- May 3 Allen Wells, Scottish athlete (Olympic 100m gold 1980), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 8 Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey center (Boston Bruins and 3 other teams) and broadcaster (New Jersey Devils, 1987-95; Colorado Avalanche, 1995-2022), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2022)
- May 11 Mike Lupica, American sports journalist (ESPN), newspaper columnist (New York Daily News), and novelist (Dead Air), born in Oneida, New York
- May 13 Sew Shivnarine, West Indian cricketer (3 Tests for WI 1978, later USA captain), born in Albion, Guyana
- May 15 Rick Waits, baseball pitcher (Rangers, Indians, Twins)
- May 17 Norv Turner, American football coach (Super Bowl 1992, 93 OC Dallas Cowboys; HC Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, SD Chargers), born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
- May 19 Bert van Marwijk, Dutch football manager
- May 20 Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
- May 22 Waldemar Victorino., Uruguayan soccer forward (33 caps; CA Cerro, Cagliari, Newell's Old Boys, Colón de Santa Fe, LDU Portoviejo), born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 2023)
- May 23 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler, American boxer (undisputed World Middleweight champion 1980-87; second-longest unified C'ship reign in history), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2021)
About May 1952
How Old? 71 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: Yes
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions