- Jan 1 23rd Fiesta Bowl: #16 Arizona beats #10 Miami, 29-0
- Jan 1 60th Orange Bowl: #1 Florida State beats #2 Nebraska, 18-16
- Jan 1 60th Sugar Bowl: #8 Florida beats #3 West Virginia, 41-7
- Jan 1 80th Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin beats #14 UCLA, 21-16
- Jan 1 Aleksandr Popov swims world record 100m free style (47.83)
- Jan 1 Carquest Bowl 4: Boston College beats Virginia, 32-13
Young's Record 3rd Passing Title
Jan 3 Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers becomes first quarterback to win 3 straight NFL passing titles despite a 37-34 OT loss to the Philadelphia Eagles; first to lodge 3 consecutive passer ratings of 100+
- Jan 5 Aleksandr Popov swims world record 100m free style (47.82)
Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
Jan 6 US figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by Tonya Harding's bodyguard at the US Championships in Detroit
- Jan 7 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Petr Korda defeats Bernd Karbacher of Germany 6-3, 6-3 for an unassailable 2-0 lead (ends 2-1) and the Czech Republic's first title
- Jan 7 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 12 Lefthanded pitcher Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies) elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 13 Tonya Harding's bodyguard, Shawn Eric Eckardt & Derrick Brian Smith arrested & charged with conspiracy in attack of figure skater Nancy Kerrigan
- Jan 14 Inna Lassovskaya triple-jumps ladies world record (14.61m)
- Jan 15 Dallas Mavericks drop a 104-87 decision to the San Antonio Spurs at Reunion Arena to set an unwanted NBA record with their 17th consecutive home defeat; break mark of 16 set by Orlando in 1990
Lawrence Taylor Retires
Jan 15 Lawrence Taylor announces his retirement from the NFL
Ewing's 15,000 Points
Jan 17 Patrick Ewing becomes first New York player to reach the 15,000-point mark in his NBA career; scores a game-high 34 points in the Knicks' 106-94 win over visiting Minnesota
- Jan 21 Dallas Mavericks suffer 19th straight loss at Reunion Arena, 91-87 to the Seattle SuperSonics; extends an unwanted NBA record for the most consecutive home defeats
- Jan 22 45th NHL All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 9-8; MVP: Mike Richter, NY Rangers, G
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Kansas City Chiefs, 30-13
- Jan 23 NFC Championship, Texas Stadium, Irving: Dallas Cowboys beat San Francisco 49ers, 38-21
- Jan 25 Australia beat South Africa 2-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- Jan 29 Frankie Randall beats Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez by split decision to win WBC super lightweight title at MGM Grand, Las Vegas; Chavez's 1st knockdown of career in 11th and 1st loss in 91 pro fights
Sampras Defeats Martin
Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras wins 1st of 2 Australian titles; fellow American Todd Martin 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Graf Defeats Sánchez Vicario
Jan 30 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-0, 6-2
World Record 500m
Jan 30 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.76)
Dev Equals Hadlee's Record
Jan 30 Kapil Dev takes 2/41 as India beats Sri Lanka by an innings and 95 runs in 2nd Cricket Test in Bengaluru; equals Sir Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wickets
- Jan 30 Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.
Super Bowl XXVIII
Jan 30 Super Bowl XXVIII, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 30-13; MVP: Emmitt Smith, Dallas, RB
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions