See also: 1963 in sports, other events of 1964, 1965 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
- March 6 – Tom O'Hara sets a new world record for the indoor mile run by completing it in 3 minutes and 56.4 seconds.
- Stock car racing:
- Richard Petty won the Daytona 400 on February 23
- NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
- Indianapolis 500 - A.J. Foyt
- USAC Racing - A.J. Foyt won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - John Surtees of Great Britain
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean Guichet / Nino Vaccarella won driving a Ferrari 275P
- Rally racing - the team of Paddy Hopkirk / Henry Liddon won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Mini Cooper S
- Drag racing - Don Garlits won the NHRA, Top Fuel Championship
- World Series: St. Louis Cardinals win 4 games to 3 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is pitcher, Bob Gibson of St. Louis.
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- UCLA wins 97-83 over Duke
- NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 1 over the San Francisco Warriors
- February 25 in Charlotte - Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston by TKO in the 8th round to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
- December 14 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Joey Giardello won a 15 round decision over Rubin "Hurricane" Carter to win the World Middleweight Title.
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Tokyo, Japan
- Gold Medal: India
- Silver Medal: Pakistan
- Bronze Medal: Australia
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Manfred Schnelldorfer, Germany
- Women's champion: Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands
- Pairs champions: Marika Kilius & Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Germany
- AFL Championship:1964 - Buffalo Bills win 11-7 over the San Diego Chargers
- NFL Championship:December 1964 - Cleveland Browns win 27-0 over the Baltimore Colts
W
- Victorian Football League
- Melbourne wins the 68th VFL Premiership (Melbourne 8.16 (64) d Collingwood 8.12 (60))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Gordon Collis (Carlton)
- Grey Cup: B.C. Lions win 34-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- England - FA Cup: West Ham United won 3-2 over Preston North End
- Spain beat the Soviet Union 2-1 to win the European Championship.
- In October during the celebration of the 1964 Summer Olympics FIFA gives the right to host the Football World Cup in 1970 to Mexico.
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- April 12 - The Masters - Arnold Palmer
- June - US Open - Ken Venturi
- July - British Open - Tony Lema
- August - PGA Championship - Bobby Nichols
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $113,285
- US Women's Open - Mickey Wright
- LPGA Championship - Mary Mills
- Mickey Wright: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $29,800
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Polo Prince
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Northern Dancer
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Prince Royal
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Santa Claus
- United States Triple Crown Races: Northern Dancer is the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby
- Kentucky Derby - Northern Dancer
- Preakness Stakes - Northern Dancer
- Belmont Stakes - Quadrangle(Held at Aqueduct)
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
- Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs won 4-3 over the Detroit Red Wings
- World Hockey Championship:
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship - University of Michigan Wolverines defeat University of Denver Pioneers 6-3 in Denver, CO
- The Guelph Mohawks win the first Castrol Cup.
- The Vancouver Carlings win the Mann Cup.
- The Oshawa Green Gaels win the Minto Cup.
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's Olympic Gold Medal:
- Downhill: Egon Zimmermann, Austria
- Slalom: Josef Stiegler, Austria
- Giant Slalom: Francois Bonlieu, France
- The women's Olympic Gold Medal:
- Downhill: Christl Haas, Austria
- Slalom: Christine Goitschel, France
- Giant Slalom: Marielle Goitschel, France
- ISF World Championships:
- Men's combined champion: Ludwig Leitner, Germany
- Women's combined champion: Marielle Goitschel, France
- The World Snooker Championship is revived in a challenge format:
- John Pulman beats Fred Davis 19-16
- John Pulman beats Rex Williams 40-33
- February 29 – In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition: 58.9 seconds.
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: Australia wins 3-2 over the United States in world tennis.
- 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan
- United States wins the most medals (90), and the most gold medals (36).
- 1964 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria
- USSR wins the most medals (25), and the most gold medals (11).
- Third Winter Universiade held in Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechoslovakia
Births
January
- January 1 — Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
- January 2 — Pat Sutherland, English netballer
- January 2 — Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
- January 6 — Henry Maske, German boxer
- January 6 — Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan swimmer (d. 2005)
- January 7 — Reggie de Jong, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- January 12 — Laura Gildemeister, Peruvian tennis player
- January 18 — Virgil Hill, American boxer
- January 21 — Aleksandar Šoštar, Yugoslav water polo player
- January 20 — Roger Smith, Bahamian tennis player
- January 22 — Nigel Benn, British boxer
- January 22 — Celia Correa, Spanish field hockey player
February
- February 5 — Jim Pugh, American tennis player
- February 10 — Victor Davis, Canadian swimming champion (d. 1989)
- February 10 — Chris Sande, Kenyan boxer
- February 12 — Tuihaleni Kayele, Namibian long distance runner
- February 16 — Raul Alcala, Mexican cyclist
- February 17 — Ingrid Wolff, Dutch field hockey forward
- February 20 — An Young-Su, South Korean boxer
- February 22 — Magnus Wislander, Swedish handball player
- February 24 — Ute Geweniger, German breaststroke and medley swimmer
- February 27 — Thomas Lange, German rower
- February 29 — Svilen Rusinov, Bulgarian boxer
- February 29 — Henrik Sundstrøm, Swedish tennis player
March
- March 5 — Gerald Vanenburg, Dutch football (soccer) player
- March 6 — Robyn Toomey, New Zealand field hockey player
- March 10 — Wendy Baker, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
- March 11 — Juantxo García-Mauriño, Spanish field hockey player
- March 18 — Bonnie Blair, American Olympic gold medalist in speed skating
- March 21 — Sean Murphy, Canadian backstroke swimmer
- March 31 — Kelly Jones, American tennis player
April
- April 5 — Steve Beaton, British darts player
- April 8 — Andrew Maynard, American boxer
- April 9 — Graham Reid, Australian field hockey player
- April 10 — Manon Bollegraf, Dutch tennis player
- April 12 — Josep Picó, Spanish water polo player
- April 13 — Steve McCrory, American boxer
- April 18 — Paul Gonzales, American boxer
- April 21 — Alex Baumann, Czech-born Canadian swimmer
- April 21 — Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
- April 22 — Michelle Pearson, Australian medley and freestyle swimmer
- April 22 — Wilma van Velsen, Dutch butterfly and freestyle swimmer
- April 25 — Omar Catari, Venezuelan boxer
- April 26 — Aleksandr Miroshnichenko, Soviet boxer (d. 2003)
- April 27 — Sharon Creelman, Canadian field hockey player
- April 28 — Mark Hager, Australian field hockey player
May
- May 1 — Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
- May 2 — Ricki Osterthun, German tennis player
- May 4 — Mark Leduc, Canadian boxer
- May 5 — Heike Henkel, German athlete
- May 13 — Sara Gomer, British tennis player
- May 20 — Miodrag Belodedici, Romanian football (soccer) defender
- May 22 — Virginia Ramírez, Spanish field hockey player
- May 28 — Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer
June
- June 4 — Desi Reijers, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- June 11 — Kim Gallagher, American athlete (d. 2002)
- June 11 — Martine Ohr, Dutch field hockey striker
- June 14 — Randall Thompson, Canadian boxer
- June 30 — Tania Dangalakova, Bulgarian breaststroke swimmer
July
- July 1 — Francisco Maciel, Mexican tennis player
- July 10 — Martin Laurendeau, Canadian tennis player
- July 14 — Marcelino Bolivar, Venezuelan boxer
- July 24 — Barry Bonds, American baseball player
- July 25 — Helen van der Ben, Dutch field hockey player and coach
- July 25 — Angus Waddell, Australian freestyle swimmer
- July 28 — Aleksandar Hristov, Bulgarian boxer
August
- August 3 — Elles Voskes, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- August 8 — Nicolae Juravschi, Moldovan canoer
- August 9 — Michael Heath, American swimmer
- August 14 — Hussain Shah Syed, Pakistani boxer
- August 20 — Giuseppe Giannini, Italian footballer
- August 22 — Mats Wilander, Swedish tennis player
- August 27 — Frank Tate, American boxer
- August 29 — Jordi Arrese, Spanish tennis player
- August 31 — Mike West, Canadian backstroke swimmer
September
- September 4 — Robson da Silva, Brazilian athlete
- September 5 — Carlos Gabriel Salazar, Argentine boxer
- September 7 — Richard Matuszewski, American tennis player
- September 12 — Zsolt Gyulai, Hungarian canoer
- September 12 — Dirk Richter, East German swimmer
- September 16 — Glenn Beringen, Australian breastroke swimmer
- September 22 — Wayne Yearwood, Canadian basketball player and coach
- September 23 — Diana Dutra, Canadian female boxer
October
- October 1 — Marcia Pankratz, American field hockey forward
- October 2 — Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
- October 5 — Letitia Vriesde, Surinamese track and field athlete
- October 19 — Carlos di Laura, Peruvian tennis player
- October 25 — Johan de Kock, Dutch football (soccer) defender
- October 26 — Lawson Duncan, American tennis player
- October 26 — Elisabeta Lipa, Romanian rower
- October 27 — Mary T. Meagher, American swimmer
- October 29 — Anthony Mosse, New Zealand swimmer
November
- November 14 — Silken Laumann, Canadian rower
- November 24 — Hendrie Krüzen, Dutch football (soccer) midfielder
- November 25 — Bert van Vlaanderen, Dutch long-distance runner
- November 26 — Vreni Schneider, Swiss alpine ski racer
December
- December 5 — Pablo Morales, American swimmer
- December 8 — Nikola Jerkan, Croatian football (soccer) player
- December 11 — Jacqueline Toxopeus, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
- December 11 — Carolyn Waldo, Canadian synchronized swimmer
- December 12 — Suzanne Landells, Australian medley swimmer
- December 13 — Dieter Eilts, German football (soccer) player
- December 16 — Heike Drechsler, German track and field athlete
- December 16 — Marieke van Drogenbroek, Dutch rower
- December 17 — Barbara Daniels, English cricketer
- December 19 — Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player
- December 28 — Rick Leach, American tennis player
Deaths
- January 19 — Joe Weatherly, NASCAR grand national champion
- February 15 — Ken Hubbs (22), MLB baseball player, Chicago Cubs
- July 2 — Fireball Roberts, American stock car driver
- July 23 — Frederick Grace (80), English lightweight boxer (b. 1884)