- May 3 106th Kentucky Derby: Jacinto Vasquez on Genuine Risk wins in 2:02
Sports History
May 3 Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits his 521st & final HR
Sports History
May 3 Texas Ranger Ferguson Jenkins becomes 4th to win 100 games in AL & NL
- May 12 West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium; midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores winner with a rare header
- May 13 Cincinnati Red Ray Knight hits 2 HRs in 5th inning vs NY Mets
- May 14 Bucky Dent hits an inside park HR, Royals walk 14 Yanks including 5 with bases loaded, Yanks win 16-3
- May 14 Valencia of Spain wins 20th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 5-4 on penalties in Brussels
- May 15 Flyers score 8 goals against Islanders in playoffs
- May 16 34th NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 4 games to 2
Preakness Stakes
May 17 105th Preakness: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr., aboard Codex wins his first of 2 Pimlico classics
- May 24 Stanley Cup Final, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY: In first Finals appearance, NY Islanders beat Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4 in OT for a 4 games to 2 series win
- May 25 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins from pole position for his third Indy victory; sixth driver to win the race three times
- May 25 Jacek Wszoka of Poland sets high jump record (7'8")
- May 26 Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany ties high jump record at 7'8"
- May 28 2 Oakland A's steal home in 1st inning
- May 28 24th European Cup: Nottingham Forest beats Hamburg 1-0 at Madrid
- May 28 Joe Darby does a standing long jump of 12'5"
Sports History
May 29 Larry Bird beats out Magic Johnson for NBA rookie of year
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