Events in Sport
Events 1 - 100 of 242
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 2 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Guillermo Vilas retains title for 4th and last Grand Slam win; beats American John Sadri 7-6, 6-3, 6-2
Guillermo Vilas
- Jan 6 Phil Flyers set NHL record of 35 straight games without a defeat
- Jan 6 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Oilers, 27-13
- Jan 6 NFC Championship, Tampa Stadium: Los Angeles Rams beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-0
- Jan 7 Minn ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL record 35 game unbeaten streak ends
- Jan 8 Islander Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Canucks 3-0
- Jan 8 NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in 5 sports
- Jan 12 Phoenix point guard Mike Bratz begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games during a 107-96 loss at the Golden State Warriors
Event of Interest
Jan 12 Björn Borg of Sweden wins his first of 2 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles outclassing American Vitas Gerulaitis 6–2, 6–2 at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Björn Borg
Olympic Games
Jan 20 President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
Jimmy Carter
- Jan 20 Super Bowl XIV, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: Pittsburgh Steelers beat LA Rams, 31-19; MVP: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, QB
- Jan 21 Les Henson, Virginia Tech, makes 89' 3" basketball field goal
- Jan 22 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win cricket's 1st World Series Cup
- Jan 25 Dutch government demands boycott of Olympics
- Jan 26 Islanders & Whalers play a NHL penalty-free game
- Jan 27 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 37-27; MVP: Chuck Muncie, New Orleans Saints, RB
- Jan 28 New York coach Red Holzman wins his 600th NBA game, only the second (after Red Auerbach) coach at the time to reach the plateau, as the Knicks beat Golden State, 107-103
- Jan 29 Cleveland Cavaliers beat LA Lakers 154-153 in quadruple OT
- Feb 2 Mexican boxer Salvador Sánchez dethrones Danny “Little Red” Lopez as WBC world featherweight champion with a 13th-round TKO in Phoenix, AZ; Lopez champion since November 1976, 8th defence
Boxing Title Fight
Feb 3 Larry Holmes TKOs Lorenzo Holmes in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
Larry Holmes
NBA All-Star Game
Feb 3 30th NBA All-Star Game, Capital Centre, Landover, Md: East beats West, 144-136 (OT); MVP: George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs, SF
George Gervin
- Feb 5 32nd NHL All-Star Game, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 6-3; MVP: Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers, RW
Event of Interest
Feb 9 Rick Barry, Houston, is 1st in NBA to score 8 3-pointers in a game
Rick Barry
- Feb 12 NY Islanders 2nd scoreless tie, vs Winnipeg Jets
Event of Interest
Feb 12 Richard Hadlee becomes NZ's top wicket-taker with 117
Richard Hadlee
- Feb 13 NZ beats West Indies by one wicket in cricket at Dunedin
- Feb 13 XIII Winter Olympic Games open in Lake Placid, New York
- Feb 14 Soviet cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov wins first of 3 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics when he takes out 30k event; also wins relay and 50k gold
- Feb 15 American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 500m in Olympic record 38.03s; first of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
- Feb 15 Wayne Gretzy assists on NHL-record-tieing 7 goals
- Feb 15 East German speed skater Karin Enke wins first of 3 career Olympic gold medals with victory in the 500m at Lake Placid Winter; wins 1,000m & 1,500m in Sarajevo (1984)
- Feb 15 Soviet cross-country skier Raisa Smetanina claims her 3rd of 4 career Olympic gold medals in the 5k event at Lake Placid; also wins 10k and relay gold (Innsbruck 1976) and relay (Albertville 1992)
- Feb 16 American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 5,000m in Olympic record 7:02.29; second of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
- Feb 17 22nd Daytona 500: Buddy Baker wins ahead of Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett
- Feb 17 Sapporo downhill silver medallist Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria goes one better with gold at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics
- Feb 17 Swedish cross-country skier Thomas Wassberg earns first of 4 career Olympic gold medals in the 15k at Lake Placid; wins by 0.01s from Finland's Juha Mieto; closest margin of victory ever in Olympic cross-country skiing
- Feb 18 Soviet figure skater Irina Rodnina wins her 3rd consecutive Olympic pairs title at Lake Placid; gold medals with husband Alexander Zaitsev (1976, 80) and Alexei Ulanov (1972)
- Feb 18 East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins first of 2 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in women's 10k; also takes gold as part of 4 x 5k relay team
- Feb 19 Botham a century & 13 wickets in Jubilee Test Cricket at Bombay
- Feb 19 American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 1,000m in Olympic record 1:15.18; third of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
- Feb 19 Washington beats Montreal, 3-1 to end the Canadiens' 34 game unbeaten streak against Capitals; Caps 0-32-2 against Montreal since entering NHL in 1974
- Feb 19 Swedish alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark wins the giant slalom from Andreas Wenzel of Liechtenstein at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; also takes slalom gold
- Feb 19 Ulrich Wehling of East Germany wins his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the Nordic combined event at Lake Placid; winner Sapporo (1972), Innsbruck (1976)
- Feb 20 Soviet cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov wins his 2nd gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as part of the 4 x 10k relay; also wins 30k and 50k gold
- Feb 20 Soviet 2-time world champion team Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov win the Olympic ice dance gold medal at Lake Placid by just 0.96 from Krisztina Regőczy & András Sallay of Hungary
- Feb 21 American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 1,500m in Olympic record 1:55.44; 4th of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
- Feb 21 Liechtenstein becomes the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion as Hanni Wenzel wins the women's giant slalom at the Lake Placid Winter Games
- Feb 21 East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins her second gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as part of the women's 4 x 5k relay team; also wins 10k gold
- Feb 21 British figure skater Robin Cousins wins men's singles gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; goes on to pro career, TV analysis and stage performance & production
Olympic Gold
Feb 22 "Miracle on Ice": US ice hockey team beats heavily favoured Soviet Union, 4-3 at Lake Placid in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history; Americans go on to win gold medal
Mike Eruzione
Herb Brooks
- Feb 22 Swedish World Cup and World champion Ingemar Stenmark wins his 2nd gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, taking out the slalom; follows-on from giant slalom success
- Feb 22 Aleksandr Tikhonov of the Soviet Union earns his 4th straight gold medal as part of the 4 x 7.5k biathlon relay team at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics
- Feb 22 Soviet biathlete Anatoly Alyabyev wins his 2nd gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as part of the 4 x 7.5k relay team; also wins individual gold
- Feb 23 American speed skater Eric Heiden wins Olympic 10,000m in world record 14:28.13; sweeps all 5 speed skating events at Lake Placid; only athlete to win 5 gold medals at one Winter Games
- Feb 23 Olympic giant slalom champion Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein wins the women's slalom, her second gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Games
- Feb 23 Soviet cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov wins his 3rd gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics when he takes out the 50k event; also wins 30k and relay gold
- Feb 24 Rangers score 5 power-play goals against Islanders
- Feb 24 XIII Winter Olympic Games close in Lake Placid, New York
Olympic Gold
Feb 24 US ice hockey team clinches gold medal with 4-2 win over Finland at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; comes after 4-3 "Miracle on Ice" victory against hot favorite Soviet Union
Herb Brooks
- Feb 26 New Zealand cricket captain Geoff Howarth 147 and Richard Hadlee 103 hold off West Indies pace quartet of Roberts, Garner, Holding and Croft during famous 2nd Test draw at Christchurch
NHL Record
Feb 29 Future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Gordie Howe scores in the 3rd period to become first NHL player to score 800 career goals as Hartford Whalers beat St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at Springfield Civic Center
Gordie Howe
- Mar 1 27th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC: Duke beats Maryland, 73-72
- Mar 1 21st SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, AL: LSU beats Kentucky, 80-78
- Mar 2 Phoenix point guard Mike Bratz ends NBA free throw streak of 57 games with a miss in the Suns' 123-115 home win over the LA Lakers
Event of Interest
Mar 4 40th hat trick in Islander history-Mike Bossy
Mike Bossy
- Mar 8 Greg Chappell 235 & Yallop 172, for 217 stand at Faisalabad
- Mar 11 Rod Marsh bowls 10 overs for 51 runs in dull Aust v Pak cricket draw
- Mar 12 NY Islanders 3rd scoreless tie, vs Pittsburgh Penguin
- Mar 13 Eric Heiden skates world record 1000m (1:13.60)
- Mar 14 Ice Dance Championship at Dortmund West Germany won by Regoczy & Sallay
- Mar 14 Polish airliner crash kills all 87 aboard (22 are US amateur boxers)
- Mar 15 England beats Scotland, 30-18 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh to claim it's 18th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, 8th Grand Slam and 15th Triple Crown
Event of Interest
Mar 23 Australian cricketer Allan Border becomes the first and only batsman to reach 150 in each innings of a test, in the 3rd test vs Pakistan in Lahore
Allan Border
Event of Interest
Mar 23 18 year old American tennis star Tracey Austin wins her only WTA Tour Championship; upsets Martina Navratilova in the final 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 in NYC
Martina Navratilova
- Mar 23 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Sawgrass CC: Lee Trevino wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw
- Mar 24 42nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats UCLA, 59-54; Cardinals' first title in first title game
- Mar 29 134th Grand National: American amateur rider Charlie Fenwick wins aboard 40/1 outsider Ben Nevis; only 4 from 30 starters finish race
- Mar 31 Almost concurrent heavyweight boxing championship fights: Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 for WBC title in Las Vegas, NV whilst Mike Weaver KOs John Tate in 15 for WBA belt in Knoxville, TN
Event of Interest
Apr 2 In his first full season in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky scores for Edmonton in a 1-1 tie with Minnesota North Stars to become the youngest player to reach 50 goals at 19 years and 2 months of age
Wayne Gretzky
Event of Interest
Apr 2 Montreal right wing Guy Lafleur scores twice to become the first player in NHL history to record 6 straight 50-goal seasons, as the Canadiens beat the Red Wings, 7-2 at Detroit
Guy Lafleur
- Apr 6 Gordie Howe completes a record 26th NHL season
- Apr 8 Islander Potvin's 2 shorthanded goals tie NHL record vs Kings & set NHL rec of 2 shorthanded playoff goals in 1 period
- Apr 9 Los Angeles Kings tie NHL record with two shorthanded playoff goals (vs NY Islanders)
- Apr 12 Milwaukee beats Boston Red Sox, 18-1 (Cooper & Money hit grand slams)
- Apr 12 US Olympic Committee endorses a boycott of the Moscow Olympic games
- Apr 12 Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" at St. John's, Newfoundland
US Masters Golf
Apr 13 44th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 23 year old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros wins his first Masters, 4 strokes ahead of Jack Newton and Gibby Gilbert
Seve Ballesteros
- Apr 13 US and its allies boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest against Russia's invasion of Afghanistan
Event of Interest
Apr 16 Arthur Ashe retires from professional tennis
Arthur Ashe
- Apr 21 84th Boston Marathon: Bill Rodgers wins 3rd straight event and 4th overall title in 2:12:11; Jacqueline Gareau of Canada women's winner in 2:34:28; Rosie Ruiz disqualified for not running the entire course
Event of Interest
Apr 25 A's manager Billy Martin restrained by umpires from attacking a fan
Billy Martin
- Apr 26 Gerard Nijboer runs Dutch record marathon (2:09:01)
Event of Interest
Apr 26 Phillies' Steve Carlton pitches his 6th 1-hitter (beats Cards)
Steve Carlton
Event of Interest
May 3 Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits his 521st & final HR
Willie McCovey
Birthdays in Sport
Birthdays 1 - 100 of 393
- Jan 2 Mac Danzig, American mixed martial artist (The Ultimate Fighter 6 lightweight 2007), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Jan 3 Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey hall of fame defenseman (Olympics gold 1998; Chairperson IOC Athletes' Commission 2016-18), born in Panorama City, California
- Jan 3 David Tyree, American NFL wide receiver and executive (Pro Bowl 2005; Super Bowl 2007; NY Giants), born in Livingston, New Jersey
- Jan 3 Bryan Clay, American decathlete (Olympic gold 2008; World C'ship gold 2005), born in Austin, Texas
- Jan 4 Yaroslav Popovych, Ukrainian cyclist, born in Drohobych, Ukraine
- Jan 4 Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer, born in Lisbon, Portugal
- Jan 6 Steed Malbranque, French footballer, born in Mouscron, Belgium
- Jan 9 Sergio García, Spanish golfer (US Masters 2017), born in Borriol, Castellón
- Jan 10 Matt Roney, American baseball player, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Jan 11 Mike Williams, American football player, born in South Carolina, United States
- Jan 12 Bobby Crosby, American baseball player, born in Lakewood, California
- Jan 13 Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
- Jan 13 Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
- Jan 13 Michael Rupp, American ice hockey player
- Jan 14 Clive Clarke, Irish footballer, born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
- Jan 14 Cory Gibbs, American soccer player, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Jan 14 Ossama Haidar, Lebanese soccer player
- Jan 14 Byron Leftwich, American football player, born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 15 Matt Holliday, American baseball player, born in Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Jan 16 Seydou Keita, Malian footballer, born in Bamako, Mali
- Jan 16 Albert Pujols, Dominican MLB 1st baseman (NL MVP 2005, 2008-9)), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Jan 18 Robert Green, English footballer, born in Chertsey, United Kingdom
- Jan 18 Julius Peppers, American football player (Carolina Panthers), born in Wilson, North Carolina
- Jan 19 Jenson Button, English auto racer (World Formula 1 Drivers Champion 2009; Super GT 2018), born in Frome, England
- Jan 21 Aubrie Rippner, tennis star (1995 USTA National Girls 18), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 21 Dave Kitson, English footballer
- Jan 22 Jake Grove, American football player, born in Johnson City, Tennessee
- Jan 22 Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer, born in Nunthorpe, United Kingdom
- Jan 23 Theresa Kulikowski, American gymnast (World-bronze-95, Olympics 1996), born in Tacoma, Washington
- Jan 24 Rocky Boiman, American football player, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Jan 25 Xavi [Xavier Hernández Creus], Spanish footballer, born in Terrassa, Spain
- Jan 25 Efstathios Tavlaridis, Greek footballer, born in Serres, Greece
- Jan 27 Marat Safin, Russian tennis player (US Open 2000, Australian Open 2005), born in Moscow, Russia
- Jan 29 Ivan Klasnić, Croatian football player, born in Hamburg, Germany
- Jan 30 Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer, born in Sergipe, Brazil
- Feb 1 Moisés Muñoz, Mexican soccer goalkeeper (19 caps; Morelia, América), born in Aguililla, Mexico
- Feb 1 Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian soccer forward (13 caps; Emelec), born in Guayaquil, Ecuador (d. 2005)
- Feb 2 Oleguer Presas, Spanish football player
- Feb 8 Stephen Wright, English footballer
- Feb 9 Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
- Feb 9 Shelly Martinez, American wrestler
- Feb 10 César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player, born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela
- Feb 10 Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Feb 10 Steve Tully, English footballer, born in Paignton, United Kingdom
- Feb 11 Titi Buengo, Angolan footballer, born in Luanda, Angola
- Feb 11 Marco Bresciano, Australian soccer player, born in Melbourne, Australia
- Feb 12 Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player, born in Ontinyent, Spain
- Feb 13 Kristy Powell, US gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Stuart, Florida
- Feb 13 Sebastian Kehl, German footballer, born in Fulda, Germany
- Feb 14 Fátima Leyva, Mexican footballer, born in Mexico City, Mexico
- Feb 16 Ashley Lelie, American football player
- Feb 17 Shanyn MacEachern, Brampton Ontario, gymnast (Olympics 1996)
- Feb 17 Klemi Saban, Israeli soccer defender (25 caps; Maccabi Netanya), born in Netanya, Israel
- Feb 17 Al Harrington, American basketball player
- Feb 18 Alison Rachel Fitch, New Zealand swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, New Zealand
- Feb 18 Nikolai Antropov, Kazakh ice hockey player, born in Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
- Feb 19 Mike Miller, American basketball player
- Feb 20 Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
- Feb 20 Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby union footballer
- Feb 21 Parthiva Sureshwaren, Indian racing driver, born in Chennai, India
- Feb 21 Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Fort St. John, Canada
- Feb 21 Jim Vandermeer, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Caroline, Canada
- Feb 23 Yvonne Tousek, Canadian gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Kitchener, Ontario
- Feb 24 Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
- Feb 25 Antonio Burks, American basketball player
- Feb 26 Gary Majewski, Major League Baseball player, born in Houston, Texas
- Feb 28 Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Feb 28 Piotr Giza, Polish footballer, born in Kraków, Poland
- Feb 28 Lucian Bute, Romanian-born Quebec boxer, born in Pechea, Romania
- Feb 28 Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player, born in Compton, California
- Feb 29 Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey left wing (Winter Olympics gold 2002; World Cup gold 2004; NHL All Star 2001, 07; Philadelphia Flyers), born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada
- Feb 29 Taylor Twellman, American soccer forward (30 caps; New England Revolution), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Feb 29 Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league centre (22 Tests; Auckland Warriors, Leeds Rhinos), born in Stratford, New Zealand
- Mar 1 Shahid Afridi, Pakistan cricket all-rounder (27 Tests, 5 x 100s; 398 ODIs, record 100 in 37 balls in 1st ODI innings; 99 T20I), born in Khyber, Pakistan
- Mar 1 Djimi Traoré, Malian soccer defender (6 caps; Liverpool, Monaco), born in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
- Mar 1 Abdur Rehman, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (22 Tests, 99 wickets; 31 ODIs), born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
- Mar 3 Mason Unck, American football player
- Mar 4 Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
- Mar 4 Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
- Mar 4 Arash Markazi, American sportswriter
- Mar 11 Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
- Mar 11 Dan Uggla, American baseball player
- Mar 12 Douglas Murray, Swedish ice-hockey player
- Mar 13 Caron Butler, American basketballer, born in Racine, Wisconsin
- Mar 14 Matteo Grassotto, Italian racing driver
- Mar 14 Ben Herring, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- Mar 14 Aaron Brown, British/English footballer
- Mar 15 Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
- Mar 16 Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
- Mar 16 Todd Heap, American football player
- Mar 17 Danny Califf, American soccer player
- Mar 18 Sébastien Frey, French soccer goalkeeper (2 caps; Parma, Fiorentina), born in Thonon-les-Bains, France
- Mar 20 Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
Ronaldinho
Mar 21 Ronaldinho Gaucho, Brazilian soccer midfielder (97 caps; FIFA World Cup 2002; Paris SG; FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Flamengo), born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Ronaldinho
- Mar 21 Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier, 15 Olympic medals, 18 World Championship medals, born in Trondheim, Norway
- Mar 22 Pamela O'Connor, Scottish ice dancer, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Mar 24 Tassos Venetis, Greek footballer
- Mar 28 Stiliani Pilatou, Greek long jumper
- Mar 28 Luke Walton, American basketball head coach (Sacramento Kings 2019; LA Lakers 2016-18; NBA C'ships 2009-10, LA Lakers), born in San Diego, California
- Mar 30 Liriel Higa, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Los Angeles, California
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
Jan 14 Actor Samuel L. Jackson (31) weds sports channel producer LaTanya Richardson (30)
Samuel L. Jackson
Wedding of Interest
Jul 24 Tennis star Björn Borg (24) weds tennis player Mariana Simionescu (23) in Bucharest, Romania
Björn Borg
Divorces in Sport
Deaths in Sport
- Jan 1 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70
- Jan 3 Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (Tour de France 1926), dies at 87
- Jan 7 Simonne Mathieu, French tennis player (French C'ships 1938-39; 11 Grand Slam doubles titles), dies at 71
- Jan 10 Bo Rein, American college football coach (b. 1945)
- Jan 12 Hans Ebeling, cricketer (Vict stalwart, bowled for Aust 1934), dies
- Jan 31 J P Duminy, cricket (30 runs at 5 & 1 wkt at 39 in 3 Test S Af), dies
- Feb 1 Gastone Nencini, Italian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia 1957, Tour de France 1960), dies at 49
- Feb 28 Ian Alexander Ross Peebles, cricketer (45 wkts for England), dies
- Mar 1 Dixie Dean, English soccer striker (16 caps; Everton), dies from a heart attack at 73
- Mar 1 Emmett Ashford, American MLB umpire (first certified black umpire in organised baseball), dies from a heart attack at 65
- Mar 12 Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (b. 1914)
- Mar 15 Gerald Abrahams, English author (Teach Yourself Chess), dies at 72
- Mar 18 Herman Griffith, West Indian cricket fast bowler (13 Tests; 44 wickets; best 6-103), dies at 86
Jesse Owens
Mar 31 Jesse Owens, American athlete (4 Olympic gold 1936), dies of lung cancer at 66
Jesse Owens
- Apr 2 Dick Howorth, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests, 19 wickets; Worcestershire), dies at 70
- Apr 12 Stanley De Silva, cricketer (motor bike Sri Lanka '79 World Cup), dies
- Apr 12 Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards and snooker player (b. 1895)
- Apr 13 Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver, dies at 23
- May 2 Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricket spin bowler (37 Tests; 216 wickets @ 24.21; ICC Cricket Hall of Fame), dies at 88
- Jun 1 Rube Marquard, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (NL wins leader 1912; NL strikeout leader 1911; no-hitter 1915; NY Giants), dies at 93
- Jun 10 Denys Morkel, South African cricketer (batsman scored 663 runs 1927-32), dies
- Jun 18 André Leducq, French cyclist (Tour de France 1930, 32; Olympic gold road race 1924), dies at 76
- Jul 18 Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricketer (3 Tests for India 1932-34, 108 runs), dies at 76
- Aug 1 Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944)
- Aug 2 Verdun Scott, New Zealand cricket batsman, rugby league utility back (10 Tests; 1 cap), dies at 64
- Aug 6 Charles Urbanus, Dutch baseball player, dies at 66
- Aug 9 P K "Perker" Lee, cricketer (Australian bowler 1931-33, 2 Tests), dies
- Aug 21 Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), dies at 60
- Sep 8 Bruce Dooland, Australian cricket all-rounder (3 Tests; Nottinghamshire; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1955), dies at 56
- Oct 6 Jean Robic, French cyclist (b. 1921)
- Oct 10 Walter Keeton, cricketer (opening bat in 2 Test for Eng 1934-39), dies
- Oct 14 S N Banerjee, cricketer (one Test for India), dies
- Oct 15 Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
- Oct 25 Víctor Galíndez, Argentine boxer (WBA light heavyweight title 1974-79), dies in stock-car race pit area accident at 31
- Nov 18 Conn Smythe, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs 1927-61; Stanley Cup x 8), dies of heart failure at 85
- Nov 21 Jim Parks Sr, Kent cricket all-rounder (only Test for England), dies
- Nov 22 Herbert Wade, cricketer (South African batsman & captain 1935-36), dies
- Nov 23 Herby Wade, cricketer (South African capt 10 Tests 1935-36), dies
- Dec 4 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
- Dec 14 Elston Howard, American baseball catcher (12 × MLB All-Star; 6 × World Series; AL MVP 1963; first African-American NY Yankee), dies from myocarditis at 59
- Dec 28 Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (1 Test India, 5 Tests Pakistan), at 72
- Dec 31 Arthur Wellard, cricketer (2 Tests for England, legendary 6-hitter), dies
- Dec 31 Bob Shawkey, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1923, 27; AL ERA leader 1920, New York Yankees), dies at 90