- Jan 2 Joe Darling, Australian cricket batsman and captain (34 Tests, 21 as captain; 3 x 100s, TS 178; South Australia CA), dies following a gall bladder operation at 75
- Jan 9 Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874)
- Feb 15 Cornelius Johnson, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1936), dies from bronchopneumonia at 32
- Feb 27 James Cecil Parke, Irish tennis player (Australasian C'ship singles & doubles, Davis Cup 1912; Wimbledon doubles 1914) and rugby union centre (20 caps; Leinster Rugby), dies at 64
- Mar 24 Alexander Alekhine, Russian-French chess player (world champion 1927-35, 37-46), dies choking on meat at 53
- Mar 28 Chick Fullis, baseball player (b. 1904)
- Mar 28 Cum Posey, American Baseball HOF executive (owner NgL Homestead Grays; 9 x consecutive NL pennants 1937–45); and Basketball HOF guard (5 x Coloured World C'ships), dies from cancer at 55
- Apr 16 Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss auto racer and car designer (co-founder Chevrolet Motor Car Company), dies from suicide at 61
- Apr 17 John Iddon, cricketer (car accident 5 Tests for Eng 1934-35), dies
- Apr 21 Robert Graham, cricketer (3 wkts for South Africa in 2 Tests 1898-99), dies
- Apr 25 Albert Knight, English cricket batsman (3 Tests, 1 x 50; Leicestershire CCC), dies at 73
- Apr 25 Joseph Vine, cricketer (batted in two Tests Eng v Aust 1911-12), dies
- May 1 Bill Johnston, American tennis player (US Open 1915, 19; Wimbledon 1923), dies of tuberculosis at 51
- May 7 Joe Humphries, English cricket wicket-keeper (3 Tests for England 1907-08), dies at 69
- Jun 5 Maud Watson, British tennis player (first Wimbledon female champion 1884-85), dies at 81
Jack Johnson (1878-1946)
Jun 10 American boxer (1st African-American world heavyweight champion 1908-15), dies in a car accident aged 68
- Jun 14 Kristian Hellström, Swedish athlete (Olympic bronze 1,500m 1906) and executive (first Secretary-General International Association of Athletics Federations 1913-14), dies at 65
- Jun 17 Joe Dawson, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1912), dies at 56
- Jun 29 Frank Hadow, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1878; first exponent of the lob), dies at 91
- Jul 15 Razor Smith, English cricket spin bowler (245 first class matches, Surry CCC), dies at 68
- Aug 6 Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33
Blanche Bingley (1863-1946)
Aug 6 British tennis player (Wimbledon 1886, 89, 94, 97, 99-1900), dies at 82
Tony Lazzeri (1903-1946)
Aug 6 American Baseball HOF second baseman (World Series x 5; only player to complete natural cycle with grand slam; NY Yankees), dies from a fall caused by a heart attack at 42
- Aug 9 Bert Vogler, South African cricket all-rounder (15 Tests, 64 wickets, BB 7/94, 2 x 50; Natal, Transvaal; MCC), dies from lobar pneumonia at 69
- Aug 15 Edward R. Bradley, American businessman and horse owner (1st to own 4 Kentucky Derby winners), dies at 86
- Aug 18 Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), dies at 53
- Oct 4 Barney Oldfield, American auto racer (International Motorsports Hall of Fame; first to drive at 60mph on circular track), dies of a heart attack at 67
- Oct 11 Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer, dies at 35
- Oct 16 Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian Nazi (SS/SD), hanged at 43
- Nov 18 John King, cricketer (scored 60 & 4 in only Test Eng v Aus 1909), dies
- Nov 18 Johnny Lush, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1904-10 (Philadelphia Phillies, St . Louis Cardinals 2 no-hitters - 1 official, 1 rain-shortened), dies at 61
- Nov 22 Bertie Rose-Innes, cricketer (South Africa's Test), dies
Walter Johnson (1887-1946)
Dec 10 American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (3 x Triple Crown of Pitching; World Series 1924; AL MVP 1913, 24; Washington Senators), dies from a brain tumour at 59
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