- Jan 7 (John) "JJ" Johnson, American NBA basketball player, 1970-82 (Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, and 2 other teams), dies at 68
- Jan 8 Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian racing car driver (first woman to complete in Formula One), dies at 89
- Jan 11 Monty Irvin, American Baseball HOF outfielder (4 x NgL All-Star, NgL World Series 1946 Newark Eagles; MLB All-Star 1952, World Series 1954 NY Giants), dies at 96
- Jan 13 Lawrence Phillips, American football running back (Grey Cup, CFL All-Star 2002 Montreal Alouettes; St Louis Rams 1996-97), dies of suicide at 40
- Jan 13 Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican MLB baseball pitcher, 1955-63 (2 x All-Star; 2 x World Series Champion; St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and 2 other teams), dies at 88
- Jan 14 Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter (Olympic gold USSR +90 kg 1964, 68: World C'ships gold 1964, 65, 66, 68), dies at 77
- Jan 18 Johnny Bach, American basketball coach (Fordham Uni, Penn State Uni; NBA C'ship 1991-93 Chicago Bulls assistant coach), dies at 91
- Jan 21 Bill Johnson, alpine skier (first American to win alpine Olympic gold - 1984), dies at 55
- Jan 23 Bobby Wanzer, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star 1952–56; Rochester Royals) and coach (NBA All-Star Game 1957), dies at 94
- Jan 23 Jack Bannister, English cricket commentator (BBC; Talksport radio) and bowler (Warwickshire 1,198 wickets), dies at 85
- Jan 30 Ken Sailors, professional basketball player (popularized and may have invented the jump shot), dies at 95
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions