Events in Sport
Boxing Title Fight
May 16 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

Muhammad Ali
- 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 in 2:54:55.064 (240.135 km/h)
- May 26 Tennis game in Surrey championships lasts 31 minutes
- May 27 Stanley Cup Final, The Aud, Buffalo, NY: Philadelphia Flyers take back-to-back titles; beat Buffalo Sabres, 2-0 for a 4-2 series win
- 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 (England 115 caps, Man U, Real Madrid), born in London, England

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

Jonah Lomu
- 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, hockey defenseman (Belarus, Olympics 1998)
- May 29 Bianca Langham, Australian field hockey fullback/halfback (Olympic-96)
- May 30 Andrew Farrell, English rugby league and union footballer
Deaths in Sport
Ezzard Charles
May 27 Ezzard Charles, heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53

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