- Jan 9 Bill Terry, baseball player (b. 1898)
- 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 athlete (b. 1900)
- Feb 2 Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (b. 1951)
- Feb 3 Glenna Collett-Vare, American golfer (6-time US Amateur champion), dies at 85
- Feb 10 Dan Kelly, NHL sportscaster, dies at 52, "He shoots, he scores!"
- Feb 17 Lefty Gomez, pitching great (NY Yankees), dies at 80
- Feb 21 Alex Thépot, French footballer (b. 1906)
- Feb 24 Sparky Adams, American baseball player (b. 1894)
- Mar 18 Piet Kruiver, Dutch soccer player, dies at 51
- Apr 6 Elizabeth Becker-Pinkston, American platform diver (Olympic gold 1924 and 1928), dies at 86
Sugar Ray Robinson
Apr 12 Sugar Ray Robinson [Walter Smith], American middle/welterweight boxer (1946-52, 55, 58), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 67
Sugar Ray Robinson
- Apr 14 Lance Pierre, cricketer (Test WI v Engl 1948, DNB, 7 overs 0-28), dies
- 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 footballer and soccer manager (Leeds and England), dies 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, cricket writer (distinguished Trinidadian), dies
- 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, NHL official (b. 1945)
- Jun 7 Percy Stuart, Suriname/Dutch sports journalist, dies
- Jun 7 Chico Landi, Brazilian racing driver, dies at 81
- Jun 17 John Matuszak, American NFL defensive end (Oak Raider) and actor (The Goonies), dies of an accidental propoxyphene overdose at 38
- Jun 19 Ad van Emmenes, Dutch soccer reporter, dies at 91
- Jun 21 Lee Quencey Calhoun, 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, race car driver (won 13 NASCAR races), dies of AIDS at 34
- Aug 22 Robert Grondelaers, Belgian cyclist (b. 1933)
- Sep 1 A Bartlett Giamatti, American President of Yale University and baseball commissioner, dies of heart attack at 51
- Sep 3 Rip Sewell, American baseball player, dies at 82
- 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 4 Norman Yardley, cricketer (England captain 1947-50), dies
- Oct 4 Secretariat, American race horse (b. 1970)
- Oct 22 Tony Manero, American golfer (US Open 1936), dies at 84
- Oct 26 Andrew Roberts, cricketer (7 Tests for New Zealand 1976), dies
- Nov 13 Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (b. 1964)
- Nov 22 Rajindernath, Indian cricketer wicketkeeper (1 Test), dies
- Nov 25 Ratu Sir George Cakobau, Fiji cricketer/Gov-General, dies
- Nov 29 George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, cricketer, dies
- Dec 16 Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine racing driver (b. 1913)
- Dec 25 Billy Martin, American MLB player and manager (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
Doug Harvey