A centreman in his playing days, May was a member of Essendon's back to back premiership sides of 1923 and 1924. His last game of football was in the 1926 finals series where Essendon fell a goal short of qualifying for the Grand Final and May ended up with a suspension for striking Bob Corbett of Melbourne. He was non-playing coach of Essendon in 1934 and 1935 and it his later years remained involved with the club as a trainer. May also spent time in South Australia where he coached Glenelg Football Club.
^Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. p. 562. ISBN978-1-921496-32-5.