Events in Sport
- May 2 62nd Kentucky Derby: Ira Hanford aboard Bold Venture wins in 2:03.6
Event of Interest
May 3 NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut, gets 3 hits
Joe DiMaggio
- May 8 Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife faints when he returned to track
- May 16 61st Preakness: George Woolf aboard Bold Venture wins in 1:59
- May 24 Tony Lazerri 2 grand slams (11 RBIs); Ben Chapman sets record by reaching 1st 7 times safely, Yanks beat A's 25-2
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Louis Meyer wins in 4:35:03.314 (175.530 km/h)
Birthdays in Sport
- May 3 José Torres, Puerto Rican boxer (world light-heavyweight champion), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2009)
- May 6 Pat Walsh, New Zealand rugby union utility back and selector (14 caps), born in Kaitaia, Far North District (d. 2007)
- May 9 Floyd Robinson, baseball player (White Sox, Reds, A's), born in Prescott, Arkansas
- May 9 Terry Downes, British middleweight boxing champion (1961-62), born in London, England (2017)
- May 19 Elisabeth Schwartz, Austrian pairs figure skater (Olympic gold 1956)
- May 23 Robert Sangster, horse owner/trainer
- May 25 Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (Indian slow lefty, hat-trick for Qld 1969), born in Surat, Gujarat, India (d. 2013)
- May 30 Roy Harford, Fulham UK, British-born NZ cricketer
