- May 1 Frank Beard, American golfer (11 PGA Tour titles; US Open 1965, 75 3rd), born in Dallas, Texas
- May 2 Ernesto Castano, Italian soccer defender (7 caps; Juventus 265 games), born in Cinisello Balsamo, Italy (d. 2023)
- May 2 Gates Brown, American MLB outfielder (Detroit Tigers: 1963-75), born in Crestline, Ohio (d. 2013)
- May 3 Aydın Yelken, Turkish soccer forward (9 caps; Karagümrük, Fenerbahçe, Altay, İzmirspor), born in İstanbul, Turkey (d. 2022)
- May 5 Cesare Fiorio, Italian sporting director of various Formula One teams, born in Turin, Italy
- May 8 János Göröcs, Hungarian soccer midfielder (62 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, Tatabányai Bányász), born in Gánt, Hungary (d. 2020)
- May 8 Paul Drayton, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1964), born in Glen Cove, New York (d. 2010)
- May 9 Herbert Hippauf, baseball player
- May 9 Ion Ţiriac, Romanian tennis manager
Ralph Boston (1939-2023)
May 9 American athlete (Olympic gold long jump 1960, silver 1964, bronze 1968; first to break 27 feet [8.2m] barrier), born in Laurel, Mississippi
- May 11 Milt Pappas, American baseball pitcher, (3-time MLB All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2016)
- May 12 Reg Gasnier, Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame centre and captain (36 Tests; 3 World Cups; St. George RLFC), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2014)
- May 15 Dudley Wysong, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1966 runner-up), born in McKinney, Texas (d. 1998)
- May 18 Neil McCarthy, American college basketball coach (Weber State Uni 1974-85, New Mexico State Uni 1985-97), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2021)
- May 19 Jānis Lūsis, Latvian athlete (Olympic gold men's javelin 1968, silver 1972, bronze 1968), born in Jelgava, Latvia (d. 2020)
- May 19 Livio Berruti, Italian athlete
- May 21 Raúl Madero, Argentine soccer defender (5 caps; Estudiantes) and sports physician (Argentina national team), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2021)
- May 25 Gene A. Budig, American baseball executive (last American League [AL] president 1994-99), born in McCook, Nebraska (d. 2020)
- May 26 Brent Musburger, American sportscaster (CBS Sports, The NFL Today; ESPN, ABC; VSiN; radio play-by-play Las Vegas Raiders), born in Portland, Oregon
Al Unser (1939-2021)
May 29 American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1970-71, 78, 87), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- May 30 Dieter Quester, Austrian racing driver, born in Vienna, Austria
About May 1939
How Old? 84 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions