Events in Sport
- May 2 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
- May 4 1st ABA championship: Pitts Pipers beat NO Buccaneers, 4 games to 3
- May 4 94th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins
- May 11 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Defenceman J. C. Tremblay fires home the winner as Montreal Canadiens edge St Louis Blues, 3-2 for a 4-0 series sweep
TV Show Appearance
May 15 Paul McCartney & John Lennon appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", to promote Apple Records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host
- May 18 93rd Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins in 1:56.8
Baseball Record
May 18 Al Kaline hits his 307th HR, surpassing Hank Greenberg as a Tiger
- May 21 Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs sets outfielder record of 695 straight MLB games
Baseball Record
May 22 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball HOF outfielder Willie Stargell hits 3 HRs, a double and a single in a 13-6 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field
Sports History
May 27 George Halas retires from coaching, finishing with 318 regular-season wins and 6 NFL titles
- May 27 NL awards Montreal & SD major league franchises
- May 28 MLB: AL announces it is splitting into 2 divisions
- May 28 MLB: NL grants San Diego Padres a franchise
- May 29 European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Bobby Charlton scores twice as Manchester United beats Benfica, 4-1; first English club to win the trophy
Indy 500
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser driving a piston-powered Offenhauser beats Dan Gurney to win his first of 3 Indy 500 triumphs
Birthdays in Sport
- May 1 Oliver Bierhoff, German soccer striker (Germany 70 caps; Ascoli, Udinese, AC Milan), born in Karlsruhe, Germany
- May 2 Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, born in Geneva, Switzerland
- May 4 Eddie Pérez, Venezuelan baseball catcher (World Series 1995, 2021 [coach]; NLCS MVP 1999; Atlanta Braves), born in Ciudad Ojeda, Venezuela
- May 5 Craig Hendrickson, CFL tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Tucson, Arizona
- May 5 Tim Neilsen, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (South Australian 1991), born in Forest Gate, London, England
- May 6 Andy Kelly, American football quarterback (Nashville Kats, Rhein Fire), born in Dayton, Tennessee
- May 7 Joe King, American NFL safety (Oakland Raiders), born in Dallas, Texas
Omar Camporese (55 years old)
May 8 Italian tennis player (2 x WTA singles, 5 x doubles titles; world #18 1992), born in Bologna, Italy
- May 9 Bruce Pickens, NFL cornerback (Oakland Raiders)
- May 9 David Benoit, NBA forward (Utah Jazz, NJ Nets)
- May 9 Marie-José Pérec, French athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 400m 1996), born in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
- May 9 Vince Workman, NFL running back (Packers, Panthers, Colts)
- May 10 Julie Smith, softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Glendora, California
Tony Hawk (55 years old)
May 12 American skateboarder, born in Carlsbad, California
- May 13 James Harris, NFL defensive end (Minnesota Vikings), born in East St. Louis, Illinois
- May 15 James "Jim" Neil, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Buffalo, New York
- May 15 Leroy Hoard, American NFL running back, 1990-99 (Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and 2 other teams), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- May 17 Tim Grunhard, NFL center (KC Chiefs)
- May 19 James Parrish, NFL outside linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- May 19 Jeanne Basone, Brubank California, wrestler (Hollywood-GLOW)
- May 19 Mark Janssens, Surrey, NHL center (Hartford Whalers)
- May 19 Paul Justin, NFL quarterback (Indianapolis Colts)
- May 20 Damon Mays, NFL wide receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- May 20 Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby union and rugby sevens footballer, born in Suva, Fiji
- May 22 Alan Levine, Baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox), born in Park Ridge, Illinois
- May 22 Carmie Vairo, softball infielder (Olympics 1996), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- May 22 Mike Harbold, sprint kayaker (Olympics 1996), born in Oakland, California
- May 22 Randy Brown, American NBA point guard and executive (NBA C'ship 1996-98, Chicago Bulls), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 24 Jerry Dipoto, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- May 25 Kendall Gill, American NBA guard & forward (NJ Nets), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 25 Nathalie Schneyder, American synchronized swimmer (Olympic gold 1996), born in San Francisco, California
- May 25 Shawn Bouwens, American NFL guard (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
- May 26 Rachael Sporn, Australian basketball forward (Olympic bronze 1996)
- May 26 Steve Sedgley, English footballer
- May 27 Cedric Smith, NFL running back (Wash Redskins, Arizona Cardinals)
- May 27 Frank Thomas, American Baseball HOF 1st baseman/DH (5 × MLB All-Star; AL MVP 1993, 94; AL batting champion 1997, Chicago White Sox), born in Columbus, Georgia
- May 27 Jeff Bagwell, American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (MLB All-Star 1994, 96, 97, 99; NL MVP 1994; Gold Glove Award 1994; Houston Astros), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 28 Sandra Bacher, American half-heavyweight judoka (Olympics, 1992, 1996), born in Long Island, New York
- May 28 Tomas P Pukstys, American javelin thrower (Olympics 8th 1996), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 30 Amy Fuller, American rower (World C'ship gold W 8+, 6 x silver; Olympic silver Coxless four 1992), born in Inglewood, California (d. 2023)
Deaths in Sport
Craig Wood (1901-1968)
May 7 American golfer (US Masters, US Open 1941), dies of a heart attack at 66
