- Jan 1 Joe Foss, American fighter ace, football executive (Medal of Honor-1943; first commissioner American Football League) and politician, dies at 87
- Jan 3 Sid Gillman, Pro & College Football Hall of Fame end (Ohio State U) and coach (U of Cincinnati, LA Rams, Houston Oilers), dies at 91
- Jan 9 Will McDonough, American sports journalist (b. 1935)
- Jan 12 Paul Pender, American boxer (World Middleweight Champion 1960–61; The Ring Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired; Lineal Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired), dies at 72
- Jan 20 Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
- Jan 26 Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
- Feb 4 André Noyelle, Belgian cyclist (Olympic gold, 1952), dies at 71
- Feb 9 Vera Ralston [Věra Helena Hrubá], Czech figure skater and actress (Dakota, Accused of Murder), dies of cancer at 83
- Feb 13 Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (b. 1926)
Johnny Longden (1907-2003)
Feb 14 Canadian US Racing HOF jockey (1943 Triple Crown on Count Fleet; US Champion Jockey: by earnings 1943, 45; by wins 1938, 47, 48) and trainer (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes 1969), dies of a stroke at 96
- Feb 20 Harry Jacunski, American football player
- Feb 21 Eddie Thomson, Australian soccer coach (Socceroos 1990-96), dies of cancer at 55
- Feb 26 Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver, dies at 74
- Feb 28 Chris Brasher, English athlete (b. 1928)
- Mar 10 Barry Sheene, British motorcycle racer, dies at 52
- Mar 12 Andrei Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b. 1973)
- Mar 13 Gus Yatron, American boxer and politician (Rep-D-PA, 1969-93), dies at 75
- Mar 18 Karl Kling, German auto racer (11 F1 GP starts, 2 podiums, 17 C'ship points; Mercedes), dies at 92
- Mar 31 George Conner, American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle / linebacker (Pro Bowl 1950–53; First-team All-Pro 1950–53, 55; Chicago Bears), dies at 78
- Apr 15 Leonard Tose, American trucking magnate and owner of NFL Philadelphia Eagles (1969-85), dies at 88
- Apr 20 Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
- Apr 22 Michael Larrabee, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1964), dies from pancreatic cancer at 69
- Apr 25 Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)
- Apr 30 Peter "Possum" Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, dies at 47
- May 1 Miss Elizabeth [Hulette], pro wrestling valet (Randy Savage), dies of overdose at 42
- May 1 Wim van Est, Dutch road cyclist (3 x stage winner Tour de France), dies at 80
- May 10 Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and a grandmaster of chess problem composition, dies at 66
Ernie Toshack (1914-2003)
May 11 Australian cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 47 wickets), dies at 88
Dave DeBusschere (1940-2003)
May 14 American NBA forward (NY Knicks) and last ABA commissioner (1975-76), dies of a heart attack at 62
- May 21 Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentine auto racer and car manufacturer (De Tomaso Automobili), dies at 74
- May 31 Billy Wade, South African cricket wicketkeeper (11 Tests, 1 x 100, 17 dismissals; Natal), dies at 88
- Jun 1 Johnny Hopp, American baseball outfielder, first baseman (MLB All-Star 1946; World Series 1942, 44, 50, 51; St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 86
- Jun 2 John Robin Stephenson, British military officer and cricket administrator (Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), 1987-94), dies at 72
- Jun 8 Leighton Rees, Welsh darts player (BDO World Champion 1978), dies at 63
Larry Doby (1924-2003)
Jun 18 American Baseball HOF outfielder (MLB All-Star 1949–55; World Series 1948; AL HR leader 1952, 54; 1st African-American in AL; Cleveland Indians), dies of cancer at 79
- Jun 21 Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey coach (b. 1934)
- Jun 23 Doug Ring, Australian cricketer (Australian leggie of the late 40's early 50's), dies at 84
- Jun 26 Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), dies of heart failure at 28
- Jun 28 Russell Endean, South African cricket wicketkeeper (28 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 162no, 41 dismissals; Transvaal, MCC), dies at 79
- Jun 28 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
- Jul 1 Wesley Mouzon, American boxing trainer (Roy Jones Jr., Dwight Muhammad Qawi), dies of kidney cancer at 75
- Jul 5 Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player, dies at 24
- Jul 15 Tex Schramm, American football president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys (1960-88), dies at 83
- Jul 21 John Davies, New Zealand sports executive (President NZOC 2000-03) and athlete (Olympic bronze 1500m 1964), dies of melanoma at 65
- Jul 31 John Aston Sr., English soccer striker (17 caps; Manchester United 253 games), dies at 81
- Aug 7 Mickey McDermott, American MLB player, dies at 74
- Aug 8 Jack Noreiga, West Indian cricketer (9-95 WI v India 1971), dies at 67
- Aug 9 Ray Harford, English soccer manager (Fulham, Luton Town, Wimbledon, Blackburn Rovers, WBA, QPR), dies from lung cancer at 58
Herb Brooks (1937-2003)
Aug 11 American ice hockey coach (Olympic gold Medal 1980), dies in a car accident at 66
- Aug 14 Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
Bobby Bonds (1946-2003)
Aug 23 American MLB baseball outfielder, 1968-81, 3x All-Star, 3x Golden Glove (San Francisco Giants, 1968-74 and 7 other teams), father of Barry Bonds, dies of lung cancer and brain tumor at 57
- Aug 26 Jim Wacker, American football coach (Southwest Texas State), dies of cancer at 66
- Sep 2 Peter West, British sports broadcaster (BBC; editor Playfair Cricket Annual), dies at 83
- Sep 8 Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricket all-rounder (33 Tests, 2 x 100, 41 wickets, BB 6/49; Sind, Bombay, Rajasthan), dies at 76
- Sep 13 Kenneth Walter, South African cricket fast bowler (2 Tests, 6 wickets), dies at 63
Althea Gibson (1927-2003)
Sep 28 American tennis player (7 Grand Slam singles titles), dies of respiratory and bladder infections at 76
Bill Shoemaker (1931-2003)
Oct 12 American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (8,833 career victories, Kentucky Derby 1955, 59, 65, 86), dies of natural causes at 72
- Oct 12 Joan Kroc [Mansfield], American philanthropist and 3rd wife of Ray Kroc, the owner of McDonald's and the San Diego Padres, dies of a brain tumor at 75
- Oct 16 László Papp, Hungarian boxer (Olympic gold-1948, 1952, 1956), dies at 77 [1]
- Oct 24 Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross country skier (Olympic gold 1952, 56, 60), dies in car accident at 78
- Oct 25 Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricket batsman (21 Tests; HS 114 1st Test v WI 1948), dies at 84
- Oct 31 Gordon Weir, New Zealand cricket batsman (11 Tests, 3 x 50; Auckland CA), dies at 93
- Nov 6 Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (3 x Olympic gold 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 400m freestyle 1936; silver 100m backstroke 1936), dies at 84
- Nov 10 June Beebe, American golfer (Western Open 1931, 33), dies at 90
- Nov 15 Ray Lewis, Canadian 4X400 relayer (Olympic bronze 1932), dies at 93
Ken Brett (1948-2003)
Nov 18 American baseball player, dies at 55
- Nov 19 Ian Geoghegan, Australian racing driver (b. 1940)
Warren Spahn (1921-2003)
Nov 24 American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (17 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957; Cy Young Award 1957; 8 × NL wins leader; Boston/Milwaukee Braves), dies at 82
- Nov 28 Ted Bates, English soccer manager (Southampton 1955-73) and forward (Southampton 202 games), dies at 85
- Nov 29 Tony Canadeo, American Pro Football HOF halfback (NFL C'ship 1944; First-team All-Pro 1943, 49; Green Bay Packers), dies at 84
- Nov 30 Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (1st female English Channel 1926), dies at 98
- Dec 1 Eugenio Monti, Italian bobsledder (2 x Olympic gold 2-man, 4-man 1968; World C'ships 9 x gold), dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 75
- Dec 4 Iggy Katona, American auto racer (ARCA Series 1955-57, 62, 66-67; record 79 wins), dies at 87
- Dec 9 Norm Sloan, American basketball coach (b. 1926)
- Dec 15 Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (NHL All Star 1971, 72; Chicago Black Hawks), dies in a motor vehicle accident at 56
- Dec 17 David Smith, English cricket fast-medium bowler (5 Tests), dies at 69
Otto Graham (1921-2003)
Dec 17 American NFL Quarterback (Cleveland Browns), dies of a heart aneurysm at 82
- Dec 21 M. J. Gopalan, Indian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 1 wicket; Madras) and hockey representative, dies at 94
- Dec 22 Chandu Sarwate, Indian cricket all-rounder (9 Tests, HS 37, 3 wickets; Maharashtra, Hindus, Holkar, Madhya Pradesh), dies at 83
- Dec 24 Herman Keiser, American golfer (US Masters 1946), dies of Alzheimer's disease complications at 89
- Dec 27 Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1991; Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos), dies from multiple firearm wounds at 41
- Dec 28 Michael Melle, South African cricketer (pace bowler of early 1950's; 7 test matches), dies at 73