tennis player (Marco Island finals 1985), born in Camden, New Jersey
- Dec 22 Brian McMillan, South African cricket all-rounder (38 Tests, top score 113, 75 wickets; 78 ODIs), born in Welkom, South Africa
- Dec 22 Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer, born in Milan, Italy
- Dec 23 Carol Peterka, American team handball back court (Olympics 1992, 96), born in Little Falls, Minnesota
- Dec 23 Jim Harbaugh, NFL quarterback (Pro Bowl 1995; Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts) and coach (Stanford 2007–10; SF 49ers 2011–14; Michigan (2015–20), born in Toledo, Ohio
- Dec 24 Timo Jutila, Finnish hockey defenseman (Team Finland), born in Tampere, Finland
- Dec 24 Jay Bilas, American basketball analyst, born in San Pedro, California
- Dec 25 Joop Gall, Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen)
- Dec 27 Dana Chladek, Czech-American slalom kayaker (Olympic bronze 1992, silver 1996), born in Děčín, Czech Republic
- Dec 27 Jim Leyritz, Lakewood OH, catcher (NY Yankees)
- Dec 27 Mark Pike, NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills)
- Dec 29 Sean Payton, American NFL coach (Super Bowl 2009, New Orleans Saints; AP Coach of the Year 2006; 'Bountygate'), born in San Mateo, California
- Dec 30 Johnny van 't Schip, Dutch soccer star (Ajax, Genua)
- Dec 30 Milan Srejber, Czech tennis star
- Dec 31 Ed Simmons, American NFL tackle (Washington Redskins), born in French Camp, California
- Dec 31 Konishiki, Japanese-Samoan sumo wrestler, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Deaths in Sport
- Dec 21 Jack Hobbs, English cricketer known as "The Master" and the leading run-scorer (61,760 runs) and century-maker in first-class cricket (199 centuries), dies at 81
- Dec 26 "Gorgeous George" Wagner, wrestler, dies