- May 3 Leopoldo Luque, Argentine soccer striker (43 caps; River Plate), born in Santa Fe, Argentina (d. 2021)
- May 3 Mehmet Oğuz, Turkish soccer midfielder (19 caps; Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe), born in Istanbul, Turkey (d. 2022)
- May 4 John Force, American drag racer (16 NHRA Championships), born in Bell Gardens, California
- May 7 Kathy Ahern, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1972), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- May 13 Mário Moinhos, Portuguese soccer forward (7 caps; Benfica, Boavista, Espinho), born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal (d. 2023)
- May 14 Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist, born in Eckmannshausen, West Germany
- May 15 Wendy Pritchard, Australian women's field hockey team manager (Olympic gold - 1996 & 2000), born in Busselton, Western Australia
- May 16 Rick Reuschel, pitcher (NY Yankees)
- May 25 Lalith Kaluperuma, Sri Lankan cricketer (two Tests for Sri Lanka 1982), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- May 26 Dan Pastorini, American football quarterback (Super Bowl 1980 Oakland Raiders; Pro Bowl 1975 Houston Oilers), born in Sonora, California
- May 28 Shelley Hamlin, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1973), born in San Mateo, California (d. 2018)
- May 29 Brian Kidd, English soccer forward (England 2 caps, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City) and manager (Preston NE, Blackburn Rovers), born in Manchester, England
- May 30 Bob Willis, English cricket fast bowler and captain (90 Tests, 325 wickets; 64 ODIs; Surrey CCC, MCC, Warwickshire CCC, Northern Transvaal), born in Sunderland, County Durham, England (d. 2019)
- May 30 P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball coach
About May 1949
How Old? 74 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions