- Jan 1 Nevzat Güzelırmak, Turkish soccer defender (18 caps; Göztepe) and manager (Denizlispor; Turkey U21), born in İzmir, Turkey (d. 2020)
- Jan 7 Vasiliy Alekseyev, Russian weightlifter (Olympic gold 1972, 76), born in Miloslavsky District, Soviet Union (d. 2011)
- Jan 10 Gianmarco Calleri, Italian soccer entrepreneur (President SS Lazio 1986-92, Torino FC 1994-97), born in Busalla, Italy (d. 2023)
- Jan 14 Gerben Karstens, Dutch road cyclist (Olympic gold 100km team trial 1964; 6 x stages Tour de France, 14 x stages Vuelta a España, 1 x stage Giro d'Italia), born in Voorburg, Netherlands (d. 2022)
- Jan 14 Ian Brayshaw, Australian cricketer and footballer, born in South Perth, Australia
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)
Jan 17 American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1964-7 74-8), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- Jan 22 Mimis Domazos, Greek soccer midfielder (50 caps; Panathinaikos FC 502 games), born in Athens, Greece
- Jan 23 Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler in 6 Tests 1965-70), born in Westonia, West Australia
- Jan 23 Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), born in Lichfield, England (d. 2022)
- Jan 23 Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), born in Recife, Brazil (d. 2021)
- Jan 24 Olav Nilsen, Norwegian soccer striker/midfielder (62 caps; Viking FK), born in Stavanger, Norway (d. 2021)
- Jan 25 Carl Eller, American College-Pro Football HOF defensive end (Uni of Minnesota; 5×First-team All-Pro; 6xPro-Bowl; NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1971; Minnesota Vikings), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Jan 25 Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Portuguese soccer striker (64 caps; top goalscorer-1966 FIFA World Cup; Benfica 301 games, 317 goals), born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique (d. 2014)
- Jan 30 David J. Brown, English cricketer (Warwicks pace bowler, played 26X for England), born in Walsall, United Kingdom
About January 1942
How Old? 82 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
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Boxers
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