Top 10 Athletes From Texas
This was a tough one, due not to the immense size of Texas' land area, but to the large population base. The football players alone were tough to narrow down.
Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Kathy Whitworth, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw and Jordan Spieth don't count, because golfers are not athletes. Trevino was, however, named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1971. Nor is auto racing a sport, which eliminates A.J. Foyt and Johnny Rutherford.
Honorable Mention to Yankees from Texas who contributed to World Series wins: Cliff Johnson of San Antonio (1977 and 1978), Randy Choate of San Antonio (2000), and, especially, Andy Pettitte of the Houston suburb of Deer Park (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009).
Now, we come to an elephant in the room: Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Chuck Knoblauch of Houston (1998, 1999 and 2000)? Accused in the Mitchell Report, which, as we now know, has no credibility. Accused by Brian McNamee, ditto. Mike Stanton of Midland (1998, 1999 and 2000)? Also named in the Mitchell Report, and accused by Kirk Radomski. Innocent until proven guilty.
And Roger Clemens of Houston (1999 and 2000)? Aside from Barry Bonds, no player has been more harshly accused. But he is the one player who, thus far, has legally beaten the rap. That doesn't mean we have to like him. It does mean that we have to stop assuming that he's guilty. As was said in another courtroom, You should never assume, because, when you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME.
Honorable Mention Baseball Hall-of-Famers who didn't make the Top 10: Ross Youngs of San Antonio, and Negro Leaguers Andrew "Rube" Foster of Calvert, Smokey Joe Williams of Seguin, and Willie Wells of Austin.
Honorable Mention to Nolan Ryan of the Houston suburb of Alvin. It's a little ironic that he won his only World Series, indeed his only Pennant, with the 1969 Mets, before he became a star. But he might not have become a star if the Mets hadn't made that dumb trade with the California Angels after the 1971 season.
"The Ryan Express," owner of one of the fastest pitches ever, set records for strikeouts in a game (19), a season (383 in 1973), and in a career (5,714). Most K's in a game has been broken, but, unless the way pitchers are handled changes, his records for a season and a career will probably never be broken).
He pitched 7 no-hitters, shattering the old record of 4. He reached the postseason with the Angels in 1979. In 1980, with his hometown Astros, he became the 1st player paid $1 million a season (about $3.2 million in today's money). He helped them reach the postseason in 1980 and 1986. He made 8 All-Star Games, his last at age 42.
But he never won a Cy Young Award. His career record of 324-292 gives him one of the lowest winning percentages of any Hall of Fame pitcher. He was the all-time leader in batters walked 6 years before he was the all-time leader in batters struck out. He is often called the most overrated player of all time.
He did have some bad luck. In 1987, he led the National League in strikeouts and earned run average, but went 8-16 because the Astros stopped hitting. That season included the only time I ever saw him pitch, and it was typical of that season: He was 40 years old, and still pitching superbly, but lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. He was still a solid pitcher at 44, for the Texas Rangers, and kept pitching until he was 46, a record-tying 27 major league seasons.
He is a member of the 300 Win and 3,000 Strikeout Clubs, and in 1999 became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (his 1st year of eligibility), The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He is the only player to have his number retired 3 by teams: 30 by the Angels, 34 by the Astros and Rangers. He has a statue outside Globe Life Park in Arlington, and a nearby highway is named the Nolan Ryan Freeway.
Honorable Mention to a whole slew of football players who didn't make the Top 10. The Heisman Trophy winners alone are astounding: Davey O'Brien of Dallas, 1938; Earl Campbell of Tyler, 1977; Billy Sims of Hooks, 1978; Tim Brown of Dallas, 1987, he and O'Brien make Dallas' Woodrow Wilson High School the only high school in the country with 2 winners; Andre Ware of the Houston suburb of Dickinson, 1989; Ty Detmer of San Marcos, 1990; and Robert Griffin III of Copperas Cove, 2011.
Also, the following have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On offense: Campbell, Brown, Bobby Layne of Dallas and Yale Lary of Fort Worth (each winning 3 NFL Championships with the Detroit Lions), Y.A. Tittle of Marshall, Raymond Berry of Paris (2 NFL Championships with the Baltimore Colts), Forrest Gregg of the Dallas suburb of Sulphur Springs (5 NFL Championships with the Green Bay Packers), Charley Taylor of the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie (once the all-time leader in receptions), Gene Upshaw of Robstown (3 Super Bowl wins with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders), Eric Dickerson of Sealy (still the single-season rushing yardage record holder),
On defense: Mean Joe Greene of Temple (4 Super Bowl wins with the Pittsburgh Steelers), and Mike Singletary of Houston (Captain of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX winners).
Also: Harvey Martin of Dallas (MVP of Super Bowl XII), Drew Brees of Austin (MVP of Super Bowl XLIV and 2010 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year), Adrian Peterson of Palestine (over 12,000 rushing yards), Von Miller of the Dallas suburb of DeSoto (MVP of Super Bowl 50), and Dez Bryant of Lufkin (528 receptions, and he just turned 29).
Honorable Mention to members of the Basketball Hall of Fame who didn't make the Top 10: Slater Martin of the Houston suburb of Elmina, Zelmo Beaty of Woodville, Clyde "the Glide" Drexler of Houston (named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players), Dennis Rodman of Dallas, and Sheryl Swoopes of the Lubbock suburb of Brownfield.
Honorable Mention to Carla Overbeck of the Dallas suburb of Richardson. She was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1999 Women's World Cup, collectively named Sportswomen of the Year by Sports Illustrated. She had previously won the 1st Women's World Cup in 1991, and the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Bobby Morrow of San Benito. The sprinter won 3 Gold Medals at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, and Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. In 1957, he was given the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as the outstanding American amateur athlete of the year.
Honorable Mention to Randy Matson of Pampa. In 1964, he won the Silver Medal in the shot put at the Olympics in Tokyo. In 1967, he won the Sullivan Award. In 1968, in Mexico City, he won the Gold Medal.
Honorable Mention to Michael Johnson of Dallas. He won a Gold Medal as a member of a U.S. relay team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In 1996, he won Gold Medals in the 200 and 400 meters in Atlanta, and received the Sullivan Award. He won the 400 again in 2000 in Sydney, giving him 4 Olympic Gold Medals.
Honorable Mention to Chip Rives of Dallas. While a football player at Wake Forest University, he was named 1 of 8 "Athletes Who Care" by Sports Illustrated, who received the Sportspeople of the Year award, for leading a toy drive. He became a film producer, and specializes in sports documentaries.
Honorable Mention to Paulie Ayala of Fort Worth. He was recognized as Bantamweight Champion of the World by the WBA from 1999 to 2002, and named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine in 1999.
Honorable Mention to winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup as the leading female collegiate athlete of the schoolyear, all basketball players: Kamie Ethridge of Lubbock and the University of Texas, 1985-86; Teresa Weatherspoon of Pineland and Louisiana Tech, 1987-88; and Brittney Griner of Houston and Baylor University, 2011-12.
Dishonorable Mention to Lance Armstrong of the Dallas suburb of Plano. All those Tours de France, and the 2002 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year. But it doesn't matter how inspirational you were if you're exposed as a cheat.
Dishonorable Mention to Mike Timlin of Midland and Keith Foulke of the Houston suburb of Huffman. Members of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the team collectively awarded Sportspeople of the Year by Sports Illustrated. And Foulke was named World Series Most Valuable Player. But, as I said, cheaters don't get counted here. As far as I know, Timlin and Foulke were not, themselves, culpable. But they benefited from those who were.
Dishonorable Mention to Josh Beckett of the Houston suburb of Spring. Named World Series MVP with the 2003 Florida Marlins, he also won it with the Red Sox in 2007. But there's a reason he's called Super Punk, above and beyond the cheating of teammates on both ballclubs.
Dishonorable Mention to Johnny Manziel of the San Antonio suburb of Kerrville. He won the Heisman in 2012, but has been disgraceful ever since.
Now, the Top 10:
10. Dick Lane of Austin. In 1952, "Night Train" was a hit record by Jimmy Forrest, and Lane was a rookie cornerback with the Los Angeles Rams. It became his nickname, particularly sticking after a game against the Washington Redskins, when he clobbered Charlie Justice, whose nickname was also train-related: A newspaper headline read, "Night Train Derails Choo Choo."
He was known as a ferocious tackler, specializing in "the horse-collar tackle," later outlawed. A 2009 NFL Films documentary rated him the Number 2 tackler of all time, behind Dick Butkus. But it was his speed that really fit the nickname. That speed enabled him to set an incredible record: In that 12-game season, he intercepted 14 passes. Even in a 16-game schedule, that has never been matched.
A 7-time Pro Bowler, he also starred with the Chicago Cardinals and the Detroit Lions, but never appeared in a Playoff game. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team, and its 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 20th, the highest-ranking defensive back, on its 100 Greatest Football Players.
9. Ernie Banks of Dallas. "Mr. Cub" is so identified with Chicago that it's easy to forget that it's not where he's from. Indeed, he's from Big D, not the City of the Big Shoulders. It's just as well that he played baseball: Nobody ever played football and said, "Let's play two!"
Also, the following have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On offense: Campbell, Brown, Bobby Layne of Dallas and Yale Lary of Fort Worth (each winning 3 NFL Championships with the Detroit Lions), Y.A. Tittle of Marshall, Raymond Berry of Paris (2 NFL Championships with the Baltimore Colts), Forrest Gregg of the Dallas suburb of Sulphur Springs (5 NFL Championships with the Green Bay Packers), Charley Taylor of the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie (once the all-time leader in receptions), Gene Upshaw of Robstown (3 Super Bowl wins with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders), Eric Dickerson of Sealy (still the single-season rushing yardage record holder),
On defense: Mean Joe Greene of Temple (4 Super Bowl wins with the Pittsburgh Steelers), and Mike Singletary of Houston (Captain of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX winners).
Also: Harvey Martin of Dallas (MVP of Super Bowl XII), Drew Brees of Austin (MVP of Super Bowl XLIV and 2010 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year), Adrian Peterson of Palestine (over 12,000 rushing yards), Von Miller of the Dallas suburb of DeSoto (MVP of Super Bowl 50), and Dez Bryant of Lufkin (528 receptions, and he just turned 29).
Honorable Mention to members of the Basketball Hall of Fame who didn't make the Top 10: Slater Martin of the Houston suburb of Elmina, Zelmo Beaty of Woodville, Clyde "the Glide" Drexler of Houston (named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players), Dennis Rodman of Dallas, and Sheryl Swoopes of the Lubbock suburb of Brownfield.
Honorable Mention to Carla Overbeck of the Dallas suburb of Richardson. She was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1999 Women's World Cup, collectively named Sportswomen of the Year by Sports Illustrated. She had previously won the 1st Women's World Cup in 1991, and the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Bobby Morrow of San Benito. The sprinter won 3 Gold Medals at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, and Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. In 1957, he was given the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as the outstanding American amateur athlete of the year.
Honorable Mention to Randy Matson of Pampa. In 1964, he won the Silver Medal in the shot put at the Olympics in Tokyo. In 1967, he won the Sullivan Award. In 1968, in Mexico City, he won the Gold Medal.
Honorable Mention to Michael Johnson of Dallas. He won a Gold Medal as a member of a U.S. relay team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In 1996, he won Gold Medals in the 200 and 400 meters in Atlanta, and received the Sullivan Award. He won the 400 again in 2000 in Sydney, giving him 4 Olympic Gold Medals.
Honorable Mention to Chip Rives of Dallas. While a football player at Wake Forest University, he was named 1 of 8 "Athletes Who Care" by Sports Illustrated, who received the Sportspeople of the Year award, for leading a toy drive. He became a film producer, and specializes in sports documentaries.
Honorable Mention to Paulie Ayala of Fort Worth. He was recognized as Bantamweight Champion of the World by the WBA from 1999 to 2002, and named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine in 1999.
Honorable Mention to winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup as the leading female collegiate athlete of the schoolyear, all basketball players: Kamie Ethridge of Lubbock and the University of Texas, 1985-86; Teresa Weatherspoon of Pineland and Louisiana Tech, 1987-88; and Brittney Griner of Houston and Baylor University, 2011-12.
Dishonorable Mention to Lance Armstrong of the Dallas suburb of Plano. All those Tours de France, and the 2002 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year. But it doesn't matter how inspirational you were if you're exposed as a cheat.
Dishonorable Mention to Mike Timlin of Midland and Keith Foulke of the Houston suburb of Huffman. Members of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the team collectively awarded Sportspeople of the Year by Sports Illustrated. And Foulke was named World Series Most Valuable Player. But, as I said, cheaters don't get counted here. As far as I know, Timlin and Foulke were not, themselves, culpable. But they benefited from those who were.
Dishonorable Mention to Josh Beckett of the Houston suburb of Spring. Named World Series MVP with the 2003 Florida Marlins, he also won it with the Red Sox in 2007. But there's a reason he's called Super Punk, above and beyond the cheating of teammates on both ballclubs.
Dishonorable Mention to Johnny Manziel of the San Antonio suburb of Kerrville. He won the Heisman in 2012, but has been disgraceful ever since.
Now, the Top 10:
10. Dick Lane of Austin. In 1952, "Night Train" was a hit record by Jimmy Forrest, and Lane was a rookie cornerback with the Los Angeles Rams. It became his nickname, particularly sticking after a game against the Washington Redskins, when he clobbered Charlie Justice, whose nickname was also train-related: A newspaper headline read, "Night Train Derails Choo Choo."
He was known as a ferocious tackler, specializing in "the horse-collar tackle," later outlawed. A 2009 NFL Films documentary rated him the Number 2 tackler of all time, behind Dick Butkus. But it was his speed that really fit the nickname. That speed enabled him to set an incredible record: In that 12-game season, he intercepted 14 passes. Even in a 16-game schedule, that has never been matched.
A 7-time Pro Bowler, he also starred with the Chicago Cardinals and the Detroit Lions, but never appeared in a Playoff game. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team, and its 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 20th, the highest-ranking defensive back, on its 100 Greatest Football Players.
9. Ernie Banks of Dallas. "Mr. Cub" is so identified with Chicago that it's easy to forget that it's not where he's from. Indeed, he's from Big D, not the City of the Big Shoulders. It's just as well that he played baseball: Nobody ever played football and said, "Let's play two!"
A 14-time All-Star, he won back-to-back National League Most Valuable Player awards in 1958 and 1959, despite the Cubs not being anywhere near the Pennant race. He won a Gold Glove in 1960, and finished his career with 2,583 hits, including 512 home runs, an astonishing number for a player who spent the 1st half of his career as a shortstop, before moving to 1st base.
The Cubs retired his Number 14, and erected a statue of him outside Wrigley Field. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In spite of the achievements of Red Grange, Walter Payton, Bobby Hull and even Michael Jordan, Ernie may still be, even after his death, the most popular athlete in Chicago's history.
8. George Foreman of Houston. There have been 2 George Foremans -- and, no, that's not a reference to his having named all 5 of his sons George. They're the same guy, but very different men.
The 1st George was a proud winner of the Gold Medal in Heavyweight boxing at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, then a ferocious beast who worked his way up the ranks until 1973, when he destroyed first Joe Frazier to take the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and then Ken Norton, the only 2 men who had yet beaten Muhammad Ali.
Big George was scary. In the leadup to his fight with Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30, 1974, Ali was talking to film and TV cameras, saying what he was going to do in order to win back the title, going on and on. George, by then 40-0 as a professional, was succinct: He looked into the camera, and said, "I'm gonna kill you." And then he smiled, as if to say he was kidding. But there were people who thought that he might actually end Ali's life in the ring.
Ali surprised everybody, dominating the fight -- it wasn't all "rope-a-dope" -- and knocking Foreman out in the 8th round. George didn't really recover: He regained his contender status, and won The Ring magazine's Fighter of the Year award in 1976, having already won it in 1973. But a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977 ended his fight career.
Or so everyone thought. George took stock of his life, found religion, and became an ordained minister. He said, that Young had knocked the Devil out of him. He spent most of his boxing earnings on building a youth center in Houston. To keep it going, he returned to the ring, as an old (already 38), bald, fat guy who charmed the people he used to scare. Until he got into the ring, and then, he was all business.
In 1990, he went into Boardwalk Hall, next-door to Caesars Atlantic City, to face former heavyweight challenger Gerry Cooney. The promoters called it "The War at the Shore," but the comedians called it "Two Geezers at Caesars." Some war: George knocked Gerry out in 2 rounds. He was serious!
In 4 years, he went 23-0, and actually got another shot at the title, and went the full 12 rounds with Evander Holyfield at age 42. Most people, myself included, thought he'd proved his point, and that he should get out of the ring before he got hurt. He didn't think so, and kept going. On November 5, 1994, 20 years to the week after "The Rumble In the Jungle," wearing the same trunks he wore that night, he went into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden outside Las Vegas, against Michael Moorer, who held the WBA and IBF Heavyweight Titles. George knocked him out in the 10th round. At 45, he was the oldest Heavyweight Champion of the World ever.
He held it until 1997, losing to Shannon Briggs. His final record was 76-5. He had become beloved, knocking guys out, selling his George Foreman Grill, doing commercials for other products. In 2016, he, fellow sports legend Terry Bradshaw, and acting icons William Shatner and Henry Winkler toured Asia together for the NBC miniseries Better Late Than Never, earning him a new generation of fans. As hard as it was to believe in 1974 -- or even 1987 -- now, everybody loves George Foreman.
7. Tris Speaker of the Dallas suburb of Hubbard. Like Edwin "Duke" Snider, Richie "Whitey" Ashburn and Edward "Whitey" Ford, his prematurely light hair got him a nickname, "The Grey Eagle." (Always written that way, never as "Gray.") In the 1910s and 1920s, he was right up there with Ty Cobb as the best all-around player in baseball.
He was an incredible hitter, with a .345 lifetime batting average, and 3,514 career hits, a total still surpassed only by Cobb, Pete Rose, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. He holds the career record for doubles with 792. He was also the best-fielding outfielder of his time, and he still holds the career record for assists by an outfielder with 449.
He helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 1912 and 1915, was traded to the Cleveland Indians, became their player-manager, and won the Series with them in 1920. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with its 2nd class in 1937, and ranked 27th on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.
Despite allegations that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1947 Speaker came out of retirement, at the request of Indians owner Bill Veeck, to assist the American League's 1st black player, Larry Doby, in learning how to play center field, which he hadn't played before. Speaker assisted the other black players that Veeck brought in as well, and won another World Series ring as one of their coaches in 1948. Although he is in the Indians' team Hall of Fame (and the Red Sox' as well), the uniform number he wore as a coach, 43, is not retired.
6. Jack Johnson of Galveston. In 1908, he became the 1st black man to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. This "conquest" of the white man, and his flamboyant lifestyle, made him the most hated man in America. Even many black people hated him, for making them look bad. He didn't care. Even when convicted on a bullshit charge in 1912, and forced to flee the country and fight elsewhere, he was still going to be Jack Johnson.
Until he finally got tired of it. Did he throw that fight to Jess Willard in Cuba in 1915? It was just as hot for Willard. Or maybe, at 37, everything just caught up with him. He still stands as one of the greatest heavyweights ever, a man Muhammad Ali admired tremendously.
5. Doak Walker of Dallas. You'd go by "Doak," too, if your name was Ewell Doak Walker Jr. Despite delaying his college career to serve in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, he did for Texas running backs what Sammy Baugh did for Texas quarterbacks: Raised the role to the status of icon.
He helped Dallas' Southern Methodist University (SMU) win the 1947 and 1948 Southwest Conference Championships and the 1949 Cotton Bowl. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1948 and finished 2nd in the voting in 1949. He brought so many fans to SMU games that they had to move their home games to the Cotton Bowl stadium. It wasn't enough: The Bowl had to be double-decked, and it became known as "The House That Doak Built."
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions, where he was reunited with his Highland Park High School teammate and University of Texas rival, quarterback Bobby Layne. He won NFL Rookie of the Year in 1950, and NFL Championships in 1952 and 1953. He was named to 5 Pro Bowls.
Despite only playing 6 professional seasons, he was elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and SMU and the Lions both retired his Number 37. The NCAA instituted the Doak Walker Award for the best running back of the year.
4. Rogers Hornsby of Fort Worth. He was a racist, a compulsive gambler, and a rotten guy. He also might have been the greatest righthanded pure hitter who ever lived. His .358 lifetime batting average is a record for righthanders. He batted .402 over a 5-year stretch from 1922 to 1926, including .424 in 1924, the highest in Major League Baseball since 1894.
He won 7 National League batting titles, 2 home run titles, 4 RBI titles, and all 3, the Triple Crown, in 1922 and 1925. He was named NL Most Valuable Player in 1925 and 1929. He collected 2,930 hits, and had 301 home runs. That doesn't sound like much now, but when he played his last game in 1937, only Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx had more. And in 1926, as both 2nd baseman and manager, he led the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Championship. He also won Pennants with the Chicago Cubs in 1929 and 1932.
But he went on to make 2 troubling discoveries: He was respected, but hated, and teams couldn't wait to get rid of him, his ego, and his private troubles; and he was a far better manager with himself as a player than without, frequently frustrated when his players weren't very good, let alone as good as he was.
He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. When The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, Hornsby came in 9th, the highest-ranked 2nd baseman. The Cardinals named him to their team Hall of Fame, and dedicated a statue to him outside Busch Stadium. While uniform numbers began to be used during his career, he never wore the same number long enough to be identified with it, so a Cardinal "STL" logo stands in for a retired number along with their other honorees.
3. Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias of Beaumont. Yes, I know, I said golfers were athletes, but she was a star in actual sports before that. She was an expert softball pitcher, an All-State basketball player, and a good bowler, but starred in track & field. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won Gold Medals in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin throw, and the Silver Medal in the high jump.
After competing in track and basketball professionally, she switched her attention to golf in 1935. At the time, there were 3 major championships for women: The Western Open, which she won in 1940, 1944, 1945 and 1950; the Titleholders Championship, which she won in 1947, 1950 and 1952; and the U.S. Women's Open, which she won in 1948, 1950 and 1954.
She won the last of those having already come back from colon cancer once. When she died in 1956, only 45 years old, she said, "I can't die now, I'm just learning how to play golf."
She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, was a charter inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the Associated Press named her the greatest female athlete first of the Half-Century in 1950, and then of the Century in 1999. Sports Illustrated named her the 2nd-greatest female athlete of the 20th Century, behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
She was married to George Zaharias, who quit his career as a professional wrestler to become her manager. In 1975, the movie Babe starred Susan Clark as Didrikson and former football star Alex Karras, himself a Greek-American former athlete, as Zaharias. Art imitated life: Clark and Karras got married.
But she competed at a time when the competition among female athletes was not extensive. That was not the case for this lady, who faced much sterner on-field tests:
2. Mia Hamm of Wichita Falls. Is she the greatest female soccer player of all time? She might be. She won the National Championship all 4 years she was at the University of North Carolina. She won the 1993-94 Honda-Broderick Cup. She helped the U.S. team win the 1st Women's World Cup in 1991. She helped them win it again in 1999, and with her teammates was named one of Sports Illustrated's Sportswomen of the Year.
She won Olympic Gold Medals with the U.S. team in 1996 in Atlanta and 2004 in Athens. Until 2013, she held the record for most goals scored in international soccer play, regardless of gender. She is now a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and was the 1st woman elected to the World Football Hall of Fame. She is married to former baseball star Nomar Garciaparra, and they are part-owners of Major League Soccer expansion franchise Los Angeles FC.
But when you think "Sports in Texas," the 1st sport you think about is football. And this man might have been the greatest all-around football player of all time:
1. Sammy Baugh of Temple. Maybe Slingin' Sammy wasn't quite "the first quarterback," but he was the 1st truly great passer in football. He played football, baseball and basketball at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth. He nearly led their football team to the National Championship in 1935, and did lead them to win the 1936 Sugar Bowl and the 1st Cotton Bowl in 1937.
He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1937, and, that year, he did something that no other human being had done before, and none has since: He led a team to the NFL Championship as a rookie quarterback. Johnny Unitas didn't do it. Nor did Joe Montana. Nor did Tom Brady.
A 6-time Pro Bowler, he and Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears reinvented the quarterback position, just as Don Hutson of the Green Bay Packers was doing to the position of end, inventing the wide receiver. Baugh and Luckman played each other in 4 NFL Championship Games, with Baugh's Redskins winning in 1937 and 1942, and Luckman's Bears winning in 1940 and 1943.
In 1943, Baugh led the NFL in passer rating, punting yards, and interceptions -- made, not thrown. Think about that: In one year, he was Tom Brady (without cheating), Shane Lechler and Darius Slay at the same time.
He played until 1952, and remains one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and still has the highest career punting yard average. In 1960 and 1961, he was the 1st head coach of the New York Jets (then the New York Titans.) In 1963, he was a charter inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he turned out to be the last survivor of those, living until 2008.
TCU retired his Number 45, and his 33 is the only number officially retired by the Redskins. He was named to the Redskins Ring of Fame, the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 75th Anniversary Team. In 1999, The Sporting News named him to its 100 Greatest Football Players.
Interviewed for the NFL's 75th Anniversary TV special, he said, "I love the way they play today. I wish I was playing now." The football world isn't sure if they agree: They might want to watch him, but they wouldn't want to play against him.
After competing in track and basketball professionally, she switched her attention to golf in 1935. At the time, there were 3 major championships for women: The Western Open, which she won in 1940, 1944, 1945 and 1950; the Titleholders Championship, which she won in 1947, 1950 and 1952; and the U.S. Women's Open, which she won in 1948, 1950 and 1954.
She won the last of those having already come back from colon cancer once. When she died in 1956, only 45 years old, she said, "I can't die now, I'm just learning how to play golf."
She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, was a charter inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the Associated Press named her the greatest female athlete first of the Half-Century in 1950, and then of the Century in 1999. Sports Illustrated named her the 2nd-greatest female athlete of the 20th Century, behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
She was married to George Zaharias, who quit his career as a professional wrestler to become her manager. In 1975, the movie Babe starred Susan Clark as Didrikson and former football star Alex Karras, himself a Greek-American former athlete, as Zaharias. Art imitated life: Clark and Karras got married.
But she competed at a time when the competition among female athletes was not extensive. That was not the case for this lady, who faced much sterner on-field tests:
2. Mia Hamm of Wichita Falls. Is she the greatest female soccer player of all time? She might be. She won the National Championship all 4 years she was at the University of North Carolina. She won the 1993-94 Honda-Broderick Cup. She helped the U.S. team win the 1st Women's World Cup in 1991. She helped them win it again in 1999, and with her teammates was named one of Sports Illustrated's Sportswomen of the Year.
She won Olympic Gold Medals with the U.S. team in 1996 in Atlanta and 2004 in Athens. Until 2013, she held the record for most goals scored in international soccer play, regardless of gender. She is now a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and was the 1st woman elected to the World Football Hall of Fame. She is married to former baseball star Nomar Garciaparra, and they are part-owners of Major League Soccer expansion franchise Los Angeles FC.
1. Sammy Baugh of Temple. Maybe Slingin' Sammy wasn't quite "the first quarterback," but he was the 1st truly great passer in football. He played football, baseball and basketball at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth. He nearly led their football team to the National Championship in 1935, and did lead them to win the 1936 Sugar Bowl and the 1st Cotton Bowl in 1937.
He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1937, and, that year, he did something that no other human being had done before, and none has since: He led a team to the NFL Championship as a rookie quarterback. Johnny Unitas didn't do it. Nor did Joe Montana. Nor did Tom Brady.
In 1943, Baugh led the NFL in passer rating, punting yards, and interceptions -- made, not thrown. Think about that: In one year, he was Tom Brady (without cheating), Shane Lechler and Darius Slay at the same time.
He played until 1952, and remains one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and still has the highest career punting yard average. In 1960 and 1961, he was the 1st head coach of the New York Jets (then the New York Titans.) In 1963, he was a charter inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he turned out to be the last survivor of those, living until 2008.
TCU retired his Number 45, and his 33 is the only number officially retired by the Redskins. He was named to the Redskins Ring of Fame, the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 75th Anniversary Team. In 1999, The Sporting News named him to its 100 Greatest Football Players.
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