1943- French skier Downhill ski racer Jean-Claude Killy won the first World Cup overall title in 1967, and took gold medals in all three alpine races at the 1968 Olympic Games. He was instrumental in organizing the 1982 Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and is a member of the International Olympic Committee. He also founded a successful ski apparel company. Address: 13 Chemin Bellefontaine, 12…
1943- American tennis player Billie Jean King, more than anyone, revolutionized women's tennis. One of the greatest players ever, King was in the Top Ten five times between 1966 and 1972, and has won 20 Wimbledon championships. She founded charitable organizations as well as the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation, which she established to ensure that …
1931- American boxing promoter Don King With his trademark "gravity-defying" hair, the image of Don King has hovered over professional boxing since he helped put together the "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, in which Muhammad Ali regained his championship title from George Foreman. All the elements that have marked King's career came together in his first b…
1960- American volleyball player The only volleyball player in Olympic history to win three gold medals, Karch Kiraly pushed his career earnings past the $3 million mark with a third-place finish in the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) last tournament of the 2002 season. He became the winningest beach volleyball player of all time when he and Adam Johnson captured the 1999 Chicago Ope…
1961- American beach volleyball player During her 16-year career as a professional beach volleyball player, Kirby, who stands five-feet, eleven inches tall, had a record 67 tournament wins (61 domestic; 6 international) and career total earnings of $681,471 ($488,146 domestic; $193,325 international). Partnered with Liz Masakayan from 1993 to 1995, the pair formed the winningest team in the histor…
1958- Finnish cross-country skier Harri Kirvesniemi Harri Kirvesniemi and his wife, Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen, were the best cross-country skiers in Finland for many years. Hämäläinen was the more successful of the pair in terms of first-place finishes, but both consistently finished in the top five in international events for about twenty years. H�…
1972- American snowboarder Extreme athletes like snowboard slalom champion Chris Klug brought a new look and a new rhythm to the Olympics with the introduction of (e)Xtreme sports at Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Without altering the Olympic ideals, the personas of the heroes of the Games were redefined. For Klug, who took the Olympic bronze in 2002, the win was an anticlimax to a life-saving surgery th…
1940- American college basketball coach Pete Axthelm of Newsweek has called Bobby Knight a "boiling blend of brilliance and loyalty, fanaticism and temper." And in fact, there isn't a college coach who can incite more debate and who can get the blood of fans boiling more (both his fans and those of opposing teams). Knight is one of those people about whom the phrase "ei…
1955- American cross-country skier Cross-country skier Bill Koch is the only American ever to medal in cross-country skiing at the Olympic Games. He won a silver medal in the 30-km freestyle race at the 1976 Olympics, and also competed in the 1980, 1984, and 1992 Olympics. He was first in World Cup standings in 1982, the first American ever to reach this position, and third in 1983. Bill Koch on C…
1955- Belarussian gymnast Olga Korbut brought qualities to Olympic gymnastics that few had seen before. She brought innovation—her backwards flips from the balance beam and the uneven bars became a staple of the sport's repertoire. She brought youth—Korbut and her American peer Cathy Rigby were the standard-bearers of gymnastics' new breed of teenage prodigies. And she …
1982- Croatian skier Janica Kostelic With a tenacious spirit forged in her war-torn homeland, Janica Kostelic of Croatia became the only Alpine skier ever to win four medals in one Winter Olympics at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also is Croatia's first Winter Olympic medalist since the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Kostelic, a nation…
1935- American baseball player During his prime, Sandy Koufax dominated major league baseball with his powerful, yet fatally fragile left arm. From 1962 to 1966, Koufax pitched four no-hitters (including a perfect game) and struck out more than 1,400 batters, winning 111 games and losing only 34. What makes Koufax's story so marvelous, however, is his transformation. During his early years,…
1981- Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova is arguably the most marketable woman in sports, despite having won no WTA Tour Anna Kournikova singles tournaments. "Anna Kournikova is sex with a tennis racket attached," Bud Collins, longtime expert in the sport, said on ESPN Classic's Sports Century series. Kournikova has only once reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam ev…
1969- Austrian downhill skier Petra Kronberger dominated women's alpine skiing for a few brief years between 1988 and 1992. Although she skied on the World Cup circuit for fewer than six full seasons, in that time Kronberger won three World Cup overall titles and two Olympic gold medals. Yet her personality was as famous and appreciated in Austria as her winning record. Kronberger prayed wh…
1963- American jockey The winningest woman jockey in thoroughbred racing history, Julie Krone has shattered records throughout her two-decade career, including having the distinction of being the first woman to ride to the winner's circle in a Triple Crown race. But records were not the only things shattered in the course of Krone's streak. She has suffered career-threatening injurie…
1976- Brazilian tennis player Gustavo Kuerten took the tennis world by storm in 1997 when the virtually unknown player won the French Open championship, the clay court Grand Slam event. Kuerten has won the championship three times. He has also won a total of sixteen singles titles and eight doubles titles since turning professional in 1995. Kuerten reached the number one ranking in the world by th…
1980- American figure skater Michelle Kwan The most decorated American figure skater in the sport's history, Michelle Kwan became one of the most respected and admired athletes of her generation for her grace on and off the ice. First making headlines in 1994 when she was named an alternate to the American team at the Lillehammer Olympics during the Tonya Harding scandal, Kwan was a …
1914- American bowler Marion Ladewig was known as the "Queen of Bowling." Many people consider her the greatest female bowler who ever lived. She set the pace in the opening days of women's professional bowling. Not only did she lead the nation in high average for a woman four times between 1949 and 1963 but, in 1951 she outscored the men. Born Marion Margaret Van Oosten on Oc…
1951- Canadian hockey player Guy Lafleur Right wing/center Guy Lafleur was one of the best scorers of his generation. Winning three Art Ross Trophies as the National Hockey League's (NHL) leading scorer, Lafleur scored with power and grace. He was an all-around player, with strong skating, puck handling, and passing skills, an accurate shot, and the strength to handle defenders. Lafl…
1970- American soccer player One of the most recognized American soccer players because of his red hair and trademark goatee, Alexi Lalas contributed to the popularity of the sport in the United States in the 1990s. A defender, Lalas played on the U.S. national team, and professionally for MLS (Major League Soccer) and in Europe for Italy's Serie A, one of Alexi Lalas the best league…
1898-1965 American football coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau was the founder and first coach of the Green Bay Packers football team. He led the team to six world titles in the 1930s and 1940s, and had a Earl Lambeau winning percentage of .657. The Packers' stadium in Green Bay, Lambeau Field, is named in his honor. …
1921- American boxer Jake LaMotta grew up a street kid whose skills with his fists earned him the amateur light heavyweight championship's Diamond Belt. At nineteen, he began a pro career that would include eighty-three wins (including thirty by knockouts), nineteen losses, and four draws. After retiring from boxing, he developed a comedy routine that drew on his fighting experiences and hi…
1924-2000 American football coach Every football Sunday for twenty-nine years, Tom Landry stood expressionless on the sidelines as coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL). Whether winning or losing, Landry, in his suit and trademark fedora, always remained calm. His stoic demeanor and aura of control demanded respect from both his opponents and his players. He possessed a…
1954- American football player Although his fourteen seasons with the Seattle Seahawks did not result in any National Football League (NFL) championships, Steve Largent retired as the holder of NFL records in receptions, yards, and Steve Largent touchdowns. Often underestimated by his opponents, who thought that Largent was too small and slow to be an offensive threat, the wide receiver eve…
1927- American baseball manager Tommy Lasorda has been called one of the most successful managers in baseball history. In 20 years as a manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he led his team to a total of eight division titles. Also on his watch, the Dodgers went to the World Series four times, winning it twice (in 1981, and again in 1988). He retired as Dodger manager in 1996, and became a Dodgers v…
1934- Soviet gymmast Gymnast Larisa Latynina won 18 medals in Olympic competition, and is the most decorated Olympian to date in any sport. She competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics, as well as at the world championships in 1954, 1958, 1962, and 1966. She is the only gymnast to have won medals in every event on the program in two different Olympics. Ravnovesie, Moscow, 1975. Gimnastika K=S…
1938- Australian tennis player Rod "Rocket" Laver has been called the greatest tennis player of the twentieth century, and for good reason. He is the only player in the history of tennis to win two Grand Slams—taking the singles titles of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in a single year. His first Grand Slam came in 1962, while he was still an am…
1965- Canadian hockey player One of the most admired figures in professional sports, Mario Lemieux has enjoyed a lengthy career filled with dramatic moments. A member of two Stanley-Cup winning squads with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux was sidelined after a diagnosis of Hodgkin's Disease, a form of cancer, in 1993. After completing radiation therapy and missing the 1994-95 season, he ret…
1932- American basketball player Like a crazed captain at the helm of a ship, Meadowlark Lemon could take over a court and steer a crowd into the throes of laughter. During his 23 seasons with the Harlem Globetrotters, Lemon proved he was more than just a basketball player. Full of wisecracks and wise moves, Lemon became the "Clown Prince of Basketball," and night after night, year a…
1956- American boxer Olympic gold medallist Sugar Ray Leonard generated broad interest in the sport of boxing during the 1970s and into the 1980s. In 1981 he beat Thomas Hearns for the unification of the WBC and WBA world welterweight titles, winning a prize purse of more than $10 million. It was an unprecedented sum for a welter-weight bout, in a sport where the spoils of fame rested traditionall…
1972- American basketball player Hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when Los Angeles Sparks star and WNBA pioneer member Lisa Leslie renounced basketball. Standing six feet tall in the seventh grade, Leslie was asked constantly if she played the game. Rather than spurring her interest, though, the repeated inquisitions turned her against the sport. "I hated it," she has a…
1961- American track and field athlete Carl Lewis, the greatest track and field star of the 20th century, attracted intense attention to his sport in the United States in the 1980s. His early successes as a sprinter and long-jumper inspired writers to compare him to Jesse Owens, even before he equaled Owens' feat of winning four gold medals in a single Olympics. Negative publicity about his…
1965- British boxer In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lennox Lewis was the boxing heavyweight champion of the world. He was Great Britain's first heavyweight champion since 1897 when he became the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion in 1993. After not posting a loss in his 109 amateur bouts, Lewis had a professional record of 40-2-1 through 2002. While Lewis had a great right, he oft…
1958- American basketball player One of the greatest women's basketball players of all time, Nancy Lieberman had a lengthy, decorated career and logged a number of "firsts." At age 18 she was the youngest basketball player to win an Olympic medal as part of the 1976 U.S. team. Ten years later she became the first woman to play in a men's professional Nancy Lieberman…
1973- Canadian hockey player Though considered one of the most talented players to ever play in the National Hockey League (NHL), Eric Lindros has had a controversial career from his days in junior hockey. Some believe that he has never fully realized his potential as a player. A power forward in the truest sense, Lindros has size (6'5"; 220 lbs), strong skating ability, a scorer�…
1982- American figure skater Although her competitive career in the amateur ranks of figure skating was brief, Tara Lipinski filled the record books with her accomplishments. As a thirteen-year-old, Lipinski claimed her first national medal with a third-place finish at the 1996 United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) National Championship in San Jose, California. The following year, in ju…
1932-1970 American boxer When Sonny Liston became the world heavyweight boxing champ by knocking out Floyd Patterson in 1962, he hoped his criminal past and unsavory reputation could be put behind him. It was too late. At a time of growing racial unrest, he was cast in the public imagination as the angry, dangerous black man. Even the NAACP had asked "good guy" Floyd Patterson not to…
1928- American basketball player Earl Lloyd was one of a handful of black basketball players who broke the racial barrier and helped integrate the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 1950, with the Washington Capitols, he became the first African American to play in an NBA game. The top defensive player later joined the Syracuse Nationals and became the first black player to win an NBA champ…
1973- American basketball player Defeat is not a common word in Rebecca Lobo's vocabulary. During her senior year playing basketball Rebecca Lobo for the University of Connecticut, her team did not lose a single game. The following year she joined USA Basketball's Women's National Team, which won fifty-two straight games on its way to the Olympics, and continued on to w…
1913-1970 American football coach More than three decades after Vince Lombardi's death, books about this legendary and inspiring football coach are still making the best seller list. These books cover not only the details of his life and career but also his philosophy and practical approach to winning, which remains relevant today. His reputation as one of the most consistently successful c…
1957- American golfer When Nancy Lopez burst onto the scene of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour during her rookie year in 1978 by winning a record five consecutive tournaments, she gave new life to the women's tour. Then-LPGA's director of publicity, Chip Campbell, told Golf World, "Thank the dear Lord, along came Nancy Lopez. She was a savior. What did Win…
1973- Kenyan marathon runner In 1998 Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe became the first African woman to win a major marathon when she came in first at the New York City Marathon in 1994. She then set a women's world record on the 26.2-mile marathon course at the 1998 Rotterdam Marathon, a record she broke in 1999 in Berlin, Germany. Loroupe has continued to show herself as one of the world…
1960- American diver Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Greg Louganis is generally considered by sportswriters and fans the best diver in the history of the sport. For years he was simply unbeatable in diving competitions. At the same time, his personal struggles as a closeted gay man often left him feeling alone and worthless. This combination of public adulation and private torment created a com…
1914-1981 American boxer In his day, heavyweight champion Joe Louis was the most famous black man in America, virtually the only one who regularly appeared in the white newspapers. By breaking the color barrier that had been imposed on boxing after black heavyweight Jack Johnson outraged white sensibilities, Joe Louis began a process that would eventually open all of big-league sports to black ath…
1862-1956 American baseball manager Baseball was manager Connie Mack's lifelong career. He retired as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950 after fifty years on the job, spanning the first half of the twentieth century. Mack was known and loved for his gentlemanly conduct both in and out of the dugout. He represented a fatherly figure to his players and built teams through his super…
