Documents for "Sports: Biographies":

• Aaron, Henry Louis (Hank Aaron), 1934-, U.S. baseball player, b. Mobile, Ala. A durable outfielder noted for his powerful wrists, Aaron was among the first blacks to play a full career in the major leagues (1954-76)...

• Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 1947-, American basketball player, b. New York City as Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor. At 7 ft 2 in. (218 cm), he led the Univ. of California, Los Angeles, to three national titles (1967-69). He...

• Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo, duca degli 1873-1933, Italian explorer and mountain climber; cousin of Victor Emmanuel III. He led (1897) the first ascent of Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. His polar expedition (1899-1900) reached a point farther...

• Agassi, Andre Kirk 1970-, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. Trained by his Armenian immigrant father, he turned professional in 1986. By 1988 he had won a half dozen major tournaments, but until 1992 at...

• Alcindor, Lew see Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem.

• Alexander, Grover Cleveland 1887-1950, American baseball player, b. St. Paul, Nebr. One of the great right-handed pitchers in National League history, Alexander pitched 696 games and won 373 of them, compiling a.642 winning...

• Ali, Muhammad 1942-, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964 to become world heavyweight champion, he...

• Anderson, Sparky (George Lee Anderson), 1934-, American baseball manager, b. Bridgewater, S.Dak. A one-season (1959) infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, he became the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, also of...

• Andretti, Mario 1940-, American auto racing driver, b. Italy. He is the only driver to have won the Indianapolis 500 (1969), stock racing's Daytona 500 (1967), and the international Formula One championship...

• Anquetil, Jacques 1934-87, French bicycle racer, b. Mont-Saint-Aignan, Normandy. Beginning to race in 1951, he won the French amateur championship a year later. Anquetil was the first cyclist to win the Tour de...

• Anson, Adrian Constantine 1851-1922, American baseball player-manager, known usually as "Cap" Anson, b. Marshalltown, Iowa. For most of his career he played with the Chicago club of the National League and was four times league batting champion. As manager (1879-97), he led the team to five...

• Arcaro, Eddie (George Edward Arcaro) , 1916-97, American jockey, b. Cincinnati. In a thirty-year career (1931-62), he won 4,779 races and his mounts won $30,039,543 in purses, leading Sports Illustrated to deem him at his retirement "the most famous man to ride a horse since Paul Revere." Arcaro won six Preaknesses and six Belmonts and was one of only two jockeys (Bill Hartack was the other) to win the Kentucky Derby five times. He was the only jockey to have won the Triple Crown...

• Armstrong, Henry 1912-88, American boxer, b. Columbus, Miss. He was originally named Henry Jackson. He began his professional career in 1931, and soon became known as a strong and tireless puncher. Armstrong won...

• Armstrong, Lance 1971-, American cyclist, b. Dallas, Tex. He won (1991) the U.S. amateur cycling championship, turned professional (1992), and by the mid-1990s had won the Tour DuPont twice and was being hailed as...

• Ashe, Arthur Robert 1943-93, American tennis player, b. Richmond, Va. Ashe rose from his hometown's public courts to become the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis. He won the 1965...

• Auerbach, Red (Arnold Jacob Auerbach) , 1917-, American basketball coach and executive, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As coach of the Boston Celtics (1950-66), he built the last-place club into one of the most dominant teams in the history of...

• Bannister, Sir Roger Gilbert 1929-, British athlete. On May 6, 1954, at Oxford's Iffley Road track, Bannister, a physician, became the first man to run the mile in less than 4 min, a barrier many experts had long considered...

• Barkley, Charles Wade 1963-, American basketball player, b. Leeds, Ala. After starring at Auburn Univ., he joined the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1984. Shorter, at about 6 ft 5 in...

• Baugh, Sammy (Samuel Adrian Baugh), 1914-, American football player, b. near Temple, Tex. The first great passer in the game, "Slingin' Sam" played for Texas Christian Univ. (1934-36) and the Washington Redskins (1937-52), helping the latter win two league championships. An excellent punter and defensive back as well, he led the...

• Becker, Boris 1967-, German tennis player, b. Leimen, West Germany (now Germany). Noted for his powerful, often acrobatic serve-and-volley game, he gained notice in 1985 when, at 17, he became the youngest man...

• Belmonte, Juan 1892-1962, Spanish matador, b. Seville. He is generally considered the greatest matador of all time, as remarkable for the poetry of his motion in the bullring as for his speed and dexterity. He...

• Berra, Yogi (Lawrence Peter Berra) , 1925-, American baseball player and manager, b. St. Louis. An outstanding catcher with the New York Yankees (1946-63), Berra was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1954, and 1955,...

• Best, George 1946-2005, Northern Irish soccer play, b. Belfast. Regarded as the greatest player ever in British soccer, he was signed by Manchester United in 1961. He first played for the team in 1963, and...

• Bird, Larry Joe 1956-, American basketball player, b. West Baden, Ind. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in basketball history, the 6-ft 9-in. Bird played for Indiana State Univ. (1975-79). Joining...

• Blair, Bonnie Kathleen 1964-, American speed skater, b. Cornwall, N.Y. An outstanding technical skater, she won more individual gold medals (five) in Olympic competition than any other American woman, and her total of...

• Blanchard, Jean Pierre or François Blanchard , 1753-1809, French balloonist. In 1785 he made with Dr. John Jeffries of Boston, Mass., the first crossing by air of the English Channel. His ascents at Philadelphia (1793) and New York City (1796)...

• Bonds, Barry Lamar 1964-, American baseball player, b. Riverside, Calif. Bonds grew up surrounded by baseball; his father, Bobby Bonds, was a San Francisco Giants outfielder (1968-74), and the great Willie Mays was his godfather. Bonds left Arizona State Univ. to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, and just four years later he was voted the National League's Most Valuable Player (MVP). In 1992 he was...

• Borg, Björn 1956-, Swedish tennis player. As a teenage star he led (1975) Sweden to its first Davis Cup victory. One of the most successful modern tennis players, Borg captured five successive Wimbledon...

• Bradman, Sir Donald George 1908-2001, Australian cricketeer, widely considered the sport's greatest player and one of the world's most outstanding athletes, b. Cootamundra. His 20-year-long cricket career began in 1928, when...

• Brinker, Maureen Connolly see Connolly, Maureen.

• Brown, Jim 1936-, American football player, b. St. Simon Island, Ga. A football and lacrosse All-American at Syracuse Univ., Brown became one of the greatest fullbacks in professional football history during...

• Brundage, Avery 1887-1975, American sports executive, b. Detroit, Mich. A member of the 1912 U.S. Olympic track and field team, he became a leader of the Olympic movement and an unyielding spokesperson for...

• Bryant, Bear (Paul Bryant) , 1913-83, American football coach, b. Moro Bottom, Ark. The son of sharecroppers, he became a Southern culture hero through his football successes. After playing on the Rose Bowl-winning 1935 Univ...

• Budge, Don (John Donald Budge), 1915-2000, American tennis player, b. Oakland, Calif. A powerful, consistent player, Budge was the first person to capture the sport's grand slam, winning the Australian,...

• Camp, Walter Chauncey 1859-1925, American athlete, football coach, administrator, b. New Britain, Conn. In his three years as captain at Yale Univ. in the 1880s, Camp shaped the rules that transformed rugby football...

• Campbell, Donald Malcolm 1921-67, British automobile and boat racer. The son of Sir Malcolm Campbell , from whom he inherited his passion for assaulting speed records and his mechanical inclinations, he helped to design a hull that would not disintegrate at speeds over 200 mi (322 km) per hr on...

• Campbell, Sir Malcolm 1885-1949, English automobile and speedboat racer. A racing enthusiast from boyhood, Campbell set many speed records for motorcycles, airplanes, automobiles, and motorboats and in 1931 was knighted...

• Chadwick, Florence May 1918-95, American distance swimmer, b. San Diego, Calif. She began swimming at the age of six, and four years later she swam the San Diego Bay Channel, the first child to do so. On Aug. 8, 1950,...

• Chamberlain, Wilt (Wilton Norman Chamberlain), 1936-99, American basketball player, b. Philadelphia. At the Univ. of Kansas he was a two-time All-American center. During 14 seasons in the National Basketball...

• Clay, Cassius Marcellus, Jr. see Ali, Muhammad.

• Clemens, Roger (William Roger Clemens) , 1962-, American baseball player, b. Dayton, Ohio. Noted for his competitive fire, Clemens is one of baseball's great power pitchers. After starring at the Univ. of Texas, he joined (1984) the...

• Clemente, Roberto Walker 1934-72, Puerto Rican baseball player, b. Carolina, Puerto Rico. He played his entire major league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-72) and was the mainspring of their successes for 18...

• Cobb, Ty (Tyrus Raymond Cobb), 1886-1961, American baseball player, b. Narrows, Ga. In 1905 he joined the Detroit Tigers as center fielder and in his 24 years in the American League was one of the most...

• Collins, Eddie (Edward Trowbridge Collins), 1887-1951, American baseball player, b. Millerton, N.Y., grad. Columbia, 1907. One of the game's great second basemen, he was active in the American League for 25...

• Comaneci, Nadia 1961-, Romanian gymnast. Under the tutelage of coach Bela Karolyi, she rose to prominence in the celebrated Romanian gymnastics program. Comaneci was known for the boldness of her routines and her...

• Connolly, Maureen 1934-69, American tennis player, b. San Diego, Calif. She became, at 16, the youngest player to win the U.S. national singles. She successfully defended the U.S. title (1952, 1953), won the...

• Connors, Jimmy (James Scott Connors, Jr.), 1952-, American tennis player, b. East St. Louis, Ill. A volatile, controversial, and fiercely competitive player, Connors was known for his theatrical conduct on the...

• Corbett, James John 1866-1933, American boxer, b. San Francisco. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett won (1892) the heavyweight boxing championship from John L. Sullivan at New Orleans and lost (1897) the title to Robert L....

• Cordero, Angel Tomás, Jr. 1942-, Puerto Rican jockey, b. Santurce. When he retired in 1992 he had won 7,057 races in 22 years. From 1977 to 1990 his mounts won over $5 million each year, a record. In 1976 he won the...

• Cosell, Howard 1920-95, American sports broadcaster, b. Winston-Salem, N.C., as Howard William Cohen. Formerly a lawyer, he began covering sports for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1956, and was...

• Cotton, Henry (Thomas Henry Cotton), 1907-87, British golfer, b. Cheshire, England. Although he played as a professional at the age of 17, Cotton did not achieve international recognition until he won the...

• Court, Margaret Smith 1942-, Australian tennis player. Playing tennis from age eight, she rose to prominence in the early 1960s. Ranked first in world standings six times beginning in 1962, she retired in 1966, but...

• Cousy, Bob (Robert Joseph Cousy) , 1928-, American basketball player, b. New York City. During his career with the Boston Celtics (1951-63), Cousy established a reputation as the National Basketball Association's finest backcourt...

• Davis, Dwight Filley 1879-1945, American tennis player and public official, b. St. Louis, grad. Harvard, 1900, and Washington Univ. law school. An outstanding tennis player, Davis donated in 1900 a cup as an...

• Dean, Jerome Herman (Dizzy Dean), 1911-74, American baseball player, b. Lucas, Ark. His name was originally Jay Hanna Dean. A colorful right-handed pitcher, Dean performed brilliantly (1930-37) for the St. Louis...

• Dempsey, Jack (William Harrison Dempsey), 1895-1983, American boxer, b. Manassa, Colo. Dempsey, called the "Manassa Mauler," emerged from fights on saloon floors near mining camps to become (1919) the world's heavyweight champion and one of the major sports figures of the 1920s. He sealed his slugging reputation in his...

• Didrikson, Babe (Mildred Didrikson) , 1913-56, American athlete, generally considered the greatest woman athlete of modern times, b. Port Arthur, Tex. At an early age Babe Didrikson excelled in basketball, baseball, and track. In 1932...

• DiMaggio, Joe (Joseph Paul DiMaggio) , 1914-99, American baseball player, b. Martinez, Calif. One of the most charismatic of 20th-century sports figures, "Joltin' Joe" joined the New York Yankees of the American League in 1936 and quickly rose to stardom, winning the league's batting title with a.381 average in his fourth season. In a career interrupted by World...

• Dorsett, Tony (Anthony Drew Dorsett) , 1954-, American football player, b. Rochester, Pa. The first running back to gain over 6,000 yards in Division I-A, he won the Heisman Trophy as the best college player of 1976 while leading the...

• Doubleday, Abner 1819-93, once credited as originator of baseball and Union general in the American Civil War, b. Saratoga co., N.Y., grad. West Point, 1842. The A. G. Mills commission (1905-8) investigated the origin of baseball and, based upon a single,...

• Douglas, John Sholto see Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, 8th marquess of.

• Earnhardt, Dale (Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr.) , 1951-2001, American auto racing driver widely regarded as stock car racing's greatest star, b. Kannapolis, N.C. The 1979 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Rookie of the Year,...

• Ederle, Gertrude 1905-2003, American swimmer, b. New York City. Ederle won three medals in the 1924 Olympic games. On Aug. 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim the English Channel, which she crossed in...

• Egan, Pierce 1772-1849, English sports writer. He was the author of Life in London, a lively account of the sporting gallants of the Regency. With its rough humor and colloquial style, it was popular from its first...

• El Cordobés 1936?-, Spanish bullfighter, b. Manuel Benítez Pérez. The predominant matador of the 1960s, he brought an unorthodox acrobatic and theatrical style to the ring, working very close to the bull's...

• Elway, John 1960-, American football player, b. Port Angeles, Wash. An All-American quarterback at Stanford, he played his entire National Football League career (1983-99) with the Denver Broncos, whom he led...

• Erving, Julius 1950-, American basketball player, b. Roosevelt, N.J., known as "Dr. J." An excellent shooter, rebounder, and ball-handler, he played for the American Basketball Association's Virginia Squires (1971-73) and New York Nets (1973-76) and for the National Basketball...

• Evert, Christine Marie 1954-, American tennis player, b. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Noted for her poise on the court, her strong, two-handed backhand, and her nearly flawless baseline game, she won at least one Grand Slam...

• Federer, Roger 1981-, Swiss tennis player, b. Basel. He was an outstanding junior player, ranking number one in 1998, the year he turned pro. Federer won his first Association of Tennis Professionals tournament...

• Feller, Bob (Robert William Andrew Feller), 1918-, American baseball player, b. Van Meter, Iowa. Famous for his extraordinary fastball, Feller pitched 18 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, beginning in 1936...

• Fitzsimmons, Robert L. 1863-1918, British boxer, b. Cornwall, England. Fitzsimmons began fighting professionally in Australia and New Zealand before going to the United States in 1890. He won the world's middleweight...

• Fleming, Peggy 1948-, American ice skater, b. San Jose, Calif. She began skating at age 9, and after distinguished accomplishments as a juvenile and novice skater, she was U.S. Ladies Champion from 1964 to 1968,...

• Foreman, George 1948-, American boxer, b. Marshall, Tex. A high school dropout, Foreman learned to box in the Job Corps. In 1968 he was the Olympic heavyweight gold medalist. Foreman beat Joe Frazier for the world...

• Foxx, Jimmie (James Emory Foxx), 1907-67, American baseball player, b. Sudlersville, Md. Foxx played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1926-35), the Boston Red Sox (1936-42), the Chicago Cubs (1942-44), and the...

• Foyt, A. J. (Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr.), 1935-, American auto-racing driver, b. Houston. Foyt was the first person to win the Indianapolis 500 race four times (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977). He also won the Daytona...

• Freshfield, Douglas William 1845-1934, English explorer and mountaineer. A prominent member of the Royal Geographical Society, he did pioneer climbing in the Caucasus, the Himalayas, and the mountainous regions of many other...

• Gehrig, Lou (Louis Gehrig) , 1903-41, American baseball player, b. New York City. He studied and played baseball at Columbia, where he was spotted by a scout for the New York Yankees. As the team's first baseman (1925-39),...

• Gibson, Althea 1927-2003, African-American tennis player, b. Silver, S.C. In 1948 she won the first of 10 straight national black women's singles championships. She was the first African American to play in the...

• Gibson, Josh (Joshua Gibson) 1911-47, American baseball player, b. Buena Vista, Ga. A catcher and the long-time batterymate of Satchel Paige , Gibson was called "the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues." Playing 17 years for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays, he is said to have hit 84 home runs one season and perhaps 800 in his career, and to be the only man to have hit a fair ball...

• Gonzales, Pancho (Richard Alonzo Gonzales) gŏnzăl´Ĭs , 1928-95, American tennis player, b. Los Angeles, of Mexican parentage. After two straight wins in both the U.S. lawn and clay court singles championships (1948, 1949), he gained an international...

• Gordon, Jeff 1971-, American auto racer, b. Vallejo, Calif. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's (NASCAR) Rookie of the Year in 1993, "The Kid" became the youngest winner of NASCAR's Winston Cup in 1995. He repeated his Winston Cup success in 1997, 1998, and 2001, and in 1998 also won 13 races, tying the record held by Richard Petty. Although his telegenic looks and easy embrace of the national media have led many to tout him as representing a new era in what had been a traditionally regional sport, hardcore NASCAR fans have...

• Graf, Steffi 1969-, German tennis player. A powerful baseliner, she drew international attention by winning the 1984 Olympic demonstration event. Graf won her first major title, the French Open, in 1987. In...

• Graham, Otto Everett, Jr. 1921-2003, American football player and coach, b. Waukegan, Ill. He was an All-American football and basketball player at Northwestern Univ. before he joined the Cleveland Browns in 1946 after...

• Grange, Harold Edward (Red Grange), 1903-91, American football player, b. Forksville, Pa. Grange was All-America halfback at the Univ. of Illinois (1923-25). After a spectacular college career in which he scored 31...

• Greb, Harry 1894-1926, American boxer, b. Pittsburgh. Although blind in one eye, Greb was one of the most feared fighters in American ring history. He was a natural middleweight, but fought light heavyweights...

• Gretzky, Wayne 1961-, Canadian ice hockey player, b. Brantford, Ont. He played with the Edmonton Oilers (1978-88), Los Angeles Kings (1988-96), St. Louis Blues (1996), and New York Rangers (1997-99). Gretzky is...

• Griffey, Ken, Jr. (George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.), 1969-, American baseball player, b. Donora, Pa. The son of a veteran outfielder, he joined the Seattle Mariners of the American League in 1989. In 1990 he and his...

• Grove, Robert Moses (Lefty Grove), 1900-1975, American baseball player, b. Lonaconing, Md. A left-handed pitcher, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1925-33) and Boston Red Sox (1934-41). In 1931 his season...

• Hagen, Walter 1892-1969, American golfer, b. Rochester, N.Y. Hagen won the U.S. Open championship in 1914 and again in 1919; he took the British Open title in 1922, 1924, 1928, and 1929. "The Haig," as he was known to his admirers, also won the U.S. Professional Golfers Association championship five times (1921, 1924-27), the Australian, Canadian, French, and Belgian open tournaments, and many...

• Hamm, Mia (Mariel Margaret Hamm), 1972-, U.S. soccer player, b. Selma, Ala. The best all-around women's soccer player of her generation, she was perhaps most responsible for making women's soccer a...

• Heiden, Eric 1958-, American speed skater, b. Madison, Wis. After competing in the 1976 Winter Olympics, he won three consecutive World Speedskating Championships (1977-79). In 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., he...

• Heisman, John William 1869-1936, American football coach, b. Cleveland. He studied and played football at Brown (1887-89) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1890-91). He coached football for 36 years from 1892-1927, most...

• Henderson, Rickey Henley 1958-, American baseball player, b. Chicago. An outfielder with the Oakland Athletics (1979-84, 1989-93, 1994-95, 1998), New York Yankees (1985-89), Toronto Blue Jays (1993), San Diego Padres...

• Henie, Sonja 1912-69, Norwegian-American figure skater and movie actress, b. Oslo, Norway. She began ice skating at the age of eight and two years later won the first of six straight Norwegian figure-skating...

• Herreshoff, John Brown 1841-1915, American yacht and ship builder. Though totally blind from the time he was 15, he managed his own sail-boat building company until his brother, Nathaniel Green Herreshoff, 1848-1938, became his partner in 1878. Together they produced steam yachts and torpedo boats, but in 1891 they resumed the construction of sailing yachts, introducing new and radical features of...

• Hillary, Sir Edmund Percival 1919-, New Zealand mountain climber and explorer. He went on many mountain-climbing expeditions before 1953, when he and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal were the first people to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. He was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1958, leading a five-person group by dog sled and snow tractor across 1,200 mi (1,931 km) of Antarctica to the South Pole, he became part of the...

• Hinault, Bernard 1954-, French cyclist, b. Yffignac. Turning professional in 1977, he had more than 200 race victories and is best known as the third in his sport to win the Tour de France five times (1978-79,...

• Hitchcock, Thomas, Jr. 1900-1944, American polo player and aviator, b. Aiken, S.C. The son of avid polo players, Tommy Hitchcock played in his first tournament at the age of 13. Hitchcock's polo playing in 1921 won for...

• Hogan, Ben 1912-97, American golfer, b. Dublin, Tex. A former caddie, Hogan began his professional playing career in 1937. One of the game's great money winners, he won the Professional Golfers Association...

• Holyfield, Evander 1962-, American boxer, b. Atmore, Ala. Favored to win the 1984 Olympic heavyweight title, but victim of a controversial disqualification, he turned professional and became cruiserweight world...

• Hoppe, Willie (William Frederick Hoppe) , 1887-1959, American billiards champion, b. Cornwall, N.Y. He practiced billiards from a very early age and gave exhibitions before he won (1906) his first world championship in Paris. Hoppe...

• Hornsby, Rogers 1896-1963, American baseball player and manager, b. Winters, Tex. He started in major league baseball in 1915 as a shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals and later (1920) became a second baseman,...

• Howe, Gordie (Gordon Howe), 1928-, Canadian hockey player. One of the great forwards in the game's history, he played with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (1947-71), leading the league in...

• Hubbell, Carl Owen 1903-88, American baseball player, b. Carthage, Mo. A left-handed pitcher, Hubbell played his entire major league career (1928-43) with the New York Giants. Hubbell, famous for his adept use of his...

• Hull, Bobby (Robert Marvin Hull, Jr.), 1939-, Canadian hockey player. Considered to be the best left wing in the sport's history, Hull was skating from age three and began playing with the Chicago Black Hawks...

• Induráin, Miguel (Miguel Angel Induráin-Larraya) , 1964-, Spanish bicycle racer. In a career lasting from 1985 to 1997, he dominated European racing, winning the Tour de France, the sport's best-known competition, five years in row (1991-95),...

• Jabbar, Kareem Abdul- see Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem.

• Jackson, Phil (Philip Douglas Jackson), 1945-, American basketball player and coach, b. Deer Lodge, Mont. Jackson was an All-American at the Univ. of North Dakota. Drafted by the New York Knicks in 1967, he was...

• Jackson, Reggie (Reginald Martinez Jackson), 1946-, American baseball player, b. Wyncote, Pa. In 21 years in the American League, most notably with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, he hit 563 home runs,...

• Jackson, Shoeless Joe (Joseph Jefferson Jackson), 1887-1951, American baseball player, b. Brandon Mills, S.C. Holder of the third highest (.356) career batting average in major league history, Jackson was banned from...

• Jeffries, James J. 1875-1953, American boxer, b. Carroll, Fairfield co., Ohio. He began boxing in 1896, and in 1899 he won the heavyweight championship from Robert Fitzsimmons at Coney Island in New York City. He...

• Johnson, Jack (John Arthur Johnson), 1878-1946, American boxer, b. Galveston, Tex., the son of two ex-slaves. Emerging from the battle royals (dehumanizing fights between blacks for the amusement of white...

• Johnson, Magic (Earvin Johnson, Jr.), 1959-, African-American basketball player, b. Lansing, Mich. After winning the national championship with Michigan State Univ. (1979), he joined the Los Angeles Lakers and...

• Johnson, Walter Perry 1887-1946, American baseball player, b. Humboldt, Kans. He began playing with the Washington Senators of the American League in 1907. A right-handed pitcher, he won 417 games while losing 279...

• Jones, Bobby see Jones, Robert Tyre, Jr.

• Jones, Brian 1947-, British balloonist, b. Bristol. A former Royal Air Force pilot, he entered the world of ballooning in the 1980s, and in 1997 became an organizer for the attempt of the British-built,...

• Jones, Robert Tyre, Jr. (Bobby Jones), 1902-71, American golfer, b. Atlanta, Ga. A lawyer, he became a golf devotee. Jones won the National Open (1923, 1926, 1929-30), the National Amateur (1924-25, 1927-28, 1930), and...

• Jordan, Michael Jeffrey 1963-, American basketball player, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As a freshman at the Univ. of North Carolina, he made the shot that won the 1982 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament...

• Joselito 1895-1920, Spanish matador, b. Seville as José Gómez. A prodigy, he appeared first as a torero in 1908 and later toured Spain as one of a child-bullfighting group known as the Niños Sevillanos...

• Joyner-Kersee, Jackie 1962-, American track and field athlete, b. East St. Louis, Ill. One of the world's best all-around women athletes, she won the silver medal in the heptathlon in the 1984 Summer Olympics, won the...

• Killy, Jean-Claude 1943-, French skier. He grew up at his father's ski resort and began skiing at the age of 3. At 18 he was a senior member of the French national team. A daring athlete with superb reflexes, Killy...

• King, Billie Jean 1943-, American tennis player, b. Long Beach, Calif. Her original name was Billie Jean Moffitt. She began playing tennis at age 11 and enjoyed success from age 15 when she won the S California...

• Kite, Tom (Thomas O. Kite, Jr.), 1949-, American golfer, b. Austin, Tex. The 1973 Professional Golfers Association Rookie of the Year, he was also the 1989 Player of the Year. He won the 1992 U.S. Open, and...

• Koufax, Sandy (Sanford Koufax) , 1935-, American baseball player, b. New York City. A superb pitcher, he played (1955-66) with the Dodgers, remaining on the team when the franchise was moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Los Angeles...

• Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer), 1921-, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. He excelled at tennis while still in high school. Kramer and Frederick (Ted) Schroeder won the U.S. national doubles...

• Kuhn, Bowie 1926-, American commissioner of baseball, b. Takoma Park, Md. He was legal counsel for the baseball club owners before his election as commissioner in 1969. His 15-year tenure was tumultuous,...

• Lacoste, René 1905-96, French tennis player. He won the French singles championship (1925, 1927, and 1929), the British singles championship (1925, 1928), and the U.S. singles championship (1926, 1927). He was...

• Landis, Kenesaw Mountain 1866-1944, American jurist and commissioner of baseball (1921-44), b. Millville, Butler co., Ohio, grad. Union College of Law (now Northwestern Univ. law school), 1891. He practiced law in Chicago...

• Laver, Rod (Rodney George Laver) , 1938-, Australian tennis player. He left school at age 15 to pursue tennis and in 1962 became the first male grand-slam winner in tennis since Don Budge in 1938. Noted for his extraordinarily...

• Leahy, Frank William 1908-73, American football coach, b. O'Neill, Nebr. He was an assistant coach at Georgetown Univ. (1931-32), Michigan State College (now Michigan State Univ., 1933), and Fordham Univ. (1934-38),...

• Leigh-Mallory, George Herbert see Mallory, George Herbert Leigh.

• Lemieux, Mario 1965-, Canadian ice hockey player, b. Montreal. A star for the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was the team's first pick in the 1984 National Hockey League (NHL) draft and was Rookie of the Year. He led...

• LeMond, Greg (Gregory James LeMond) , 1961-, American cyclist, b. Los Angeles. In 1986, LeMond became the first American to win the Tour de France, a three-week, 2,500-mi (4,000-km) race and cycling's premier event. Seriously injured...

• Lendl, Ivan 1960-, Czech-American tennis player. After leading Czechoslovakia to its only Davis Cup championship (1980), he moved to the United States, and became one of the dominant singles players in...

• Lenglen, Suzanne 1899-1938, French tennis player. She won the world hard-court singles and doubles titles in 1914. She was champion of French women's singles (1920-23, 1925-26) and one of the winners of women's...

• Leonard, Benny 1896-1947, American boxer, originally named Benjamin Leiner, b. New York City. Leonard, a master boxer and hard puncher, fought in 209 professional bouts, losing only 5. He was lightweight champion...

• Lewis, Carl (Frederick Carlton Lewis), 1961-, American sprinter and jumper, b. Birmingham, Ala. A star in high school and at the Univ. of Houston, he became possibly the greatest track athlete of all time...

• Lewis, Lennox (Lennox Claudis Lewis), 1965-, British-Canadian boxer. Born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, Lewis had a troubled childhood and followed his mother to Canada at the age of 12. Taking up...

• Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone 1850-1931, Scottish merchant and yachting enthusiast. After spending several years in the United States he returned (1869) to his native Glasgow and opened a small grocery store. A pioneer in the...

• Liston, Sonny (Charles Liston), 1932-71, American boxer, b. Little Rock, Ark. While serving a sentence for robbery at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston became interested in boxing. In 1953 he began his...

• Lombardi, Vince (Vincent Thomas Lombardi), 1913-70, American football coach, b. New York City. As a student at Fordham Univ., he was a member of the famed "Seven Blocks of Granite" line. After great success as a high school coach (1939-46), Lombardi coached at Fordham and West Point. Entering professional football in 1954, he was a coach with the New York Giants. In 1958 he...

• Louganis, Greg E. 1960-, American diver, b. San Diego, Calif. He won gold medals in springboard diving and platform diving in the 1984 Olympics and repeated in both categories in 1988 despite a head injury incurred...

• Louis, Joe (Joseph Louis Barrow) , 1914-81, American boxer, b. Lafayette, Ala. His father, a sharecropper, died when Louis was four years old, and in 1926 his stepfather took the family to Detroit, where Louis became interested in...

• Mack, Connie (Cornelius McGillicuddy), 1862-1956, American baseball player and manager, b. East Brookfield, Mass. He was a star catcher for the Washington Senators (1886-89) and the Pittsburgh Pirates...

• Maddux, Greg (Gregory Alan Maddux), 1966-, American baseball player, b. San Angelo, Tex. Playing with the Chicago Cubs (1986-92, 2004-) and the Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), both in the National League, he has...

• Maier, Hermann 1972-, Austrian skier. Sent home from a ski academy in his teens by a physical condition, he was a bricklayer before winning a place on the Austrian World Cup team (and his first World Cup race)...

• Mallory, George Herbert Leigh 1886-1924, English mountain climber. After some spectacular ascents in the Alps, he participated in the Everest expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924. The 1924 expedition culminated in a bold and...

• Manolete 1917-47, Spanish matador, b. Córdoba. Christened Manuel Rodríguez y Sánchez, he was the son and grandson of matadors, who both also had the nickname Manolete. In 1939 at Seville he received his alternativa (i.e., became a full-fledged matador), which was confirmed at Madrid the same year. For eight years (1940-47) he was the top matador in the world, rivaled only by Pepe Luis Vásquez and Domingo...

• Mantle, Mickey (Mickey Charles Mantle), 1931-95, American baseball player, b. Spavinaw, Okla. In 1951, he joined the New York Yankees of the American League; eventually he replaced Joe DiMaggio in center field. A powerful and speedy switch-hitter, Mantle had a total of 536 regular-season home runs, and a lifetime batting average of.298. His 18 home runs in World Series play remains a...

• Marble, Alice 1913-90, American tennis player, b. Plumas co., Calif. She began playing tennis at the age of 15, and after 1931 she rose rapidly in national tennis rankings. She four times took the U.S. singles...

• Marciano, Rocky 1924-69, American boxer, b. Brockton, Mass. His real name was Rocco Francis Marchegiano. Failing to become a professional baseball player, Marciano turned to boxing and won 27 of 30 amateur bouts...

• Marino, Dan (Daniel Constantine Marino, Jr.) , 1961-, American football player, b. Pittsburgh. After starring as an All-American quarterback at the Univ. of Pittsburgh, he joined (1983) the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and...

• Maris, Roger Eugene 1934-85, American baseball player, b. Hibbing, Minn. He played (1957-59) for Cleveland and the Kansas City Athletics before joining (1960) the New York Yankees. In 1961, Maris hit 61 home runs,...

• Mathewson, Christy (Christopher Mathewson) , 1880-1925, American baseball player, b. Factoryville, Pa., grad. Bucknell Univ., 1902. A righthander, he joined the Cincinnati Red Legs in 1901 and was traded to the New York Giants. Under John J. McGraw , Mathewson won 373 games and struck out 2,499 batters before he retired from active play in 1918. In three consecutive seasons (1903-5) Mathewson won 30 games or more, and in 1905 he led the Giants...

• Mays, Willie Howard, Jr. ( "Say Hey" Willie Mays), 1931-, American baseball player, b. Fairfield, Ala. He began his professional career at 17 with the Black Barons of the Negro National League. In 1951 he joined the New York Giants of...

• McCarthy, Joseph Vincent 1887-1978, American baseball manager, b. Philadelphia, Pa. A manager in the American Association and later (1926-30) in the National League, "Marse Joe," as he was known, became manager of the American League's New York Yankees in 1931. During his 16-year tenure with the Yankees his teams won eight league pennants and seven world championships. He...

• McEnroe, John Patrick, Jr. 1959-, American tennis player, b. Weisbaden, West Germany. He grew up in Douglaston, Queens, N.Y. After winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association singles title while a student at...

• McGraw, John Joseph 1873-1934, American baseball manager, b. Cortland co., N.Y. He began playing professional baseball in 1890 and was (1891-1900) the star third baseman of the renowned Baltimore Orioles of the...

• McGwire, Mark David 1963-, American baseball player, b. Pomona, Calif. A muscular first baseman who was a college and Olympic (1984) star, McGwire broke into the American League as Rookie of the Year in 1987 with the...

• Merckx, Eddy 1945-, Belgian bicycle racer. He won the world amateur cycling championship in 1964 and became world professional champion in 1967. He won the Tour de France bicycle race five times (1969-72,...

• Mikan, George Lawrence 1924-2005, American basketball player, b. Joliet, Ill. After leading De Paul Univ. to the 1945 National Invitational Tournament title and being named All-America three times (1944-46), he played...

• Milo or Milon , fl. 500 BC, athlete of ancient Greece, b. Crotona. He won numerous victories in wrestling at the Olympic and Pythian games. He is said to have carried a heifer on his shoulders through the Olympic...

• Milon Greek athlete: see Milo.

• Montana, Joe (Joseph Clifford Montana) , 1956-, American football player, b. New Eagle, Pa. After playing at Notre Dame Univ., he starred (1979-93) for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League, before moving (1993-95) to...

• Moody, Helen Wills see Wills, Helen Newington.

• Moore, Archie 1913-98, American boxer, b. Benoit, Miss., as Archie Lee Wright. He claimed to have been born in 1916 in Collinsville, Ill. He first boxed professionally as a middleweight in 1935 or 1936, winning...

• Mosconi, Willie (William Joseph Mosconi) , 1913-93, U.S. professional billiard player, b. Philadelphia. After a brief period as a child prodigy he did not take up the game again until 1931. He won his first world championship in 1941, and...

• Musial, Stanley Frank 1920-, American baseball player, b. Donora, Pa. At 17 he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and after three years in the minor leagues joined (1941) the Cardinals. One of...

• Naismith, James 1861-1939, American athletic director, inventor (1891) of basketball, b. Almonte, Ontario. While an instructor of physical education at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield...

• Namath, Joe (Joseph William Namath) , 1943-, American football player, b. Beaver Falls, Pa. Namath's brilliance as a quarterback at the Univ. of Alabama earned him a three-year no-cut contract for $387,000 from the New York Jets...

• Nascimento, Edson Arantes do see Pelé.

• Navratilova, Martina 1956-, Czech-American tennis player, b. Prague. After holding the Czech singles title (1972-74), she defected (1975) to the United States. Known for her aggressive serve-and-volley style, she won...

• Nelson, Byron (John Byron Nelson, Jr.), 1912-, American golfer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. In 1926 he began playing golf as a caddie, and in 1933 he entered upon his professional career. Nelson won the U.S. National...

• Nicklaus, Jack William 1940-, American golfer, b. Columbus, Ohio. He began playing golf at the age of 10 and before becoming a professional in late 1961 was considered by many the greatest amateur golfer since Bobby...

• Norman, Greg (Gregory John Norman), 1955-, Australian golfer, b. Mt. Isa, Queensland. Noted for his power, the "White Shark," a professional since 1976, is tremendously popular with the gallery. Although he has won dozens of tournaments, the 1986 and 1993 British Opens are his only major victories, and he is famous for...