- Jan 9 Bill Terry, American Baseball HOF first baseman (MLB All-Star 1933–35; World Series 1933; NL batting champion 1930; NY Giants) and manager (NY Giants 1932-41), dies at 90
- Jan 15 Wilf Slack, English cricketer, dies while playing cricket in Gambia at 34
- Jan 21 Carl Furillo, American Baseball player (b. 1922)
- Jan 24 George Knudson, Canadian golfer (8 PGA Tour titles; Masters 1969 runner-up), dies of lung cancer at 51
- Jan 29 Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 88
- Feb 2 Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (Olympic gold men's singles 1972; World C'ships gold 1971, 72, 73), dies from cancer of the lymph nodes at 38
- Feb 3 Glenna Collett-Vare, American golfer (6-time US Amateur champion), dies at 85
- Feb 6 Nuno Oliveira, Portuguese equestrian, horse trainer, dressage instructor, and author, dies at 63
- Feb 10 Dan Kelly, NHL sportscaster, dies at 52, "He shoots, he scores!"
- Feb 17 Lefty Gomez, American Baseball HOF pitcher (7 × MLB All-Star; 5 × World Series; Triple Crown 1934, 37; NY Yankees), dies of congestive heart failure at 80
- Feb 21 Alex Thépot, French footballer (b. 1906)
Sugar Ray Robinson
Apr 12 Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (world welterweight champion 1946-51; middleweight champion 1951-52, 55, 58), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 67
- Apr 14 Lance Pierre, West Indian cricketer (Test WI v Engl 1948, DNB, 7 overs 0-28), dies at 67
- Apr 20 H.B. "Toby" Halicki, American filmmaker, stunt driver, and actor (Gone In 60 Seconds), killed by felled telephone pole while filming a stunt at 48
- Apr 24 Franz Binder, Austrian soccer striker and manager (19 caps Austria, 9 caps Germany; Rapid Vienna), dies at 77
- May 5 Frank Easton, cricket wicket-keeper (NSW 1933-39), dies
- May 14 Joe Primeau, Canadian NHL center (Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 83
- May 26 Don Revie, English soccer forward (6 caps; Leicester City, Hull City, Manchester City, Sunderland, Leeds) and manager (Leeds, England, UAE), dies from MND at 61
- May 30 Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (Ljublama Opera 1927, NY Metropolitan Opera), dies of a stroke at 83
- May 31 C. L. R. James [Cyril Lionel Robert James], Trinidadian historian (The Black Jacobins), journalist, intellectual and socialist, dies at 88 [1]
- Jun 2 Ted a'Beckett, cricketer (4 Tests 1928-32), dies
- Jun 2 Dick Mayer, American golfer (US Open 1957), dies from alcoholism complications at 64
- Jun 3 John McCauley, American NHL official, dies at 44
- Jun 7 Percy Stuart, Suriname/Dutch sports journalist, dies
- Jun 7 Chico Landi, Brazilian racing driver, dies at 81
- Jun 11 Jack McMahon, American basketball guard and coach (player Rochester Royal, St. Louis Hawks; coach Cincinnati Royals, San Diego Rockets, Pittsburgh Condors), dies at 60
- Jun 17 John Matuszak, American NFL defensive end, 1973-82 (Oakland Raiders and 3 other teams), and actor (Caveman; The Goonies), dies of an accidental propoxyphene overdose at 38
- Jun 19 Ad van Emmenes, Dutch soccer reporter, dies at 91
- Jun 21 Lee Calhoun, American hurdler (Olympic gold 1956, 60), dies at 56
- Jun 22 Lee Calhoun, hurdler (Olympic gold 1956, 60), dies at 66
- Jul 15 Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
- Jul 18 Donnie Moore, pitcher (Angels), shoots himself at 35
- Jul 23 Claude Harmon, American golfer (US Masters 1948), dies of heart failure at 73
- Aug 12 Samuel Okwaraji, Nigerian footballer (b. 1964)
- Aug 13 Tim Richmond, American race car driver (won 13 NASCAR races), dies of AIDS at 34
- Aug 30 Joe Collins, American baseball first baseman (World Series 1949–53, 56; New York Yankees), dies at 66
- Sep 1 A. Bartlett Giamatti, American MLB Commissioner (1989) and President of Yale University (1978-86), dies of a heart attack at 51
- Sep 3 Rip Sewell, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1943–46; NL wins leader 1943; Pittsburgh Pirates 1938–49), dies at 82
- Sep 3 Gaetano Scirea, Italian soccer defender (78 caps, FIFA World Cup 1982; Juventus 377 games), dies in a car accident at 36
- Sep 10 Jeff Stollmeyer, Trinidad and Tobago cricketer (32 Tests for WI), murdered at 68
- Sep 14 Eddie McLeod, New Zealand cricketer (one Test for NZ), dies at 88
- Sep 15 Harry Cave, New Zealand cricketer (New Zealand captain 1955-56), dies at 66
- Sep 19 Willie Steele, American Olympic gold medalist (b. 1923)
- Sep 20 Richie Ginther, American racing driver, dies from a heart attack at 59
- Sep 29 August A. "Gussie" Busch, American brewing magnate and baseball owner (St Louis Cards), dies at 90
- Oct 3 Hans Deutgen, Swedish archer (World C'ship gold individual 1947, 48, 49, 50; team 1948), dies at 72
- Oct 3 Norman Yardley, English cricket batsman and captain (20 Tests; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1948), dies of a stroke at 74
Secretariat
Oct 4 Secretariat, American thoroughbred race horse (Triple Crown, 1973), euthanized while suffering from laminitis at 19
- Oct 22 Tony Manero, American golfer (US Open 1936), dies at 84
- Oct 26 Andrew Roberts, cricketer (7 Tests for New Zealand 1976), dies
- Oct 28 Darel Dieringer, American auto racer (181 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races for 7 wins and 79 top 10 finishes), dies at 63
- Nov 13 Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (b. 1964)
- Nov 22 Vijay Rajindernath, Indian cricketer wicket keeper, dies at 61
- Nov 25 Ratu Sir George Cakobau, Fiji cricketer/Gov-General, dies
- Nov 29 Sir G O "Gubby" Allen, English cricket all-rounder (25 Tests; refused to bowl 'Bodyline' tactics 1932), dies of complications after stomach surgery at 87
- Dec 3 Fernando Martín, Spanish basketball center (first Spaniard in NBA 1986, Portland Trail Blazers; FIBA Club World Cup 1981, Real Madrid), dies in a car accident at 27
- Dec 16 Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine racing driver (b. 1913)
Billy Martin
Dec 25 Billy Martin, American baseball 2nd baseman (MLB All Star 1956; World Series 1951, 52, 53, 56; NY Yankees) and manager (World Series 1977 NY Yankees), killed in a car accident at 61
Doug Harvey
Dec 26 Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey defence player ('100 Greatest NHL Players), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 65
