- Jan 1 Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (b. 1888)
- Jan 8 Albert Hill, British athlete (b. 1889)
- Jan 13 Fred Price, cricket wicket-keep (England, v Aust Headingley 1938), dies
- Jan 24 Tom Zachary, baseball pitcher (Wash Senators), dies at 72
- Feb 2 Giovanni Martinelli, opera singer (NY Met), dies at 83
- Feb 9 Manuel Plaza Reyes, Chilean marathoner (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 68
- Feb 21 Jose de Capriles, Mexican-born US Olympic fencer, dies
- Mar 25 Norman Gallichan, cricketer (one Test for NZ, 30 & 2, 3-113), dies
- Mar 30 Lucien Bianchi, Belgian auto racer, dies at 34
- May 14 Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
Joe Malone
May 15 Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey center (Quebec Bulldogs), dies at 79
Joe Malone
- May 26 Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- Jun 1 Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian ice skater (3 golds 1936 Winter Olympics), dies at 65
- Jun 21 Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (1st woman Grand Slam 1953), dies of ovarian cancer at 34
- Jun 23 Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 3,000m steeplechase 1936), dies at 62
- Jun 23 Charles Hollis "Chuck" Taylor, American basketball player and shoe salesman, dies of a heart attack at 67
- Jul 2 Michael DiBiase, wrestler (b. 1923)
- Jul 22 Hammy Love, cricketer (NSW wicket-keeper, played for Australia), dies
- Aug 9 George Preston Marshall, American businessman and NFL team owner (Washington Redskins), dies at 72
Rocky Marciano
Aug 31 Rocky Marciano, former heavyweight champ, dies in a plane crash at 45
Rocky Marciano
- Sep 3 John Lester, American cricketer, dies at 98
- Sep 6 Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian football player, dies at 77
- Sep 9 Cecil Dixon, South African cricket off-spinner (1913-14, dismissed Hobbs twice), dies at 78
- Sep 9 Willy Mairesse, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928)
- Oct 4 Vibart Wight, cricketer (member of WI 1st Test touring 1928), dies
Walter Hagen
Oct 6 Walter Hagen, American golfer (11 PGA Tour major wins), dies of throat cancer at 76
Walter Hagen
- Oct 7 Léon Scieur, Belgian cyclist (b. 1888)
- Oct 12 Sonja Henie, Norwegian ice skater (Olympic gold 1928,32,36) and actress (My Lucky Star), dies from leukemia at 57
- Oct 14 Arnie Herber, American NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers, NY Giants), dies at 59
- Oct 22 Giovanni Martinelli, Italian opera singer (NY Met), dies on 84th birthday
- Oct 29 Vic Richardson, cricketer (Aussie capt 1935-36), dies
- Dec 7 Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897)