- Jan 1 Harold Henning, South African golfer (2 PGA Tour titles; 3 senior PGA titles; World Cup 1965), dies at 69
- Jan 3 Leon Wagner, American baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 1962, 63; LA Angels), dies at 69
- Jan 5 Charles Dumas, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1956; first to clear 7 foot mark), dies from cancer at 66
- Jan 5 Tug McGraw, American baseball player and father of Tim McGraw, dies at 59
- Jan 9 Yinka Dare, Nigerian NBA center (NJ Nets), dies at 31
- Jan 15 Gus Suhr, American baseball first baseman (1,435 MLB games Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies; only player to be sued by a fan injured after struck by a foul ball), dies at 98
- Jan 17 Harry Brecheen, American baseball player (b. 1914)
- Jan 19 David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach, dies at 48
- Jan 20 Guinn Smith, American athlete (1948 Olympic gold medalist), dies of emphysema at 83
- Jan 24 Leônidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
- Jan 25 Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, 4x100m relay 1948), dies at 85
- Jan 25 Miklós Fehér, Hungarian soccer striker (25 caps; Győri ETO, Porto, Benfica), dies of cardiac arrest at 24
- Jan 26 Fred Haas, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles; Ryder Cup 1953), dies at 88
- Jan 28 Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, American NFL halfback and end (LA Rams), dies at 80
- Jan 31 Eleanor Holm, American 100m backstroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 90
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