- Oct 1 George Reed, American CFL HOF running back (CFL MVP 1965, 76; Grey Cup MVP 1966; Saskatchewan Roughriders), dies at 83
- Oct 1 Lars Arnesson, Swedish soccer manager (Sweden 1980-86, Kalmar FF, Sweden U-21, Djurgårdens IF, Östers IF), dies at 87
- Oct 1 Russ Francis, American football tight end (New England Patriots; Super Bowl XIX San Francisco 49ers; Pro Bowl 1977, 78, 79), dies in an aircraft accident at 70
- Oct 1 Tim Wakefield, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 2009; World Series 2004, 07 Boston Red Sox) and broadcaster (NESN), dies of brain cancer at 57 [1]
- Oct 2 Francis Lee, English soccer striker (27 caps; Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City 249 games, Derby County), dies of cancer at 79
- Oct 3 Bob Wagner, American college football coach (University of Hawaiʻi 1988-95), dies at 76
- Oct 3 Patrice Lecornu, French soccer striker (3 caps; Red Star FC, SC Angers, Nantes FC), dies at 65
- Oct 4 Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach (12 × Greek League C'ship; 6 × Greek Cup winner; GS Larissas, Aris, Olympiacos, AEK, Greece 1982–90), dies at 78
- Oct 5 Dick Butkus, American College-Pro Football HOF linebacker (Uni of Illinois; NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1969, 70; 5×First-team All-Pro; 8xPro Bowl; Chicago Bears), sportscaster (CBS, ESPN) and actor (My Two Dads), dies at 80 [1]
- Oct 7 Eric Griffin, American boxer (World C'ship gold Light Flyweight 1989, 1991), dies at 55
- Oct 7 Park Jong-hwan, South Korean soccer manager (South Korea 1983-84, 86-88, 90, 95-96; Seoul FC), dies at 85
- Oct 8 Agneta Andersson, Swedish sprint canoer (Olympic gold K-1 500 1984, K-2 500 1984, 96; World C'ship gold K-2 500 1993), dies from cancer at 62
- Oct 8 Alcides Báez, Paraguayan soccer goalkeeper (16 caps; FC Cerro Porteño, FC Libertad), dies at 76
- Oct 9 Gerhard Grimmer, German cross-country skier (World C'ship gold GDR 50km, 4×10km relay 1974), dies at 80
- Oct 10 Brendan Malone, American basketball coach (RI Uni; Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers), dies at 81
- Oct 10 Terry Dischinger, American College Basketball HOF guard (Purdue; 3 x NBA All-Star; NBA Rookie of the Year 1963 Baltimore Bullets; Detroit Pistons; Olympic gold 1960), dies at 82
- Oct 11 Gérard Murillo, French rugby union outside back (2 Tests; Stade Dijonnais) and manager (Saint-Jean-de-Luz Olympique Rugby 1962-81), dies at 91
- Oct 11 Pauline Jani, Zimbabwean netball goal keeper-shooter (113 caps), dies at 34
- Oct 13 Burdette Haldorson, American basketball forward (Olympic gold 1956, 60; University of Colorado Boulder), dies at 89
- Oct 14 Andy Bean, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1980, 89 runner-up; British Open 1983 runner-up; 11 x PGA Tour titles), dies from complications of double lung transplant surgery at 70
- Oct 15 Gerry Ryan, Irish soccer forward (18 caps Republic of Ireland; Bohemians FC, Derby County, Brighton & Hove Albion), dies at 68
- Oct 16 Eric Tweedale, Australian rugby union prop (10 caps; NSW RFU, Parramatta RFC), dies at 102
- Oct 19 Anfisa Reztsova, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold 7.5k sprint 1992, 4×7.5k relay 1994) and cross-country skier (Olympic gold 4×5k relay 1988; World C'ship gold 4×5k relay 1985, 87, 99), dies at 58
Betsy Rawls (1928-2023)
Oct 21 American golfer (US Women's Open: 1951, 53, 57, 60; PGA C'ship 1959, 69; Western Open 1952, 59), dies at 95
- Oct 21 Bobby Charlton, English soccer midfielder (106 caps; World Cup 1966; Manchester United) and manager (Preston NE), dies from complications of dementia at 86
- Oct 21 Reino Börjesson, Swedish soccer midfielder (10 caps; FIFA World Cup runner-up 1958; Jonsereds IF, IFK Göteborg, Norrby IF, Örgryte IS), dies at 94
- Oct 22 Raul Machado, Portuguese soccer centre-back (11 caps; Leixões SC, SL Benfica), dies at 86
- Oct 23 Bishan Singh Bedi, Indian cricket spin bowler (67 Tests, 22 as captain, 266 wickets, BB 7/98, 1 x 50; Northern Punjab, Delhi, Northamptonshire CCC), dies at 77 [1]
- Oct 24 Anderl Molterer, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic silver Giant slalom, bronze Downhill 1956; Hahnenkamm Race 1959), dies at 92
- Oct 25 Ed Sandford, Canadian ice hockey forward (NHL All-Star 1951, 52, 53, 54, 55; Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings), dies at 95
- Oct 26 Guy Camberabero, French rugby union flyhalf (14 Tests 110 points; ROC La Voulte Sportif, US Tyrosse RUC), dies at 87
- Oct 27 Viktor Mamatov, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold USSR 4 × 7.5k relay 1968, 72; World C'ship gold 20k individual 1967, 4 × 7.5k relay 1969, 70, 71), dies at 86
- Oct 30 Frank Howard, American baseball utility (4 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1963 LA Dodgers; NL Rookie of the Year 1960) and manager (SD Padres, NY Mets), dies at 87
- Oct 30 Vladimir Markelov, Russian gymnast (Olympic gold team 1980, silver 1976; World C'ship gold team 1979, silver 1974), dies at 66
- Oct 31 José Luis Dolgetta, Venezuelan soccer forward (20 caps; Carabobo FC), dies of a heart attack at 53
- Oct 31 Oleg Protopopov, Russian figure skater (Olympic gold USSR pairs 1964, 68; World C'ship gold pairs 1965, 66, 67, 68 [Ludmila Belousova]), dies at 91
- Oct 31 Ronnie Rees, Welsh soccer winger (39 caps; Coventry City, WBA, Nottingham Forest), dies at 79
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions