- For an extensive coverage see 1974 in athletics (track and field)
- March 9 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. The Netherlands beat England 2-0.
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- For an extensive coverage see 1974 in football (soccer)
Men's professional
Men's amateur
Women's professional
General sporting events
Awards
Births
January
- January 1 — Sami Khelifi, Tunisian boxer
- January 2 — Phillip Eatherton, American volleyball player
- January 3 — Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
- January 3 — Mike Ireland, Canadian long track speed skater
- January 4 — Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger
- January 9 — Mette Andersen, Danish cyclist
- January 10 — Andrey Korneyev, Russian breaststroke swimmer
- January 11 — Pavel Polakovič, Czech boxer
- January 14 — Cláudia Graner, Brazilian water polo goalkeeper
- January 14 — Hugues Legault, Canadian freestyle swimmer
- January 15 — Elizabeth Hazel, UK-born Canadian swimmer
- January 18 — Elena Smurova, Russian water polo player
- January 20 — Stevimir Ercegovac, Croatian shot putter
- January 21 — Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
- January 22 — Eva Cruz, Puerto Rican volleyball player
- January 25 — Utkirbek Haydarov, Uzbek boxer
- January 25 — Daniel Sproule, Australian field hockey defender
- January 25 — Roman Yegorov, Russian freestyle swimmer
- January 26 — Tanja Hart, German volleyball player
- January 27 — Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian biathlete
- January 30 — Nataliya Burdeyna, Ukrainian archer
- January 30 — Nuria Domínguez, Spanish rower
February
- February 1 — David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
- February 3 — Konrad Gałka, Polish butterfly swimmer
- February 3 — Daniel Igali, Nigeria-born Canadian freestyle wrestler
- February 3 — Florian Rousseau, French track cyclist
- February 4 — Mijntje Donners, Dutch field hockey player
- February 5 — Nadine Ernsting-Krienke, German field hockey striker
- February 7 — Steve Nash, Canadian NBA basketball player
- February 9 — Jordi Cruyff, Dutch football player, son of Johan Cruijff
- February 12 — Martin Annen, Swiss bobsledder
- February 12 — Marianne Illing, Canadian waterpolo player
- February 13 — Stefan Kobel, Swiss beach volleyball player
- February 14 — Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer
- February 18 — Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
- February 18 — Béla Szabados, Hungarian freestyle swimmer
- February 20 — Vera Ilyina, Russian diver
- February 25 — Ariel Sganga, Argentine judoka
- February 27 — Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japanese speed skater
March
- March 2 — Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer
- March 4 — Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
- March 4 — Ariel Ortega, Argentine football player
- March 5 — Jens Jeremies, German football player
- March 5 — Larbi Benboudaoud, Algerian-French judoka
- March 5 — Brad Schumacher, American swimmer
- March 6 — Benno Kuipers, Dutch swimmer
- March 6 — Dmitri Tomashevich, Uzbek tennis player
- March 13 — Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player
- March 15 — André Cordeiro, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
- March 16 — Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
- March 18 — Petra Kamstra, Dutch tennis player
- March 18 — Michael Mason, US-born Canadian swimmer
- March 20 — Carsten Ramelow, German football player
- March 21 — Kristine Holzer, American speed skater
- March 22 — Dörte Lindner, German diver
- March 22 — Lucimar de Moura, Brazilian athlete
- March 23 — Serhiy Kovganko, Ukrainian boxer
- March 24 — Sergey Klyugin, Russian high jumper
- March 26 — Irina Spirlea, Romanian tennis player
- March 27 — Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish football player
- March 28 — Camilla Martin, Danish badminton player
- March 29 — Nelson Castro, Colombian weightlifter
- March 29 — Marc Gené, Formula 1-driver
- March 30 — Alexandru Ioanovici, Romanian freestyle swimmer
- March 31 — Jani Sievinen, Finnish swimmer
April
- April 1 — Paolo Bettini, Italian cyclist
- April 1 — Sandra Völker, German swimmer
- April 3 — Dawn Ellerbe, American hammer thrower
- April 3 — Edgar Velasquez, Venezuelan boxer
- April 4 — Barbara Franco, Spanish swimmer
- April 4 — Vassiliy Jirov, Kazakh boxer
- April 4 — Dave Mirra, US extreme sports champion
- April 5 — Mariela González, Cuban marathon runner
- April 5 — Deborah Sosimenko, Australian hammer thrower
- April 9 — Sule Ladipo, Nigerian tennis player
- April 9 — Oliver Lampe, German butterfly swimmer
- April 10 — Georgi Kandelaki, Georgian boxer
- April 11 — Alex Corretja, Spanish tennis player
- April 11 — Kalle Varonen, Finnish freestyle swimmer
- April 12 — Dinu Pescariu, Romanian tennis player
- April 13 — Chad Carvin, American freestyle swimmer
- April 14 — Michael Lambert, American volleyball player
- April 16 — Kazumi Matsuo, Japanese long-distance runner
- April 17 — Daan De Cooman, Belgian judoka
- April 17 — Eric van der Linden, Dutch triathlete
- April 17 — Verónica Páez, Argentine marathon runner
- April 19 — Gerald Sibon, Dutch football player
- April 24 — Gabby Logan, British television sports presenter
- April 26 — Jacinthe Pineau, Canadian butterfly swimmer
- April 27 — Kang Hye-Mi, South Korean volleyball player
- April 27 — Sergey Danilchenko, Ukrainian boxer
- April 28 — Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
- April 30 — Carlos Manuel Baldomir, Argentine boxer
May
- May 3 — George Olteanu, Romanian boxer
- May 4 — Andrey Gavrilov, Kazakhstani butterfly swimmer
- May 9 — Neli Boteva, Bulgarian badminton player
- May 9 — Peter Kelley, American weightlifter
- May 12 — Marc Capdevila, Spanish breaststroke swimmer
- May 18 — Yoko Koikawa, Japanese backstroke swimmer
- May 21 — Martin Doktor, Czech canoer
- May 21 — Margje Teeuwen, Dutch field hockey player
- May 24 — Darina Mifkova, Czech-Italian volleyball player
- May 26 — Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- May 26 — Barbara de Loor, Dutch speed skater
- May 26 — Oleg Saitov, Russian boxer
- May 28 — Cora Campbell, Canadian waterpolo player
- May 30 — Vigor Bovolenta, Italian volleyball player
- May 30 — Sandra Ruales, Ecuadorian athlete
- May 31 — Tünde Szabó, Hungarian swimmer
- May 31 — Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian boxer
June
- June 1 — Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
- June 3 — Fred Kiprop, Kenyan long-distance runner
- June 5 — Yelena Miroshina, Russian diver
- June 7 — Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian tennis player
- June 8 — Pål Arne Fagernes, Norwegian athlete (d. 2003)
- June 12 — Scott Ferrier, Australian decathlete
- June 13 — Elli Overton, Canada-born medley swimmer from Australia
- June 13 — Jimmy Wallis, English field hockey midfielder
- June 13 — Tristram Woodhouse, Australian field hockey forward
- June 15 — Vincent Lange, German volleyball player
- June 16 — Daniel Bispo, Brazilian boxer
- June 19 — Josep María Abarca, Spanish water polo player
- June 19 — Feiko Kloppenburg, Dutch cricketer
- June 19 — Marina Yakusheva, Russian badminton player
- June 20 — Attila Czene, Hungarian medley swimmer
- June 27 — Piermaria Siciliano, Italian freestyle swimmer
- June 28 — Manolo Poulot, Cuban judoka
July
- July 1 — Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian track and field athlete
- July 1 — Eva Piñera, Spanish breaststroke swimmer
- July 1 — Pornchai Thongburan, Thai boxer
- July 2 — Oleg Rykhlevich, Belarusian freestyle swimmer
- July 3 — Kenneth Jonassen, Danish badminton player
- July 4 — Jill Craybas, American tennis player
- July 4 — Denis Pankratov, Russian swimmer
- July 5 — Jimi Lewis, English field hockey goalkeeper
- July 6 — James Swan, Australian boxer
- July 7 — Cyrille Mubiala Kitambala, Congolese football player
- July 11 — Michelle Edwards, badminton player
- July 11 — André Ooijer, Dutch football (soccer) player
- July 12 — Mariano Baracetti, Argentine beach volleyball player
- July 13 — Jarno Trulli, Italian Formula 1-driver
- July 15 — Nicolae Butacu, Romanian swimmer
- July 15 — Marko Liefke, German volleyball player
- July 16 — Michelle Chandler, Australian basketball player
- July 17 — Tonny de Jong, Dutch ice speed skater
- July 17 — Claudio López, Argentine football (soccer) player
- July 17 — Tânia Ferreira, Brazilian judoka
- July 18 — Dirk-Jan van Gendt, Dutch volleyball player
- July 19 — Malcolm O'Kelly, Irish rugby player
- July 21 — Alexis Matias, Puerto Rican volleyball player
- July 23 — Maurice Greene, American athlete
- July 29 — Robin Korving, Dutch athlete
- July 29 — Brenda Starink, Dutch swimmer
August
- August 1 — Justyna Bak, Polish long-distance runner
- August 1 — Michelle Turner, New Zealand field hockey player
- August 2 — Willy Cheruiyot, Kenyan long-distance runner
- August 3 — Blaine Wilson, American gymnast
- August 6 — Adrian Voinea, Romanian tennis player
- August 7 — Yohann Bernard, French breaststroke swimmer
- August 9 — Dillianne van den Boogaard, Dutch field hockey player
- August 11 — Blanca Cerón, Spanish freestyle swimmer
- August 11 — Audrey Mestre, French free-diving world record holder (d. 2002)
- August 12 — Joel Brutus, Haitian judoka
- August 16 — Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer
- August 16 — Didier Cuche, Swiss alpine skier
- August 16 — Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian backstroke and medley swimmer
- August 16 — Raimkul Malakhbekov, Russian boxer
- August 20 — Deborah Gravenstijn, Dutch judoka
- August 22 — Agustín Pichot, Argentine rugby player
- August 28 — Paola Vukojicic, Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
- August 30 — Péter Horváth, Hungarian butterfly swimmer
- August 30 — Florin Popescu, Romanian flatwater canoer
- August 31 — Andrei Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player
September
- September 4 — Mercédesz Stieber, Hungarian water polo player
- September 4 — Yeo Woon-Kon, South Korean field hockey player
- September 5 — Boniface Usisivu, Kenyan long-distance runner
- September 6 — Tim Henman, British tennis player
- September 7 — Greg Newton, Canadian basketball player
- September 8 — Yaw Preko, Ghanaian football (soccer) striker
- September 8 — Becky Price, Canadian field hockey forward
- September 9 — Miriam Oremans, Dutch tennis player
- September 10 — Ben Wallace, NBA player
- September 13 — Adam Ruckwood, British backstroke swimmer
- September 14 — Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete
- September 14 — Patrick van Balkom, Dutch athlete
- September 15 — Stephen Holt, Australian field hockey player
- September 16 — Akira Hayashi, Japanese breaststroke swimmer
- September 16 — Lorenzo Manta, Swiss tennis player
- September 16 — Ji Seung-Hwan, South Korean field hockey player
- September 18 — Sol Campbell, English football (soccer) player
- September 18 — Nicole Haynes, Canadian-American heptathlete
- September 20 — Rachid Bouaita, French boxer
- September 21 — Benjamin Hardy, Australian volleyballer
- September 23 — Félix Mantilla, Spanish tennis player
- September 24 — Igor Vušurović, Montenegrin volleyball player
- September 26 — Gary Hall Jr, American swimmer
- September 26 — Katie Kauffman, American field hockey player
- September 28 — Michel Almeida, Portuguese judoka
- September 28 — Alberto Angelini, Italian water polo player
- September 29 — Iñigo Monreal, Spanish track and field athlete
- September 30 — Tycho van Meer, Dutch field hockey player
October
- October 1 — Aleksandr Averbukh, Russian-born Israeli athlete
- October 3 — Kelly Fraga, Brazilian volleyball player
- October 3 — Ricardo Busquets, Puerto Rican freestyle swimmer
- October 3 — Marianne Timmer, Dutch ice speed skater
- October 6 — Fernando Scherer, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
- October 8 — Tatsuya Kinugasa, Japanese medley swimmer
- October 8 — Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower
- October 10 — Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American NASCAR driver
- October 17 — Nicole Grether, badminton player
- October 17 — Muhamed Kizito, Ugandan light flyweight boxer
- October 17 — Jan Kroslak, Slovak tennis player
- October 18 — Paul Palmer, British swimmer
- October 18 — Junko Onishi, Japanese swimmer
- October 19 — Joanne Fenn, British athlete
- October 22 — Paul Duerden, Canadian volleyball player
- October 22 — Aimo Heilmann, German freestyle swimmer
- October 23 — Sander Westerveld, Dutch football (soccer) goalkeeper
- October 24 — Gabor Babos, Hungarian football (soccer) player
- October 24 — Michael Kolganov, Israeli flatwater canoer
- October 25 — Brunet Zamora, Cuba-born boxer from Italy
- October 26 — Aki Parviainen, Finnish javelin thrower
- October 26 — Renske Vellinga, Dutch ice speed skater (d. 1994)
- October 28 — Itziar Esparza, Spanish freestyle swimmer
- October 28 — Oleksandr Zubrihin, Ukrainian boxer
- October 31 — Rob Cordemans, Dutch baseball player
November
- November 1 — Emma George, Australian pole vaulter
- November 2 — Zsófia Polgár, Hungarian-Israeli chess player
- November 4 — Gaston Etlis, Argentine tennis player
- November 4 — Amy MacFarlane, Canadian field hockey forward
- November 6 — Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist
- November 8 — Penny Heyns, South African swimmer
- November 9 — Alessandro Del Piero, Italian football (soccer) player
- November 9 — Carlos Honorato, Brazilian judoka
- November 9 — Frederik Hviid, Spanish swimmer
- November 11 — Chang So-Yun, South Korean volleyball player
- November 13 — Indrek Zelinski, Estonian football (soccer) player
- November 15 — Sérgio Conceição, Portuguese football (soccer) player
- November 20 — Marina Andrievskaya, badminton player
- November 20 — Drew Ginn, Australian rower
- November 21 — Casey Patton, Canadian boxer
- November 21 — Karen Rolton, Australian cricketer
- November 22 — Leila Sobral, Brazilian basketball player
- November 25 — David Cadieux, Canadian boxer
- November 25 — Ryuji Horii, Japanese backstroke swimmer
- November 26 — Mariya Kocheva, Bulgarian backstroke swimmer
December
- December 1 — Susanne Glesnes, Norwegian beach volleyball player
- December 4 — Anke Huber, German tennis player
- December 5 — Yudelkys Bautista, Dominican Republic volleyball player
- December 7 — Manuel Martínez, Spanish shot putter
- December 7 — Alex Radulescu, Romanian-born tennis player from Germany
- December 8 — Tony Simmons, American football player
- December 11 — Maarten Lafeber, Dutch golfer
- December 12 — Nolberto Solano, Peruvian football (soccer) player
- December 15 — Nikola Stojić, Serbian rower
- December 16 — Edgardo Simon, Argentine track and road bicycle racer
- December 18 — Bram de Groot, Dutch cyclist
- December 21 — Sandra Torres, Argentine marathon runner
- December 21 — Karrie Webb, Australian golf player
- December 24 — Marcelo Salas, Chilean football (soccer) player
- December 25 — Ivan Moro, Spanish water polo player
- December 29 — Néstor Nieves, Venezuelan athlete
- December 31 — Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist
Deaths
- February 10 — Jan Plantaz (43), Dutch road bicycle and track cyclist (b. 1930)
- February 21 — Tim Horton, NHL ice hockey player, Hockey Hall of Famer, founder of Tim Hortons doughnut shops
- March 13 — Frans de Vreng (75), Dutch track cyclist (b. 1898)
- March 22 — Peter Revson, American F1 race car driver
- April 22 — Hennie Quentemeijer (54), Dutch boxer (b. 1920)
- April 23 — Cy Williams, Major League Baseball player (1912-1930)
- July 17 — Dizzy Dean, Major League Baseball player and broadcaster (1930-1947)
- August 7 — Richard Corts (69), German athlete (b. 1905)
- September 19 — Fritz Bondroit (62), German canoer (b. 1912)
- September 19 — Zack Taylor, Major League Baseball player
- October 13 — Sam Rice, Major League Baseball player (1915-1934)
- November 1 — Bullet Joe Bush, Major League Baseball pitcher (1912-1928)
- November 4 — Bert Patenaude (65), American soccer player (b. 1909)
- December 5 — Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player
- December 18 — Harry Hooper, Major League Baseball player (1909-1925)
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