Events in Sport
- 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official game as the sport's first professional side against the Great Western Base Ball Club winning 45-9
- 1871 1st baseball league game (National Association of Baseball Players), (Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0) Deacon Jim White gets 1st hit, a double
- 1893 Cowboy Bill Pickett invents bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground
- 1897 23rd Kentucky Derby: Buttons Garner aboard Typhoon II wins in 2:12.5
- 1898 24th Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Plaudit wins in 2:09
- 1899 25th Kentucky Derby: Fred Taral aboard Manuel wins in 2:12
- 1918 Yankees set record with 8 sacrifices, beat Red Sox's Babe Ruth 5-4
- 1919 1st legal Sunday baseball game in NYC, 35,000 watch the Phillies beat the NY Giants 4-3
- 1924 8th Olympic games open at Paris, France
Baseball Record
1929 Lou Gehrig hits 3 consecutive HRs, Yankees 11, Tigers 9
Lou Gehrig
- 1935 61st Kentucky Derby: Willie Saunders aboard Omaha wins in 2:05
- 1940 66th Kentucky Derby: Carroll Bierman aboard Gallahadion wins in 2:05
- 1946 72nd Kentucky Derby: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:06.6
- 1949 Air crash at Turin, 31 killed including Torino soccer team
- 1957 83rd Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Iron Liege wins in 2:02.2
- 1963 89th Kentucky Derby: Braulio Baeza aboard Chateaugay wins in 2:01.8
- 1963 Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game
Baseball Record
1965 Willie Mays 512th HR breaks Mel Ott's 511th NL record
Willie Mays
- 1968 94th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins
- 1969 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens sweep St Louis Blues in 4 games
- 1973 Longest baseball game in Veterans' Stadium, Phillies beat Braves 5-4 in 20 innings
- 1974 100th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr. aboard Cannonade wins in 2:04
- 1975 Houston's Bob Watson scores baseball's one-millionth run of all time
- 1979 Jackie Mercer wins her 4th golf title 31 years after her 1st
- 1980 Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning
- 1980 White Sox 1st baseman Mike Squires catches final inning of 11-1 loss to Brewers, becoming 1st lefty to catch since Dale Long in 1958
- 1982 Twins rookie outfielder Jim Eisenreich, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, removes himself, due to taunts from Red Sox bleacher fans
- 1982 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: New York Islanders beat Quebec Nordiques, 4 games to 0
- 1985 111th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Spend A Buck wins 2:00.2
- 1990 Oriole Gregg Olson sets relief pitcher rec of 41 cons scoreless inns
- 1991 117th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley wins aboard Strike the Gold, the first of 2 Derby victories
- 1991 NY Mets M Sasser & Mark Carreon are 8th to hit consecutive pinch HRs
- 1994 Arsenal of England win 34th European Cup Winner's Cup against Parma of Italy 1-0 in Copenhagen
- 1996 122nd Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey wins aboard Grindstone, his second Derby victory (1993 Sea Hero)
- 1997 Phil Blackmar wins 50th Houston golf Open
- 1997 Tammie Green wins LPGA Sprint Titlehoders Championship
Baseball Record
2002 Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run as an SF Giant, in a 3-0 win over Cincinnati. Bonds is first player with 400 homers for one team and 100 with another (Pirates)
Barry Bonds
- 2002 128th Kentucky Derby: Victor Espinoza aboard War Emblem wins in 2:01.13
Event of Interest
2013 Floyd Mayweather defeats Robert Guerrero to retain his WBC Welterweight title
- 2013 139th Kentucky Derby: Joel Rosario aboard Orb wins in 2:02.89
Event of Interest
2015 Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry is named MVP for the 2014-15 NBA season
Stephen Curry
Birthdays in Sport
Betsy Rawls
1928 Betsy Rawls, American golfer (US Womens Open-51, 53, 57, 60), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Betsy Rawls
- 1928 Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1961)
- 1930 Roberta Peters, American operatic soprano (NY Met), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
- 1930 Ronald "Ron" Pickering, British athletics coach and BBC sports commentator, born in Hackney, England (d. 1991)
- 1933 J. Fred Duckett, American sports announcer and teacher, born in Houston, Texas (d. 2007)
- 1946 Renee Powell, American LPGA golfer, born in East Canton, Ohio
- 1946 John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 1948 Billy O'Donnell, Canadian harness racer driver of year (1984), born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1948 Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1949 John Force, American race car driver, born in Bell Gardens, California
- 1956 Jackie Bertsch, American LPGA golfer
- 1956 Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper (Olympic gold 1972), born in Frankfurt, Germany
- 1956 Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player, born in Highland, Illinois
- 1957 Peter Sleep, Australian cricketer (Australian leg-spin all-rounder 1979-90), born in Penola, Australia
- 1959 Bob Tway, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1986), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- 1959 Rohn Stark, American football NFL punter (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1960 Martyn Moxon, English cricketer (England batsman in ten Tests 1986-89), born in Stairfoot, Barnsley, Yorkshire
- 1961 Eugene Daniel, American football NFL center (Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- 1961 Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist, born in Fusagasugá, Colombia
- 1964 Goran Prpić, Croatian tennis star, born in Zagreb, Croatia
- 1965 Adrie Bogers, Dutch soccer player (Willem II), born in Breda, Netherlands
- 1966 Monica Tranel [Michini], American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Big Horn, Montana
- 1967 Derek MacCready, CFL defensive tackle (Edmonton Eskimos), born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1967 John Child, Canadian beach volleyballer (Olympic bronze 1996), born in East York, Ontario
- 1968 Andre Collins, American football NFL linebacker (Cin Bengals), born in Riverside, New Jersey
- 1968 Eddie Pérez, Venezuelan-American baseball catcher (Atlanta Braves), born in Ciudad Ojeda, Venezuela
- 1968 Kevin Todd, Canadian ice hockey NHL center (LA Kings), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1969 Micah Aivazoff, Armenian-descent Canadian ice hockey player, born in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
- 1970 Dawn Staley, American basketball guard (Olympic gold 1996), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1971 Derrick Clark, American football fullback (Broncos, Rhein Fire), born in Apopka, Florida
- 1971 Steve Glenn, Canadian football linebacker (BC Lions), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- 1971 Joe Borowski, American baseball player, born in Bayonne, New Jersey
- 1971 Luiz Garcia Jr., Brazilian racing driver, born in Brasilia, Brazil
- 1972 Ethan Watts, American volleyball middle blocker (Olympics 1996), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1972 Gretchen Ulion, American ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics 1998), born in Marlborough, Connecticut
- 1973 Edward Hervey, Canadian NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys), born in Houston, Texas
- 1973 Matthew Barnaby, Canadian NHL left wing (Buffalo Sabres), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- 1973 Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine football forward, born in La Plata, Argentina
- 1974 Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player, born in Anaco, Anzoátegui, Venezuela
- 1976 Ben Grieve, American baseball player, born in Arlington, Texas
- 1976 Jason Michaels, American baseball player, born in Tampa, Florida
- 1977 Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1978 Brett Burton, Australian Football Player for the Adelaid Crows, born in Whyalla, Australia
- 1979 Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player, born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
- 1980 Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey goalie, born in Belleville, Ontario
- 1981 Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroonian footballer, born in Douala, Cameroon
- 1982 Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer, born in Peristeri, Athens
- 1982 Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer, born in Vienna, Austria
- 1983 Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Rockland, Ontario
- 1984 Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player, born in Khulna, Bangladesh (d. 2007)
- 1984 Kevin Slowey, American baseball player, born in Conroe, Texas
- 1984 Montell Owens, American football player, born in Wilmington, Delaware
- 1985 Ravi Bopara, English cricketer, born in Forest Gate, London
- 1987 Francesc Fàbregas Soler, Spanish footballer (Chelsea, Spanish national team), born in Arenys de Mar, Spain
- 1987 Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer, born in Palma, Majorca, Spain
- 1989 Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish professional golfer (Number 1 for 95 weeks), born in Holywood, Northern Ireland
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1944 Baseball player Ted Williams marries Doris Soule (divorced 1954)
Ted Williams
Wedding of Interest
2003 One of the best cricketer Rahul Dravid (30) weds surgeon Vijeta Pendharkar in Bangladore, India
Rahul Dravid
Deaths in Sport
- 2010 Ernie Harwell, American sportscaster (b. 1918)
- 2018 Larry Hunter, American college basketball coach (Wittenberg Tigers, Ohio Bobcats, Western Carolina Catamounts), dies at 68
- 2018 Lionel Lamy, French footballer, dies at 74
- 2018 Luyanda Ntshangase, South African footballer (Maritzburg United), is struck by lightning and dies at 21
May in History
The 100-year Football Curse that Appears to be Working
S.L. Benfica has failed to win a European Championship since 1962, when former coach Béla Guttmann placed a 100 year curse on the club. Is the curse working?
May 2, 1962
Volunteers Help Defeat General Strike
Britain's fist and only General Strike occurred in May 1926 and was quickly defeated by volunteers and a cunning plan by Winston Churchill.
May 3, 1926
Latest Wonder of the World
Often referred to as "the Chunnel", the 31-mile undersea tunnel linking England to France has been hailed as one of the "seven wonders of the modern world".
May 6, 1994
Suicide Woman Floats To Safety
Nobody could expect to survive a fall from the 100-metre high Clifton Suspension Bridge. But one woman was saved on this day by her billowing skirt.
May 8, 1885