Events in Sport
- May 2 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers
- May 3 Last cricket test match appearance for Bobby Simpson, at Kingston
- May 3 WI all set to lose cricket test v Aust at Kingston till riots end game
- May 6 104th Kentucky Derby: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed - first and only Derby victory and 1st-leg of Triple Crown
- May 10 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London
- May 17 Los Angeles Dodgers Lee Lacy hits record 3rd consecutive pinch-hit home run
- May 20 103rd Preakness: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed for the 2nd-leg of the Triple Crown
- May 23 AL approves transfer of Red Sox to Jean Yawkey for $15M
Sports History
May 25 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: 3-peat for Montreal Canadiens; beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 as Mario Tremblay scores twice; 4-2 series victory
Birthdays in Sport
- May 3 Lawrence Tynes, Scottish-American football player, born in Greenock, Scotland
- May 4 Brett Burton, Australian Football Player for the Adelaid Crows, born in Whyalla, Australia
- May 5 Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer, born in Suresnes, France
- May 6 John Abraham, American football player, born in Timmonsville, South Carolina
- May 7 Shawn Marion, American basketball player
- May 8 Cindy Parlow, American soccer forward (Olympics 1996), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- May 8 Sandra Kleinova, Czech tennis star (1995 Futures-Turku-FIN), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
- May 8 Lúcio [Lucimar Ferreira da Silva], Brazilian footballer (Inter Milan), born in Planaltina, Brazil
- May 9 Leandro Damián Cufré, Argentine footballer
- May 9 Aaron Harang, American baseball player
- May 12 Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter and politician, born in Ardabil, Iran
- May 12 Josh Phelps, American baseball player, born in Anchorage, Alaska
- May 13 Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- May 13 Barry Zito, American baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 14 Heather Brink, gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
- May 14 André Macanga, Angolan footballer
- May 14 Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
- May 14 Eddie House, American basketball player
- May 14 Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
- May 15 Amy Chow, American gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver, 1996), born in San Jose, California
- May 15 Edu, Brazilian footballer
- May 15 Dwayne DeRosario, Canadian footballer
- May 16 Vincent Larusso, American actor (Mighty Ducks; D2; D3), born in Livingston, New Jersey
- May 16 Lionel Scaloni, Argentine soccer wing-back (7 caps; Deportivo La Coruña, Lazio) and manager (Argentina; Copa América 2021), born in Rosario, Argentina
- May 17 Paddy Kenny, Irish goalkeeper
- May 17 Carlos Peña, Dominican MLB baseball infielder, 2001-14 (Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and 6 other teams), and broadcaster, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- May 18 Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer (Chelsea, Real Madrid), born in Amarante, Portugal
- May 18 Marcus Giles, American baseball player, born in San Diego, California
- May 19 Marcus Bent, English footballer
- May 21 Jamaal Magloire, Canadian professional basketballer
- May 23 Mike González, American baseball player, born in Corpus Christi, Texas
- May 23 Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
- May 24 Jade Winter, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996)
- May 24 Brad Penny, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), born in Blackwell, Oklahoma
- May 24 Johan Holmqvist, Swedish hockey player, born in Tolfta, Sweden
- May 25 Brian Urlacher, American football player (Chicago Bears), born in Pasco, Washington
- May 27 Adin Brown, American soccer player
- May 29 Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player (Davis Cup 2001; world #4 2002), born in Marseille, France
Weddings in Sport
Jerry West
May 28 NBA legend Jerry West (40) weds cheerleader Karen Bua
Deaths in Sport
- May 5 Alfred (Harold] Gilligan, English cricketer (4 Tests for England), dies at 81
- May 6 Ethelda Bleibtrey, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m, 300m, 4x100m freestyle relay 1920; first US female champion), dies at 76
- May 13 Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 7 wickets; Canterbury, Otago), dies at 68
- May 19 George Gladstone, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1930), dies
- May 29 Carl Reynolds, American baseball outfielder (2nd player in MLB history to hit home runs in 3 consecutive innings 1930; Chicago White Sox), dies at 75
- May 31 József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)