- Jan 6 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
- Jan 9 Eddie Gilbert, cricket (Aboriginal Qld quick got Don for a duck), dies
- Jan 13 Joseph V McCarthy, baseball manager (NY Yankees), dies at 96
- Jan 14 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (b. 1899)
- Jan 22 Herbert Sutcliffe, cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies
- Jan 25 Tango Duke, dies in Australia at 42; oldest known thoroughbred horse
- Feb 9 Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
- Feb 14 Paul Governali, American professional football player (b. 1921)
- Mar 7 Steve Bilko, American baseball player, dies at 49
- Mar 12 Theresa Weld Blanchard, American figure skating champion (1914, 1920-24), dies at 84
- Mar 13 Ghulam Mustafa Guard, cricketer (3 wkts in 2 Tests for India), dies
- Mar 17 George Dickinson, cricketer (8 wickets in 3 Tests for NZ), dies
- Mar 29 Jayasinghrao Mansinghrao Ghorpade, cricketer (8 Tests for India), dies
- Mar 30 George Paine, lefty cricket spinner (for England in WI 1935), dies
- Mar 30 Harold Gimblett, cricketer (Batted in 3 Tests for England), suicide
- Apr 8 Ford C Frick, baseball commissioner, dies at 83
- May 5 Alfred (Harold] Gilligan, English cricketer (4 Tests for England), dies at 81
- May 6 Ethelda Bleibtrey, US swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1920), dies at 76
- May 13 Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (5 Tests for NZ, 7 wickets), dies at 68
- May 19 George Gladstone, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1930), dies
- May 31 József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
- Jul 10 Joe Davis, English snooker player (b. 1901)
- Aug 21 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (44 Tests for India, 2,109 runs), dies at 61
- Aug 26 José Manuel Moreno, Argentine footballer, dies at 62
- Sep 6 Adolf Dassler, German founder of sportswear company Adidas, dies at 78
- Sep 10 Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1944)
- Sep 11 Mike Gazella, American baseball player (b. 1895)
- Sep 11 Ronnie Peterson, Swedish F1 driver (b. 1944)
- Sep 23 Lyman Bostock, outfielder (Angels), shot & killed at 27
- Oct 8 Jim Gilliam, coach (LA Dodgers), dies at 49
- Oct 18 Frank Woolley, cricketer (58,969 1st-class runs), dies
- Oct 26 George "Jackie" Grant, West Indian cricketer (West Indian captain 1930-35), dies at 71
- Nov 6 Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist, dies at 79
- Nov 7 Gene Tunney, American boxer, heavyweight boxing champion (1926-28), dies at 80
- Nov 13 George Hearne, South African cricketer (open bat in 3 Tests 1922-24), dies
- Dec 11 Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)