- 1893 Abner Doubleday, American Union Army General-Major, and inventor (San Francisco cable cars), dies at 73
- 1932 William Wrigley Jr., American industrialist (Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company), and owner of MLB Chicago Cubs, dies at 70
- 1961 Morris Nichols, English cricketer (41 wkts in 14 Tests for Eng 1930-39), dies at 60
Paul "Bear" Bryant (1913-1983)
American college football coach (Alabama), dies at 69
- 1990 Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
- 1995 Vic Buckingham, English soccer player and trainer (Ajax), dies at 79
- 1996 Charles Jewtraw, American 500m speed skater (Olympic gold 1924), dies at 95
- 1996 David Schultz, American wrestler (Olympic gold 1984), killed by John Du Pont at 36
- 2000 Don Budge, American tennis player (6 Grand Slam singles titles, Grand Slam 1938), dies of cardiac arrest at 84
- 2001 Al McGuire, American basketball coach (Marquette), dies at 72
- 2003 Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
- 2004 Fred Haas, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles; Ryder Cup 1953), dies at 88
- 2007 Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 77
- 2012 Roberto Mières, Argentine auto racer (USAC Road Racing C'ship Daytona 1,000 km 1959; 17 x F1 GP), dies at 87
- 2014 Tom Gola, American basketball player, dies at 81
Kobe Bryant (1978-2020)
American basketball guard (NBA champion 2000–02, 09-10; NBA MVP 2008; 18 x NBA All Star; LA Lakers; Olympic gold 2008, 12), dies in a helicopter crash at 41
- 2021 Alan Ashcroft, English rugby union number 8 (16 caps England, 2 caps British & Irish Lions; Waterloo FC), dies at 90
- 2021 John Mortimore, English soccer defender (Chelsea 249 games) and manager (Portsmouth, Benfica, Real Betis), dies at 86
- 2021 Jozef Vengloš, Slovak soccer manager (Australia, Czechoslovakia, Malaysia, Fenerbahçe, Aston Villa, Celtic, Slovakia), dies at 84
- 2021 Margitta Gummel-Helmbold, German track & field athlete (Olympic gold GDR women's shot put 1968), dies at 79
- 2021 Peter Thorburn, New Zealand rugby union coach (North Harbour, NZ sevens, Bristol RFC, United States), dies at 81
- 2021 Sekou Smith, American sportswriter (The Clarion-Ledger, The Indianapolis Star, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; NBA TV), dies from COVID-19 at 48
- 2023 Billy Packer, American college basketball broadcaster (Raycom Sports, NBC, CBS), dies of kidney failure at 82
- 2023 Gary Peters, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1964, 67; AL Rookie of the Year 1963; AL wins leader 1964; Chicago WS, Boston Red Sox), dies at 85
- 2023 Irvine Shillingford, West Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 120; Combined Islands, Windward Islands), dies at 78
- 2023 Keith Thomson, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests, 1 x 50; Canterbury) and field hockey centre-half (28 Tests; Canterbury), dies at 81
- 2024 Jimy Williams, American MLB baseball infielder (St. Louis Cardinals), coach (World Series Champ - Atlanta, 1995 & Philadelphia, 2008), and manager (Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox (AL Manager of the Year -1999), Houston Astros), dies at 80
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide