Events in Sport
- May 1 119th Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey wins aboard Sea Hero, the first of 2 Derby victories (1996 on Grindstone)
Boxing Title Fight
May 8 Lennox Lewis beats Tony Tucker in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
Lennox Lewis
Hall of Fame
May 10 Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Bill Walton
- May 12 Parma of Italy win 33rd European Cup Winner's Cup against Royal Antwerp of Belgium 3-1 in London
Event of Interest
May 13 KC Royal George Brett hits his 300th HR
George Brett
- May 15 118th Preakness: Mike Smith aboard Prairie Bayou wins in 1:56.6
Boxing Title Fight
May 22 Riddick Bowe TKOs Jesse Ferguson in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
Riddick Bowe
- May 24 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Montreal Canadians beat New York Islanders, 4 games to 1
- May 26 In Major League Baseball, Carlos Martinez famously hits a ball off Jose Canseco's head for a home run
- May 26 1st UEFA Champions League Final: Marseille beats Milan 1-0 at Munich
- May 29 Texas Ranger Jose Canseco pitches 8th inning in 15-1 loss to Red Sox, he gives up 3 runs on 2 hits & 3 walks, he damages his arm
- May 29 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Los Angeles Kings beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 3
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Emerson Fittipaldi wins in 3:10:49.860 (253.000 km/h)
Birthdays in Sport
- May 20 Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
Deaths in Sport
- May 5 Dick Metz, American golfer (US Open 1938 runner-up; 10 PGA Tour titles), dies at 84
- May 12 Zeno Colò, Italian downhill skier (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 72
- May 13 Evert "Eef" Dolman, Dutch cyclist (Olympic gold 1964), dies at 47
- May 19 S W Sohoni, cricketer (4 Tests for India), dies
- May 28 Charles Barnett, cricketer (20 Tests for England), dies
- May 29 Billy Conn, American boxer, dies of pneumonia at 75