- 1935 Horace Rawlins, English golfer (US Open 1895), dies at 60
- 1942 Louis Santop, American Baseball HOF catcher (5 x NgL East All-Star; Hilldale Athletic Club), dies at 52
- 1949 Henry Slocum, American tennis player (US Nationals 1888-89), dies at 86
- 1959 Elizabeth Moore, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1896, 1901, 03, 05), dies from congestive heart failure at 82
- 1959 Mike Hawthorn, English auto racer (F1 world champion 1958), dies in road accident at 29
- 1968 Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, surfer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 1912, 20; 4x200m freestyle relay 1920), dies of a heart attack at 77
- 1977 Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (World flyweight champion 1954-60; Olympic gold Flyweight 1948), dies at 50
- 1978 Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies at 83
- 1979 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
- 1989 Willie Wells, American Baseball HOF shortstop (10 NgL All Star; 2 × Cuban League MVP; Chicago American Giants, Newark Eagles), dies at 82
- 1997 Ian Munro, British medical journalist, humanitarian and cricketer, dies at 73
- 2000 E. W. Swanton, English author and sports commentator (cricket - BBC Radio), dies at 92
- 2001 Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
- 2002 John Shea, American 500m/1500m speed skater (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 91
- 2005 César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball shortstop (hit 7-for-7 in single game without making an out 1970, Detroit Tigers), dies at 61
- 2009 Billy Werber, American baseball third baseman (World Series 1940; AL stolen base leader 1934, 35, 37; Cincinnati Reds), dies at 100
- 2012 Joe Paterno, American College Football HOF coach (Penn State 1966-2011; NCAA C'ship 1982, 86; Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of 1986), dies from lung cancer at 85
- 2017 Yordano Ventura, Dominican MLB pitcher (Kansas City Royals), dies in a car crash at 25
- 2018 James "Jimmy" Armfield, British former-footballer, manager and pundit (BBC Radio Five Live), dies at 82
Hank Aaron (1934-2021)
American Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder (MLB record 755 HRs; NL MVP 1957; 25 × MLB All-Star; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers), dies at 86 [1]
- 2021 Luton Shelton, Jamaican soccer striker (75 caps; Vålerenga, Karabükspor, Sheffield United), dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 35
- 2021 Nick Drake-Lee, English rugby union prop (8 caps; Leicester Tigers), dies at 78
- 2021 Tony Jones, American NFL tackle (Super Bowl 1997, 98; Second-team All-Pro 1994; Pro Bowl 1998; Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos), dies at 54
- 2022 Antonio Fernández, Spanish soccer manager (CD Málaga), dies at 79
- 2022 António Lima Pereira, Portuguese soccer central defender (20 caps; FC Porto), dies at 69
- 2022 Gianni Di Marzio, Italian soccer manager (Napoli, Catania, Genoa, Lecce, Palermo FC), dies at 82
- 2022 Joe Yukica, American college football coach (University of New Hampshire, Boston College, Dartmouth College), dies at 90
- 2024 Luigi Riva, Italian soccer striker (42 caps; Cagliari 315 games), dies from a heart attack at 79
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide