Sports History
May 1 Tennis player Billie Jean King acknowledges a lesbian relationship with Marilyn Barnett - becoming first prominent sportswoman to come out
- May 2 107th Kentucky Derby: Jorge Velásquez on Pleasant Colony wins in 2:02
- May 4 Yankee Ron Davis strikes out 8 consecutive Angels, ran record of 13 strikeouts of last 14 faced, also saved Gene Nelsons 1st win, 4-2
- May 5 16th and final MLB pre-season Mayor's Trophy Game prior to inter-league play; NY Mets beat NY Yankees, 4-1 to hold 8-7-1 edge
- May 10 Montreal Expo Charlie Lee no-hits SF Giants, 4-0
- May 12 NY Islanders tie their own record with two shorthanded playoff goals in a period vs Minnesota North Stars
- May 13 Dinamo Tbilisi wins 21st European Cup Winner's Cup against Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2-1 in Düsseldorf
- May 14 35th NBA Championship: Bost Celtics beat Houston Rockets, 4 games to 2
- May 16 106th Preakness: Jorge Velásquez aboard Pleasant Colony wins in 1:54.6
- May 16 Houston shortstop Craig Reynolds hits 3 triples as Astros beat Chicago Cubs, 6-1
- May 17 Islanders score 5 power play goals against Flyers in a playoff
- May 21 Stanley Cup Final, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY: NY Islanders win back-to-back titles; beat Minnesota North Stars, 5-1 for 4 games to 1 series win
Sports History
May 23 Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benítez (22) becomes the youngest 3-division world champion in history by knocking out WBC World Super Welterweight champion Maurice Hope in 12 rounds in Las Vegas
Indy 500
May 24 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser crosses finish line ahead of Mario Andretti; Unser disqualified for pit lane infraction, later reinstated for his 3rd race victory
Baseball Record
May 25 Boston Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski (41) is 4th to play 3,000 MLB baseball games (Cobb, Musial & Aaron)
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions