Events in Sports History in May 1959

Boxing Title Fight

May 1 Floyd Patterson scores 11th round KO of Englishman Brian London in Indianapolis; his 4th World Heavyweight Boxing title defence

May 2 85th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Tomy Lee wins in 2:02.2

May 7 "Roy Campanella Night" Largest baseball crowd at 93,103 at the LA Coliseum see Yankees beat Dodgers 6-2 in exhibition game

May 9 Dorothy Rigney, husband John, and Hank Greenberg resign from White Sox

May 11 New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra's errorless streak of 148 games ends

May 15 100th anniversary of 1st college baseball game, between Amherst & Williams Teams reenact the original contest
May 16 84th Preakness: William Harmatz aboard Royal Orbit wins in 1:57

May 17 Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122

May 20 Yanks sink to last place, 1st time since May 25, 1940
May 25 US Supreme Courtt rules Louisiana prohibiting black-white boxing unconstitutional
May 26 MLB Pittsburgh Pirates Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th to Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium
May 30 58th Men's French Championships: Nicola Pietrangeli beats Ian Vermaak (3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1)
May 30 58th Women's French Championships: Christine Truman beats Zsuzsi Kormoczy (6-4, 7-5)
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Rodger Ward earns first of 2 career Indy 500 victories as a record 16 cars complete full 500 miles; for the first time all cars required to have roll bars