- May 4 Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarded League title at the request of their rivals
- May 5 Detroit Tigers second baseman Charlie Gehringer is elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame
- May 7 75th Kentucky Derby: Steve Brooks aboard Ponder wins in 2:04.2
Sports History
May 27 MLB Cleveland Indians start 12-17, owner Bill Veeck arranges a "Second Opening Day"
- May 28 French Championships Men's Tennis: Frank Parker retains title; beats fellow American Budge Patty 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
- May 28 French Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Osborne duPont wins her second French singles crown; beats Nelly Adamson Landry of France 7-5, 6-2
33rd Indianapolis 500
May 30 33rd Indianapolis 500: After finishing runner-up the previous 2 years, Bill Holland finally wins giving car owner Lou Moore his 3rd consecutive Indy victory; 1947-48 winner Mauri Rose fired after the race for ignoring team orders
31st PGA Championship
May 31 31st PGA Championship Men's Golf, Hermitage CC: Sam Snead beats fellow American Johnny Palmer, 3 & 2; first time reigning Masters champion wins PGA Championship in the same calendar year.
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions