Athletes

Young, Cy

baseball; played for Cleveland Indians;

Baylor, Elgin

basketball;

Robinson, Sugar Ray

boxing;

Spinks, Michael & Leon

boxing; brothers both win gold at 1976 Montreal Olympics;

Duran, Roberto

boxing; ended a championship fight with Sugar Ray Leonard & said "No mas" (no more)

Dempsey, Jack

boxing; nicknamed the 'Manassa Mauler' after his birthplace of Manassa Colordao

Landis, Floyd

cycling; after winning the 2006 Tour de France for the Phonak team, he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was stripped of his title despite his claims of innocence;

Pereiro, Oscar

cycling; best known for winning the 2006 Tour de France after the disqualification of initial winner Floyd Landis;

Indurain, Miguel

cycling; won Tour de France 5x (1991-95); damn;

LeMond, Greg

cycling; won ____& ___ tour de France;

Graham, Otto

football;

Unitas, Johnny

football; played for the Colts; lost Superbowl III, but won the greatest (?) football game in history vs. the Giants in 1958;

Palmer, Arnold

golf;

Hull, Bobby

hockey;

Blair, Bonnie

speed skating; won 2 golds at 1992 Albertville Olympics;

van Dyken, Amy

swimming; 1996--Atlanta Olympics--1st U.S. woman to win 4 golds at any Olympics;

Ederle, Gertrude

swimming; August 5 1926, became 1st woman to swim the English Channel; set all-time record at time (men included);

Coroebus

track & field; a cook; won the only event (200 m.) at the 1st recorded Olympics, 776 B.C.;

Coe, Sebastian

track & field; first person to win the Olympic 1500 twice (1980, 1984);

Thorpe, Jim

various; Native American; won 1912 Olympic pentathlon & decathlon; later became pro baseball (the Reds) & a charter member of the pro football hall of fame; often called the greatest athlete of all time;

Graziano, Rocky

?; portrayed by Paul Newman in the movie "Somebody Up There Likes Me";

Musial, Stan

baseball; played for the Cardinals (years?);

Jabbar, Kareem Abdul

basketball; (the Lakers retired his jersey--#33) starred in Conan the Barbarian movie;

Stockton, John

basketball; NBA career leader in assists & steals; began playing 1984-85 season; played full career with Utah Jazz--19 seasons, a record (for playing with the same team??)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

basketball; USA; greatest NBA player of all the time

Ming, Yao

basketball; at 7', 6", he is not the tallest player in NBA history;

Bol, Manute

basketball; at 7', 7", he is tied with Gheorghe Muresan as the tallest player in NBA history; plays for the ________;

Eagan, Eddie

boxing etc.; 1st to win gold medals in both a winter & summer olympic games (1920 --boxing; 1932 4-man bobsled);

Douglas, James "Buster"

boxing;

Holmes, Larry

boxing; only fighter ever to knock out Muhammed Ali in a heavyweight title fight;

Louganis, Greg

diving; wins 2 golds at ____________ & again at 1988 Seoul Olympics; when did he hit his head?

Howe, Gordie

hockey; broke Maurice Richard's goal-scoring record of 544 (Gretzky later broke Howe's);

Ryan, Nolan

baseball; Career leader in strikeouts...hit 7 no-hitters; played from 1966 to late 90s (year?); 1st baseball player to make $1 million in a single season;

Cousy, Bob

basketball;

Johnson, Magic

basketball;

Jordan, Michael

basketball;

Button, Dick

figure skating; 1st American to win Olympic gold in figure skating (1948, St. Moritz);

Harding, Tonya

figure skating; had friends attack fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan just before the 1994 Lillehammer winter Olympics; finished 8th;

Fleming, Peggy

figure skating; only American to win a gold medal at the 1968 Grenoble, France Olympics;

Kerrigan Nancy

figure skating; recovers from Tonya Harding-prompted attack to win silver at 1994 Lillehammer winter Olympics

Henie, Sonja

figure skating; won 1st of 3 Olympic golds in 1928 (St. Moritz); later starred in several movies;

Yamaguchi, Kristi

figure skating; won gold at 1992 Albertville Olympics;

Hamill, Dorothy

figure skating; won gold at the 1976 Innsbruck, Austria Olympics;

Payton, Walter

football; "Sweetness"; holds career rushing record; died of liver disease (year?);

Marino, Dan

football; (the Dolphins retired his jersey--#13)

Grange, Harold ("Red")

football; 1920s U. of Illinois star;

Montana, Joe

football; the only player to win 3 Superbowl MVP awards (years? team?)

Singh, Vijay

golf;

Louis, Spiridon

track & field; shepherd who won the Marathon in the 1st modern Olypics;

Johnson, Ben

track & field; wins Gold in 100 meter at 1988 Seoul Olympics; soon stripped of medal when he tests positive for steroids; Carl Lewis moves from silver to gold;

Muhammad Ali

boxing; USA; as Cassius Clay, he won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics; invented the "rope-a-dope" technique to tire his opponents; knocked out G.Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship in Kinshasa Zaire on Oct. 30 1974; 1996, he lit the olympic torch during opening ceremonies in Atlanta;

Louis, Joe

boxing; the "Brown Bomber"; retired in 1949 after 11-year reign as champ, but fought again in 1950, losing to Ezzard Charles;

Sullivan, John L.

boxing; the last bare-knuckle champion; nicknamed the Boston Strong Boy; 1st athlete in history to make $1 million;

Leonard, Sugar Ray

boxing; won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics (light-welterweight division?); died at age 67 of Alzheimers;

Fischer, Bobby

chess; 1972, beat Boris Spassky in Iceland to win the World title;

Knight, Bobby

coach;

Rockne, Knute

coach; (former chemistry teacher)

McCracken, Branch

coach; Indiana University basketball coach from 1947-1971; succeeded by Bobby Knight;

Karolyi, Bela

coach; coached 3 Olympic gymnastics gold medalists--Nadya Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug;

Bowerman, Bill

coach; coached Steve Prefontaine at U. of Oregon; began Nike;

Landry, Tom

coach; the only head coach the Dallas Cowboys had until 1989;

Lance Armstrong

cycling; won a record 7 consecutive Tours de France (1999-2005) after having recovered from testicular cancer!; doping scandals; married to pop singer Sheryl Crow;

Stojko, Elvis (sp?)

figure skating; (pron. Stoy-ko)

Hughes, Sarah

figure skating; In the 2002 winter olympics, she shocked the figure skating world by winning gold over Michelle Kwan & Irina Slutskaya;

Kwan, Michelle

figure skating; b. 1980

Lipinski, Tara

figure skating; b. 1982; 1998--age 15--Nagano Olympics--became the youngest woman to win a gold in figure skating;

Jackson, (Victor) Bo

football/baseball; 1987--he outfielded for the KC Royals AND was running back for the LA Raiders;

Staubach, Roger

football;

Taylor, Lawrence

football; "LT"; did lots of drugs; appeared in the 2000 version of Shaft;

Baugh, Sammy

football; "Slingin' Sammy Baugh", QB/P/DB for the Redskins 1937-1952;

Brown, Jim

football; His 5.1 ypc career rushing record stood until Walter Payton broke it; he retired after only 9 years to begin an acting career (Dirty Dozen);

Butkus, Dick

football; Linebacker with the Chicago Bears;

Elway, John

football; b. 1960

Cowlings, Al

football; former Bills teammate who drive O.J. Simpson in the white Bronco while police trailed them;

Rice, Jerry

football; holds the record for most career touchdowns;

Bradshaw, Terry

football; in a 1972 NFL playoff game at Pittsburgh's 3 Rivers Stadium he threw a wildly deflected pass to Franco Harris that was called the "Immaculate Reception"; (What teams??)

Simpson, Orenthal James

football; played for USC, then for ___? accomplishments??

Green, "Mean" Joe

football; starred in heartwarming 1979 Coke commercial;

Didrikson, (Mildred) Babe

golf / track; b. 1914; 1932 L.A. Olympics--age 18--won golds in the javelin & 80-meter hurdles & a silver in the high jump; married George Zaharias; continued to win golf tournaments after being diagnosed with cancer;

Wei, Michelle

golf;

Woods, Tiger

golf;

Hogan, Ben

golf; 1953--became the last player to win 4 straight tournaments until Tiger Woods in 1999;

Jones, Bobby

golf; Won nearly every golf event he entered, retired very young (29?);

Trevino, Lee

golf; nicknamed "Super Mex";

Snead, Sam

golf; only golfer to record victories in 6 different decades (age __?)

Nicklaus, Jack

golf; the "Golden Bear";

Nelson, Byron

golf; won a record 11 straight tournaments in 1945

Jahn, Friedrich

gymnastics; Father of gymnastics"; invented the parallel bars, rings, balance beam, horse and horizontal bar; (was he also an athlete, or just an inventor?)

Comaneci, Nadia

gymnastics; at age 14, becomes the 1st gymnast to earn a perfect 10, earning 7 of them, as well as 3 gold medals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics;

Retton, Mary Lou

gymnastics; gets 2 perfect scores and a gold at the 1984 L.A. Olympics;

Gretzky, Wayne

hockey; (the Oilers retired his jersey--#99) broke Gordie Howe's goal-scoring mark of 801; "the great one";

Hull, Brett

hockey; Bobby's son; drafted 117th overall in 1984 by Calgary;

Orr, Bobby

hockey; From Parry Sound, Ontario; played for the Boston Bruins;

Lemieux, Mario

hockey; Played for the Penguins (now an owner); retired at age 29 but planning a comeback in 2000;

U.S. Hockey Team

hockey; beats the Soviet team to win gold at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics;

Shoemaker, Willie

jockey; arguably the most successful jockey of all time; (specifics??)

Robinson, Jackie

baseball; 1947, became MLB's 1st African American player when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers; previously, he earned the NCAA football record for overall yards gained, while at UCLA;

Maris, Roger

baseball; 1961, hits record-breaking 61st homer of the season;

Hornsby, Rogers

baseball; 2nd Base

Rose, Pete

baseball; Broke Ty Cobb's record for career leader in hits; banned from baseball for life for gambling;

Koufax, Sandy

baseball; Jewish; played for the Dodgers; had some of the best pitching years in history;

Mays, Willie

baseball; center fielder; had 660 career home runs (3rd place all-time), including his best years with the Giants; famous for his "basket catch", epitomized playing after one's time;

Seaver, Tom

baseball; elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 with the highest percentage (98.8) of yes votes ever (a record that continues to hold in 2007);

Jackson, Reggie

baseball; hit 3 homers in game 3 of the 1977 World Series;

Downing, Al

baseball; left-hander who pitched when Hank Aaron hit his record homer (714?);

Gehrig, Lou

baseball; played by Gary Cooper in the movie "Pride of the Yankees"; 1st MLB player to have his number retired (#4); with the Yankees from 1923-1939;

Goslin, Ryan

baseball; played in all 19 World Series games witth the Washington Senators; nichnamed "Goose";

Wagner, Honus

baseball; played shortstop at the turn of the century; his baseball card was bought by Gretzky for a record (at the time);

Ruth , Babe

baseball; right field, pitcher; Traded from the Red Sox to Yankees, but finished his career with the Boston Braves; hit 714 career home runs (2nd all-time), 60 in one year; lifetime batting avg. .342

Niekro, Phil & Joe

baseball; two brothers combined for 539 major league wins; specialized in the knuckleball;

Red Auerbach

basketball coach; USA; (1917-2006) won nine championships as Boston Celtics coach, then another 7 as its general manager; pioneer of modern basketball (team play, defense), fast-break; breaking down color barriers in the NBA

Erving, Julius

basketball; "Dr. J"

Bird, Larry

basketball; #33; from French Lick, Indiana;

Havlicek, John

basketball; Boston Celtics

Russell, Bill

basketball; Boston Celtics player & coach?; mvp of NBA 5 times between 1958-65!;

Maravich, Pete

basketball; In Feb. 1970 he scored 60 points in a game for LS--twice; nicknamed "Pistol Pete";

Muresan, Gheorghe

basketball; at 7', 7", he is tied with Manute Bol as the tallest player in NBA history;

Chamberlain, Wilt

basketball; his number (which was...?) was retired by 4 teams--Warriors, 76ers, Lakers & the Harlem Globetrotters;

Fisher, Allison

billiards; "The Duchess of Doom"; has the record for the most Woman's Professional Billiard Association wins (47, as of October 2006);

Mosconi, Willie

billiards; dominated billiards from 1941-57;

Fats, Minnesota

billiards; real name Rudolf Wanderone;

Flowers, Vonetta

bobsled; in 2002, she became the first black American to win a Winter Olympics gold medal

Marciano, Rocky

boxing; Retired undefeated after winning all 49 of his heavyweight professional bouts--43 of them by knockout; "The Brockton Bomber";

Coroebus of Elis

track & field; the 1st recorded winner of the Olympic Games in 776 BC;

Gibson, Josh

baseball; Played in Negro Leagues, had rivalry with Satchel Paige, hit lots of home runs;

Joyner, Florence Griffith

track & field; wins 3 golds & a silver at 1988 Seoul Olympics;

Jenner, Bruce

track & field; wins gold in decathlon with record score at 1976 Montreal Olympics;

Nurmi, Paavo

track & field; won 6 Olympic Golds in distance running; 1st 2 in 1920 (Antwerp); in what events?

McGwire, Mark

baseball; Rookie of the Year with the Athletics (1989?); hit record 70 Home runs in a single season with the Cardinals (year?)

Johnson, Walter

baseball; The Big Train"; pitched for the Washington Senators;

Hank Aaron

baseball; USA;right fielder...755 career home runs (most ever until...?)...lifetime batting avg. .305;

Williams, Ted

baseball; batted left-handed & threw right-handed;

Dragila, Stacy

track & field; holds the world record for the women's pole vault (15', 2 1/4", as of Sept. 2000)

Shorter, Frank

track & field; only American to win an Olympic marathon (1972);

Clemente, Roberto

baseball; 3000 career hits, died in plane crash en route to aid Latin American disaster victims (year?);

Spahn, Warren

baseball; 363 wins, the most ever by a left-handed pitcher;

Benoit (Samuelson), Joan

track & field; won gold at the 1st ever women's Olympic marathon (L.A., 1984), & set record that held until 2000;

McDermott, J.J.

track & field; won the 1st Boston Marathon in 2:55:10 in 1897; 18 men were entered;

Bikila, Abebe

track & field; won the Olympic marathon twice--1960 (barefoot) & 1964 (shoed)

Sable

wrestling; WWF womens champion; real name Rena Mero;

Zaharias, George

wrestling; pro wrestler; Babe Didrickson's husband;

Ripken Jr., Cal

baseball; 2632 consecutive games

Larsen, Don

baseball; 1956--pitched the only perfect game in World Series history;

Hamm, Mia

Soccer;

Coubertin, Pierre de

promoter; educator & sports lover who revived the Olympic games; organized the 1st modern olympics;

Mario Andretti

auto racing; IT, USA; 1x Forma-1 vb; 1969 Indianapolis 500 mérföldes autóverseny győztese

Petty, Richard

auto racing; retired in 1992 after having won 200 stock car races in his 34-year career;

Bench, Johnny

baseball;

Carlton, Steve

baseball;

Cobb, Ty

baseball; "The Georgia Peach"

Mantle, Mickey

baseball; #7 for the NY Yankees;

Brett, George

baseball; (the Royals have retired his jersey--#5); what did he do?

Gibson, Bob

baseball; 1.12 ERA in a single season (still a record?);

Doby, Larry

baseball; 11 wks after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Doby joined the Indians to be the 1st black in the American League on 7-5-1947; 7-time all-star in 13 year career;

DiMaggio, Joe

baseball; 1941, set a record by hitting in 56 consecutive games;

Street, Picabo

skiing;

Pele

soccer; also served as Brazil's Minister of Sports from 1995-98;

Gascoigne, Paul ("Gazza")

soccer; from Newcastle, England; starred on England's 1990 World cup semifinal team; played for Tottenham Hotspurs et al, hurt knee in '91 FA cup final; started for DC United '02;

Maradona, Diego

soccer; last played in the 1994 World Cup; used his hand to score in the 1986 quarterfinals vs. England (how?);

Heiden, Eric

speed skating; 1977, became the 1st American world speed skating champion; at 1980 Olympic Games, he became the 1st person ever to win all 5 speed skating events (and set Olympic records in all of them!);

Spitz, Mark

swimming; wins 7 golds at the 1972 Munich Olympics (4 individual & 3 relay); Jewish;

Weissmuller, Johnny

swimming; won 5 Olympic golds--2 in 1924 (Paris) & 3 in 1928 (Amsterdam); later starred in 12 Tarzan movies;

Evert, Chris

tennis;

King, Billie Jean

tennis;

Laver, Rod

tennis;

MacEnroe, John

tennis;

Gibson, Althea

tennis; 1957, became the 1st black player to win a Wimbledon singles title (incl. men?)

Seles, Monica

tennis; 1993, Hamburg, stabbed by fan of Steffi Graf;

Arthur Ashe

tennis; USA; 3x Grand Slam single; AIDS

Williams, Venus

tennis; b. 1980;

Sampras, Pete

tennis; born in Washington, DC; has won 6 Wimbledon tennis titles (record?);

Budge, Don

tennis; in 1938, he won ALL 4 Grand Slam events;

Navratilova, Martina

tennis; in 1992, she beat Chris Evert's record for number of tennis titles; b. Prague; final count - a record 167 singles tournaments & 18 Grand Slam titles; defected from Czechoslovakia in 1975;

Graf, Steffi

tennis; retired in 1999 after winning 22 Grand Slam titles;

Kournikova, Anna

tennis; tennis player; b. 1981;

Borg, Bjorn

tennis; won 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976-80; won 1st Grand Slam in 1974 at age 18 (which tournament?)

Jones, Marion

track & field;

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie

track & field;

Moses, Edwin

track & field;

Roger Bannister

track & field;

Pheidippides

track & field; (legend) 490 BC--ran 25 miles from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to report "Rejoice, we conquer" & then died;

Owens, Jesse

track & field; 1936 Munich Olympics--gold medals in what events?

Mathias, Bob

track & field; 1948 London Olympics, became the youngest winner of the decathlon; wins again in 1952;

Zatopek, Emil

track & field; 1952 Helsinki Olympics, won golds in 5000, 10,000 & marathon (only person ever to win all 3);

Leather, Diane

track & field; 1954 became the first woman to run a mile under 5 minutes;

Rudolph, Wilma

track & field; 1st American woman to win 3 golds (100, 200, & anchored the 400-meter relay) at one olympics (1960, Rome);

Ryun, Jim

track & field; 1st high school runner to break the 4-minute mile; ran 3:55 in 1965?; now a Kansas Congressman;

Liquori, Marty

track & field; 2nd & last person to break a 4-minute mile while still in high school (1967);

Freeman, Cathy

track & field; Aborigine; 2000 Sydney Olympics--lights the torch (& wins the gold at 400 meters??)

El-Guerrouj, Hicham

track & field; July 1999--breaks world record for mile run--3:43--in Athens

Mills, Billy

track & field; Native American; only American ever to win Oympic Gold in the 10,000 meter (1964?); subject of film Running Brave starring Robbie Benson;

Harold Abrahams

track & field; UK;won the 1924 olympic 100-meter dash; immortalized as the Jewish Cambridge student in the movie Chariots of Fire;

Smith, Tommy

track & field; along with John Carlos, had their medals (200 meter gold & bronze) revoked because they held up black-gloved hands in protest of something at the Mexico City Olympics;

Lewis, Carl

track & field; b. 1961; wins 4 golds at the 1984 L.A. Olympics; goes on to win 5 more at the next 3(?) olympics; events include 100, 200, 4x100 relay & long jump;

Beamon, Bob

track & field; set the world long jump record of 29' 2 1/2" in Mexico City Olympics (by nearly 2') where low air pressure caused reduced friction in the air; held for nearly 23 years until broken in _______ by ________;