Wisconsin's 10 Greatest Athletes
Honorable Mention to Red Schoendienst of the Braves, and Rollie Fingers of the Brewers, members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who did big things in Milwaukee, but not for long enough.
Honorable Mention to Green Bay Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who did not make the Top 10: Earl "Curly" Lambeau, Cal Hubbard, Johnny "Blood" McNally, Mike Michalske, Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, Tony Canadeo, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Forrest Gregg, Jim Taylor, Henry Jordan, Willie Davis, Willie Wood, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, James Lofton, Brett Favre and Reggie White. They should probably be joined by Sterling Sharpe, Charles Woodson, and the still-active Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews III.
When The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, White was ranked 22nd, Gregg 28th, Starr 41st, Adderley 45th, Davis 69th and Favre, then still active, 82nd. When the NFL Network named its 100 Greatest Players in 2010, White was 7th, Favre 20th, Starr 51st, Gregg 54th, Adderley 64th and Davis 86th. Had they spent their entire careers in Green Bay, either White or Favre might have made this To 10.
Honorable Mention to Bob Lanier, who closed a Hall of Fame career with the Bucks, and helped them win Division titles, but not reach the NBA Finals.
10. Ray Allen, guard, Milwaukee Bucks, 1996-2003. The leader of the University of Connecticut's 1st National Championship team in 1995, Allen was a Buck for his 1st 7 seasons, which included 3 of his 10 All-Star berths. He won 2 NBA Championships, but in Boston and Miami, rather than in Milwaukee, coming no closer than the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals. He is now eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame, but not yet in.
9. Oscar Robertson, guard, Milwaukee Bucks, 1970-74. He was only a Buck for 4 seasons, but they included his, and their, 2 greatest seasons: The 1971 NBA Championship, and nearly another in 1974. Had they won Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, which turned out to be his last game, one of the most talented basketball players ever might be better remembered.
It didn't help that he went to the University of Cincinnati, rather than a school like Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas or UCLA; and spent his entire NBA career in the small markets of Cincinnati and Milwaukee. But he retired as the NBA's all-time leader in assists (a record broken by Magic Johnson, who was surpassed by John Stockton) and steals (a record broken by Stockton).
He has the rare status of having 3 different uniform numbers retired: 12 by the University of Cincinnati; 14 by the Royals' successors, the Sacramento Kings; and 1 by the Bucks. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame (twice, in his own right and with the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team) and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.
8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Milwaukee Bucks, 1969-75. He was only with the Bucks for 6 season, including in 1972 when he changed his name from Lew Alcindor. But that included their 1971 NBA Championship and their 1974 Western Conference Championship. Had they won Game 7 at home, he'd be higher on this list.
It also included being named the 1970 NBA Rookie of the Year; the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1971, '72 and '74; and an All-Star all 6 seasons. He is the NBA's all-time leader in minutes played, field goals made, and points scored in both the regular season and the Playoffs -- ahead of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
He may be 1 of the top 5 players in NBA history. His Number 33 has been retired by UCLA, the Bucks and the Lakers. He was an easy choice for the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players. President Barack Obama awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2016.
7. Eddie Mathews, 3rd base, Milwaukee Braves, 1953-65. The only man to play for the Braves in all 3 cities, he reached them in 1952 in Boston, stayed with them until 1966, their 1st season in Atlanta, and was the most popular player on the team for all 13 years in Milwaukee.
He also has the distinction, with New York Giants catcher Wes Westrum, of being on the cover of the 1st issue of Sports Illustrated magazine, dated August 16, 1954. Apparently, there was no "Dreaded SI Cover Jinx" yet: Mathews went on to have a great career.
With Hank Aaron, he set a record for most home runs by teammates, 863. (While they were together, from 1954 to 1966, Aaron hit 442, Mathews 421.) He hit a total of 512 home runs, including 47 in 1953, a team record that Aaron would later tie, but not until Andruw Jones in 2005 would it be surpassed.
He led the Braves to the 1957 World Championship, hitting a walkoff 10th-inning homer in Game 4 and fielding the final out in Game 7, and the 1958 Pennant. He won another World Series while playing out the string with the 1968 Detroit Tigers. He also managed Braves, including in 1974 when Aaron hit Number 715. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, his Number 41 was retired by Braves, and he ranked Number 63 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.
6. Paul Molitor, 3rd base and designated hitter, Milwaukee Brewers, 1978-92. Because he played most of his career in the small market of Milwaukee, and in the shadow of their biggest star, Robin Yount, he is one of the most underappreciated great players ever, despite having one of the best nicknames ever, "The Ignitor."
A 7-time All-Star, he got the Milwaukee Brewers to their 1st 2 postseason appearances, the 1981 American League Division Series and the 1982 World Series. He finally won a World Series with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, and was its MVP. He closed his career with the Twins, and is now their manager.
The Brewers retired his Number 4, and named him to their All-Time Team. The Sporting News
named him 99th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the 3,000 Hit Club. Indeed, until he was surpassed by Derek Jeter, he had more career hits than anyone born after 1941.
A 7-time All-Star, he got the Milwaukee Brewers to their 1st 2 postseason appearances, the 1981 American League Division Series and the 1982 World Series. He finally won a World Series with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, and was its MVP. He closed his career with the Twins, and is now their manager.
The Brewers retired his Number 4, and named him to their All-Time Team. The Sporting News
named him 99th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the 3,000 Hit Club. Indeed, until he was surpassed by Derek Jeter, he had more career hits than anyone born after 1941.
5. Robin Yount, shortstop and center field, Milwaukee Brewers, 1973-93. As with Molitor, playing in the small market of Milwaukee meant that this guy never got the credit he deserved. He and Hank Greenberg are the only players to win MVPs at 2 different positions, Yount doing so at shortstop in 1982, when he led the Brewers to what is still their only Pennant, and in center field in 1989.
Playing in Milwaukee instead of Chicago or another bigger city meant he only made 3 All-Star Games, but after debuting in 1974 at age 18, he gave the Brewers 20 years, 3,142 hits including 583 doubles, 126 triples and 251 home runs, and 271 stolen bases.
Of all players with at least as many stolen bases as he has, only Willie Mays has at least as many home runs and at least as many hits, although Yount has more doubles than Mays (but not more hits, triples, homers or steals). His career OPS+ is 115.
The Brewers have retired Yount's Number 19, which Molitor wore to honor him went he went to the Toronto Blue Jays and found his Brewers number, 4, was already being worn. The Brewers also dedicated a statue of Yount outside Miller Park. He was easily elected to the Hall of Fame. While John Rawlings, then the editor of The Sporting News, admitted that Yount was one of the last players who didn't make the cut for their 1999 listing of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, if you're a Wisconsan my age or younger, he's the best baseball player you've ever had.
4. Warren Spahn, pitcher, Milwaukee Braves, 1953-64, plus 1942 and 1946-52 for the Braves in Boston. A 17-time All-Star, Spahnnie won 363 games, more than any lefthanded pitcher ever, and more than any other pitcher in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era. He won the Cy Young Award in 1957, and probably would have won it a lot more had it existed sooner.
His 2,583 strikeouts were more than any lefthander before him. He pitched the Braves to the National League Pennant in Boston in 1948 and in Milwaukee in 1957 and '58, winning the 1957 World Series. He pitched his 1st career no-hitter at age 39, and his 2nd at 40.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the now-Atlanta Braves retired his Number 21, and he came in at Number 21 on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players -- the highest-ranking lefthanded pitcher, 2 places ahead of Lefty Grove and 5 ahead of Sandy Koufax.
He and Koufax were both named to the MLB All-Century Team, and Koufax agreed that Spahn belonged: "After all, he pitched for most of the Century!" Not quite, but he did debut with the Braves in 1942, when Casey Stengel was their manager; and his last season, 1965, included a stopover with the Mets, Casey's last year as a manager. In between were Casey's 10 Pennants, including the 1957 and '58 World Series against Spahn's Braves. Spahn said, "I'm the only guy who played for Casey both before and after he was a genius!"
3. Ray Nitschke, linebacker, Green Bay Packers, 1958-72. A 6-time All-Pro, he led the Packers' defense in the Vince Lombardi hears, helping them win 5 NFL Championships: 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967, including the 1st 2 Super Bowls.
He was named Most Valuable Player of the 1962 NFL Championship Game, in which the Packers defeated the Giants on a frozen field at Yankee Stadium. Since the game was in New York, on a Sunday, a few hours later he appeared on CBS' game show What's My Line? (Broadcast live.) This is how far the NFL was behind baseball at this point: Nitschke could appear, wearing a suit and glasses, looking more like a bald Clark Kent instead of a green & gold Superman, with his name written on the show's chalkboard, and the panelists, all celebrated smart people, were not wearing their blindfolds, and none of them could guess his profession.
And yet, in an era of celebrated tough guys, he might have been the toughest of them all. The Packers retired his Number 66. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, the NFL's 1960 All-Decade Team, the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team, ranked 18th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, and 47th on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.
2. Don Hutson, receiver and defensive back, Green Bay Packers, 1935-45. Raymond Berry may have put it into question in the late 1950s, but until Jerry Rice came along in the mid-1980s, Hutson was the greatest receiver in football history. (In 1989, Hutson graciously, and perhaps not prematurely, said that Rice had surpassed him.)
He led the University of Alabama to the 1934 National Championship, when "the other end" was a kid named Paul Bryant. The Bear had seen him star in high school: "He was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play."
It's unlikely anyone from Arkansas or Alabama hitchhiked all the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin to watch "The Alabama Antelope" play. But for the Green Bay Packers, he won 3 NFL Championships: 1936, 1939 and 1944. He was NFL Most Valuable Player in 1941 and 1942. He was an 8-time All-Pro. In 1940, he led the NFL in receptions and interceptions, so he was great on both sides of the ball. He caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns, all of which stood as records long after he retired. He also had 30 career interceptions.
The Packers retired his Number 14, and elected him to their team Hall of Fame. He was elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame (with the latter, a charter inductee in 1963), the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team, and the 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. In 1999, he ranked 6th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players, and, in 2010, 65 years after his last game and 13 years after his death, Number 9 on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players. In each case, he was 2nd only to Rice among receivers.
Playing in Milwaukee instead of Chicago or another bigger city meant he only made 3 All-Star Games, but after debuting in 1974 at age 18, he gave the Brewers 20 years, 3,142 hits including 583 doubles, 126 triples and 251 home runs, and 271 stolen bases.
Of all players with at least as many stolen bases as he has, only Willie Mays has at least as many home runs and at least as many hits, although Yount has more doubles than Mays (but not more hits, triples, homers or steals). His career OPS+ is 115.
The Brewers have retired Yount's Number 19, which Molitor wore to honor him went he went to the Toronto Blue Jays and found his Brewers number, 4, was already being worn. The Brewers also dedicated a statue of Yount outside Miller Park. He was easily elected to the Hall of Fame. While John Rawlings, then the editor of The Sporting News, admitted that Yount was one of the last players who didn't make the cut for their 1999 listing of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, if you're a Wisconsan my age or younger, he's the best baseball player you've ever had.
4. Warren Spahn, pitcher, Milwaukee Braves, 1953-64, plus 1942 and 1946-52 for the Braves in Boston. A 17-time All-Star, Spahnnie won 363 games, more than any lefthanded pitcher ever, and more than any other pitcher in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era. He won the Cy Young Award in 1957, and probably would have won it a lot more had it existed sooner.
His 2,583 strikeouts were more than any lefthander before him. He pitched the Braves to the National League Pennant in Boston in 1948 and in Milwaukee in 1957 and '58, winning the 1957 World Series. He pitched his 1st career no-hitter at age 39, and his 2nd at 40.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the now-Atlanta Braves retired his Number 21, and he came in at Number 21 on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players -- the highest-ranking lefthanded pitcher, 2 places ahead of Lefty Grove and 5 ahead of Sandy Koufax.
He and Koufax were both named to the MLB All-Century Team, and Koufax agreed that Spahn belonged: "After all, he pitched for most of the Century!" Not quite, but he did debut with the Braves in 1942, when Casey Stengel was their manager; and his last season, 1965, included a stopover with the Mets, Casey's last year as a manager. In between were Casey's 10 Pennants, including the 1957 and '58 World Series against Spahn's Braves. Spahn said, "I'm the only guy who played for Casey both before and after he was a genius!"
3. Ray Nitschke, linebacker, Green Bay Packers, 1958-72. A 6-time All-Pro, he led the Packers' defense in the Vince Lombardi hears, helping them win 5 NFL Championships: 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967, including the 1st 2 Super Bowls.
He was named Most Valuable Player of the 1962 NFL Championship Game, in which the Packers defeated the Giants on a frozen field at Yankee Stadium. Since the game was in New York, on a Sunday, a few hours later he appeared on CBS' game show What's My Line? (Broadcast live.) This is how far the NFL was behind baseball at this point: Nitschke could appear, wearing a suit and glasses, looking more like a bald Clark Kent instead of a green & gold Superman, with his name written on the show's chalkboard, and the panelists, all celebrated smart people, were not wearing their blindfolds, and none of them could guess his profession.
And yet, in an era of celebrated tough guys, he might have been the toughest of them all. The Packers retired his Number 66. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, the NFL's 1960 All-Decade Team, the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team, ranked 18th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, and 47th on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.
2. Don Hutson, receiver and defensive back, Green Bay Packers, 1935-45. Raymond Berry may have put it into question in the late 1950s, but until Jerry Rice came along in the mid-1980s, Hutson was the greatest receiver in football history. (In 1989, Hutson graciously, and perhaps not prematurely, said that Rice had surpassed him.)
He led the University of Alabama to the 1934 National Championship, when "the other end" was a kid named Paul Bryant. The Bear had seen him star in high school: "He was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play."
It's unlikely anyone from Arkansas or Alabama hitchhiked all the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin to watch "The Alabama Antelope" play. But for the Green Bay Packers, he won 3 NFL Championships: 1936, 1939 and 1944. He was NFL Most Valuable Player in 1941 and 1942. He was an 8-time All-Pro. In 1940, he led the NFL in receptions and interceptions, so he was great on both sides of the ball. He caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns, all of which stood as records long after he retired. He also had 30 career interceptions.
The Packers retired his Number 14, and elected him to their team Hall of Fame. He was elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame (with the latter, a charter inductee in 1963), the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team, and the 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. In 1999, he ranked 6th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players, and, in 2010, 65 years after his last game and 13 years after his death, Number 9 on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players. In each case, he was 2nd only to Rice among receivers.
1. Hank Aaron, right field, Milwaukee Braves, 1954-65, plus Milwaukee Brewers, 1975-76. Of his 23 seasons in the major leagues, 14 were spent in Milwaukee, and only the 1st 12 were particularly productive, but he is still an easy choice. After all, Vince Lombardi was a coach, not a player.
He was a legitimate All-Star in all of those 12 seasons, and was selected again in a 13th. Of his 3,771 career hits, 2,437 came in Milwaukee. Of his 755 career home runs, 420 came in Milwaukee, including a walkoff home run on September 23, 1957, which won the game that clinched the city's 1st major league Pennant. In honor of his contributions to Milwaukee baseball, the Brewers retired his Number 44, and dedicated a statue of him that is now outside a 2nd separate ballpark.
He and Babe Ruth are the only individual players to have an exhibit all to themselves at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, to which he was elected in his 1st year of eligibility. He came in 5th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was easily elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2002, George W. Bush awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He was a legitimate All-Star in all of those 12 seasons, and was selected again in a 13th. Of his 3,771 career hits, 2,437 came in Milwaukee. Of his 755 career home runs, 420 came in Milwaukee, including a walkoff home run on September 23, 1957, which won the game that clinched the city's 1st major league Pennant. In honor of his contributions to Milwaukee baseball, the Brewers retired his Number 44, and dedicated a statue of him that is now outside a 2nd separate ballpark.
He and Babe Ruth are the only individual players to have an exhibit all to themselves at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, to which he was elected in his 1st year of eligibility. He came in 5th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was easily elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2002, George W. Bush awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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