Deaths Famous Dead Athletes
Roy Erskine
Scottish footballer (Stirling Albion · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24
Dede Sulaeman
Indonesian football player (Persija Jakarta · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24
Faruk Kulenović
Bosnian-Croatian basketball player (HAKK Mladost) and coach (Šibenka) · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24
Lee Fobbs
American football player (Ottawa Rough Riders) and coach (North Carolina A&T Aggies · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24
Joe Gadston
English football player (Exeter City · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24
Wim Kelleners
Dutch racing cyclist · 24 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 24 · Dutch
Travis Curtis
American football player (Washington Redskins · 23 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 23
Robyn Thorn Australian swimmer, Olympic silver medalist dead at age 80
Robyn Thorn, an Australian swimmer and Olympic silver medalist, died on January 24, 2026, aged 80. Also known by her married name Robyn Nock, she won silver in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Born… · 24 January 2026 · January 2026
Peter Ryan (rugby union, born 1930) English rugby union player dead at age 95
Peter Henry Ryan, an English international rugby union player, died on January 24, 2026, aged 95. Born in Bucklow, England, on October 1, 1930, he was head boy and football captain at Harrow School, where he also played in the… · 24 January 2026 · January 2026
Bob Jones (ice hockey) Canadian ice hockey player dead at age 80
Bob Jones, a Canadian ice hockey player who appeared in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, died on January 24, 2026, at age 80. Robert Charles Jones was born in Espanola, Ontario, on November 27, 1945, and… · 24 January 2026 · January 2026
Lennart Backman Swedish footballer dead at age 91
Lennart Backman, the Swedish footballer who played for IFK Norrköping, AIK and the national team, died on January 24, 2026. Born Kurt Lennart Ingemar Backman on February 7, 1934, he played as a winger and made more than 200 Allsvenskan… · 24 January 2026 · January 2026
Rob Maurer
American baseball player (Texas Rangers) · 23 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 23
Nazzareno Canuti
Italian footballer (Inter · 23 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 23
Lim Yong-bo
South Korean basketball player and manager (national team · 23 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 23
Håkan Bengtsson
Swedish Olympic swimmer (1960) · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
John Brodie
American football player (San Francisco 49ers) · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
Ian Macowat
English footballer (Crewe Alexandra · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
Giancarlo Cella
Italian football player (Torino · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
Peter Squires
English cricketer (Yorkshire) and rugby union player (British & Irish Lions) · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
Ilyas Pasha
Indian footballer (East Bengal) · 22 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 22
Dave Schmidt
American baseball player (Boston Red Sox) · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21
Kevin Johnson
American football player (Philadelphia Eagles · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21
Brian McGowan
Australian rules footballer (South Melbourne · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21
Hifumi Katō
Japanese shogi player · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21
Kevin Healy
Australian rules footballer (Collingwood) · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21
Claude “Hoot” Gibson
American football player (San Diego Chargers · 21 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 21 · Gibson
Bobby Duncum
American professional wrestler (WWWF · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20 · Other
Bob Taylor
Australian footballer (Essendon) · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Stu Tate
American baseball player (San Francisco Giants) · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Phillip Boudreault
Canadian boxer and outlaw biker · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Colette Flesch
Luxembourgish Olympic fencer and politician · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Norman Gifford
English cricketer (Worcestershire · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Frank Pitts
American football player (Kansas City Chiefs · 20 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 20
Ahmed Moujahid
Moroccan footballer (Wydad Casablanca · 19 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 19
Tommy Wright
English footballer (Everton · 19 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 19
Ronald Joseph American figure skater, Olympic bronze medallist, complications from amyotrophic late…
Ronald Joseph, an American figure skater and 1964 Olympic bronze medallist, died on January 20, 2026, at age 81 from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He competed in pair skating with his sister, Vivian Joseph, and the two won the… · 20 January 2026 · January 2026
Peter Cousens (cricketer) South African-born English cricketer dead at age 93
Peter Cousens, the South African-born English cricketer who played for Essex, died on January 20, 2026, aged 93. Born in Durban, Natal, on May 15, 1932, he was a right-handed batsman and slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He made his first-class… · 20 January 2026 · January 2026
John Levra
American college football player (Pittsburg State Gorillas) and coach (New Mexico Highlands Cowboys · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18
Artur Shamrin
Soviet and Russian footballer (FC Lokomotiv Moscow) · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18
Mladen Bartolović
Bosnian football player (Cibalia · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18
Luciano Zardi Italian Olympic weightlifter dead at age 95
Luciano Zardi, an Italian weightlifter who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics, died on January 19, 2026, at the age of 95. Born in Ferrara, Italy, on September 15, 1930, he took part in the men's middle heavyweight event at… · 19 January 2026 · January 2026
Nabaloum Dramane
Ivorian-born Burkinabe boxer · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18
Ioan Crâsnic
Romanian wrestler and wrestling coach · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18 · Other
Kuncoro
Indonesian football player (Arema · 18 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 18
Wilbur Wood
American baseball player (Boston Red Sox · 17 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 17
Phil Goyette
Canadian ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens) · 17 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 17
David Young (footballer, born 1945) English footballer dead at age 80
David Young, an English footballer who played for Charlton Athletic, Southend United and Newcastle United, died on January 18, 2026, aged 80. A central defender, he made 209 appearances in the Football League. Young won the FA Cup in 1973… · 18 January 2026 · January 2026
Alan Black
Scottish footballer (Norwich City · 17 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 17
Bruce Leung
Hong Kong martial artist and actor · 17 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 17 · Artists
Chet Brooks
American football player (San Francisco 49ers) · 16 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 16
Ray Crone
American baseball player (Milwaukee Braves · 16 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 16
Hoot Gibson (American football) American football player (San Diego Chargers dead at age 86
Claude "Hoot" Andrew Gibson, an American football player and coach, died on January 17, 2026. He was 87. Gibson was a defensive back and kick returner who played college football for the NC State Wolfpack before competing professionally in the… · 17 January 2026 · January 2026
Grant Batty
New Zealand rugby union player (Wellington · 16 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 16 · Grant,
Jaro Zawislan
American college soccer coach (Cornell Big Red) · 15 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 15 · Other
Anouschka Bernhard
German footballer (national team) · 15 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 15
Chris Krug American baseball player dead at age 86
Chris Krug, an American Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, died on January 16, 2026. Born Everett Ben Krug on December 25, 1939, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as… · 16 January 2026 · January 2026
Edgar Salvé
Belgian middle-distance runner · 15 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 15
Clay Iles English tennis player and coach dead at age 83
Clay Iles, an English tennis player and coach, died on January 15, 2026, aged 83. A British player and LTA-licensed tennis coach, he also worked as a sports writer and tennis umpire. Iles competed at the Wimbledon Championships 12 times… · 15 January 2026 · January 2026
Ante Grgurević
Croatian basketball coach and player · 14 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 14
Mojtaba Tarshiz
Iranian footballer (Shahr Khodro F.C · 14 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 14
Rick Link
American professional wrestler · 13 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 13 · Other
Ali Hassan
Mozambican footballer (Sporting · 13 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 13
Kim Min-jae
South Korean baseball player (Lotte Giants · 13 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 13
Jason Lafreniere
Canadian ice hockey player (Tampa Bay Lightning · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12
Bill Courtney
American college basketball coach (Cornell Big Red · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12 · Other
Eric Redrobe
English association footballer · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12 · Éric
Peter Schofield (Australian rules footballer) Australian footballer (Richmond dead at age 93
Peter John Schofield, the Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond, Melbourne and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League, died on January 13, 2026, aged 93. Born on 12 February 1932, Schofield made his VFL debut for Richmond with… · 13 January 2026 · January 2026
Brandon Holiday American canoeist dead at age 53
Brandon Holiday, an American canoeist, died on January 13, 2026. Born on January 25, 1972, he was a paracanoe sprint kayaker from the United States. Holiday grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, where he played tennis and baseball and trained… · 13 January 2026 · January 2026
Benjaminas Zelkevičius
81 Lithuanian football player (Žalgiris Vilnius · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12
Dave Giusti
American baseball player (Houston Astros · 11 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 11
Sergey Galkov
Russian Olympic sprint canoeist (1988) · 11 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 11
Sergey Gaikov
Russian Olympic sprint canoeist (1988) · 11 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 11
Mohammad Ilyas
Pakistani cricketer (national team) · 11 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 11
John Wallace
Scottish trumpet player · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10
Włodzimierz Jakubowski
Polish football player (Lech Poznań) and manager (Mieszko Gniezno · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10