- Jan 1 Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricket batsman (23 Tests, 1,636 runs @ 46.74; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 78
Bronko Nagurski (1908-1990)
Jan 7 Canadian-American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback (Chicago Bears), dies at 81
- Jan 7 Horace Stoneham, American baseball executive (owner New York / San Francisco Giants 1936-76), dies at 86
- Jan 7 Joseph Robbie, American lawyer and NFL owner and founder of the Miami Dolphins, dies at 73
- Jan 9 Spud Chandler, American baseball player (AL MVP 1943), dies at 82
- Jan 26 Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
- Feb 2 Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (British heavyweight champion 1956-58), dies at 56
- Feb 14 Graeme Hole, Australian cricket batsman (18 Tests, 6 x 50; NSW CA), dies from cancer at 59
- Feb 17 Hap Day, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (Stanley Cup 1932 [captain], 42, 45, 47, 48, 1949 [coach], 1951 [assistant manager]; Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 88
- Feb 24 Tony Conigliaro, baseball player (Red Sox), dies of pneumonia at 45
- Feb 27 Les Ames, English cricket wicket-keeper/batsman (47 Tests, 97 dismissals, 2,434 runs @ 40.56), dies at 84
- Feb 28 Colin Milburn, English cricket batsman (9 Tests, 2 x 100, 2 x 50, HS 139; Northamptonshire CCC, MCC, WA CA), dies of a heart attack at 48
- Feb 28 Tuppy Owen-Smith, South African cricketer (batsman v England 1929), dies
- Mar 6 Joe Sewell, American Baseball HOF infielder (World Series 1920, 32; Cleveland Indians, NY Yankees; MLB record 167.7 at-bats per strikeout 1932), dies at 91
- Mar 11 Dean Horrix, English footballer (b. 1961)
Tom Harmon (1919-1990)
Mar 15 American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1940, Michigan; LA Rams) and broadcaster (CBS 1950-62), dies of a heart attack at 70
- Mar 20 Lev Yashin, Russian soccer goalkeeper (74 caps USSR; Dynamo Moscow 326 games; namesake FIFA award for best World Cup Finals GK), dies of stomach cancer at 60
- Mar 31 John Hawkes, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ship singles, doubles, mixed doubles 1926), dies at 90
- Apr 1 Russell Vis, American Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold freestyle lightweight 1924), dies at 89
- Apr 11 Harold Ballard, Canadian ice hockey club (Toronto Maple Leafs, 1972-90), and football team (Hamilton Tiger Cats, 1978-88) owner, dies at 86
- Apr 21 Johnny Beazley, American MLB baseball pitcher (1941-42 & 1946-49 (St. Louis Cardinals - winner of two 1942 World Series games; Boston Braves), and WWII veteran, dies of cancer at 71
- May 15 Doug Young, Canadian NHL defenceman (Stanley Cup 1936-37, Detroit Red Wings captain), dies at 81
- May 21 Mary Victor Bruce (née Petre), British speedboat pilot, race car driver, and aviator who flew around Empire State building in 1930, dies at 94
- May 22 Rocky Graziano, American boxer (World Middleweight title 1947-48; famous Tony Zale trilogy) and entertainer (Pantomime Quiz, Miami Undercover), dies of heart failure at 71
- Jun 12 Glen Gorbous, Canadian MLB outfielder (record for longest throw of a regulation baseball [445' 10"]), dies at 59
- Jun 18 Dennis Dyer, South African cricketer (scored 96 3 Tests for South Africa), dies at 76
- Jul 8 Malcolm Hilton, English cricket slow left-arm (4 Tests), dies at 61
- Jul 12 João Saldanha, Brazilian journalist and football manager (Brazil 1969-70), dies at 73
- Jul 21 Rich Vogler, American auto racer (most combined wins in USAC history [171]), dies in a race crash at 39
- Jul 31 Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (Stanley Cup 1930, 31 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 87
- Aug 9 Joe Mercer, English soccer midfielder (5 caps; Everton, Arsenal) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, England 1974), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 76
- Aug 10 Cookie Lavagetto, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1938-41; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers) and manager (Washington Senators 1957-61), dies at 77
- Aug 28 Larry Jackson, American baseball pitcher (5 × MLB All-Star; MLB wins leader 1964; St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), dies from cancer at 59
- Aug 31 Johnny Lindsay, South African cricket wicketkeeper (3 Tests, 5 dismissals; North Eastern Transvaal), dies at 81
- Aug 31 Nathaniel Clifton "Sweetwater", American NBA player (NY Knicks), dies of a heart attack at 65
- Sep 6 Len Hutton, English cricket batsman (79 Tests, 19 x 100, HS 364, BA 56.67; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 74
- Oct 4 Avis Bunnage, British actress (Rising Damp, Coronation Street), dies at 67
- Oct 7 Cat Thompson, American college basketball player (hall of fame 1962), dies at 84
- Oct 10 Dick Jorgensen, NFL referee, dies at 56
- Oct 19 Lew Worsham, American golfer (US Open 1947; Ryder Cup 1947), dies at 73
- Oct 22 Frank Sinkwich, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1942, U of Georgia; NFL Draft #1 pick Detroit Lions 1943; NFL MVP 1944), dies at 70
- Nov 11 Attilio Demaría, Argentinian footballer, dies at 81
- Nov 15 Alydar, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- Nov 23 Bo Diaz, catcher, crushed to death by a satellite dish at 37
- Nov 24 Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
- Nov 25 Bill Vukovich III, American Indy 500 driver, killed in a crash during practice at 27
- Dec 6 Bob Hamilton, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1944), dies at 74
Alice Marble (1913-1990)
Dec 13 American tennis player (US Open 1936, 1938-40), dies of pernicious anaemia at 77
- Dec 22 Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league winger (31 Tests; NSW 24 games; North Sydney RLFC, Manly-Warringah RLFC; record first-grade career tries–212), dies from chronic myeloid leukaemia at 50
- Dec 23 Frank King, West Indian cricketer (WI fast bowler played 14 Tests 1953-56), dies at 64
- Dec 23 Wendell Scott, American auto racer (first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level [Jacksonville 200 1963]), dies from spinal cancer at 69
- Dec 31 George Allen, American Pro Football HOF coach (NFL Coach of the Year 1967, 71; LA Rams, Washington Redskins), dies at 72