1945- American track and field athlete She became a world champion barely out of high school. She broke records in almost all the track events in which she competed. She was the first person, man or woman, to win consecutive Olympic gold medals for the 100-meter race. Yet, despite three Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, her accomplishments seemed to slip by with barely a commentary from th…
1933-2002 American football player Ignored and overlooked in his early years, Johnny Unitas went on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history. Unitas, whose passing ability earned him the nickname "the Golden Arm," led the winning team in what is widely regarded as the greatest game in the annals of professional football. His was in some ways a Horatio Alger stor…
1939- American race car driver Al Unser Sr., a legend in the world of auto racing, is one of only three drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times. Unser, a member of the second of three generations of Unsers to race cars, also shares the distinction of having won races on paved ovals, road courses, and dirt tracks in a single season with only two other Indy drivers. In fact, Unser manage…
1934- American race car driver Bobby Unser came from a family of racecar drivers. He made a name for himself as a driver who pushed himself and his cars to the limit. He drove fast and hard all of the time, and has won numerous racing championships throughout his career, including three Indianapolis 500 titles. Unser has been the center of controversy because of his sharp opinions about what is fa…
1973- American swimmer Champion swimmer Amy Van Dyken began swimming at age six to help in her battle against asthma. She could not swim the full length of an Olympic-size pool until age twelve, but by college she was highly decorated for her speed and ability. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, she and her teams placed first in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 400-meter fr…
1967- American baseball player Known as much for his athletic prowess as for his good-guy persona, baseball player Mo Vaughn is one of the most popular sports figures of the 1990s and early 2000s. During his heyday with the Boston Red Sox in the mid-90s, the hefty slugger built a reputation as one of the most powerful hitters in the game. Vaughn was also widely regarded as the clubhouse leader who…
1951- American wrestler Known as Jesse "The Body" Ventura as a wrestler with the American Wresting Federation, and later with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Jesse Ventura appealed in 1998 to Minnesota voters who wanted a change in the governor's mansion. Change they got when Ventura became governor Ventura. A master of self-reinvention, Ventura has reached the top of fo…
1887-1926 Canadian hockey player Because of a trophy given out by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the best goalie in the league in his honor, the name of Georges Vezina remains alive to this day. Many consider Vezina—who played for 15 seasons (1910-25) all for the Montreal Canadiens—the NHL's first great goaltender. Playing in 328 straight games, Vezina was an innovative g…
1939- American sportscaster ESPN's "mouth that roars," Dick Vitale, is more than a college basketball announcer. He is a cult figure, showman, power broker, author, columnist, Dick Vitale cameo actor, motivational speaker and frequent lightning rod for controversy. Players, coaches, fans and media respect his wisdom and influence; some mimic his "V-Speak,"…
1874-1955 American baseball player Considered by many baseball experts the greatest shortstop of all time, Honus Wagner was one of the National Baseball Hall of Fame's five original inductees in 1936. Among his fellow inductees were Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. At first glance, Wagner looked somewhat ungainly and awkward. Stocky, barrel-chested, and bow-legged, he nevertheless exhibited great spe…
1953- Norwegian marathon runner Distance runner Grete Waitz has set world records in the 3,000 meter, 8 kilometer, 10 kilometer, 15 kilometer, 10 mile, and the marathon. She was the first woman to run a marathon in under 2 hours and 30 minutes, and the first female world champion in the marathon. She has won the New York City Marathon nine times. Address: 3448 NW 104th Way, Gainesville, FL 32606. …
1914-1994 American boxer One of the most persistent boxers of the 20th century, Jersey Joe Walcott refused to give up his dream of winning the world heavyweight title. Long after most boxers would have abandoned all hope, Walcott battled on. On July 18, 1951, he became, at the age of thirty-seven, the oldest boxer ever to become the heavyweight champ, knocking out Ezzard Charles in the seventh rou…
1965- Swedish table tennis player Jan Ove Waldner has been called the "Mozart of table tennis" because of his ability to play many different compositions on the table. If not Mozart, Waldner is certainly the Michael Jordan of his sport. His domination and nearly mythical status among the sport's players and fans is unprecedented in the history of the game. Although table tenni…
1967- American football player When football player Kenny Walker made his professional debut in the early 1990s, he became the first deaf player in the National Football League (NFL) in nearly twenty years. A defensive lineman with the Denver Broncos in 1991 and 1992, Walker became a hero among the hearing-impaired with his against-theodds success story. The 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound player picked …
1952- American basketball player The professional basketball career of Bill Walton, though plagued by injury, had flashes of brilliance that prompted sportscasters to compare him with the greatest centers in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In a pro ball career spanning thirteen years, Walton played for three teams—the Portland Trailblazers, the San Diego (later Los…
1969- Australian cricket player One of the greatest leg-break bowlers in the history of cricket, Australian Shane Warne almost singlehandedly revived the audacious style of leg spinning, combining devastating deliveries with pinpoint control. A favorite to break the world record for wicket-taking in Tests, the outspoken and controversial Warne was selected as one of the five top cricket players of…
1971- American football player Kurt Warner went from $5.50-an-hour grocery clerk to National Football League (NFL) and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. He has won the league MVP twice and competed in two Super Bowls since taking over as St. Kurt Warner Louis Rams' quarterback in 1999 following a teammate's injury. Ironically, Warner himself struggled during an injury-riddled a…
1898-1971 American tennis and basketball player Before Serena Williams and Venus Williams, before the Women's National Basketball Association, and before civil rights created equity on the tennis and basketball courts across the United States, there was Ora Washington. Washington was a talented athlete who flourished in her chosen sports of tennis and basketball. She was the reigning champi…
1949- American golfer Tom Watson won eight major golf tournaments, including five British Opens, and challenged Jack Nicklaus for golf supremacy in the late 1970s. Regarded as a failure under pressure in his early years, Watson silenced critics by winning all major tournaments but the PGA at least once. He was twice a Masters champion and took the U.S. Open once. "Beginning in 1977, Watson …
1969- American football player Running back Ricky Watters scored five touchdowns in a National Football League playoff game and three in a Super Bowl. He also helped Notre Dame win a national collegiate championship from a different position, wide receiver. So it was no surprise that as the 2002 playoffs beckoned, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and other NFL teams tried to coax Watters out of retirement…
1974- Australian golfer Australian golf star Karrie (pronounced "kahr-rie," rhymes with "starry") Webb has been fighting Annika Sorenstam for the title of the best female golfer in the world since Webb joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour in 1995. Webb, who was only 20 when she joined the tour, has been compared repeatedly to Tiger Woods, since bo…
1963- American basketball player Spud Webb Standing only five feet, seven inches tall, Spud Webb was one of the shortest players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Despite his diminutive size, Webb enjoyed superstardom as a small man in a big man's game. In what was perhaps the crowning achievement of his twelve-year career in professional basketball, Webb won the NBA …
1973- American basketball player Chris Webber, known as C-Webb, is an athletic and dynamic forward who, at six-feet-ten-inches, can get the crowd on its feet with spectacular dunks and nearly poetic play up and down the floor. In the media limelight since high school, Webber has become one of the shining stars of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his ten-year career. As a member of …
1929- American bowler Legendary professional bowler Dick Weber made bowling history in 2002 when he became the first bowler ever to win at least one Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) title in six consecutive decades. Weber, Dick Weber who won his first PBA title in 1959, grabbed his first title of the new millennium by winning the PBA Senior Regional Championship at New North Lanes in …
1952- German skier East German skier Ulrich Wehling is one of six competitors who have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event—the Nordic Combined. After retiring from skiing, he moved to Switzerland, and is a member of the National Olympic Committee in Germany. In 2002, he was named to Bud Greenspan's list of 25 Greatest Winter Olympians. …
1969- American mountain climber Ninety percent of climbers who attempt Mount Everest—at 29,035 feet, the world's highest mountain—do not make it to the summit. In 2001, Erik Weihenmayer managed to accomplish the grueling and dangerous trek to the "top of the world," making history in the process. Weihenmayer, who suffers from a retina disease, is completely blind…
1962- American volleyball player Paula Weishoff is a two-time Olympic medalist in volleyball, and is one of the top volleyball players of her generation. She was inducted into the U.S. Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998. She currently acts as assistant coach for the top-rated women's volleyball team at the University of Southern California (USC). Paula Weishoff was born in 1962 in Los Angeles,…
1904-1984 American swimmer One of the most outstanding swimmers of all time, Johnny Weissmuller won five Olympic gold medals and set dozens of national and world records. His stellar performance as a competitive swimmer helped to focus the attention of Americans on the health benefits of the sport. However, he is perhaps best remembered by most Americans for his portrayals of author Edgar Rice Bur…
1956- Liechensteinian skier Hanni Wendel is the first person from the tiny European country of Liechtenstein to win an Olympic gold medal. She won not just one, but two gold medals for skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games held in Lake Placid, New York. She very nearly swept all three of the women's Alpine skiing events, earning, in addition to her two golds, a silver medal as well. Her b…
1938- American basketball player One of the best shooting guards in professional basketball history, Jerry West went on to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to basketball dominance during the last quarter of the twentieth century as first a coach and later general manager and executive vice president. After nearly four decades with the Lakers organization, West stepped down in 2000, but it did not take …
1961- American football player Defensive end Reggie White, known as the "Minister of Defense," was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1988. He was a Pro Bowl player 13 consecutive seasons from 1986 to 1998 and he is football's career sacks leader with 68½. In 1997 and 1998, he helped take the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl, coming away with a vi…
1939- American golfer Kathy Whitworth's professional golfing career spanned 32 years. From 1959 to 1991, she was a consistent figure in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). She started out with the LPGA when it was just beginning to take hold and participated in bringing it into its own. During that time she broke ground that set high standards for the women who follow in her fo…
1978- Canadian hockey player Canadian hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser stands likely to become the first female position player in professional men's hockey (three other women have played in goal). In 2002, a few teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) minors realm were expressing tentative interest signing this Olympic gold medallist and her formidable skills as a forward. Maclean'…
1967- American rifle shooter Deena Wigger is a one-time world record holder in women's air rifle, and was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic rifle team. In 1983 she won the gold medal at her very first international competition, the Pan American Games, which she competed in when she was just 16 years old. Wigger has also won medals at the rifle shooting world championships. Born in Montana i…
1937- American basketball coach With 1,268 victories in his first twenty-nine seasons as an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach, Lenny Wilkens is clearly the winningest coach in professional basketball history. Wilkens began his coaching career more than three decades ago in Seattle where he served as player-coach for the Super Sonics from 1969 until 1972. He pulled the same double duty wi…
1960- American basketball player One of the most outstanding basketball players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, Dominique Wilkins retired as a player after the 1998-99 season. At the time of his retirement, Wilkins ranked eighth on the all-time NBA scoring list with 26,668 points and 10th in career scoring average with 24.8 points per game. Wilkins did not stay away from the game…
1977- American diver Laura Wilkinson's inspiring story captured many hearts at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Wilkinson, a champion diver from the University of Texas, broke her foot only months before the Olympics but fought through the pain to defeat the heavily favored Chinese divers for the gold medal. It was the first time that an American woman had won a gold medal in platfor…
1922- American swimmer Esther Williams is best known for her starring roles in MGM's aquatic musical films of the 1940s and 1950s—films which are often credited with introducing synchronized swimming to the world—but she was a pioneer in many other ways as well. Williams was one of the best competitive female swimmers of her day, and after becoming a movie star she became the …
1981- American tennis player Together with her older sister, Venus Williams, Serena Williams has taken the tennis world by storm, soaring to the top of a game traditionally dominated by white players. For Serena, 2002 was particularly sweet. The year didn't get off to a particularly auspicious start. A sprained ankle forced Williams to miss the Australian Open in January 2002, but things br…
1918-2002 American baseball player Baseball player Ted Williams—nicknamed the Splendid Splinter, Thumper, and Teddy Ballgame—has been called one of the two greatest hitters of all time, along with Babe Ruth. Over his nineteen seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Williams had a .344 batting average, even though he lost nearly five seasons in his prime to service as a combat pilot in World…
1980- American tennis player Venus Williams' route to superstardom in professional tennis was quite unlike that of most of her fellow players, the majority of whom learned the game from pros at country clubs or expensive tennis academies. Venus and younger sister Serena Williams practiced their tennis basics in a city torn by gang warfare, Compton, California, playing the game on municipal …
1971- British archer British archer Alison Williamson is a world champion, four-time Olympian, and Olympic and European record holder. Beginning archery at a young age, she went on to compete in the women's individual event around the world consistently placing in the top ten and ranking first in the Tournament of Nations and the Arizona Cup International. She achieved a world record score …
1905-1998 American tennis player Helen Wills revolutionized the face of sports for American women. At a time when women were not thought capable of athletic achievement, Wills played some of the best tennis in the world, with a strength and ferocity that was far more typical of the male athletes of her time than of the female ones. She was not only dominant in women's tennis, winning thirty…
1951- American baseball player Baseball player Dave Winfield is one of only a handful of players to achieve 3,000 hits and 400 home runs in his career, joining other Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, and Carl Yaztrzemski. Winfield also won seven Gold Glove awards for his outfield skills during his twenty-two-season career. A 6'6"…
1965- German figure skater Known as "Fire on the Ice," Katarina Witt emerged from the former East Germany to become the winningest figure skater since Norway's Sonja Henie. Witt made an enormous splash onto the international scene in the 1988 Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, where she took her first gold medal. Sexy and charming as well as technically astute and creative…
