- Jan 1 AFL Championship, War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo: Kansas City Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills, 31-7; QB Len Dawson passes for 2 TDs, RB Mike Garrett runs for 2 TDs
- Jan 1 Canadian Amateur Football Association formally becomes successor to Canadian Rugby Football Union; turns over the Grey Cup trophy to the CFL
- Jan 1 NFL Championship, Cotton Bowl, Dallas: Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys, 34-27
- Jan 1 Second day's play in Calcutta 2nd cricket Test, India v W Indies is cancelled by riots; ticket holders denied access starts trouble outside ground; escalates with fires in stands and pitch damage; WI win by 45
- Jan 2 33rd Orange Bowl: Florida beats #8 Georgia Tech, 27-12
- Jan 2 33rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Alabama beats #3 Nebraska, 34-7
- Jan 2 53rd Rose Bowl: #7 Purdue beats Southern California, 14-13
- Jan 9 NFL New Orleans' franchise takes name "Saints"
17th NBA All-Star Game
Jan 10 17th NBA All-Star Game, Cow Palace, San Francisco, Ca: West beats East, 135-120; MVP: Rick Barry, SF Warriors, SF
- Jan 11 San Diego is granted an NBA franchise to be called the Rockets; franchise moves to Houston for the 1971-72 season
Darft Board Refuses Ali Exemption
Jan 12 Louisville, Kentucky draft board refuses exemption for boxer Muhammad Ali [1]
- Jan 15 Super Bowl I, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Green Bay Packers beat KC Chiefs, 35-10; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
20th NHL All-Star Game
Jan 18 20th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: Montreal Canadiens beat All-Stars, 3-0; MVP: Henri Richard, Montreal, C
Chamberlain's Shot Record
Jan 20 Philadelphia 76ers center Wilt Chamberlain makes all 15 of his field goal attempts in a 119-108 win over LA Lakers; NBA record for consecutive shots made; beats mark twice before 1966-67 season ends
- Jan 21 6th AFL All Star Game, LA Memorial Coliseum: Eastern Division beats Western Division, 30-23: MVPs: Babe Parilli, Boston Patriots, QB; Verlon Biggs, NY Jets, DE
Fleming US Champion
Jan 21 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
17th Pro Bowl
Jan 22 17th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: East beats West, 20-10; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; Floyd Peters, Philadelphia Eagles, DT
Musial Manages Cardinals
Jan 23 Stan Musial named General Manager of MLB team St. Louis Cardinals
- Jan 27 New Orleans Saints sign their 1st player (Paige Cothren-kicker)
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 29 Branch Rickey and Lloyd Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 29 Kees Verkerk becomes European skating champ
Emerson Defeats Ashe
Jan 30 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson repeats previous year's result; beats American Arthur Ashe 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 for his 5th straight Australian title
Richey's Only Australian Title
Jan 30 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Nancy Richey wins her first and only Australian title; beats home favourite Lesley Turner Bowrey 6-1, 6-4
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions