- Dec 2 József Tóth, Hungarian soccer left-back (56 caps; Újpesti FC 268 games), born in Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary (d. 2022)
- Dec 3 Rick Mears, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1979, 84, 88, 91; Indycar series/World Series champion 1979, 81-82), born in Wichita, Kansas
- Dec 5 Tom Purtzer, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles), born in Des Moines, Iowa
- Dec 6 Gerry Francis, English footballer and manager, born in Chiswick, London
- Dec 9 Dragan Pantelić, Serbian soccer goalkeeper (19 caps Yugoslavia; Radnički Niš, Bordeaux), born in Loznica, Serbia (d. 2021)
- Dec 11 Robert Cochran, American skier (Olympics 1972), born in Claremont, New Hampshire
- Dec 12 Anatoly Alyabyev, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold USSR 20km individual, 4 × 7.5km relay 1980), born in Danilkovo, Russia (d. 2022)
- Dec 14 Jan Timman, Dutch chess player, born in Amsterdam
- Dec 15 Joe Jordan, Scottish soccer forward (52 caps; Leeds, Manchester United) and manager (Bristol City, Hearts, Stoke City), born in Cleland, Scotland
- Dec 17 Ken Hitchcock, Canadian NHL hockey coach, 1995-2019 (Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues), born in Edmonton, Alberta
- Dec 17 Tatyana Kazankina, USSR, middle distance runner (Olympic gold 1976)
- Dec 22 Jan Stephenson, Australian golfer (3-time LPGA major winner; US Open 1983), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- Dec 24 John D'Acquisto, American baseball player, born in San Diego, California
- Dec 28 Jacques Zimako, French soccer forward (13 caps; Saint-Étienne, Sochaux, Bastia), born in Lifou, New Caledonia (d. 2021)
- Dec 28 Ken Pope, American NFL player, born in Galverton, Texas
- Dec 29 Nancy Darsch, American women's basketball coach (Ohio State Uni; assistant coach US Olympic gold 1984, 96; NY Liberty, Washington Mystics), born in Plymouth, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
- Dec 30 Doug Allder, English footballer
About December 1951
How Old? 72 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Chinese Zodiac: Rabbit
Star Signs: Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21), Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions