- May 1 Gordon Greenidge, West Indies cricket batsman (108 Tests, 7,558 runs @ 44.72; 19 x 100s), born in St. Peter, Barbados
- May 6 Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold, light-flyweight 1980; World C'ship gold 1981), born in Tegistik, Kazakhstan (d. 2020)
- May 8 Mike D'Antoni, American basketball coach (NBA Coach of the Year 2005, 17; Houston Rockets; LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Phoenix Suns), born in Mullens, West Virginia
- May 11 Mike Sleman, English rugby union winger (32 caps; British and Irish Lions 1980; Liverpool RUFC), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2020)
- May 12 Gunnar Larrson, Swedish 200m/400m swimmer (Olympic gold 1972)
- May 12 Gunnar Larsson, Swedish swimmer (Olympic gold 200/400m medley 1972; World C'ship gold 200m medley 1973), born in Malmö, Sweden
- May 13 Guy Morriss, American football coach (Kentucky, Baylor, Texas A&M–Commerce) and guard (Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots), born in Colorado City, Texas (d. 2022)
- May 18 Angela Voigt, German athlete (Olympic gold GDR long jump 1976), born in Weferlingen, Germany (d. 2013)
- May 18 Jim Sundberg, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Galesburg, Illinois
- May 18 Rodger Davis, Australian golfer (British Open runner-up 1997), born in Sydney, New South Wales
Anatoly Karpov (72 years old)
May 23 Russian chess player (world champion 1975-85, 93-99), born in Zlatoust, Russia
- May 27 John Conteh, British boxer (WBC Light Heavyweight title 1974-77), born in Liverpool, England
About May 1951
How Old? 72 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions