Events in Sport
- 1870 Jem Mace & defends his heavyweight crown against Irish champ Joe Coburn, it lasts 1 hr & 17 minutes, & neither is struck by a punch
- 1889 17th Preakness: W Anderson aboard Buddhist wins in 2:17.5
- 1893 19th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Kunze aboard Lookout wins in 2:39.25
- 1905 31st Kentucky Derby: Jack Martin aboard Agile wins in 2:100.75
- 1910 36th Kentucky Derby: Fred Herbert aboard Donau wins in 2:06.4
- 1913 39th Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Goose aboard Donerail wins in 2:04.8
- 1919 45th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Loftus aboard Sir Barton wins in 2:09.8
- 1926 51st Preakness: John Maiben aboard Display wins in 1:59.8
- 1929 54th Preakness: Louis Schaefer aboard Dr Freeland wins in 2:01.6
Golf Major
1929 British Open Golf, Muirfield: Walter Hagen wins 4th Open title, by 6 strokes from fellow American Johnny Farrell
Walter Hagen
- 1931 Golf ball size hail falls in Burlington, New Jersey
- 1941 66th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Whirlaway, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
- 1946 Red Sox win 15th straight beat Yanks 5-4, DiMaggio hits Grand Slam
- 1947 72nd Preakness: Doug Dodson aboard Faultless wins in 1:59
- 1967 Foundation AZ soccer team forms in Alkmaar
Event of Interest
1967 Hank Aaron only inside the park HR (vs Jim Bunning)
Hank Aaron
- 1970 Atlanta Braves' Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in his 1,000th game, loses to Cards 6-5
- 1973 27th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 1
- 1973 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
- 1978 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London
- 1979 John McMullen becomes CEO of Houston Astros
- 1981 Montreal Expo Charlie Lee no-hits SF Giants, 4-0
- 1987 Jody Rosentha wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic
- 1989 FC Barcelona of Spain win 29th European Cup Winner's Cup against Sampdoria of Italy 1-0 in Bern
- 1989 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Calgary Flames beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 1
- 1991 Oakland A's Jose Canseco is seen leaving Madonna's apt
- 1991 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Minnesota North Stars beat Edmonton Oilers, 4 games to 1
- 1992 Jennifer Wyatt wins LPGA Crestar-Fresh Farm Golf Classic
Hall of Fame
1993 Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Bill Walton
- 1995 Real Zaragoza of Spain win 35th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 2-1 in Paris
- 1997 Chicago Cubs turn baseballs 68th triple play (vs SF Giants)
- 2002 Anaheim Angels crush the Chicago White Sox 19-0. The Angels join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season
Event of Interest
2018 Rafael Nadal breaks John McEnroe's record for successive set wins on a single surface (49 on carpet) with 6-3, 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman at the Madrid Open (clay)
Rafael Nadal
John McEnroe
Birthdays in Sport
- 1850 Thomas Johnstone Lipton, yachtsman/tea magnate (Lipton Tea), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- 1867 Jim Kelly, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (Australian 1896-1905), born in Port Melbourne, Australia (d. 1938)
- 1868 Ed Barrow, American baseball manager (d. 1953)
- 1897 Dalton Parry Conyngham, cricketer (one Test South Africa v England 1923)
- 1903 Kay Petre, early racing driver
Pat Summerall
1930 Pat Summerall, American NFL player (NY Giants) and CBS sportscaster, born in Lake City, Florida (d. 2013)
Pat Summerall
- 1934 Cliff Wilson, snooker player
- 1937 Jim Hickman, baseball player (Mets, Dodgers, Cubs), born in Henning, Tennessee (d. 2016)
- 1937 Tamara Press, USSR, shot putter/discus thrower (Olympic gold 1960)
- 1938 Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player (4-time Grand Slam singles champion), born in Madrid, Spain
- 1938 Merritt Ranew, baseball player
- 1941 Ken Berry [Allen Kent Berry], American baseball player (White Sox, Angels, Brewers, Indians), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- 1943 Bruce Raymond, British jockey, born in Hatfield
- 1943 Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete (400 metres) (d. 2008)
- 1944 Abdul Kadir, cricketer (Pakistani batsman-keeper in 4 Tests 1964-65)
- 1944 Kathy Farrer, LPGA golfer
- 1953 Barbara Moxness, LPGA golfer
- 1955 Bruce Hartzler, American canoeist (alt-Olympics 1996), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1955 Chris Berman, sportscaster (ESPN)
- 1957 Phil Mahre, alpine slalom skier (Olympic gold/silver-80, 84), born in Yakima, Washington
- 1957 Steve Mahre, twin alpine slalom skier (Olympic silver 1980, 84), born in Yakima, Washington
- 1958 Jeannette Kohlhaas, LPGA golfer
- 1958 Margaret Ward, LPGA golfer
- 1959 Dan Schayes, NBA center/forward (Miami Heat, Orlando Magic)
- 1960 Merlene Ottey, Jamaican/Italian running star (Olympics)
- 1960 Tauseef Ahmed, cricketer (leading Pakistani off-spinner of 80's)
- 1961 Blyth Tait, England, NZ equestrian 3 day event (Olympic gold 1996)
- 1961 Randy Cunneyworth, Etobicoke, NHL left wing (Ottawa Senators)
- 1962 Joey Meyer, baseball player
- 1962 Robby Thompson, infielder (SF Giants), born in West Palm Beach, Florida
- 1964 Dean Spriddle, Plymouth England, Canadian Tour golfer (1994 Oak Valley)
- 1965 Jim Schreiner, Kailua Hawaii, kayak (alt-Olympics 1996)
- 1965 Mike Butcher, baseball player
- 1965 Rony Seikaly, NBA center (Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors)
- 1965 Todd Kalis, NFL guard (Cin Bengals)
- 1966 Jonathan Edwards, Britain, triple jumper (Olympics-gold/silver-92, 96)
- 1966 Mikael Andersson, Swedish NHL left wing (Tampa Bay Lightning), born in Malmö, Sweden
- 1967 Nobuhiro Takeda, Japanese footballer and sportscaster
- 1968 Julie Smith, softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Glendora, California
- 1969 Curtis Whitley, NFL center (Panthers, Packers, Raiders)
- 1969 Dennis Bergkamp, Amsterdam Neth, soccer player (Ajax)
- 1969 Martin Driever, WLAF tight end (Rhein Fire)
- 1969 Pete Schourek, pitcher (Cincinnati Reds), born in Austin, Texas
- 1970 Andre Stolz, Brisbane QLD, Australian golfer
- 1971 Andrei Kravtsov, Queensland Australia, gymnast (Olympics 1996)
- 1971 Eric Stock, soccer player (NEC)
- 1971 Ronnie Dixon, NFL defensive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles, NY Jets)
- 1972 Akili Johnson, NFL defensive back (Atlanta Falcons)
- 1972 Farrell Duclair, CFL fullback (Calgary Stampeders)
- 1972 Stuart Carlisle, cricketer (Zimbabwe Test batsman 1995-)
- 1972 Radosław Majdan, Polish footballer
- 1973 Jerome Williams, NBA forward (Detroit Pistons)
- 1973 Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
- 1974 Grant Williams, American former NFL tackle (Seattle Seahawks), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- 1974 Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
- 1975 Adam Deadmarsh, Trail BC, NHL center (Colorado Avalanche, Olympics 1998)
- 1975 Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
- 1976 Aggeliki Tsiolakoudi, Greek javelin thrower
- 1977 Amanda Borden, gymnast (World silver 94, Olympic gold 1996), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- 1977 Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
- 1977 Nick Heidfeld, German Formula 1 driver
- 1981 Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
- 1984 Edward Mujica. Venezuelan baseball player
- 1985 Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 Anej Lovrečič, Slovenian football (soccer) player
- 1995 Missy Franklin, American swimmer (5 Olympic gold 2012, 16), born in Pasadena, California
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
2000 World champion professional boxer Manny Pacquiao (21) weds Jinkee Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao
Deaths in Sport
Tommy Burns
1955 Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer, dies of a heart attack at 73
Tommy Burns
- 1963 Gene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, American football player (b. 1931)
- 1967 Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racing driver, (b. 1935)
- 1968 Maurie Sievers, cricket medium-pacer (Austral v England 1936-37), dies
- 1972 Rhys Gemmell, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ships singles & doubles 1921), dies at 76
- 1984 Joaquin Agostinho, Portuguese cyclist, dies at 41
- 2003 Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and a grandmaster of chess problem composition, dies at 66
- 2011 Michael Baze, American horse racing jockey (b. 1987)
- 2018 Evgeni Vasiukov, Russian chess grandmaster (World Senior Champion 1995), dies at 85
May in History
Botched Crown Jewels Theft Pays Off
Thomas Blood, who tried to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London on this day was not only forgiven by the King, but given a reward.
May 9, 1671
Gardener Grows Into Architectural Legend
Starting a new job at 4.30am, organising the workforce at 6am and meeting his future wife over breakfast: all in a day's work for Joseph Paxton.
May 9, 1826
One-Man Mission of Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland on this day planning to negotiate peace with the British – without the knowledge or approval of his boss, Adolf Hitler.
May 10, 1941
Assassination of a British Prime Minister
Only one British Prime Minister has ever been assassinated, a fact that brought the only claim to fame for Spencer Perceval.
May 11, 1812