Events in Sport
- Dec 4 2nd NY Knicks game postponed (due to death of opponent 76ers' owner)
- Dec 4 San Francisco Giant Masanori Murakami, 4-1 this year, does not renew his contract signing instead with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka for $40,000
Event of Interest
Dec 9 Frank Robinson is traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Baltimore Orioles
Frank Robinson
NFL Record
Dec 12 Chicago halfback Gale Sayers ties NFL record for most touchdowns in a game with 6 in 61–20 victory over San Francisco 49ers at Wrigley Field
Gale Sayers
- Dec 15 William Eckert replaces Ford Frick as 4th Commissioner of Baseball
- Dec 26 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium San Diego: Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 23-0; repeat previous year's win over SD
- Dec 28 Ballon d'Or: Benfica striker Eusébio wins award for best European football player; first Portuguese national to win, and still only Benfica player
- Dec 28 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Sydney: John Newcombe & Tony Roche beat José Luis Arilla & Manuel Santana of Spain 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to give Australia unassailable 3-0 lead; ends 4-1
- Dec 29 CBS purchases NFL TV rights for 1966-68 at $18.8 million per year
Birthdays in Sport
- Dec 1 Henry Honiball, South African rugby union fly-half (35 caps; Sharks [Natal], Bristol), born in Estcourt, South Africa
- Dec 2 Shane Flanagan, Australian rugby league coach (Cronulla Sutherland Sharks NRL premiers 2016), born in Sydney, Australia
- Dec 3 Katarina Witt, German figure skater (Olympic gold ladies singles 1984, 88; World C'ship gold 1984-85, 87-88), born in Staaken, Germany
- Dec 4 Ulf Kirsten, German soccer striker and manager (49 caps GDR; 51 caps Germany; Dynamo Dresden, Bayer Leverkusen), born in Riesa, Germany
- Dec 6 Gordon Durie, Scottish footballer, born in Paisley, Scotland
- Dec 7 Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer and coach, born in Keith, Scotland
- Dec 8 Greg Truitt, NFL safety/linebacker (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Dec 8 Teresa Weatherspoon, WNBA guard (NY Liberty)
- Dec 8 Troy Sadowski, American NFL tight end (Cin Bengals), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Dec 9 Joe Ausanio, American baseball player
- Dec 11 Jay Bell, American infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Eglin AFB, Florida
- Dec 12 Laurie Grover-Tavares, American biathlete (Olympics 1994), born in Newark, New Jersey
- Dec 13 Stacy Sunny, female infielder (Colo Silver Bullets), born in San Bernardino, California
- Dec 14 Craig Biggio, American baseball infielder (Houston Astros), born in Smithtown, New York
- Dec 14 Ken Hill, American MLB pitcher (Montreal Expos), born in Lynn, Massachusetts
- Dec 14 Lawrence Clay-Bey, American super heavyweight boxer (Olympics 1996), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- Dec 15 Walter Reeves, NFL tight end (Cleveland Browns)
- Dec 16 Chris Jones, outfielder (NY Mets), born in Utica, New York
- Dec 16 Moe Elewonibi, NFL/CFL tackle (Philadelphia Eagles, BC Lions)
- Dec 16 Romallis Ellis, lightweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1988), born in Washington, D.C.
- Dec 17 Craig Berube, Calahoo, NHL left wing (Washington Capitals)
- Dec 17 Jeff Grayer, NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets, Olympic bronze 1988)
- Dec 18 Brian Walton, points race cyclist (Olympic silver 1996), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- Dec 18 Willie Blair, Paintsville KY, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
- Dec 19 Chito Martínez, Belizean baseball player
- Dec 24 Nancy Reno, WPVA volleyballer (Olympics 1996), born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
- Dec 24 Winston Moss, NFL linebacker (Seattle Seahawks), born in Miami, Florida
- Dec 25 Dmitri Mironov, NHL defenseman (Pitts Penguins, Anaheim), born in Moscow, Russia
- Dec 25 Kathleen Luciano, WPVA volleyballer (Nationals-17th-1993), born in Munich. Germany
- Dec 26 Ben Husaby, American cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
- Dec 27 Gamini Wickremasinghe, cricketer (Sri Lanka wicket-keeper)
- Dec 30 David Baker, UK cyclist, born in Sheffield, England
Deaths in Sport
- Dec 2 Maharajkumar of Vizianagram "Vizzy", Indian cricket batsman, captain, administrator, broadcaster and politician (3 Tests) dies at 59
Branch Rickey
Dec 9 Branch Rickey, American baseball player (St. Louis Browns), manager (St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers) and sports executive, dies of heart failure at 83
Branch Rickey
