Events in Sport
- 1733 1st international boxing match: Bob Whittaker beats Tito di Carni
- 1895 21st Kentucky Derby: Soup Perkins aboard Halma wins in 2:37.50
- 1896 22nd Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Ben Brush wins in 2:07.75
- 1903 Chicago White Sox commit 12 errors against Detroit Tigers
- 1907 33rd Kentucky Derby: Andy Minder aboard Pink Star wins in 2:12.6
- 1933 59th Kentucky Derby: Don Meade aboard Brokers Tip wins in 2:06.8
- 1934 Red Sox score 12 runs in 4th inning including record 4 consecutive triples hit by Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell, & B Walters
- 1939 65th Kentucky Derby: James Stout aboard Johnstown wins in 2:03.4
- 1944 70th Kentucky Derby: Conn McCreary aboard Pensive wins in 2:04.2
- 1950 76th Kentucky Derby: William Boland on Middleground wins in 2:01.6
- 1951 Pitts Pirate Cliff Chambers no-hits Boston Brave, 3-0
- 1953 Brown's Bobo Holloman 1st major league start, no-hits Philadelphia A's, 6-0
- 1961 87th Kentucky Derby: John Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 2:04
- 1967 93rd Kentucky Derby: Bobby Ussery on Proud Clarion wins in 2:00.6
- 1967 Maureen Wilton runs female world record marathon (3:15:22)
- 1970 14th European Cup: Feyenoord beats Celtic 2-1 at Milan
- 1972 98th Kentucky Derby: Ron Turcotte aboard Riva Ridge wins in 2:01.8
- 1974 A's pitcher Paul Lindblad makes an errant throw in 1st inning of 6-3 loss to Balt ends his record streak of 385 consecutive errorless games
- 1978 104th Kentucky Derby: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed - first and only Derby victory and 1st-leg of Triple Crown
- 1979 Fred Markham set a bicycle speed record of 818 kph over 200 m
- 1982 Seattle Mariner Gaylord Perry becomes 15th pitcher to win 300 games
- 1982 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Vancouver Canucks beat Chicago Black Hawks, 4 games to 1
Event of Interest
1984 Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken Jr hits for cycle
Cal Ripken Jr
Event of Interest
1987 Mario Andretti sets one-lap speed record at Indy at 218.204 MPH
Mario Andretti
- 1988 Doughnutgate incident: NJ Devils' coach Jim Schoenfeld tells referee Don Koharski to 'eat another doughnut you fat pig!,' he is suspended
- 1989 115th Kentucky Derby: Pat Valenzuela on Sunday Silence wins in 2:05
- 1990 Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic
- 1991 Phillie Lenny Dykstra slams his sports car into 2 trees
- 1991 Seppo Raty of Finland sets javelin record to 301' 9"
- 1992 NY Met Anthony Young begins losing streak of at least 26 games
- 1992 Werder Bremen of Germany win 32nd European Cup winner's Cup against AS Monaco of France 2-0 in Lisbon
Boxing Title Fight
1994 Lennox Lewis TKOs Phil Jackson in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
Lennox Lewis
Baseball Record
1998 Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his 5th career start.
Roger Clemens
Birthdays in Sport
Willie Mays
1931 Willie Mays, American baseball centerfielder (Giants, NY Mets), "Say Hey Kid" (660 HRs, MVP 1954), born in Westfield, Alabama
Willie Mays
- 1932 John Bond, cricket umpire
- 1937 Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, American boxer whose murder convictions were overturned after 19 years in prison, born in Clifton, New Jersey
- 1944 Tommie Smith, American 200m dash (Olympic gold 1968), born in Clarksville, Texas
- 1944 Masanori Murakami, First Japanese baseball player in major leagues
- 1947 Andy Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (NZ batsman 1976), born in Te Aroha, New Zealand (d. 1989)
- 1953 Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer/manager
- 1959 Scott Hood, Canadian Tour golfer (1989 Montana Open-2nd), born in Seattle, Washington
- 1962 Neil Foster, cricketer (England right-fast medium)
- 1964 Kim Oden, Ala, US Olympic volleyball player (NCAA Play of Decade-80s)
- 1964 Mike Grob, Canadian Tour golfer (1988 Manitoba-3rd), born in Billings, Montana
- 1964 Mike McGruder, NFL cornerback (Tampa Bay Bucs)
- 1965 Bob Bassen, NHL center (Dallas Stars), born in Calgary, Alberta
- 1965 Ken Harvey, NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins)
- 1965 Norman Whiteside, British soccer player
- 1965 Paul Frase, NFL defensive end (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
- 1965 Tim Simpson, American professional golfer, born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1965 Zahid Sadiq, cricketer
- 1967 Patrick F Manning Jr, Poughkeepsie NY, rower (Olympic-92)
- 1968 Andy Kelly, WLAF quarterback (Rhein Fire)
- 1969 Mark Thomas, NFL defensive end (Carolina Panthers, Packers, Bears)
- 1969 Pascall Davis, WLAF linebacker (Amsterdam Admirals)
- 1969 Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer
- 1970 Emerson Martin, NFL guard (Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Packers)
- 1971 Rob Holmberg, NFL linebacker (Oakland Raiders)
Martin Brodeur
1972 Martin Brodeur, NHL goalie (NJ Devils, Team Canada), born in Montreal, Quebec
Martin Brodeur
- 1973 Clay Williams, OL (Indianapolis Colts)
- 1973 Joe Spiteri, Australian soccer striker (Olyroos, Olympics 1996)
- 1973 Wendy Ward, LPGA golfer (1995 GHP Classic-15th), born in San Antonio, Texas
- 1976 Lindsay Page, figure skater (1997 E Great Lakes Sr-3rd), born in Madison, Wisconsin
- 1977 Shannon Shakespeare, Canadian 100m swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Mission, British Columbia
- 1977 Trent Steed, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- 1977 Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
- 1978 John Abraham, American football player
- 1980 Brooke Bennett, 800m freestyle (Olympic gold 1996)
- 1980 Kasumi Takahashi, Australian rhythmic gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Tokyo, Japan
- 1980 Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 Mario Stojić, Croatian basketball player
- 1983 Dani Alves da Silva, Brazilian football player (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil national team), born in Juazeiro, Brazil
- 1985 Chris Paul, American basketball point guard (9-time NBA All Star), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- 1989 Dominika Cibulková, Slovakian tennis player (WTA Finals champion 2016), born in Bratislava, Slovakia
José Altuve
1990 José Altuve, Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman (Houston Astros), born in Maracay, Venezuela
José Altuve
Weddings in Sport
- 2006 Former WWF Women's Champion Sable (38) weds IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (28) in Medina, Minnesota
- 2006 Race car driver "Champ Car World Series" two time winner Sebastien Bourdais (27) weds Claire Bagot at Cathedral Saint-Julien in Le Mans, France
- 2017 Olympic diver Tom Daley (23) weds Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black at Bovey Castle in Devon, England
Divorces in Sport
- 2016 Actress Kaley Cuoco and professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting divorce after 2 years of marriage
Deaths in Sport
- 1949 Arthur Ochse, South African cricketer (10 wickets in 3 Tests for South Africa 1927-29), dies at 49
- 1978 Ethelda Bleibtrey, US swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1920), dies at 76
- 1985 Pete Desjardins, American platform and springboard diver (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 78
- 1991 Chucky Mullins, US soccer player, dies
- 1992 Gaston Reiff, Belgian athlete (b. 1921)
- 1995 Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)
- 2002 Saleh Selim, Egyptian football player and 10th president of the Egyptian Al-Ahly Sporting Club, dies at 71
- 2003 Art Houtteman, baseball player (b. 1927)
- 2009 Kevin Grubb, former NASCAR driver (b. 1978)
- 2010 Robin Roberts, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (won 28 consecutive complete games 1952-53), dies at 83
- 2014 Jimmy Ellis, American boxer & WBA heavyweight champion, dies from dementia at 74
- 2017 Steven Holcomb, American Bobsledder (Olympic gold 2010), dies at 37
- 2018 Eric Geboers, Belgian motocross racer and five-time world champion, drowns at 55
May in History
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
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