1979 in sports

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

yp1=1976
yp2=1977
yp3=1978
year=1979
ya1=1980
ya2=1981
ya3=1982
dp3=1940s
dp2=1950s
dp1=1960s
d=1970s
da=0
dn1=1980s
dn2=1990s
dn3=2000s|

Artistic Gymnastics

*World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion: Alexander Dityatin, USSR
**Women's all-around champion: Nellie Kim, USSR
**Men's team competition champion: USSR
**Women's team competition champion: Romania

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1979 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

* July 14 — flagicon|PUR Pan American Games Marathon, San Juan, Puerto Rico
**Men's Winner: Radames González (CUB) 2:24:10

* August 25 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Kirk Pfeffer (USA) 2:11:50

* September 28 — flagicon|YUG Mediterranean Games Marathon, Split, Yugoslavia
**Men's Winner: Mikhail Koussis (GRE) 2:06:53 (This course was reported as too short)

* December 2 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Toshihiko Seko (JPN) 2:10:35

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
**February 18 - Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 it was the first Daytona 500 to be televised flag-to-flag by CBS Sports
*CART Racing (replaced USAC): Rick Mears won the season championship
**May - Indianapolis 500 - Rick Mears
*Formula One Champion - Jody Scheckter of South Africa
*24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Klaus Ludwig / Bill Whittington / Don Whittington win driving a Porsche 935
*Rally racing - the team of Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahe win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Stratos HF
*Drag racing:
**Rob Bruins won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
**Don Garlits won Top Fuel at the [NHRA] World Finals
*Touring car racing - Peter Brock and Jim Richards won their second consecutive Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana

Baseball

* January 23: Willie Mays receives 409 of 432 votes in the BBWAA election to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

* World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Series MVP was Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
**Michigan St. wins 75-64 over Indiana St.

* NBA Finals:
**Seattle SuperSonics, coached by Lenny Wilkins, won 4 games to 1 over the Washington Bullets for the only finals win in Seattle SuperSonics history.

* National Basketball League (Australia):
**The Australian NBL was founded. The St Kilda Saints became the first champions by defeating the Canberra Cannons 94-93 in the final.

Boxing

*September 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Larry Holmes retains his World Heavyweight title with an 11th round TKO of Earnie Shavers.

*November 3 also in Las Vegas, dual world championship undercard: Vito Antuofermo retains his world Middleweight title with a 15 round draw (tie) against Marvin Hagler, and Sugar Ray Leonard wins his first word title, beating WBC world Welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez by knockout in round 15.

Cricket

*Cricket World Cup - West Indies beat England by 92 runs
*World Series Cricket rival competition to official International Cricket Council matches is disbanded.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Giuseppe Saronni of Italy
*Tour de France - Bernard Hinault -France
*World Cycling Championship: Jan Raas of Netherlands

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: "Andy" & "O.B." ("Old Buddy")

Field Hockey

* Pan American Games (Men's Competition) in San Juan, Puerto Rico
** Gold Medal: Argentina
** Silver Medal: Canada
** Bronze Medal: Mexico

*March 10 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England.England drew 0-0 with Ireland.
*August - The 2nd Women's World Field Hockey Championships was held at Vancouver, Canada with the Netherlands as the champions.

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Vladimir Kovalev, Soviet Union
**Ladies' champion: Linda Fratianne, United States
**Pair skating champions: Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, United States
**Ice dancing champions: Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponossov, Soviet Union

=Football (American)=

*January 21 - Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31.

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Carlton wins the 83rd VFL Premiership (Carlton 11.16 (82) d Collingwood 11.11 (77))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Peter Moore (Collingwood)

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 17-9 over the Montreal Alouettes
* Vanier Cup: Acadia Axmen won 34-12 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1979 in football (soccer)"
*May 12 - England - FA Cup: Arsenal won 3-2 over Manchester United
*Sport Club Internacional Brazilian Champion, without defeats.
*December 26 the famous Boxing Day Massacre at Hillsborough Stadium as Sheffield Wednesday beat rivals Sheffield United 4-0 in the Steel City Derby.

Golf

Men's professional
*April 12-15 - Masters Tournament - Fuzzy Zoeller defeated Ed Sneed and Tom Watson in the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, the first time the Masters used a sudden-death format.
*June 14-17 - U.S. Open - Hale Irwin
*July 19-21 - British Open - Seve Ballesteros becomes the first golfer from Continental Europe to win a major since Arnaud Massy of France won this event in 1907.
*August 2-5 - PGA Championship - David Graham
*PGA Tour money leader - Tom Watson - $462,636
*Ryder Cup - United States won 17-11 over Europe in the first Ryder Cup to feature a side representing all of Europe.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Jay Sigel
*U.S. Amateur - Mark O'MearaWomen's professional
*LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
*U.S. Women's Open - Jerilyn Britz
*Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Amy Alcott
*LPGA Tour money leader - Nancy Lopez - $197,489

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Hyperno
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Steady Growth
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Three Troikas
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Troy

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Tap On Wood
*#Epsom Derby - Troy
*#St. Leger Stakes - Son of Love

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 5 - Kentucky Derby - Spectacular Bid
*#Preakness Stakes - Spectacular Bid
*#Belmont Stakes - Coastal

=Harness Racing=

*The Hambletonian is awarded to Meadowlands Racetrack, starting in 1981.

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Happy Motoring
*#Little Brown Jug - Hot Hitter
*#Messenger Stakes - Hot Hitter

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Legend Hanover
*#Yonkers Trot
*#Kentucky Futurity

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Rondel
**Trotters: No Response

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders

*Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders

*Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the New York Rangers

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

*Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques became the first NHL player ever to score a hat trick in his debut NHL game.

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Peter Lüscher, Switzerland
**The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austria

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: outsider Terry Griffiths beats Dennis Taylor 24-16
*World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1979/80

Swimming

Events

*Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Records

* July 23 — West Germany's Klaus Steinbach sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Freiburg, shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.72) set by Ron Manganiello nearly a year ago: 23.70.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Guillermo Vilas
*#French Open - Björn Borg
*#Wimbledon championships - July 7 - Björn Borg
*#US Open - John McEnroe

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Barbara Jordan
*#French Open - Chris Evert
*#Wimbledon championships - July 7 - Martina Navratilova
*#US Open - Tracy Austin, youngest US Open Champion at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 28 days defeating 4-time defending champion Chris Evert 6-4, 6-3 in the final after defeating 2nd seeded Martina Navratilova in the semifinal making Evert lose for the first time in 32 matches.

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

Volleyball

*Asian Championship
**Men's Tournament in Manama, Bahrain
***Gold Medal: vb|CHN
***Silver Medal: vb|KOR
***Bronze Medal: vb|JPN
**Women's Tournament in Hong Kong
***Gold Medal: vbw|CHN
***Silver Medal: vbw|JPN
***Bronze Medal: vbw|KOR
*European Championship in France
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|URS
***Silver Medal: vb|POL
***Bronze Medal: vb|YUG
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|URS
***Silver Medal: vbw|GDR
***Bronze Medal: vbw|BUL|1971
*Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|CUB
***Silver Medal: vb|BRA
***Bronze Medal: vb|CAN
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|CUB
***Silver Medal: vbw|PER
***Bronze Medal: vbw|BRA

Water polo

Men's Competition

* FINA World Cup in Belgrade and Rijeka, FR Yugoslavia
** Gold Medal: wp|HUN|1957
** Silver Medal: wp|USA
** Bronze Medal: wp|YUG

* Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico
** Gold Medal: wp|USA
** Silver Medal: wp|CUB
** Bronze Medal: wp|CAN

Women's Competition

* FINA World Cup in Merced, United States
** Gold Medal: wpw|USA
** Silver Medal: wpw|NED
** Bronze Medal: wpw|AUS

General sporting events

* 8th Pan American Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico

* 8th Mediterranean Games held in Split, Yugoslavia

* Tenth Summer Universiade held in Mexico City, Mexico

* September 7 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) makes its debut.

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Willie Stargell, Major League Baseball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Tracy Austin, Tennis
*ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Willie Stargell, Major League Baseball

Births

January

* January 2 — Erick Fornaris, Cuban diver
* January 2 — Hanna Ljungberg, Swedish football (soccer) player
* January 2 — Carla Tagliente, American field hockey striker
* January 3 — Juana Miguelina Gonzalez, Dominican Republic volleyball player
* January 3 — Brooke Morrison, Australian field hockey player
* January 5 — Giuseppe Gibilisco, Italian pole vaulter
* January 5 — Masami Tanaka, Japanese breaststroke swimmer
* January 7 — Fabiola Zuluaga, Colombian tennis player
* January 9 — Jenny Johnson, Canadian field hockey midfielder
* January 9 — Kate Wilson-Smith, Australian badminton player
* January 10 — Francesca Piccinini, Italian volleyball player
* January 11 — Olga Jarkova, Russian curler
* January 14 — Whynter Lamarre, Canadian water polo goalie
* January 15 — Marie-Helene Chisholm, Canadian judoka
* January 16 — Helen Grant, English field hockey player
* January 17 — Oleg Lisogor, Ukrainian swimmer
* January 20 — Jérôme Thomas, French boxer
* January 21 — Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
* January 24 — Gregory Berrios, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* January 24 — Amanda Levens, American basketball player
* January 25 — Pi Hongyan, China-born badminton player from France
* January 26 — Joris Keizer, Dutch swimmer
* January 27 — Barbara Schwartz, Austrian tennis player
* January 30 — Luis Amaranto Perea, Colombian football (soccer) defender
* January 30 — Karen Smith, Australian field hockey player
* January 31 — Jenny Wolf, German ice speed skater

February

* February 2 — Fani Halkia, Greek athlete
* February 3 — Isabel Ceballos, Colombian breaststroke swimmer
* February 3 — Vesna Čitaković, Serbian volleyball player
* February 6 — Robyn Kenney, American field hockey midfielder
* February 8 — James Polster, American volleyball player
* February 8 — Adam Trupish, Canadian boxer
* February 9 — Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
* February 9 — Luka Špik, Slovenian rower
* February 10 — Kristen Viikmäe, Estonian football (soccer) striker
* February 11 — Arnaud di Pasquale, French tennis player
* February 13 — Rafael Márquez, Mexican football (soccer) player
* February 15 — Alenka Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
* February 16 — Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcyclist
* February 17 — Cara Black, Zimbabwean tennis player
* February 19 — Sarah Schleper, American alpine skier
* February 20 — Cindy Morgan, Australian field hockey player
* February 21 — Nathalie Dechy, French tennis player
* February 24 — Alexei Kulechov, Russian volleyball player
* February 27 — Anna Vania Mello, Italian volleyball player
* February 28 — Gareth Brooks, New Zealand field hockey player

March

* March 1 — Magui Serna, Spanish tennis player
* March 1 — Khady Yacine Ngom, Senegalese basketball player
* March 2 — Yuri Yatsev, Russian water polo player
* March 4 — Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer
* March 7 — Tapio Kangasniemi, Finnish volleyball player
* March 8 — Susanna Garabatos, Spanish freestyle swimmer
* March 10 — Richárd Bodor, Hungarian breaststroke swimmer
* March 10 — Ashley Callus, Australian freestyle swimmer
* March 10 — Johann Le Bihan, French medley swimmer
* March 12 — Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player
* March 12 — Nidia Guenard, Puerto Rican wrestler
* March 13 — Fabio Luiz Magalhães, Brazilian beach volleyball player
* March 13 — Cédric Van Branteghem, Belgian athlete
* March 14 — Nicolas Anelka, French football (soccer) player
* March 14 — Gao Ling, Chinese female badminton player
* March 14 — Yoko Shibui, Japanese long-distance runner
* March 15 — Rachel Harris, Australian freestyle and medley swimmer
* March 15 — Azelia Liu, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
* March 16 — Suzie Faulkner, Australian field hockey player
* March 16 — Carolina Torres, Chilean pole vaulter
* March 17 — Florina Herea, Romanian freestyle swimmer
* March 18 — Claudiu Baştea, Romanian judoka
* March 21 — Ben Bishop, Australian field hockey player
* March 22 — Minke Smabers, Dutch field hockey player
* March 23 — Natalya Baranovskaya, Belarusian swimmer
* March 23 — Misty Hyman, American swimmer
* March 25 — Muriel Hurtis, French athlete
* March 26 — Almudena Gallardo, Spanish archer
* March 29 — Daisuke Usami, Japanese volleyball player

April

* April 5 — Emily Halliday, Australian field hockey player
* April 6 — Marcos Costa, Brazilian boxer
* April 6 — Jana Salat, Canadian waterpolo player
* April 7 — Michel Kratochvil, Swiss tennis player
* April 12 — Cezar Bădiţă, Romanian medley swimmer
* April 12 — Mateja Kežman, Serbian football (soccer) player
* April 13 — Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
* April 16 — Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula 1-driver
* April 17 — Daniel Hernandes, Brazilian judoka
* April 18 — Pawina Thongsuk, Thai weightlifter
* April 18 — Ngaire Smith, Australian field hockey player
* April 18 — Zain Wright, Australian field hockey midfielder
* April 19 — Candice Forword, South African field hockey forward
* April 19 — Sarah Price, British backstroke swimmer
* April 21 — Israel Héctor Perez, Argentine featherweight boxer
* April 22 — Tomislav Cosković, Croatian volleyball player
* April 23 — Pavel Abramov, Russian volleyball player
* April 24 — Ronald Brouwer, Dutch field hockey player
* April 27 — Alison Bradley, Canadian softball player
* April 30 — Kip Carpenter, American speed skater
* April 30 — Gerardo Torrado, Mexican football (soccer) player

May

* May 1 — Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
* May 1 — Ann Dow, Canadian water polo player
* May 1 — Lars Berger, Norwegian biathlete
* May 2 — Sumika Minamoto, Japanese freestyle swimmer
* May 5 — Muideen Ganiyu, Nigerian boxer
* May 9 — Rubens Bertogliati, Swiss road cyclist
* May 11 — Javier Bruses, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
* May 11 — Åsa Sandlund, Swedish freestyle swimmer
* May 15 — Ravi Kahlon, Canadian field hockey player
* May 16 — Jonas Lennart Andersson, Swedish archer
* May 18 — Bruno Bonfim, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* May 18 — Justin Sheriff, Irish field hockey forward
* May 19 — Diego Forlán, Uruguay football (soccer) player
* May 24 — Tracy McGrady, American NBA player
* May 24 — Natalya Nazarova, Russian athlete
* May 25 — Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby union player
* May 25 — Dragan Zorić, Serbian flatwater canoer
* May 26 — Jonas Reckermann, German beach volleyball player
* May 27 — Salem Mubarak Al-Yami, Saudi Arabian athlete
* May 28 — Andrey Mishin, Russian boxer
* May 29 — Angela Platt, Irish field hockey goalkeeper
* May 29 — Tal Stricker, Israeli breaststroke swimmer
* May 29 — Janneke van Tienen, Dutch volleyball player
* May 31 — Said Saif Asaad, Qatari weightlifter
* May 31 — Cassius Duran, Brazilian diver

June

* June 5 — Germán Martínez, Colombian swimmer
* June 6 — Solenne Figues, French swimmer
* June 6 — Lisanne de Roever, Dutch field hockey player
* June 7 — Kevin Hofland, Dutch football (soccer) player
* June 8 — Ruben Houkes, Dutch judoka
* June 11 — Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-born football (soccer) player
* June 11 — Patricia Miranda, US wrestler
* June 14 — Paradorn Srichaphan, Thai tennis player
* June 15 — Yulia Nesterenko, Belarusian athlete
* June 16 — Hüsnü Koçabas, Dutch boxer
* June 20 — Todd Matthews-Jouda, Sudanese track and field athlete
* June 22 — Joey Cheek, American speed skater
* June 24 — Fanny Letourneau, Canadian synchronised swimmer
* June 27 — Ehud Vaks, Israeli judoka
* June 29 — Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer
* June 30 — Ioana Diaconescu, Romanian freestyle swimmer
* June 30 — Geovanni de Jesus, Brazilian marathon runner

July

* July 5 — Amélie Mauresmo, French tennis player
* July 7 — Alexandra Fouace, French archer
* July 7 — Matias Vila, Argentine field hockey midfielder
* July 8 — Olesya Krasnomovets, Russian athlete
* July 9 — Vyacheslav Shyrshov, Ukrianian freestyle swimmer
* July 9 — Andrea Dewar, Canadian waterpolo player
* July 13 — Saralee Thungthongkam, Thai badminton player
* July 14 — Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier
* July 16 — Mai Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
* July 16 — Kim Rhode, American shooter
* July 17 — Robin Szolkowy, German pair figure skater
* July 17 — Juan Manuel Vivaldi, Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
* July 18 — Aleksandr Varlamov, Belarusian/Russian diver
* July 20 — Gijs Damen, Dutch swimmer
* July 20 — Miklós Fehér, Hungarian football (soccer) player (d. 2004)
* July 20 — David Ortega, Spanish freestyle and backstroke swimmer
* July 20 — Hidde Van Beest, Australian volleyball player
* July 21 — Tine Rasmussen, Danish badminton player
* July 21 — Ingrid Tørlen, Norwegian beach volleyball player
* July 23 — Károly Balzsay, Hungarian boxer
* July 23 — Liborio Romero, Mexican boxer
* July 25 — Mylanie Barre, Canadian canoeist
* July 26 — Yuko Sano, Japanese volleyball player
* July 27 — Sergey Dotsenko, Ukrainian boxer
* July 28 — Alena Popchanka, Belarusian freestyle swimmer
* July 31 — Carlos Marchena, Spanish football (soccer) player

August

* August 2 — Thamar Henneken, Dutch freestyle swimmer
* August 5 — Denys Zavhorodniy, Ukrianian freestyle swimmer
* August 8 — William Avery, American basketball player
* August 8 — José Guerra, Cuban diver
* August 8 — Carrie Lightbound, Canadian canoeist
* August 9 — Erin Chan, Canadian synchronised swimmer
* August 12 — Cindy Klassen, Canadian ice speed skater
* August 15 — Kamil Djamaloudinov, Russian boxer
* August 18 — Mia Hagman, Finnish breaststroke swimmer
* August 18 — Colleen Lanne, American freestyle swimmer
* August 21 — Ashley Whitney, American freestyle swimmer
* August 22 — Mia Audina, Indonesia-born badminton player from the Netherlands
* August 23 — Luke Doerner, Australian field hockey player
* August 23 — Kaori Mori, Japanese badminton player
* August 27 — Oliver Kieffer, French volleyball player
* August 28 — Robert Hoyzer, German football (soccer) referee
* August 29 — José Antonio Casilla, Spanish volleyball player
* August 31 — Mark Johnston, Canadian freestyle swimmer

eptember

* September 2 — Alexander Povetkin, Russian boxer
* September 5 — John Carew, Norwegian football (soccer) player
* September 5 — Stacey Dales, Canadian basketball player and sportscaster
* September 5 — George O'Callaghan, Irish football (soccer) player
* September 6 — Annika Liebs, German freestyle and backstroke swimmer
* September 6 — Christian Pampel, German volleyball player
* September 12 — Aaron Hopkins, Australian field hockey player
* September 18 — Silvia Muñoz, Spanish field hockey player
* September 19 — Li Wing Mui, Hong Kong badminton player
* September 23 — Kim Un-Chol, North Korean boxer
* September 26 — Jaycie Phelps, US gymnast
* September 26 — Yurendell DeCaster, Dutch baseball player
* September 27 — Shinji Ono, Japanese football (soccer) player
* September 29 — Floris Braat, Dutch slalom canoer
* September 30 — Andy van der Meyde, Dutch football (soccer) player

October

* October 1 — Rudi Johnson, American football player
* October 1 — Lyudmila Kolchanova, Russian long jumper
* October 1 — Walewska Oliveira, Brazilian volleyball player
* October 1 — Marko Stanojevic, English-born Italian rugby player
* October 6 — Kohei Kawamoto, Japanese butterfly swimmer
* October 7 — Simona Amânar, Romanian gymnast
* October 16 — Michal Tabara, Czech tennis player
* October 17 — Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish Formula 1-driver
* October 19 — Sachiko Sugiyama, Japanese volleyball player
* October 20 — Tim Neesham, Australian water polo player
* October 20 — Paul O'Connell, Irish rugby player
* October 22 — Dario Lari, Italian rower
* October 23 — Simon Davies, Welsh football (soccer) player
* October 24 — Larisa Lăcustă, Romanian breaststroke and freestyle swimmer
* October 25 — Thomas Ereu, Venezuelan volleyball player
* October 31 — Simão Sabrosa, Portuguese football (soccer) player

November

* November 1 — Ursula Ditton, Australian field hockey player
* November 3 — Pablo Aimar, Argentinian football (soccer) player
* November 3 — Regla Leyén, Cuban judoka
* November 4 — Lazarus Barla, Indian field hockey defender
* November 10 — Petra Banović, Croatian freestyle and medley swimmer
* November 11 — María Jesús Rosa, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
* November 13 — Ron Artest, American NBA player
* November 14 — Osleidys Menéndez, Cuban athlete
* November 17 — Nehomar Cermeño, Venezuelan bantamweight boxer
* November 20 — Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, Russian athlete
* November 20 — Silvijo Petriško, Croatian coxswain
* November 21 — Alex Tanguay, Canadian ice hockey player
* November 23 — Ivica Kostelic, Croatian alpine skier
* November 28 — Thomas Lurz, German long distance swimmer
* November 29 — Michael Lamey, Dutch football (soccer) player
* November 30 — Roxana Preussler, Argentine long-distance runner

December

* December 2 — Teo Edo, Spanish long-distance freestyle swimmer
* December 2 — Abdul Razzaq, Pakistani cricketer
* December 3 — Rodrigo Garza, Spanish field hockey player
* December 5 — Khumiso Ikgopoleng, Botswanan boxer
* December 7 — Nigella Saunders, Jamaican badminton player
* December 8 — Christian Wilhelmsson, Swedish football (soccer) player
* December 11 — Fernando Oscaris, Argentine field hockey defender
* December 12 — Darren Mew, British breaststroke swimmer
* December 12 — Razundara Tjikuzu, Namibian football (soccer) player
* December 13 — Norman Schuster, German boxer
* December 14 — Michael Owen, English football player
* December 16 — Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
* December 17 — Charlotte Edwards, English cricketer
* December 17 — Thum Ping Tjin, Singaporean swimmer
* December 20 — Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
* December 21 — Stephen Lambert, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
* December 24 — Lucilla Wright, British field hockey player
* December 25 — Hugo Viart, French freestyle swimmer
* December 26 — Keivi Pinto, Venezuelan judoka
* December 26 — Aleksander Rodić, Slovenian football (soccer) player
* December 28 — Fátima Madrid, Spanish freestyle swimmer
* December 30 — Angela Lichty, Canadian softball player
* December 30 — Abi Oyepitan, British athlete
* December 30 — Emil Tahirovič, Slovenian breaststroke swimmer

Deaths

*January 7 — Ivan Stedman (83), Australian swimmer (b. 1895)
*February 21 – Glendon Gibbs, Australian cricketer
*March 8 – Gérard Blitz, Belgian swimmer and water polo player (b. 1901)
*April 6 – M Marie Widlow, Hall of Fame softball pitcher
*May 1 – Taisto Mäki, Finnish long-distance runner
*May 31 – Nigel Howard, English cricketer
*June 22 – Louis Chiron (79), Monegasque racing driver
* June 30 – Chris Taylor (29), American freestyle wrestler (b. 1950)
*July 1 — Vsevolod Bobrov (56), Soviet footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1922)
*July 5 – Elizabeth Ryan, tennis player, won nineteen Wimbledon titles
*July 9 – Betty Evans Grayson, Hall of Fame softball pitcher
*July 21 – Sandor Kocsis, Hungarian soccer player
*July 22 – Tony "Two-Ton" Galento, boxer and actor
*August 2 – Thurman Munson, New York Yankees catcher (1969-1979), plane crash
*August 21 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian soccer player
*August 24 — Bernt Evensen (74), Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (b. 1905)
*October 22 – Clint Hodgins, Hall of Fame harness-racing driver
*December 15 – Stan Hack, Major League Baseball player (1932-1947)