- Dec 1 Mike Denness, English cricket batsman and captain (28 Tests, top score 188), born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 2013)
- Dec 1 Ron Finn, Canadian NHL linesman (2,373 regular season games, 2 x All-Star games, Rendez-vous '87 and 4 x Canada Cups), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Dec 2 Gerry Cheevers, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goalie and broadcaster (longest undefeated streak-32 games 1972; Boston Bruins), born in St. Catharines, Ontario
- Dec 2 Jonathan Sheppard. English-born American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame horse racing trainer (4X Breeder's Cup Grand National Steeplechase;, record 1,242 steeplechase victories), born in Ashwell, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2023)
- Dec 2 Willie Brown, American Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, coach and executive (Super Bowl 1976, 80, 84; Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders), born in Yazoo City, Mississippi (d. 2019)
- Dec 8 Brant Alyea, American baseball player
- Dec 12 Shirley Englehorn, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1970), born in Caldwell, Idaho (d. 2022)
- Dec 14 Lex Gold, Scottish footballer, born in Lanark, Scotland
- Dec 15 Nick Buoniconti, American NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins) and sportscaster (NBC), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
- Dec 18 Ilario Castagner, Italian soccer manager (Perugia, Lazio, AC Milan, Internazionale, Ascoli) and striker (Perugia, AC Prato), born in Vittorio Veneto, Italy (d. 2023)
- Dec 21 Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2020)
- Dec 24 Grigory Kriss, Russian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée 1964; silver ind. & team epée 1968; bronze team epée 1972), born in Kiev, Ukraine
- Dec 24 Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner (1989- ), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Dec 26 Ray Sadecki, American MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Kansas City, KS, (d. 2014)
- Dec 27 David Shepherd, English cricket umpire (92 Tests 1985–2005; 172 ODIs 1983–2005), born in Bideford, England (d. 2009)
- Dec 27 Jerry Lambert, jockey (rode Native Diver)
- Dec 30 Fred Hansen, American pole vaulter (Olympic gold 1964), born in Cuero, Texas
About December 1940
How Old? 83 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: Yes
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon
Star Signs: Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21), Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions