Events in Sport
- May 4 Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarded League title at the request of their rivals
- May 5 Detroit Tigers second baseman Charlie Gehringer is elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame
- May 7 75th Kentucky Derby: Steve Brooks aboard Ponder wins in 2:04.2
- May 14 74th Preakness: Ted Atkinson aboard Capot wins in 1:56
- May 28 French Championships Men's Tennis: Frank Parker retains title; beats fellow American Budge Patty 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
- May 28 French Championships: Margaret Osborne duPont wins her 2nd French singles crown; beats Nelly Adamson of France 7-5, 6-2
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Bill Holland wins in 4:07:15.939 (195.257 km/h)
PGA Championship
May 31 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Hermitage CC: Sam Snead beats fellow American Johnny Palmer, 3 & 2; first time reigning Masters champion wins PGA Championship in the same calendar year.
Sam Snead
Birthdays in Sport
- May 4 John Force, American drag racer (16 NHRA Championships), born in Bell Gardens, California
- May 7 Kathy Ahern, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1972), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- May 14 Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist, born in Eckmannshausen, West Germany
- May 15 Wendy Pritchard, Australian women's field hockey team manager (Olympics 1996)
- May 16 Rick Reuschel, pitcher (NY Yankees)
- May 25 Lalith Kaluperuma, Sri Lankan cricketer (two Tests for Sri Lanka 1982), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- May 26 Dan Pastorini, NFL quarterback (Houston Oilers, Raiders) [or Dec 25]
- May 28 Shelley Hamlin, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1973), born in San Mateo, California (d. 2018)
- May 29 Brian Kidd, English soccer forward, coach, manager (England 2 caps, Manchester City), born in Manchester, England
- May 30 Bob Willis, cricketer (superb England fast bowler 1971-84)
- May 30 P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball coach
Deaths in Sport
- May 6 Arthur Ochse, South African cricketer (10 wickets in 3 Tests for South Africa 1927-29), dies at 49