- Jan 1 Ken Loeffler, American College and Basketball Hall of Fame coach (National Invitation Tournament 1952; NCAA Basketball Tournament 1954, La Salle Explorers), dies from a heart attack at 72
- Jan 5 Don Wilson, American baseball pitcher (2 x no-hitters 1967, 69; MLB All Star 1971; Houston Astros), dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at 29
- Feb 16 Morgan Taylor, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m hurdles 1924; bronze 1928, 32), dies at 71
- Feb 18 Nazir Ali, Indian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests; first Indian Test 1932; Southern Punjab, Sussex CCC), dies at 68
- Feb 27 Neville Cardus, English writer and cricketer, dies at 86
- Mar 6 Glen Hardin, American athlete (Olympic gold 1936 400m hurdles), dies at 64
- Mar 21 Joe Medwick, American Baseball HOF left fielder (World Series 1934, Triple Crown & NL MVP 1937 St. Louis Cardinals; 10 x MLB All Star), dies at 63
- Mar 22 Asa Smith Bushnell III, American sports executive (Secretary US Olympic Committee 1945-65), dies at 75
- Mar 25 Juan Gaudino, Argentine racing driver (b. 1893)
- May 8 Avery Brundage, American businessman (5th President International Olympic Committee 1952-72), dies at 87
- May 22 Robert "Lefty" Grove, American Baseball HOF pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1929, 30; AL MVP 1931; Triple Crown 1930, 31; Philadelphia A's, Boston Red Sox), dies from a heart attack at 75
Ezzard Charles (1921-1975)
May 27 American world heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53
- Jun 5 Paul Keres, Estonian and Soviet chess player, dies at 59
- Jun 17 Sid Gordon, American baseball player, dies at 57
- Jun 28 Serge Reding, Belgian weightlifter (b. 1941)
- Jul 6 Ruffian, American racehorse (b. 1972)
- Jul 7 Ruffian, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1972)
- Jul 12 Carl Snavely, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Bucknell, North Carolina, Cornell 180–96–16), dies at 80
- Jul 13 Owen Wynne, South African cricketer (6 Tests for South Africa 1948-50), lost at sea at 56
- Jul 23 Emlen Tunnell, American Pro Football HOF safety (NFL C'ship 1956 NY Giants, 1961 GB Packers; 6 × First-team All-Pro; 9 × Pro Bowl), dies from a heart attack at 51
- Aug 17 Vladimir Kutz, Russian distance runner (Olympic gold 1956), dies at 48
- Aug 19 Jim Londos, Greek-American wrestler, dies at 81
- Aug 19 Mark Donohue, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1972), dies from injuries suffered in a crash during a practice run in Graz, Austria at 38
- Sep 12 Doc Alexander, American College Football Hall of Fame guard (Syracuse; All Pro 1921, 22; Rochester Jeffersons; NFL C'ship 1925; NY Giants), dies at 78
- Sep 23 René Thomas, French auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1914), dies at 89
Casey Stengel (1890-1975)
Sep 29 American Baseball HOF outfielder (World Series 1921, 22 NY Giants) and manager (7 x World Series NY Yankees; NY Mets 1st manager), dies of cancer at 85
- Oct 1 Larry MacPhail, American Baseball Hall of Fame executive (Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees), dies at 85
- Oct 4 Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist (co-founder and majority owner of MLB's New York Mets), dies at 72
- Oct 4 May Sutton, American tennis player (first American woman to win Wimbledon singles title 1905), dies at 89
- Oct 21 Charles Reidpath, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4×400m relay 1912), dies at 86
- Oct 27 H. V. Porter, American basketball coach and administrator (created fan-shaped backboard; moulded basketball, rules films), dies at 84
- Oct 28 Georges Carpentier, French boxer (world light heavyweight champion 1920-22; 1st $1m gate v J Dempsey), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Nov 6 Annette Kellermann, Australian swimmer, silent-film actress (A Daughter of the Gods; Venus Of The South Seas), and author, dies at 87
Graham Hill (1929-1975)
Nov 29 British auto racer (Formula One World Champion, 1962 & 1968), dies while trying to land a plane in the fog near London at 46
- Dec 1 Ernesto Maserati, Italian auto racer and engineer (director, chief engineer Maserati of Modena), dies at 77
- Dec 1 Nellie Fox, American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (15 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1959; Chicago White Sox), dies from lymphatic cancer at 47
- Dec 1 Ranganandhan Francis, Indian field hockey goalkeeper (Olympic gold 1948, 52, 56), dies at 55
- Dec 7 Beatrix Loughran, American figure skater (Olympic gold 1924, 1928, 1932), dies at 75
- Dec 9 Jeff Heath, Canadian baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45; Cleveland Indians), dies from a heart attack at 60
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