- Jan 1 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70
- Jan 3 Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (Tour de France 1926), dies at 87
- Jan 7 Simonne Mathieu, French tennis player (French C'ships 1938-39; 11 Grand Slam doubles titles), dies at 71
- Jan 10 Bo Rein, American college football coach (b. 1945)
- Jan 31 Jacobus Petrus Duminy, South African cricket batsman (3 Tests; Western Province, Transvaal, Oxford University CC) and academic (principal & vice-chancellor University of Cape Town), dies at 82
- Feb 1 Gastone Nencini, Italian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia 1957, Tour de France 1960), dies at 49
- Feb 28 Ian Alexander Ross Peebles, cricketer (45 wkts for England), dies
- Mar 1 Dixie Dean, English soccer striker (16 caps; Everton), dies from a heart attack at 73
- Mar 1 Emmett Ashford, American baseball umpire (first certified black umpire), dies from a heart attack at 65
- Mar 12 Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (b. 1914)
- Mar 15 Gerald Abrahams, English author (Teach Yourself Chess), dies at 72
- Mar 18 Herman Griffith, West Indian cricket fast bowler (13 Tests; 44 wickets; best 6-103), dies at 86
Jesse Owens (1913-1980)
Mar 31 American athlete (4 Olympic gold 100/200m, long jump, 4x100m relay 1936), dies of lung cancer at 66
- Apr 2 Dick Howorth, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests, 19 wickets; Worcestershire CCC), dies at 70
- Apr 12 Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards player (World Professional C'ships 1951), dies at 84
- Apr 13 Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver, dies at 23
- May 2 Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricket spin bowler (37 Tests; 216 wickets @ 24.21; ICC Cricket Hall of Fame), dies at 88
Rube Marquard (1886-1980)
Jun 1 American Baseball HOF pitcher (NL wins leader 1912; NL strikeout leader 1911; no-hitter 1915; NY Giants), dies at 93
- Jun 10 Denys Morkel, South African cricketer (batsman scored 663 runs 1927-32), dies
- Jun 18 André Leducq, French cyclist (Tour de France 1930, 32; Olympic gold road race 1924), dies at 76
- Jul 18 Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricket batsman (3 Tests, Sind), dies at 76
- Aug 1 Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944)
- Aug 2 Verdun Scott, New Zealand cricket batsman (10 Tests, 3 x 50; Auckland) and rugby league utility back (1 Test; Auckland Pakehā), dies at 64
- Aug 6 Charles Urbanus, Dutch baseball player, dies at 66
- Aug 9 Philip Lee, Australian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 5 wickets; South Australia), dies at 75
- Aug 21 Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), dies at 60
- Sep 8 Bruce Dooland, Australian cricket all-rounder (3 Tests; Nottinghamshire; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1955), dies at 56
- Sep 12 André Chéron, French chess player (French Champion, 1926, 1927 & 1929) and endgame theorist, dies at 84
- Oct 6 Jean Robic, French road cyclist (Tour de France 1947; World C'ship gold cyclo-cross 1950), dies in a road accident at 59
- Oct 10 Walter Keeton, cricketer (opening bat in 2 Test for Eng 1934-39), dies
- Oct 14 S N Banerjee, cricketer (one Test for India), dies
- Oct 15 Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
- Oct 25 Víctor Galíndez, Argentine boxer (WBA light heavyweight title 1974-79), dies in stock-car race pit area accident at 31
- Nov 18 Conn Smythe, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs 1927-61; Stanley Cup x 8), dies of heart failure at 85
- Nov 21 Jim Parks Sr, Kent cricket all-rounder (only Test for England), dies
- Nov 22 Herbert Wade, cricketer (South African batsman and captain 1935-36), dies
- Nov 23 Herby Wade, South African cricket batsman and captain (10 Tests, 327 runs; Natal), dies at 75
- Nov 26 Pete DePaolo, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1925; first driver to average > 100mph at Indy, recording 101.13mph), dies at 82
- Dec 4 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
Elston Howard (1929-1980)
Dec 14 American baseball catcher (12 × MLB All-Star; 6 × World Series; AL MVP 1963; first African-American NY Yankee), dies from myocarditis at 51
- Dec 28 Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (1 Test India, 5 Tests Pakistan), at 72
- Dec 31 Arthur Wellard, English cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 7 wickets, BB 4/81; Somerset CCC), dies at 78
- Dec 31 Bob Shawkey, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1923, 27; AL ERA leader 1920, New York Yankees), dies at 90
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