- Jan 22 Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (World flyweight champion 1954-60; Olympic gold Flyweight 1948), dies at 50
- Jan 29 Buster Nupen, South African cricket all-rounder (17 Tests, 50 wickets; one eye only), dies at 75
- Feb 5 Izaak Boleslavski, Russian chess player, dies at 67
- Feb 19 Mike González, Cuban baseball player, dies at 86
- Feb 21 Henry Jordan, American Pro Football HOF defensive tackle (Super Bowl 1967, 68; 7 × All-Pro; 4 × Pro Bowl; Cleveland Browns, GB Packers), dies from a heart attack at 42
- Feb 22 Jack O'Connor, English cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, 1 x 50; Derbyshire CCC), dies at 79
- Feb 25 Billy Coutu, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (Stanley Cup 1924; Montreal Canadiens; only player banned from NHL for life, attacked referee 1927), dies at 84
- Mar 5 Jansen Van Vuuren, Dutch volunteer safety marshal at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, dies in a car crash at 19
- Mar 11 Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
- Mar 18 José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944)
- Mar 19 Buck Shaw, American College Football HOF coach (NC State, Nevada, Santa Clara, California, Air Force; NFL: SF 49ers; NFL Championship 1960 Philadelphia Eagles), dies of cancer at 77
- Apr 3 Jack Ryder, Australian cricket all-rounder (20 Tests, 1,394 runs @ 51.62), dies at 87
- Apr 11 Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1968; Federation Cup 1970), dies of a heart attack whilst jogging at 31
- Apr 12 Philip K Wrigley, American baseball executive (owner Chicago Cubs 1932-77), dies of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at 82
- Apr 18 Irene Steer, Welsh swimmer (Olympic gold GB 4 x 100m relay 1912), dies at 87
- Apr 20 Len Johnson, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 6 wickets, BB 3/8; Queensland), dies at 58
- Apr 20 Wilmer Allison, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1935), dies at 72
- Apr 28 Sepp Herberger, German soccer manager (Germany 1936–42; West Germany 1950-64) and striker (3 caps; SV Waldhof Mannheim 127 games), dies at 80
- May 23 Joe Stydahar, American NFL player and coach (Chicago Bears), dies at 65
- Jun 9 Bill Merritt, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (6 Tests, 12 wickets; Canterbury, Northamstonshire CCC), dies at 68
- Jul 29 Austin Matthews, cricketer (Test Eng v NZ 1937), dies
- Aug 24 Buddy O'Connor, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Stanley Cup 1944, 46 Montreal Canadiens; Hart Memorial Trophy & Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 1948), dies at 61
- Sep 13 Arthur Fagg, English cricket batsman (5 Tests; dual double-centuries for Kent v Essex 1938) and umpire (18 Tests, 7 ODIs), dies at 62
- Sep 26 Ernie Lombardi, American Baseball HOF catcher (8 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1940; NL MVP 1938; Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, NY Giants), dies at 69
Jock Hutchison (1884-1977)
Sep 27 Scottish golfer (PGA C'ship 1920, British Open 1921), dies at 93
Bucky Harris (1896-1977)
Nov 8 American Baseball HOF manager (World Series 1947 NY Yankees) and second baseman (WS 1924 Washington Senators), dies at 81
- Nov 9 Fred Haney, American MLB baseball player, 1922-29 (Detroit Tigers and 3 other teams), manager, 1939-41 and 1953-59 (Milwaukee Braves and 2 other teams), and executive, 1961-68 (Los Angeles Angels), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Nov 18 Davey O'Brien, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1938, Texas Christian University; NFL: Philadelphia Eagles), dies from cancer at 60
- Nov 22 Reg Perks, England cricket pace bowler (1938-39), dies
- Dec 7 Paul Gibb, cricketer (England batsman, 8 Tests), dies
- Dec 10 Adolph Rupp, American Basketball HOF coach (NCAA Div I Tournament 1948, 49, 51, 58; Uni of Kentucky; 5 × National Coach of the Year), dies of spinal cancer at 76
- Dec 12 Frank Boucher, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Ottawa Sens, Vancouver Maroons, NY Rangers), coach (Stanley Cup 1939–40 NY Rangers) and executive (GM NY Rangers), dies at 76
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