Artistic Gymnastics

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
• Men's all-around champion: Eizo Kenmotsu, Japan
• Women's all-around champion: Ludmilla Tourischeva, USSR
• Men's team competition champion: Japan
• Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 1970 in athletics (track and field)

Marathon

• July 23 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Men's Winner: Ron Hill (ENG) 2:09:29

• December 6 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
• Men's Winner: Akio Usami (JPN) 2:10:38

• December 15 — Asian Games Marathon, Bangkok, Thailand
• Men's Winner: Kenji Kimihara (JPN) 2:21:03

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
• Pete Hamilton won the Daytona 500
• NASCAR Championship - Bobby Isaac
• Indianapolis 500 - Al Unser, Sr.
• USAC Racing - Al Unser, Sr. won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Jochen Rindt of Austria )becomes Formula One's only posthumous world champion
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Hans Herrmann / Richard Attwood won, driving a Porsche 917
• Rally racing - the team of Bjorn Waldegard / Lars Helmer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911S.
• Drag racing - the NHRA launches the "Supernationals". Rick Ramsey wins "Top Fuel"

Baseball

• January 16: Gold Glove outfielder Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause, a suit that will have historic implications. Flood refused to report to the Phillies after he was traded by the Cardinals, contending the baseball rule violates federal antitrust laws.
• January 17: The Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s.
• January 20: Lou Boudreau is elected to the Hall of Fame, receiving 232 of a possible 300 votes from the BBWAA.
• April 7: The Milwaukee Brewers play their first ever game as the Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium, after the team had relocated from Seattle.
• June 12: Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. It is later revealed that he did so while under the influence of LSD.
• Robert W. Peterson's book Only the Ball was White is published. The book brings pressure on Major League Baseball to recognize the African-American players from Negro league baseball by honoring its stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• World Series: The American League's Baltimore Orioles win their second World Title by defeating the National League's Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
• UCLA wins 80-69 over Jacksonville

• NBA Finals:
• New York Knicks won 4 games to 3 over the Los Angeles Lakers

• 1970 ABA Finals:
• Indiana Pacers defeat Los Angeles Stars 4 games to 2

• FIBA World Championship:
• Yugoslavia World Champion

Boxing

• February 15 - Carlos Cruz, Featherweight Boxing Champion died in a plane crash
• February 16 - Joe Frazier starts a heavyweight world boxing champion winning streak with the knock out of Jimmy Ellis in five rounds.

Cricket

• January 6 Australia commences a controversial tour of South Africa.
• March 4 South Africa completes a 4-0 series whitewash over Australia at Port Elizabeth. This was to be South Africa's last Test match for 22 years.
• May 22 - The British Government forces England to cancel the planned tour of England by South Africa.
• A "Rest of the World" team captained by Garry Sobers playes five unofficial Test matches against England winning the series 4-1.
• In their centenary year Kent wins the English County Championship for the first time since 1913.
• The International Cricket Conference votes to suspend South Africa from international cricket indefinitely because of its government's apartheid policy.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• World Cycling Championship: Jean-Pierre Monseré of Belgium

Field Hockey

• Men's European Nations Cup in Brussels, Belgium
• Gold Medal: West Germany
• Silver Medal: The Netherlands
• Bronze Medal: Spain

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
• Men's champion: Tim Wood, United States
• Ladies' champion: Gabrielle Seyfert, Germany
• Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexei Ulanov, Soviet Union
• Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs won 23-7 over the Minnesota Vikings
• Nebraska Cornhuskers win the college football national championship.
• November 14: A plane carrying most of the Marshall University team crashes just short of landing near Huntington, West Virginia, killing all 75 aboard, including 37 players.

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes win 23-10 over the Calgary Stampeders
• Vanier Cup: Manitoba Bisons win 38-11 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1970 in football (soccer)

• World Cup held in Mexico: Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final.
• European Cup: Feyenoord becomes the first Dutch team to win the trophy, beating Celtic 2-1.

Golf

• April 10-13 - Masters Tournament - Billy Casper
• June 18-21 - U.S. Open - Tony Jacklin
• July 8-11 - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
• August 13-16 - PGA Championship - Dave Stockton
• PGA Tour money leader - Lee Trevino - $157,037

Men's amateur

• British Amateur - Michael Bonallack
• U.S. Amateur - Lanny Wadkins

Women's professional

• LPGA Championship - Shirley Englehorn
• U.S. Women's Open - Donna Caponi
• Titleholders Championship - not played
• LPGA Tour money leader - Kathy Whitworth - $30,235

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Baghdad Note
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Almoner
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Sassafrás
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Nijinsky II
• Nijinsky II wins the English Triple Crown Races:
1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes - Nijinsky II
2. Epsom Derby - Nijinsky II
3. St. Leger Stakes - Nijinsky II

• United States Triple Crown Races:
1. May 2 - Kentucky Derby - Dust Commander
2. Preakness Stakes - Personality
3. Belmont Stakes - High Echelon

Harness Racing

• Fresh Yankee was named "Horse of the Year" by the U.S. Trotting Association and the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
• Most Happy Fella won the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
1. Cane Pace - Most Happy Fella
2. Little Brown Jug - Most Happy Fella
3. Messenger Stakes - Most Happy Fella

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
1. Hambletonian - Timothy T.
2. Yonkers Trot - Victory Star
3. Kentucky Futurity - Timothy T.

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
• Pacers: Bold David

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy - Bobby Orr becomes the first defenseman in the history of the National Hockey League to lead the league in scoring.
• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
• Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins win the Cup for the first time in 29 years, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0. Defenseman, Bobby Orr is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the series MVP (most valuable player).
• World Hockey Championship
• Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: Cornell University Big Red defeat Clarkson University Golden Knights 6-4 in Lake Placid, NY; only NCAA hockey team to complete season undefeated and untied (31-0)

Lacrosse

• STX is founded by Richard B.C. Tucker Sr.
• The New Westminster­ Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
• The Whitby Transporters win the Castrol Cup.
• The Lakeshore Maple Leafs win the Minto Cup.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
• The men's overall season champion: Karl Schranz, Austria
• The women's overall season champion: Michèle Jacot, France

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats John Pulman 37-33

Speed skating

• First ISU Sprint Speed Skating Championships for Men and Ladies held in West Allis, U.S.A.

Swimming

Records

• August 22 — US swimmer Mark Spitz breaks his own, nearly three-year old world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) with a time of 2:05.4. At the same meet and on the same day in Los Angeles, California he loses it to compatriot Gary Hall Sr., who swims 2:05.0.

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
1. Australian Open - Arthur Ashe
2. French Open - Jan Kodeš
3. Wimbledon championships - John Newcombe
4. US Open - Ken Rosewall

• Margaret Court wins the Grand Slam in women's tennis:
1. Australian Open - Margaret Court
2. French Open - Margaret Court
3. Wimbledon championships - Margaret Court
4. US Open - Margaret Court

• Davis Cup: United States wins 5-0 over Germany F.R. in world tennis.

Volleyball

• Men's World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria
• Gold Medal: East Germany
• Silver Medal: Bulgaria
• Bronze Medal: Japan

Yacht racing

• The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Intrepid defeats Australian challenger Gretel II, of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, 4 races to 1 (Gretel II won the second race but was disqualified)

Multi-sport events

• Sixth Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand
• British Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Central American and Caribbean Games held in Panama City, Panama
• Sixth Summer Universiade held in Turin, Italy
• Sixth Winter Universiade held in Rovaniemi, Finland

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: George Blanda, National Football League
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Chi Cheng, Track and field

Births

January

• January 2 — Andreas Wecker, German gymnast
• January 5 — Chris Wilkinson, British tennis player
• January 5 — Yury Kovtun, Russian football (soccer) defender
• January 8 — Masaji Ogino, Japanese volleyball player
• January 9 — Jan Quast, German boxer
• January 10 — Marek Bajor, Polish football (soccer) player
• January 12 — Brett Leaver, New Zealand field hockey player
• January 13 — Alicja Pęczak, Polish breaststroke swimmer
• January 13 — Daphne Touw, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
• January 15 — Dan Landry, American volleyball player
• January 18 — Ma Miaolan, Chinese heptathlete
• January 19 — Zeeshan Ali, Indian tennis player
• January 19 — Tim Foster, British rower and coach
• January 19 — Donald Haddow, Canadian freestyle swimmer
• January 25 — Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler
• January 25 — Rafael Lozano, Spanish boxer
• January 25 — Cheikh Touré, Senegalese-born French athlete
• January 28 — Diego Chiodo, Argentine field hockey player
• January 29 — Jörg Hoffmann, German freestyle swimmer
• January 29 — Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian sport shooter

February

• February 4 — Tomoko Yoshihara, Japanese volleyball player
• February 6 — Jeff Rouse, American swimmer
• February 11 — Alistair Brown, English cricket player
• February 11 — Jason Allyn Scott, US rower
• February 11 — Bernardo Segura, Mexican race walker
• February 12 — Lee Bodimeade, Australian field hockey player and coach
• February 12 — Mojca Cater, Canadian butterfly swimmer
• February 12 — Tino Weber, German backstroke swimmer
• February 14 — Guillaume Raoux, French tennis player
• February 14 — Agapito Sanchez, Dominican Republic boxer (d. 2005)
• February 14 — Eleucadia Vargas, Dominican Republic judoka
• February 15 — Mark Warnecke, German breaststroke swimmer
• February 22 — Manuela Stellmach, East German freestyle swimmer
• February 23 — Turbo Tumo, Ethiopian long-distance runner
• February 23 — Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist
• February 24 — Cameron Grant, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
• February 26 — Ben Maruquin, American field hockey sweeper
• February 27 — Delroy Leslie, Jamaican boxer
• February 28 — Jacqueline Goormachtigh, Dutch discus thrower

March

• March 1 — Jaime Amat, Spanish field hockey player
• March 3 — Simon Biwott, Kenyan long-distance runner
• March 5 — Li Gwang-Sik, North Korean boxer
• March 6 — Stefano Battistelli, Italian backstroke and medley swimmer
• March 8 — Caren Jungjohann, German field hockey player
• March 10 — Hélia Souza, Brazilian volleyball player
• March 12 — Aki Takayama, Japanese synchronized swimmer
• March 13 — Lula Barbosa, Brazilian beach volleyball player
• March 14 — Julie McDonald, Australian swimmer
• March 15 — Diego Nargiso, Italian tennis player
• March 15 — Derek Parra, Mexican-American speed skater
• March 16 — Kelli James, US field hockey striker
• March 16 — Rafael Pascual, Spanish volleyball player
• March 18 — Ian Bird, Canadian field hockey player
• March 20 — Kristin Klein, American volleyball player
• March 20 — Wietske de Ruiter, Dutch field hockey striker
• March 23 — Vitaliy Sidorov, Ukrainian/Russian discus thrower
• March 24 — Judith Draxler, Austrian freestyle swimmer
• March 24 — Konstantin Ushakov, Russian volleyball player
• March 25 — Magnus Larsson, Swedish tennis player
• March 28 — José Loiola, Brazilian beach volleyball player
• March 30 — Secretariat, two-time Horse of the Year, 1973 Triple Crown winner (d. 1989)
• March 31 — Stuart Carruthers, Australian field hockey player

April

• April 1 — Alan Gregov, Croatian basketball player
• April 4 — Laszlo Markovits, Hungarian tennis player
• April 4 — Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player and coach
• April 4 — Simone Thomaschinski, German field hockey defender
• April 5 — Boris Alterman, Israeli chess player
• April 5 — Willemijn Duyster, Dutch field hockey defender
• April 6 — Xiaomin Huang, Chinese breaststroke swimmer
• April 7 — Jordi Arnau, Spanish field hockey player
• April 7 — Piet Norval, South African tennis player
• April 9 — Nicole Colaco, Kenya-born field hockey player from Canada
• April 10 — Leonard Doroftei, Romanian boxer
• April 10 — Doug Flach, American tennis player
• April 10 — Diederik Simon, Dutch rower
• April 11 — KC Boutiette, American speed skater
• April 13 — Rintje Ritsma, Dutch speed skater
• April 15 — Miguel Ángel Oca, Spanish water polo player
• April 15 — Luc Marquet, French volleyball player
• April 16 — Mukesh Kumar, Indian field hockey midfielder
• April 17 — Anders Szalkai, Swedish long-distance runner
• April 18 — Heike Friedrich, East German freestyle swimmer
• April 18 — Ramón Jufresa, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
• April 19 — Kelly Holmes, English athlete
• April 20 — Adriano Moraes, Brazilian rodeo performer
• April 21 — Vadim Alexeev, Kazakhstan-born swimmer from Israel
• April 29 — Andre Agassi, American tennis player

May

• May 2 — Dan Kutler, US-born butterfly swimmer from Israel
• May 6 — João Brenha, Portuguese beach volleyball player
• May 8 — Christine Stark, Canadian volleyball player
• May 11 — Rubén Michavila, Spanish water polo player
• May 12 — Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
• May 14 — Nicola Fairbrother, British judoka
• May 14 — Benson Masya, Kenyan long-distance runner (d. 2003)
• May 16 — Dwight Ferguson, Bahamian sprint athlete
• May 16 — Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
• May 16 — Franck Schott, French swimmer
• May 17 — Renzo Furlan, Italian tennis player
• May 19 — K.J. Choi, South Korean golfer
• May 21 — Jason Lee, English field hockey player and coach
• May 22 — Marco Rudolph, German boxer
• May 24 — Cristiano Caratti, Italian tennis player
• May 24 — Jeff Zgonina, US American football player
• May 25 — Danni Roche, Australian field hockey player
• May 26 — Ralph Bergmann, German volleyball player
• May 27 — Michael Blackburn, Australian sailor
• May 29 — Luís Novo, Portuegese long-distance runner
• May 31 — Claus Thomsen, Danish football (soccer) player

June

• June 2 — Natasha Aguilar, Costa Rican freestyle swimmer
• June 2 — Patricia Noall, Canadian freestyle swimmer
• June 5 — Eran Groumi, Israeli swimmer
• June 10 — Miklos Molnar, Danish football (soccer) player
• June 11 — Arkhom Chenglai, Thai boxer
• June 12 — David Defiagbon, Nigerian boxer
• June 12 — Jo Yoshimi, Japanese medley swimmer
• June 13 — Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler (d. 2004)
• June 15 — Pepijn Aardewijn, Dutch rower
• June 16 — Jaime Oncins, Brazilian tennis player
• June 20 — Russell Garcia, British field hockey player
• June 20 — Maia Lewis, New Zealand cricketer
• June 20 — Mikhail Yurchenko, Kazakhstani boxer
• June 22 — Carmela Allucci, Italian water polo player
• June 22 — Tadahiro Sasaki, Japanese boxer
• June 23 — Kerri Buchberger, Canadian volleyball player
• June 25 — Chiyori Tateno, Japanese judoka
• June 25 — Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete
• June 26 — Paul Bitok, Kenyan long-distance runner
• June 26 — Marina Lobatch, Soviet rhythmic gymnast
• June 26 — Pawel Nastula, Polish judoka and heavyweight fighter
• June 26 — Mark Pinger, German freestyle swimmer
• June 27 — John Eales, Australian rugby union footballer
• June 27 — Lars Jonsson, Swedish tennis player
• June 27 — Fernando Moresi, Argentine field hockey player
• June 29 — Franziska Hentschel, German field hockey forward

July

• July 1 — Laura Walker, American swimmer
• July 3 — Yona Kosashvili, Georgian-Israeli chess player
• July 3 — Marco Formentini, Italian long-distance swimmer
• July 5 — Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
• July 6 — Andreas Seelig, East German discus thrower
• July 8 — Lisa Powell, Australian field hockey forward
• July 11 — Frederik Fetterlein, Danish tennis player
• July 12 — Vladimir Timoshinin, Russian diver
• July 13 — Tomohiro Miyoshi, Japanese butterfly swimmer
• July 13 — Sandon Stolle, Australian tennis player
• July 14 — Natalia Mishkutenok, Russian pairs figure skater
• July 14 — Michelle Sawatzky, Canadian volleyball player
• July 16 — Regla Bell, Cuban volleyball player
• July 20 — Dahlia Duhaney, Jamaican track and field sprinter
• July 21 — Takahiro Fujimoto, Japanese medley swimmer
• July 24 — Phil Sykes, US field hockey defender
• July 27 — Stephan Veen, Dutch field hockey player
• July 29 — Willis García, Venezuelan judoka
• July 30 — Kris Kuehl, American discus thrower

August

• August 1 — Mark Petchey, British tennis player
• August 2 — Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian javelin thrower
• August 3 — Elena Carrión, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
• August 6 — Alla Hasanova, Azerbaijani volleyball player
• August 6 — Michael Strange, Canadian boxer
• August 7 — Eric Namesnik, American swimmer (d. 2006)
• August 8 — Johann Mühlegg, German-born Spanish cross-country skier
• August 12 — Roland Brunner, Austrian ice speed skater
• August 13 — Emanuel Nascimento, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
• August 13 — Alan Shearer, English football (soccer) player
• August 14 — Sláva Doseděl, Czech tennis player
• August 14 — Birgit Kähler, German high jumper
• August 14 — Masashi Kato, Japanese freestyle swimmer
• August 15 — Chris Byrd, American boxer
• August 15 — Bai Chongguang, Chinese boxer
• August 16 — Tina Connelly, Canadian track and field athlete
• August 17 — István Kovács, Hungarian boxer
• August 20 — Loïc De Kergret, French volleyball player
• August 21 — Paolo Vidoz, Italian boxer
• August 26 — Olga Vigil, Cuban basketball player

September

• September 1 — Barbara Paulus, Austrian tennis player
• September 4 — Andrea Ávila, Argentine long and triple jumper
• September 5 — Lee Lai Shan, Hong Kong windsurfer
• September 7 — Keltie Duggan, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
• September 10 — Belinda Clark, Australian cricketer
• September 11 — Hiroko Tsukumo, Japanese volleyball player
• September 12 — Dube Jillo, Ethiopian long-distance runner
• September 12 — Ricarda Lima, Brazilian volleyball player
• September 14 — Mayra Huerta, Mexican beach volleyball player
• September 15 — Juan-Carlos Bianchi, Venezuelan tennis player
• September 22 — Marc-Kevin Goellner, Brazil-born German tennis player
• September 23 — Snežana Pajkić, Serbian middle-distance runner
• September 24 — Silvia Poll, Costa Rican freestyle swimmer
• September 28 — Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skating world champion
• September 28 — Kimiko Date, Japanese tennis player
• September 29 — Nicolas Pereira, Venezuelan tennis player
• September 30 — Katsuyuki Minami, Japanese volleyball player

October

• October 1 — Gaston Taument, Dutch football (soccer) player
• October 3 — Justine Sowry, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
• October 4 — Ana Mendoza, Mexican breaststroke swimmer
• October 8 — Heather Jones, Canadian field hockey player
• October 10 — Mohammed Mourhit, Morocco-born Belgian long-distance runner
• October 10 — Silke Kraushaar, German luger
• October 10 — Matthew Pinsent, British rower
• October 17 — Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• October 19 — Fabián Roncero, Spanish long-distance runner
• October 22 — Winston Bogarde, Dutch football (soccer) player
• October 26 — Tom Vano, US field hockey goalkeeper
• October 28 — Anthony Bonsante, American boxer
• October 29 — Pär Lindström, Swedish freestyle swimmer

November

• November 4 — Lauri Aus, Estonian cyclist (d. 2003)
• November 6 — Joyce Chepchumba, Kenyan long distance athlete
• November 6 — Andrei Kovalenko, Kiev-born Australian water polo player
• November 6 — Remigio Molina, Argentine boxer
• November 7 — Kris Fillat, American field hockey player
• November 7 — Mohammad Shafqat, Pakistani field hockey player
• November 8 — Pablo Moreira, Argentinian field hockey goalkeeper
• November 9 — Nelson Diebel, American swimmer
• November 9 — Guido Görtzen, Dutch volleyball player
• November 9 — Bill Guerin, US NHL hockey player
• November 10 — Sue Reid, Canadian field hockey player
• November 12 — Tonya Harding, US figure skater
• November 15 — Patrick Mboma, Cameroonian footballer
• November 15 — Uschi Disl, German biathlete
• November 15 — Jeffrey Adams, Canadian wheelchair athlete
• November 16 — Ernst Laraque, Haitian judoka
• November 18 — Albert Cristina, Dutch volleyball player
• November 18 — Olena Ronzhyna, Ukrainian rower
• November 19 — Eleanor Race, American field hockey player
• November 19 — Shigeyuki Dobashi, Japanese boxer
• November 20 — Tracey Robb, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
• November 24 — Paul Laciga, Swiss beach volleyball player
• November 25 — Elisabeth Maragall, Spanish field hockey player
• November 27 — Thirumal Valavan, Indian field hockey midfielder
• November 30 — Yayuk Basuki, Indonesian tennis player

December

• December 3 — Christian Karembeu, French football player
• December 6 — Isabelle Arnould, Belgian freestyle swimmer
• December 14 — Vladimir Grbic, Serbian volleyball player
• December 15 — Gilberto González, Venezuelan triathlete
• December 16 — Thompson García, Ecuadorian boxer
• December 17 — Pavel Padrnos, Czech cyclist
• December 18 — Emanuele Idini, Italian freestyle swimmer
• December 19 — Jonathan Cleveland, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
• December 19 — Ian Wilson, British freestyle swimmer
• December 21 — Tomislav Karlo, Croatian backstroke swimmer
• December 23 — Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater
• December 25 — Emmanuel Amuneke, Nigerian soccer player (footballer)
• December 26 — Misha Latuhihin, Dutch volleyball player
• December 28 — Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player

Deaths

• January 17 — Lindley Murray, American tennis player (b. 1892)
• February 6 — Abe Attell, World Champion and Hall of Fame boxer
• February 15 — Carlos Cruz, Featherweight Champion boxer
• April 6 — Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
• May 19 — Ray Schalk, Major League Baseball player (1912-1929)
• May 31 — Terry Sawchuk, Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender
• June 2 — Bruce McLaren, race car driver
• June 12 — Percy Rees, British field hockey player (b. 1883)
• June 16 — Brian Piccolo, American football star
• July 4 — Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, 3-time America's Cup winner
• September 3 — Vince Lombardi, National Football League coach, Super Bowl trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award named for him
• September 5 — Jochen Rindt, Austrian Formula One racing driver
• September 19 — Greville Stevens, English cricketer
• November 5 — Charley Root, Major League Baseball pitcher (1923-1941)
• November 27 — Helene Madison, American swimmer (b. 1913)
• December 26 — Lillian Board (22), British athlete (b. 1948)
• December 30 — Sonny Liston, American boxer (b. 1932)