- Aug 1 Andrew Nicholson, New Zealand equestrian (World C'ship gold team eventing 1990; Olympics silver 1992, bronze 1996, 2012), born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand
- Aug 1 Brad Faxon Jr, American golfer (8 PGA Tour titles), born in Oceanport, New Jersey
- Aug 1 Danny Blind, Dutch soccer star (Sparta/Ajax), born in Vlissingen, Netherlands
- Aug 1 Mike Watkinson, English cricketer (England off-spinner all-rounder v WI 1995), born in Westhoughton, Lancashire
- Aug 2 Ed West, American NFL tight end (Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons), born in Colbert County, Alabama
- Aug 3 Ken Wark, Australian field hockey fullback (Olympic 4th/silver-88, 92, 96), born in Sydney, Australia
- Aug 5 Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach (Sri Lankan batsman), born in Galle, Sri Lanka
- Aug 5 Tommy Møller Nielsen, Danish soccer manager (B1909, Viborg FF, HB Køge) and scout (Manchester United 2016-23), born in Odense, Denmark (d. 2023)
- Aug 6 Earl Winfield, CFL receiver (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
- Aug 6 Mary Lou, Daniels Chicago lL, tennis star
- Aug 7 Walter Swinburn, English jockey (Epsom Derby 1981, 86, 95; Irish Derby 1983, 86; Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 1983), born in Oxford, England (d. 2016)
- Aug 7 Yelena Davydova, Russian gymnast (Olympic gold USSR All-round, Team 1980), coach (Canadian Women's Artistic Team 2012) and international judge (Rio Olympics 2016), born in Voronezh, Russia
- Aug 8 Bruce Matthews, American NFL guard/center (Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
- Aug 9 Brad Gilbert, American tennis player and coach, born in Oakland, California
- Aug 11 Craig Ehlo, American NBA basketball guard (Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and 2 other teams), born in Lubbock, Texas
- Aug 12 Mark Priest, New Zealand cricketer
- Aug 13 (Hubertina) "Bettine" Vriesekoop, Dutch table tennis star (European Championships gold 1982, 92), journalist, and author, born in Hazerswoude, Netherlands
- Aug 13 Neil Mallender, English cricketer (England pace bowler in two Tests 1992), born in Kirk Sandall, Yorkshire
- Aug 14 Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler, born in Lexington, Tennessee (d. 1995)
- Aug 15 Gary Kubiak, American football coach
- Aug 16 Christian Okoye, Nigerian-American football player known as the "Nigerian Nightmare" (Kansas City Chiefs), born in Enugu, Nigeria
- Aug 17 Jamie Macoun, Canadian NHL defenceman (Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Newmarket, Ontario
- Aug 21 Danny Sheaffer, American MLB catcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Aug 21 Lance Earl Deal, American hammer thrower (Olympic silver 1996), born in Riverton, Wyoming
- Aug 21 V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer, born in Chennai, India
- Aug 24 Ingrid Berghmans, Belgian judoka (8 times Belgian Sportswoman of the Year), born in Beringen, Belgium
- Aug 26 Jeff Parrett, American pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
About August 1961
How Old? 62 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions