1969 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1966
yp2=1967
yp3=1968
year=1969
ya1=1970
ya2=1971
ya3=1972
dp3=1930s
dp2=1940s
dp1=1950s
d=1960s
da=0
dn1=1970s
dn2=1980s
dn3=1990s|

Athletics

Marathon

* August 16 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Kazuo Matsubara (JPN) 2:19:29

* September 21 — flagicon|GRE European Championships Marathon, Athens, Greece
**Men's Winner: Ron Hill (ENG) 2:16:48

* December 7 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Jerome Drayton (CAN) 2:11:13

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**LeeRoy Yarbrough won the Daytona 500
**NASCAR Championship - David Pearson
*Indianapolis 500 - Mario Andretti
*USAC Racing - Mario Andretti won the season championship
*Formula One Championship - Jackie Stewart of Great Britain driving a Matra
*24 hours of Le Mans:
**Jacky Ickx / Jackie Oliver won driving a Ford GT-40
*Rally racing - the team of Bjorn Waldegard / Lars Helmer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911S
*Drag racing:
**Don Prudhomme won the NHRA,s "Top Fuel" championship
**Steve Carbone won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

* March 1: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees announces his retirement.

* April 14: Montreal Expos outfielder Mack Jones hit a three-run home run and two-run triple that highlighted an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Expos' first home victory as a franchise at Jarry Park. Jones' blast was also the first MLB home run hit outside the United States.

*July 20: San Francisco Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry, some six years after his manager quipped, "They'll put a man on the moon before he hits a home run," hits the first home run of his career just hours after Neil Armstrong lands on the moon.

*World Series: the New York Mets win 4 games to 1 over the Baltimore Orioles.

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**UCLA wins 92-72 over Purdue

* NBA Finals:
**Boston Celtics won 4 games to 3 over the Los Angeles Lakers

*1969 ABA Finals:
**Oakland Oaks defeat Indiana Pacers 4 games to 1

Boxing

*June 23 - Joe Frazier scored a 7th round TKO over Jerry Quarry.

*August 26 - Jose Napoles retained the World Welterweight Championship in a 15 round decision over Emile Griffith.

Cricket

* February 20 - Australia defeat the West Indies at Sydney in the Fifth Test Match to win the series 3-1

*March 8 Rioting stops the final match of England's tour of Pakistan on the third day. The match is abandoned and the series drawn.

*July 15 - England defeat the West Indies at Headingley in the Third Test Match to win the series 2-0

*August 26 - England defeat New Zealand at The Oval in the Third Test Match to win the series 2-0

* Learie Constantine becomes the first cricketer and the first person of Afro-Caribbean descent to be given a life peerage.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Felice Gimondi of Italy
*Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
*World Cycling Championship: Harm Ottenbros of Netherlands

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: Diane Towler & Bernard Ford, Great Britain

=Football (American)=

*January 12 - The American Football League New York Jets upset the NFL's heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III by a score of 16-7, after quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" a victory.

*September 28 - Minnesota Vikings' Quarterback Joe Kapp became the last player to throw seven touchdowns in a single game.

*Kansas City Chiefs 17-7 Oakland Raiders for 1969 AFL championship.

*Minnesota Vikings 27-7 Cleveland Browns for the 1969 NFL championship.

*November 22, 1969 - College Football - Michigan upsets #1 ranked Ohio State 24-12 sending Michigan to the Rose Bowl

*December 6, 1969 - College Football - #1 Texas beats #2 Arkansas 15-14 in the then Game of the Century. Texas would remain #1 for the rest of the season and were the AP 1969 National Champions.

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Richmond wins the 73rd VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.13 (85) d Carlton 8.12 (60))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Kevin Murray (Fitzroy)

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 29-11 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
* Vanier Cup: Manitoba Bisons won 24-15 over the McGill Redmen

Football (soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1969 in football (soccer)"
*September 26: the Bolivian soccer team is killed in a plane crash near La Paz, Bolivia

*European Cup: A.C. Milan 4 - 1 AFC Ajax
*Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: Newcastle United beat Ujpest 6-2 on aggregate
*England - First Division Champions: Leeds
*England - FA Cup: Manchester City won 1-0 over Leicester City
*Germany - Bundesliga: Bayern Munich
*Italy - Serie A: Fiorentina
*Scotland - First Division Champions: Celtic
*Scotland - FA Cup: Celtic won 4-0 over Rangers
*Spain - La Liga: Real Madrid

Golf

Men's professional
*April 10-13 - Masters Tournament - George Archer
*June 12-15 - U.S. Open - Orville Moody
*July 9-12 - British Open - Tony Jacklin
*August 14-17 - PGA Championship - Raymond Floyd
*PGA Tour money leader - Frank Beard - $164,707
*Ryder Cup - United States and Britain tied 16 all in team golf.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Michael Bonallack
*U.S. Amateur - Steve MelnykWomen's professional
*LPGA Championship - Betsy Rawls
*U.S. Women's Open - Donna Caponi
*Titleholders Championship - not played
*LPGA Tour money leader - Carol Mann - $49,152

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*February 11 - Diana Crump becomes 1st American woman jockey to ride against men.
*February 22 - Barbara Jo Rubin wins a United States thoroughbred horse race making history as the first women to do so.

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Rain Lover
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Jumpin Joseph
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Levmoss
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Prince Regent

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Right Tack
*#Epsom Derby - Blakeney
*#St. Leger Stakes - Intermezzo

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 3 - Kentucky Derby - Majestic Prince
*#Preakness Stakes - Majestic Prince
*#Belmont Stakes - Arts and Letters

=Harness Racing=

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Kat Byrd
*#Little Brown Jug - Laverne Hanover
*#Messenger Stakes - Bye Bye Sam

*Lindy's Pride won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Lindy's Pride
*#Yonkers Trot - Lindy's Pride
*#Kentucky Futurity - Lindy's Pride

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Richmond Lass

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

*Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

*Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens won 4 games to 0 over the St. Louis Blues

*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

*NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: University of Denver Pioneers defeat Cornell University Big Red 4-3 in Colorado Springs, CO

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Karl Schranz, Austria
**The women's overall season champion: Gertrud Gabi, Austria

Snooker

*The World Snooker Championship reverts to a knockout format. John Spencer beats Gary Owen 37-24

Tennis

*Australian Rod Laver, one of only two men to ever win the Grand Slam in tennis wins it for the second time.
*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Rod Laver (Australia)
*#French Open - Rod Laver
*#Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
*#US Open - Rod Laver

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Margaret Court
*#French Open - Margaret Court
*#Wimbledon championships - Ann Haydon Jones
*#US Open - Margaret Court

*Davis Cup: United States wins 5-0 over Romania in world tennis.

* Australian Rod Laver completes his second Grand Slam and the fourth in the history of tennis.

Awards

*ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Mario Andretti, race car driver
*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Tom Seaver, Major League Baseball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Debbie Meyer, Swimming

Births

January

* January 1 — Alessandro Bovo, Italian water polo player
* January 1 — Jane Smith, British field hockey international
* January 2 — István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
* January 2 — Stephen Davies, Australian field hockey player
* January 2 — Tommy Morrison, American heavyweight boxing champion
* January 3 — Michael Schumacher, German Formula One driver
* January 10 — Guylaine Cloutier, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
* January 11 — Andrew Griffiths, Canadian field hockey player
* January 11 — Irek Zinnourov, Russian water polo player
* January 12 — Robert Prosinečki, Croatian football (soccer) player
* January 13 — Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
* January 13 — Jyri Kjäll, Finnish boxer
* January 15 — Roberto Balado, Cuban boxer (d. 1994)
* January 15 — Marsha Miller, American beach volleyball player
* January 15 — Ernesto Rodríguez, Argentinian-Spanish volleyball player
* January 16 — Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
* January 20 — Darren Braithwaite, British sprinter
* January 22 — Ekaterina Anikeeva, Russian water polo player
* January 22 — Svetlana Moskalets, Russian heptathlete
* January 22 — Shelley Sandie, Australian basketball player
* January 23 — Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
* January 23 — Danielle Woodhouse, Australian water polo player
* January 28 — Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer

February

* February 1 — Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian football (soccer) player
* February 3 — Retief Goosen, South African golfer
* February 7 — Fiona Robinson, Australian basketball and handball player
* February 8 — Marco Villa, Italian road bicycle and track cyclist
* February 11 — Bryan Eversgerd, US baseball player
* February 12 — Steve Backley, British athlete
* February 12 — Hong Myung-Bo, South Korean football (soccer) player
* February 13 — Patricia Amorim, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* February 16 — Fermín Cacho, Spanish athlete
* February 16 — Claude Lambert, Canadian boxer
* February 17 — David Douillet, French judoka
* February 22 — Brian Laudrup, Danish football (soccer) player
* February 22 — Wander Moura, Brazilian track and field athlete
* February 22 — Kathy Tough, Canadian volleyball player
* February 27 — Toshiyuki Kuroiwa, Japanese ice speed skater

March

* March 1 — Djamel Lifa, French boxer
* March 1 — József Szabó, Hungarian breaststroke swimmer
* March 2 — Oleg Maskaev, Russian-American boxer
* March 3 — Erik Hoftun, Norwegian football (soccer) player
* March 3 — Jason Plummer, Australian freestyle swimmer
* March 6 — Antonio Cermeño, Venezuelan boxer
* March 6 — Tahir Zaman, Pakistani field hockey player and coach
* March 7 — Adrian Andermatt, Swiss swimmer
* March 7 — Todd Williams, American long-distance runner
* March 9 — Maarten van der Linden, Dutch rower
* March 10 — Hany Ramzy, Egyptian football (soccer) defender
* March 10 — Ximena Restrepo, Colombian track and field sprinter
* March 13 — Michele Pasinato, Italian volleyball player
* March 14 — Axel Hager, German beach volleyball player
* March 15 — Marc Lammers, Dutch field hockey player and coach
* March 16 — Juan Hernández Sierra, Cuban boxer
* March 16 — Alina Ivanova, Russian race walker and long-distance runner
* March 17 — Domenic Figliomeni, Canadian boxer
* March 17 — Alison Forman, Australian football (soccer) midfielder
* March 18 — Sheila Taormina, American swimmer and triathlete
* March 20 — Caroline Brunet, Canadian kayaker
* March 20 — Fabien Galthié, French rugby player
* March 20 — Karen Smithies, English cricketer
* March 23 — Juan Escarré, Spanish field hockey player
* March 24 — Stefan Eberharter, Austrian alpine skier
* March 28 — Márcia Narloch, Brazilian marathon runner

April

* April 1 — Arnaud Boetsch, French tennis player
* April 2 — Jonas Schön, Swedish ice speed skater
* April 3 — Danny Sapsford, British tennis player
* April 4 — Jorge Julio Rocha, Colombian boxer
* April 4 — Jacco Verhaeren, Dutch swimming coach
* April 5 — Pontus Kåmark, Swedish football player
* April 6 — Dmitriy Polyunin, Uzbekistani javelin thrower
* April 7 — Gary Anderson, Canadian medley swimmer
* April 7 — Chris Garner, American tennis player
* April 9 — Sarah Hardcastle, British freestyle swimmer
* April 10 — Ramón Jiménez Gaona, Paraguayan discus thrower
* April 12 — Francisco Alvarez, Cuban beach volleyball player
* April 13 — Stefan Schwarz, Swedish football player
* April 14 — Debora Schoon-Kadijk, Dutch beach volleyball player
* April 14 — Luc Van Lierde, Belgian triathlete
* April 15 — Aleksandr Lebziak, Russian boxer
* April 16 — Germán Burgos, Argentinian football goalkeeper
* April 17 — Eeke van Nes, Dutch rower
* April 20 — Cécile Rigaux, French beach volleyball player
* April 22 — Lindsey Carlisle, South African field hockey defender
* April 23 — Martin López-Zubero, Spanish-American backstroke swimmer
* April 24 — David Luckes, English field hockey goalkeeper
* April 25 — Jo Chamberlain, English cricketer
* April 25 — Jon Olsen, American freestyle swimmer
* April 27 — Brett Steven, New Zealand tennis player
* April 29 — Paulão Moreira, Brazilian beach volleyball player

May

* May 1 — Cintha Boersma, Dutch volleyball player
* May 2 — Brian Lara, West Indies cricketer
* May 4 — Yelena Dendeberova, Soviet medley swimmer
* May 5 — Bryan Ivie, American volleyball player
* May 6 — Raymond Brown, Canadian backstroke swimmer
* May 7 — Raatbek Sanatbayev, Kyrgyz Greco-Roman wrestler (d. 2006)
* May 7 — Melanie Valerio, American swimmer
* May 8 — Fabrice Tiozzo, French boxer
* May 10 — Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch football player
* May 15 — Mark Jackson, Canadian hurdler
* May 15 — Emmitt Smith, American football player
* May 17 — David Serradas, Venezuelan boxer
* May 19 — Rochelle Low, Canadian field hockey player
* May 19 — David Wharton, American butterfly and medley swimmer
* May 21 — Martin Harris, English backstroke swimmer
* May 22 — Yoto Yotov, Bulgarian/Croatian weightlifter
* May 23 — Ashley Carey, Australian field hockey player
* May 30 — Albertino Essers, Dutch darts player
* May 30 — Koen Pijpers, Dutch field hockey player and coach
* May 31 — Rikkert Faneyte, Dutch Major League Baseball player
* May 31 — Juliet Haslam, Australian field hockey defender

June

* June 2 — David Wheaton, American tennis player
* June 3 — Pablo Lombi, Argentine field hockey player
* June 7 — Arie van de Bunt, Dutch water polo goalkeeper
* June 8 — Laurel Martin, American field hockey player
* June 9 — Timo Tompuri, Finnish discus thrower
* June 11 — Javier Bosma, Spanish volleyball player
* June 13 — Joseph Keter, Kenyan athlete
* June 14 — Steffi Graf, German tennis player
* June 15 — Oliver Kahn, German football goalkeeper
* June 15 — Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
* June 17 — Tanja Dickenscheid, German field hockey player
* June 17 — Donata Jancewicz, Polish high jumper
* June 17 — Paul Tergat, Kenyan athlete
* June 17 — Christer Wallin, Swedish freestyle swimmer
* June 18 — Anísio Silva, Brazilian triple jumper
* June 20 — Paulo Bento, Portuguese football (soccer) player
* June 20 — MaliVai Washington, American tennis player
* June 26 — Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer
* June 30 — Mark Garner, Australian track and field sprinter
* June 30 — Prikeba Phipps, American volleyball player

July

* July 1 — Mabel Mosquera, Colombian weightlifter
* July 5 — John LeClair, American ice hockey player
* July 7 — Sylke Otto, German luger
* July 7 — Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
* July 8 — Lisa Arce, American beach volleyball player
* July 13 — Ewan Beaton, Canadian judoka
* July 13 — Shaun Greatbatch, English darts player
* July 13 — Luis Rodríguez, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* July 16 — Turlough O'Hare, Canadian freestyle swimmer
* July 17 — Karin Brienesse, Dutch freestyle swimmer
* July 17 — Laurelee Kopeck, Canadian field hockey defender
* July 17 — Kenji Watanabe, Japanese breaststroke swimmer
* July 20 — Madelein Svensson, Swedish race walker
* July 23 — Stéphane Diagana, French athlete
* July 25 — Artur Partyka, Polish high jumper
* July 25 — Andrea Wieland, US field hockey goalkeeper
* July 27 — María del Carmen García, Cuban high jumper
* July 28 — Jaimie Dawson, Canadian badminton player

August

* August 6 — José Luis Ballester, Spanish butterfly swimmer
* August 7 — Khalid Boulami, Moroccan long-distance runner
* August 7 — Clement N'Goran, Côte d'Ivoire tennis player
* August 8 — Davide Lorenzini, Italian diver
* August 9 — Chie Tsuji, Japanese volleyball player
* August 13 — Giacobbe Fragomeni, Italian boxer
* August 14 — Stig Tøfting, Danish football (soccer) player
* August 15 — Mario González, Mexican boxer
* August 16 — Carl Henkel, American beach volleyball player
* August 19 — Irma Huerta, Mexican freestyle swimmer
* August 22 — Jens Larsen, Danish volleyball player and coach
* August 23 — Hari Kant, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
* August 26 — Inga Afonina, Russian diver
* August 26 — Nicole Arendt, American tennis player
* August 27 — Mark Ealham, English cricketer
* August 28 — Joakim Haeggman, Swedish golf player
* August 28 — Anke Möhring, East German freestyle swimmer
* August 29 — Scott Jaffe, American freestyle swimmer
* August 31 — Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer

eptember

* September 1 — Norihiko Miyazaki, Japanese volleyball player
* September 3 — Robert Karlsson, Swedish golf player
* September 3 — Hidehiko Yoshida, Japanese judoka and MMA fighter
* September 5 — Valery Belenky, Soviet gymnast
* September 5 — Silvia Parera, Spanish medley and breaststroke
* September 6 — Doug Pirini, New Zealand decathlete
* September 10 — Nicola Payne, New Zealand cricketer
* September 12 — Ángel Cabrera, Argentine golfer
* September 12 — Arvis Piziks, Latvian road bicycle racer
* September 12 — Shigeki Maruyama, Japanese golfer
* September 13 — Xiomara Griffith, Venezuelan judoka
* September 13 — Shane Warne, Australian cricketer
* September 19 — Kostya Tszyu, Russian born boxer of Korean origin
* September 20 — Jennifer Turner, New Zealand cricket player
* September 20 — Richard Witschge, Dutch football (soccer) midfielder
* September 23 — Juan Dinarés, Spanish field hockey player
* September 23 — Michael Rich, German cyclist
* September 25 — Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (d. 2002)
* September 28 — Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
* September 29 — Hannah Fox, American female boxer
* September 30 — Gilmar Mayo, Colombian high jumper

October

* October 2 — Luis Villalta, Peruvian boxer (d. 2004)
* October 6 — Jeffrey Lay, Canadian rower
* October 6 — Takashi Narita, Japanese volleyball player
* October 10 — Brett Favre, American football player
* October 10 — Christian Tröger, German swimmer
* October 11 — Jury Chechi, Italian gymnast
* October 11 — Ty Murray, American rodeo performer
* October 13 — Antonio González, Spanish field hockey player
* October 13 — Manuel Guzmán, Puerto Rican swimmer
* October 16 — Stephanie Best, American track and field athlete
* October 17 — Ernie Els, South African golfer
* October 18 — Carolina Mauri, Costa Rican freestyle swimmer
* October 19 — Erwin Sánchez, Bolivian football (soccer) player
* October 20 — Dariusz Adamczuk, Polish football (soccer) player
* October 20 — Guillermo Perez-Roldan, Argentine tennis player
* October 22 — Owen Casey, Irish tennis player
* October 22 — Fernando Retayud, Colombian boxer
* October 29 — Dougie Brown, Scottish cricketer

November

* November 1 — Charles Nkazamyampi, Burundian middle distance runner
* November 1 — Jill Reeve, American field hockey defender
* November 2 — Jenny Gal, Dutch-Italian judoka
* November 3 — Oleg Tverdokhleb, Ukrainian athlete (d. 1995)
* November 4 — Kathrin Boron, German rower and four-times Olympic champion
* November 4 — Sergio Rey, Spanish boxer
* November 7 — Tanya Dubnicoff, Canadian track cyclist
* November 15 — Helen Kelesi, Canadian tennis player
* November 17 — Jean-Michel Saive, Belgian table tennis player
* November 19 — Igor Pamić, Croatian football (soccer) player
* November 22 — Rogério Romero, Brazilian backstroke swimmer
* November 26 — Francisc Vaştag, Hungarian-Romanian boxer
* November 26 — Vadim Khamuttskikh, Russian volleyball player
* November 27 — Hermán Gaviria, Colombian football (soccer) player (d. 2002)
* November 27 — Ike Quartey, Ghanaian boxer
* November 29 — Tomas Brolin, Swedish football (soccer) player
* November 29 — Pierre van Hooijdonk, Dutch football (soccer) player
* November 30 — Trina Gulliver, English female darts player

December

* December 1 — Choi Chol-Su, North Korean boxer
* December 3 — Sandro Casamonica, Italian boxer
* December 4 — Jacques Landry, Canadian cyclist
* December 7 — James Murray, Scottish boxer (d. 1995)
* December 9 — Bixente Lizarazu, French football (soccer) player
* December 10 — Lorenza Vigarani, Italian backstroke swimmer
* December 12 — Christian Meyer, German track cyclist
* December 12 — Iain Sydie, Canadian badminton player
* December 12 — Debra Wurzburger, Canadian freestyle swimmer
* December 13 — Sonia Barrio, Spanish field hockey player
* December 13 — Sergei Fedorov, Russian ice hockey player
* December 13 — Ibou Faye, Senegalese athlete
* December 14 — Paulo Emilio Silva, Brazilian beach volleyball player
* December 15 — Adam Setliff, American discus thrower
* December 15 — Jesús Guevara, Venezuelan heavyweight boxer
* December 16 — Sergi Pedrerol, Spanish water polo player
* December 16 — Michelle Smith, Irish swimmer
* December 17 — Marc Davis, American middle-distance runner
* December 19 — Carlos Retegui, Argentinian field hockey player
* December 20 — Arlene Xavier, Brazilian volleyball player
* December 22 — Mats Lilienberg, Swedish football (soccer) player
* December 22 — Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete
* December 23 — Rob Pelinka, American sports agent
* December 24 — Leavander Johnson, American boxing world champion (d. 2005)
* December 28 — Juan Rossell, Cuban beach volleyball player
* December 29 — Dagmar Hase, German swimmer
* December 30 — Jens Eriksen, Danish badminton player

Deaths

*February 9 — Manuel Plaza (68), Chilean marathon runner (b. 1900)
* May 14 — Frederick Lane (89), Australian swimmer (b. 1880)
*June 1 — Ivar Ballangrud (65), Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
* June 6 — Rafael Osuna, Mexican Tennis Player, in an airplane crash.
* June 21 — Maureen Connolly (34), American tennis player, first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis (b. 1934)
* July 27 — Moises Solana, Mexican Race Car Driver in a racing accident.
* August 31 — Rocky Marciano (45), Italian-American World Heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1923)
* September 6 — Arthur Friedenreich, (77), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1892)
* October 12 — Sonja Henie (57), Norwegian figure skater (b. 1912)
* December 20 — Adolfo Consolini (52), Italian discus thrower (b. 1917)