May 1975 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Boxing Title Fight

May 16 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

May 17 100th Preakness: Darrel McHargue aboard Master Derby wins in 1:56.4
May 22 8th ABA Championship: Kentucky Colonels beat Ind Pacers, 4 games to 1
May 25 29th NBA Championship: Golden Warriors sweep Wash Bullets in 4 games
May 25 Cleveland's Dennis Eckersley, debuts shutting out the A's 6-0
May 25 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser wins rain-shortened race ahead of defending champion Johnny Rutherford and pole-sitter A. J. Foyt for his second Indy title
May 26 Tennis game in Surrey championships lasts 31 minutes
May 27 Stanley Cup Final, The Aud, Buffalo, NY: Philadelphia Flyers win back-to-back titles; shutting out Buffalo Sabres, 2-0 for a 4-2 series win; goaltender Bernie Parent wins 2nd consecutive Conn Smyth trophy as playoff MVP
May 28 19th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Leeds United 2-0 at Paris

Birthdays in Sport

May 1 Austin Croshere, American basketball forward (Indiana Pacers) and broadcaster (Fox Sports Indiana Pacers analyst), born in Los Angeles, California
May 1 Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), born in Yaounde, Cameroon (d. 2003)
May 1 Alexei Smertin, Russian soccer midfielder/executive (55 caps; Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Bordeaux), born in Barnaul, Russia
May 2 Mark Johnson, baseball pitcher (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Dayton, Ohio
May 2 Murray William Burdan, swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Wellington, New Zealand

David Beckham

May 2 David Beckham, English soccer midfielder (115 caps [58 as captain]; Man Utd, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris SG, LA Galaxy) and owner (Inter Miami CF, Salford City), born in London, England

May 7 Jason Tunks, discus thrower (Olympics 1996), born in London, Ontario
May 8 Jussi Markkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
May 8 Gastón Mazzacane, Argentine racing driver
May 9 Brian Deegan, Freestyle Motocross innovator
May 10 Adam Deadmarsh, Trail BC, NHL center (Colorado Avalanche, Olympics 1998)
May 10 Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
May 12 Lawrence Phillips, running back (St Louis Rams), born in Little Rock, Arkansas

Jonah Lomu

May 12 Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby union winger (youngest ever All Black, 63 internationals), born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2015)

May 13 Chris Crawford, NBA forward (Atlanta Hawks)
May 14 Carmen Klomp, Australian rower (Olympics 1996)
May 14 Salim Iles, Algerian swimmer

Ray Lewis

May 15 Ray Lewis, American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (13 × Pro Bowl; Super Bowl MVP 2000; Baltimore Ravens), born in Bartow, Florida

May 18 John Higgins, Scottish snooker player (4-time world champion), born in Wishaw, Scotland
May 19 London Fletcher, American football player
May 19 Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
May 20 Isaac Gálvez, Spanish cyclist (d. 2006)
May 20 Mark Zupan, American quadriplegic rugby player
May 22 Jaane Niinimaa, Finnish NHL defenseman (Finland Olympic bronze 1998, Flyers), born in Raahe, Finland
May 22 Salvador Ballesta, Spanish footballer (Atlético Madrid, Valencia), born in Zaragoza, Spain
May 23 Vincent Goossens, soccer player (Dordrecht '90)
May 24 Katie King-Crowley, American ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics 1998), born in Salem, New Hampshire
May 24 Yannis Goumas, Greek footballer (Greece national team), born in Ampelonas, Greece
May 24 Marc Gagnon, Canadian short track speed skater (Olympic gold 1998, 2002), born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
May 25 Adam Saathoff, American running target (Olympics 1996), born in Tucson, Arizona
May 26 Christopher Lindsey Donaldson, 100m/200m runner (Olympics 1996), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
May 26 Travis Lee, baseball 1st baseman (Olympic bronze 1996), born in San Diego, California
May 27 Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
May 28 Mike Fisher, soccer midfielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Naperville, Illinois
May 29 Alexander Zhurik, Belarusian hockey defenseman (Belarus, Olympics 1998), born in Minsk, Belarus
May 29 Bianca Langham, Australian field hockey player (Olympic-96)
May 30 Andrew Farrell, English rugby league and union footballer

Deaths in Sport

May 8 Avery Brundage, American businessman (5th President International Olympic Committee 1952-72), dies at 87
May 22 Lefty Grove, American Baseball Player (b. 1900)

Ezzard Charles

May 27 Ezzard Charles, heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53

May 30 Steve Prefontaine, American runner (5K 1972 Olympic 4th), dies in a car accident at 24

On This Day