- May 1 Roger Brown, College Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle (Maryland Eastern Shore; 6 x Pro-Bowl; Detroit Lions, LA Rams), born in Surry County, Virginia (d. 2021)
- May 3 Hans Cieslarczyk, German soccer striker (7 caps; West Germany; Borussia Dortmund, Karlsruher SC) and manager (FC Augsburg), born in Herne, Germany (d. 2020)
- May 6 Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, American boxer (famous murder conviction overturned after 19 years imprisonment), born in Clifton, New Jersey (d. 2014)
- May 7 Claude Raymond, Quebec baseball player, born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
- May 8 Mike Cuellar, Cuban baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1967, 70, 71, 74; World Series 1964, 70; AL Cy Young Award 1969; Baltimore Orioles), born in Santa Clara, Cuba (d. 2010)
- May 10 Jim Hickman, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1970 Chicago Cubs; 1st NY Met to hit for cycle), born in Henning, Tennessee (d. 2016)
- May 10 Tamara Press, Soviet athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, 64; discus 1960, 64), born in Kharkiv, Ukraine (d. 2021)
- May 11 David Allan, cricketer (West Indian wicketkeeper 1962-66)
- May 12 Beryl Burton, British cyclist won record (7) women's cycling titles
- May 14 Dick Howser, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star All-Star 1961, 61²; KC A's) and manager (World Series 1977, 78 NY Yankees; KC Royals 1985), born in Miami, Florida (d. 1987)
- May 15 Joe Tait, American sports broadcaster (Cleveland Cavaliers [radio], Cleveland Indians [TV & radio]), born in Evanston, Illinois (d. 2021)
Brooks Robinson (1937-2023)
May 18 American Baseball HOF third baseman (18 x MLB All Star; World Series 1966, 70 [MVP]; 16 × Gold Glove Award; Baltimore Orioles), born in Little Rock, Arkansas [1] [2]
- May 19 Pat Roach, English actor and wrestler (d. 2004)
- May 20 Dave Hill, American golfer (13 PGA Tour titles), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 2011)
- May 22 Viktor Ponedelnik, Russian soccer striker (29 caps Soviet Union; FC SKA Rostov-on-Don), born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia (d. 2020)
- May 29 Alwin Schockemöhle, German equestrian rider (Olympic gold team jumping 1960, individual jumping 1976), born in Meppen, Province of Hanover, Germany
- May 29 Harry Statham, American basketball coach (McKendree Uni; 1,122 wins in 52 seasons), born in Brookport, Illinois
- May 31 Bob Ferry, American basketball forward (St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets) and executive (GM Washington Bullets; NBA Exec of the Year 1979, 82), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2021)
About May 1937
How Old? 86 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions