Deaths Famous Dead Athletes
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
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 four goals and… · 13 January 2026 · January 2026
Brandon Holiday American canoeist dead at age 53
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 in martial… · 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
Thierry Steimetz
French footballer (Amnéville · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10 · French
Włodzimierz Jakubowski
Polish football player (Lech Poznań) and manager (Mieszko Gniezno · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10
Pavel Akishev
Russian baseball player (national team) · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10
Robert Hopkins
English footballer (Birmingham City · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10
Mario Jacquet
Paraguayan footballer (Cerro Porteño · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10
Davinder Singh
Indian Olympic field hockey player (1980) · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9
Zelico Petrovic
Yugoslav-born Italian footballer (Taranto · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9
Dan Coleman (American football) American football player dead at age 63
an American football player who was a defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings, died on January 10, 2026, at the age of 63. Born in Lansing, Michigan, on August 14, 1962, he played college football for the Murray State Racers.… · 10 January 2026 · January 2026
Ian McCrae
Scottish rugby union player (Gordonians · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9
Bob Boyer
Canadian professional wrestler · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9 · Other
Jim Furlong
Canadian gridiron football player (Calgary Stampeders) · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8
Hans Herrmann
German racing driver (Formula One). · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8 · Other
Tony Dennis
Canadian football player (Saskatchewan Roughriders) · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8
Philip Long American Olympic swimmer dead at age 77
an American competition swimmer who represented the United States in the 1968 Summer Olympics, died on January 9, 2026. Born in Washington, D.C., on December 6, 1948, he competed in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Mexico City Games after placing… · 09 January 2026 · January 2026
Antonino Mangano
Italian marathon and middle-distance running athlete · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8
Khawlhring Lalremruata
Indian cricketer (Mizoram) · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8
Randy McMillan
American football player (Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts) · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8
Miroslav Stárek
Czech footballer (AC Sparta Prague · 07 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 7 · Czech
Howard Riley (footballer) English footballer dead at age 87
an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Walsall and Barrow, died on January 8, 2026, at the age of 87. Born on 18 August 1938, he made Football League appearances for the three clubs during his career · 08 January 2026 · January 2026
Sidney de Jong
Dutch Olympic baseball player (2004 · 07 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 7 · Dutch · Jong
Terry Yorath
Welsh football player (Leeds United · 07 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 7 · Welsh
Glenn Hall
Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings · 07 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 7
Jerry Thomas
American baseball player (Minnesota Golden Gophers) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Tony Field
English football player (Blackburn Rovers · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Billy Truax
American football player (Los Angeles Rams · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Forest Able
American basketball player (Syracuse Nationals) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Nick Eddy
American football player (Detroit Lions) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Martin Chivers
English footballer (Tottenham Hotspur) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Athol Webb
Australian rules footballer (Melbourne) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Elbert Kimbrough
American football player (San Francisco 49ers · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Anatoly Yevtushenko
Russian handball coach · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6 · Other
Willie Knox public figure dead at age 88
the Scottish football player and manager, died on January 7, 2026. Born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, on September 9, 1937, he played as a wing half for Raith Rovers, Forfar Athletic and Barrow. He began his senior career with Raith Rovers… · 07 January 2026 · January 2026
Jawann Oldham
American basketball player (Chicago Bulls · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5
Oscar Lofton
American football player (Boston Patriots) and coach (Southeastern Louisiana Lions) · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5
Alex Felipe
Brazilian futsal player (Sporting CP · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5
Robert Vicot
French footballer and manager (Toulon · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5 · French
Bonifacio Ávila
Colombian Olympic boxer (1972) · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5 · Avila
Jim Willis
American baseball player (Chicago Cubs) · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5
José Mingorance
Spanish football player (Espanyol · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4
Bob Pulford
Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4
Jim Dennison
American football coach (Akron Zips · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4 · Other
Bobby Holmes
Scottish footballer (St Mirren) · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4
Miklós Dudás
Hungarian Olympic sprint canoeist (2012) · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4
John Meredith
English footballer (Doncaster Rovers · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4
Miklós Dudás (canoeist) Hungarian Olympic sprint canoeist, world champion dead at age 34
a Hungarian sprint canoeist and 2012 Olympic competitor, died on January 5, 2026, at the age of 34. Born in Budapest on April 16, 1991, he represented Hungary in the men's K-1 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Dudás… · 05 January 2026 · January 2026
Alan Baker
English footballer (Aston Villa) · 03 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 3
Dastagir Hossain Nira
Bangladeshi footballer (Dhaka Abahani · 03 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 3 · Nira
Milorad Kosanović
Serbian footballer and manager · 03 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 3
Nam Singh Thapa
Nepali Olympic boxer (1964) · 03 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 3 · Thapa
Arnold Long
British cricketer (Sussex · 02 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 2
Dimitar Penev
Bulgarian football player (CSKA Sofia · 02 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 2
Phoenix Spicer
Australian football league player (North Melbourne) · 02 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 2
Diane Crump
American jockey and horse trainer · 01 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 1
Bobby Baxter (footballer, born 1937) public figure dead at age 88
an English professional footballer who played for Darlington, Brighton & Hove Albion and Torquay United, died on January 2, 2026. Born in Redcar, Yorkshire, in 1937, he was the son and namesake of Scotland and Middlesbrough footballer Bobby Baxter. He… · 02 January 2026 · January 2026
Mukhsin Mukhamadiev
Tajik-Russian football player (Tajikistan national team · 31 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 31
Jeon Jun-ho
South Korean baseball player (Hyundai Unicorns · 31 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 31
Colin McDonald (footballer, born 1930) English footballer dead at age 95
the English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Burnley and the national team, died on January 1, 2026. Born Colin Agnew McDonald on 15 October 1930, he made 201 appearances for Burnley across two spells from 1948 to 1950… · 01 January 2026 · January 2026
Paul McCullagh Jr. Northern Irish boxer, bone cancer dead at age 25
a Northern Irish boxer, died on January 1, 2026, from bone cancer. Born in Belfast in 2000, he was nicknamed The Irish Drago. He turned professional in 2020 after winning the 2019 Ulster Elite championship. McCullagh died in hospital at… · 01 January 2026 · January 2026
Lowell MacDonald
Canadian ice hockey player (Pittsburgh Penguins · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30
Gökmen Özdenak
Turkish footballer (İstanbulspor · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30
Serge Roy
French footballer (Racing Besançon · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30 · French
Marijan Čerček
Croatian footballer (Dinamo Zagreb · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30
Jiří Zubrický Czech Olympic weightlifter dead at age 61
a Czech Olympic weightlifter who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Games for Czechoslovakia, died on December 31, 2025, at the age of 61. Born in Most on February 8, 1964, he won a bronze medal at the 1990 World… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Yuri Sudakov Russian boxer dead at age 77
a Russian boxer and boxing coach, died on December 31, 2025, at the age of 77. Born Yuri Evgenievich Sudakov on July 3, 1948, in Moscow, he competed at the 1976 USSR Boxing Championships, where he won the bronze medal… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Pasha Kasanov Ukrainian football player and manager dead at age 72
a Ukrainian football player and manager, died on December 31, 2025, at the age of 72. Known as Pasha Namazovych Kasanov, he played for Nyva Vinnytsia and Metalurh Zaporizhzhia and later worked as manager of Nyva Vinnytsia. He was born… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Billy Ray Barnes American football player dead at age 90
an American football player and coach, died on December 31, 2025, at age 90. Barnes was a halfback in the National Football League, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Sharif Nazarov
Tajik football player (Pamir) and manager (Varzob Dushanbe · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30