Events in Sport
Event of Interest
May 1 74th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation to become first 4-time Derby winning jockey
Eddie Arcaro
- May 15 73rd Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
Event of Interest
May 21 NY Yank Joe DiMaggio hits for cycle (single, double, triple, HR)
Joe DiMaggio
- May 23 Future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Joe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive HRs as the New York Yankees edge the Indians, 6-5 at Cleveland Stadium
PGA Championship
May 25 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Norwood Hills CC: Ben Hogan scores a convincing 7 & 6 win over Mike Turnesa in the Tuesday final for his 2nd PGA crown
Ben Hogan
Event of Interest
May 27 Hank Greenberg buys an interest in the Cleveland Indians
Hank Greenberg
- May 29 French Championships Men's Tennis: Frank Parker wins 1st of 2 straight French titles; beats Jaroslav Drobný 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6
- May 29 French Championships Women's Tennis: Belgium-born but representing France, Nelly Landry beats American Shirley Fry 6-2, 0-6, 6-0 for her lone major title
Baseball Record
May 30 Schenectady Blue Jays Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in 15-inning game
Tommy Lasorda
- May 31 Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings)
- May 31 Indianapolis 500: Mauri Rose wins in 4:10:23.286 (192.822 km/h)
Birthdays in Sport
- May 3 Peter Oosterhuis, British golfer (British Open 1974, 82 runner-up; Ryder Cup x 6), born in London, England
- May 4 Billy O'Donnell, Canadian harness racer driver of year (1984), born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada
- May 4 Hurley Haywood, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1977, 83, 94; 24 Hours of Daytona 1973, 75, 77, 79, 91), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 9 John Mahaffey, American golfer (PGA Championship 1978; 10 PGA Tour titles), born in Kerrville, Texas
- May 9 Calvin Murphy, American basketball player
- May 11 Alfred Matt, Austrian slalom (Olympic bronze 1968)
- May 14 Dave LaRoche, baseball pitcher (NY Yankees)
- May 14 Bob Woolmer, English cricket all-rounder, coach (19 Tests, coach Pakistan, South Africa), born in Kanpur, India (d. 2007)
- May 23 Ernesto Marcel, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight title 1972-74), born in Colón, Panama (d. 2020)
- May 26 Geoff Greenidge, West Indian cricket batsman (5 Tests; last white player to play for WI), born in St Michael, Barbados
- May 28 Bob Shearer, Australian golfer, course designer (4-time PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit), born in Melbourne, Victoria