- Jan 1 Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian auto racer (German Formula Renault C'ship 1999), born in Debrecen, Hungary
- Jan 2 Maxi Rodríguez, soccer midfielder (57 caps; Atlético Madrid, Newell's Old Boys), born in Rosario, Argentina
- Jan 2 Pedrie Wannenburg, South African rugby union flanker (20 Tests; Bulls, Ulster, Castres, Oyonnax), born in Nelspruit, South Africa (d. 2022)
- Jan 3 Chris Blais, American off-road racing rider (Motorcycle San Felipe 250 2005; Dakar Rally 2007 3rd overall), born in Apple Valley, California
Eli Manning (43 years old)
Jan 3 American football quarterback (MVP Super Bowls XLII, XLVI; Pro Bowl 2008, 11, 12, 15; NY Giants), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Jan 5 Corey Flynn, New Zealand rugby union hooker (15 caps; Canterbury Crusaders), born in Invercargill, New Zealand
- Jan 6 Asante Samuel, National Football League Defensive Back, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Jan 7 Alex Auld, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Cold Lake, Canada
- Jan 7 Marquis Daniels, American basketball player, born in Jasper, Florida
- Jan 8 Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- Jan 8 Xie Xingfang, Chinese badminton player, born in Guangzhou, China
- Jan 9 Ebi Smolarek, Polish soccer striker (47 caps; Feyenoord Rotterdam, Borussia Dortmund, Racing Santander), born in Łódź, Poland
- Jan 15 El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
- Jan 15 Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer, born in Perth, United Kingdom
- Jan 16 Bobby Zamora, English footballer, born in Barking, United Kingdom
- Jan 17 Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Jan 18 Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer, born in Kingston, Jamaica
- Jan 18 Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player, born in Namur, Belgium
- Jan 19 Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer, born in Barakaldo, Spain
- Jan 19 Lucho González, Argentine footballer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Jan 20 Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Jan 20 Owen Hargreaves, English football player and television pundit, born in Calgary, Canada
- Jan 21 Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
- Jan 21 Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
- Jan 21 Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
- Jan 22 Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer, born in Bignona, Senegal
- Jan 23 Rob Friend, Canadian soccer forward (32 caps; Molde FK, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC, 1860 Munich), born in Rosetown, Canada
- Jan 27 Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
- Jan 28 Rick Razzano, American football player
- Jan 30 Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer, born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
- Jan 30 Mathias Lauda, Austrian racing driver, born in Salzburg, Austria
- Jan 30 Peter Crouch, English footballer, born in Macclesfield, United Kingdom
- Jan 31 Julio Arca, Argentinian football player, born in Quilmes, Argentina
About January 1981
How Old? 43 years old
Generation: Millennial
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions