Spoiler alert – I’m a sports fan. Shocking, right? This is a sports related F.Y.I. narrative, today. Being around sports, being a fan of multiple sports, a player in my early youth (baseball, football, basketball), an official from age 15 (baseball, softball, volunteer basketball), a coach (baseball, softball), an organizer of youth baseball camps, Jamestown Jammer camps, and even serving as an official score keeper for the Jammers, I have no trouble talking sports for as long as a conversation can last.
Looking at my small connection with sports, I got to thinking about some celebrities who have been talented in multiple professional or Olympic sports, and/or in multiple entertainment venues (Sports and Entertainment), or were good enough to have played in/on multiple arenas/stages.
In researching this topic, I found hundreds fitting this category, so I thought I’d pick out some noted, and some I found to be surprising who played collegiately, professionally, or in the Olympics, and maybe entertained on stage, screen, or television.
Check these out:
– Chuck Connors (TV – The Rifleman, MLB – Brooklyn Dodgers, Chi. Cubs; NBA – Boston Celtics)
– Charley Pride [Baseball – Memphis Red Sox (Negro League), Boise Yankees (a Class C NY Yankee affiliate); Country Music Star]
– Jim Brown (NFL – Cleveland Browns; Silver Screen – Dirty Dozen, 100 Rifles)
– Alex Karras (NFL – Detroit Lions; TV – Webster; Silver Screen – Blazing Saddles)
– Bob Golic (NFL – Patriots, Browns, Raiders; TV – Saved by the Bell: The College Years)
– Carl Weathers [NFL – Raiders; TV – Chicago Justice; Movies – Rocky (I through IV)]
– Terry Crews (NFL – Rams, Redskins, Chargers, Eagles; TV – Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Movies – Draft Day)
– Jim Thorpe [possibly the greatest male athlete of all time (MLB – NY Giants, AFL – Canton Bulldogs; Olympic Medalist in Decathlon)]
– Dave Winfield (MLB – Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, Indians; Drafted NBA – Atl. Hawks; Drafted NFL – Minnesota Vikings)
– Dave Logan (NFL – Cleveland Browns; Drafted NBA – KC Kings; Drafted MLB: Cinn. Reds)
– Wilt Chamberlain – (NBA – Phil. & SF Warriors, 76ers, LA Lakers; IVA – Seattle Smashers)
– Tony Gwynn (MLB – Padres; Drafted NBA – SD Clippers
– John Elway (NFL – Broncos; Prof. BB – Yankees Organization)
– Ricky Williams (NFL – Saints, Dolphins, Ravens; Prof. BB – Phillies Organization)
– Tom Glavine (MLB – Braves; Drafted NHL – LA Kings)
– Pat Riley (NBA – SD Rockets; Drafted NFL – Cowboys)
– Tom Brady (NFL – Patriots, Buccaneers; Drafted MLB – Expos)
– Bud Grant (NBA – Minneapolis Lakers; NFL – Eagles)
– Gene Conley (MLB – Milwaukee Braves; NBA – Celtics)
– Michael Jordan (NBA – Bulls, Wizards; Prof. BB – White Sox Organization)
– Deion Sanders (NFL – Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, Redskins, Ravens; MLB – Yankees, Braves, Reds, SF Giants)
– Bo Jackson (NFL – Raiders; MLB – Royals)
– Dave DeBusschere (NBA – Pistons, Knicks; MLB – White Sox)
– George Halas [APFA – Decatur Staleys; MLB – Yankees (replaced in RF by Babe Ruth)]
– Ed “Too Tall” Jones (NFL – Cowboys; Professional Boxer)
– Herschel Walker (NFL – Cowboys; Olympic Athlete – Two Man Bobsled)
– Lolo Jones (Two sport Olympic Athlete – Track & Field and Bobsledder)
– Danny Ainge (MLB – Blue Jays; NBA – Celtics, Trail Blazers, Kings, Suns)
– Tim Tebow (NFL – Broncos, Jets; Prof BB – Mets Organization)
– Ron Reed (NBA – Pistons; MBL – Braves, Cardinals, Phillies, White Sox)
– Mark Hendrickson (MLB – Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Dodgers, Marlins, Orioles; NBA-76ers, Kings, Nets, Cavs)
– Steve Hamilton (MLB – Indians, Senators, Yankees, White Sox, SF Giants, Cubs; NBA- Minn. Lakers)
– Ronda Rousey (WWE and Martial Arts; Small & Big Screens -Several TV & Movie roles)
– Dick Groat (MLB – Pirates, Cardinals, Phillies, SF Giants; NBA – Fort Wayne Pistons)
– Johnny Gee (MLB – Pirates, NY Giants; NBA – Syracuse Nationals)
– Frank Baumholtz (MLB – Reds; NBA – Youngstown Bears)
– Howie Schultz (MLB – Brooklyn Dodgers, Phillies, Reds; NBA – Anderson Packers, Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers)
– Dick Ricketts (NBA – St. Louis Hawks, Cincinnati Royals; MLB – Cardinals
– Drew Henson (NFL – Cowboys, Vikings, Lions; Prof. BB – Yankee Organization)
– Cotton Nash (NBA – LA Lakers, SF Warriors; ABA – KY Colonels; MLB – White Sox, Twins)
– Ed O’Neill (TV – Married with Children; NFL – Selected by Steelers but cut after Training Camp in 1969.
– Babe Didrickson Zaharias [possibly the greatest female athlete of all time (Professional Golf, also excelled in Basketball, Baseball and Track & Field)]
Well, there’s a very short sampling of celebrities, who you could say, are/were pretty good at multi-tasking in their careers. As stated, there are many others who were/are outstanding in entertainment and were great collegiate athletes, among them Burt Reynolds, Mark Harmon, and Ed Marinaro.
The list may be a good lesson to younger people who begin a career, find it isn’t/wasn’t as expected, or like they’d hoped, and are courageous and adventurous enough to try something else, maybe finding out career number two is/was a better fit for them in the long run. It worked for these people.
