Sunday, April 7, 2019

Indiana's 10 Greatest Athletes

This afternoon, the Brooklyn Nets play the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapols.

Indiana's 10 Greatest Athletes

Remember: This is a listing of athletes for the State's professional teams. College stars (IU, Purdue, Notre Dame) are ineligible. Larry Bird played at Indiana State and was head coach and general manager for the Pacers, but his only pro team was the Boston Celtics, so he counts for Boston/New England, not Indiana. Nor are boxers, who don't play team sports, eligible, thus eliminating Tony Zale.

Honorable Mention to Edd Roush, a native of Oakland City, Indiana, who played for the Indianapolis Hoosiers, winners of the 1914 Federal League Pennant, before going on to a Hall of Fame career as the center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds.

Honorable Mention to Benny Kauff. With the 1914 Hoosiers, he led the FL in batting average, hits, doubles, stolen bases and runs scored. But his major league career, including a National League Pennant with the 1917 New York Giants, was cut short in 1920, under dubious circumstances.

Honorable Mention to Richard Dent, who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but played just 1 season for the Indianapolis Colts, 1996.

Honorable Mention to Andy Phillip and Bob Houbregs, members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, who helped the Fort Wayne Pistons reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 1955 and '56.

Honorable Mention to Gus Johnson, Adrian Dantley, Alex English and Chris Mullin, who each reached the Basketball Hall of Fame, but played 3 seasons or less for the Pacers.

Now, the Top 10:

10. Eric Dickerson, running back, Indianapolis Colts, 1987-91. He only played 4 1/2 seasons in Indy, and his best years came with the Rams, prior to that, in Los Angeles. But it's no coincidence that his arrival at the Hoosier Dome led to the franchise's 1st Playoff berth in 10 years, including after the move.

With the Colts, he rushed for 5,194 yards and 32 touchdowns. He added 138 catches for 1,802 yards and 3 more touchdowns. In 1988, he led the NFL in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, and total yards from scrimmage. He was named to the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team, the Colts' Ring of Honor, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

9. Marshall Faulk, running back, Indianapolis Colts, 1994-98. As with Dickerson, his best years may have come with the Rams, in his case afterward, in St. Louis. But few running backs have combined running with the ball and catching it as well as he did.

With the Colts, he made 3 Pro Bowls, rushed for 5,320 yards, caught 297 passes for 2,804 yards, and scored 53 touchdowns. The Colts have inducted him into their Ring of Honor, and he's been elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. In 2010, the NFL Network listed him at Number 70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Players.

8. Roger Brown, forward, Indiana Pacers, 1967-75. The Pacers made 5 ABA Finals, and he played in all of them, losing in 1969 and 1975, but winning in 1970, 1972 and 1973. He was a 4-time All-Star, and the Playoffs MVP when the Pacers won the 1970 title.

He never played college ball or in the NBA, because, in 1960, he and fellow Brooklynite Connie Hawkins were caught up in a point-shaving scandal. Neither man was ever proven guilty of anything, but both were banned, and had to play in smaller leagues until the ABA was founded in 1967.

He last played in 1975, and his NBA ban remained in effect. Nevertheless, the Pacers retired his Number 35, and he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the ABA All-Time Team. He later served on the Indianapolis City Council.

7. Mel Daniels, center, Indiana Pacers, 1968-74. Another who played on all 5 Pacer Finalists, he was an All-Star 7 times, and was named Rookie of the Year in 1968 and MVP in 1969 and 1971. The Pacers retired his Number 34, and he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the ABA All-Time Team.

He only played briefly in the NBA, with the New York Nets in the 1st post-merger season, 1976-77. He then became an assistant coach at Indiana State University, on the sideline when Larry Bird took them to the 1979 NCAA Final; and was briefly Pacers head coach in 1988.

6. George McGinnis, forward, Indiana Pacers, 1971-75, returning 1980-82. An All-Star 6 times, 3 in each league, he helped the Pacers win the ABA Championship in 1972 and 1973, and was named Playoff MVP in 1973 and regular-season MVP in 1975. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the ABA All-Time Team, and the Pacers retired his Number 30. He also made the NBA Finals with the 1977 Philadelphia 76ers.

5. Tamika Catchings, forward, Indiana Fever, 2002-16. Part of Pat Summitt's groundbreaking women's basketball program at the University of Tennessee, where she won the National Championship in 1998, "Meek" is the only Fever player to get her uniform number retired thus far, 24.

A 10-time WNBA All-Star, she was Rookie of the Year in 2002, Defensive Player of the Year 5 times, the regular-season Most Valuable Player in 2011, and Finals MVP when she led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA Championship.

She is the league's all-time leader in regular season steals, Playoff points, Playoff rebounds and Playoff steals. She was named to its 15th and 20th Anniversary All-Time Teams. She has also helped the U.S. women's basketball team win the last 4 Olympic Gold Medals. She is now eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

4. Bobby McDermott, guard, Fort Wayne Pistons, 1941-46. Now forgotten, the Queens native was the best basketball player in the world in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and was considered the game's 1st great long-distance shooter. In 1935, he led the Brooklyn Visitations to the Championship of the old American Basketball League. In 1941, he joined the Pistons in the National Basketball League, and was an All-Star every season.

He led the NBL in scoring in 1943, the 1st of 4 straight MVP seasons. He was player-coach on their 1944 and 1945 NBL Championships. He later served as player-coach of the Chicago American Gears, who won the 1947 NBL title with George Mikan, who then moved on to the Minneapolis Lakers.

He retired as a player in 1950. He was voted the greatest player in NBL history, but he was killed in a car accident in 1963, only 49 years old. His status as a pre-NBA player, and his unavailability to speak on his own behalf, led to his being overlooked for Basketball Hall of Fame election until 1988.

3. Marvin Harrison, receiver, Indianapolis Colts, 1996-2008. The Philadelphian might be 2nd to Jerry Rice among receivers in the NFL's 1st 100 years. Playing only for the Colts, he caught 1,102 passes for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns. His 143 catches in 2002 remains an NFL single-season record. True, he had Peyton Manning passing to him, but Manning had other targets as well, including Reggie Wayne.

He made 8 Pro Bowls, and helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI. He has been named to the Colts' Ring of Honor, the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

2. Reggie Miller, guard, Indiana Pacers, 1987-2005. His sister Tammy was a college volleyball star. His brother Darrell was a major league catcher. And Reggie might not even have been the best basketball player in the family, as his sister Cheryl got into the Basketball Hall of Fame first, due to her record on the U.S. women's Olympic team and at USC -- which must have produced a few discussions, as Reggie went to their arch-rivals, UCLA.

Reggie's rivalry with the New York Knicks is part of his legend, but let's look at the facts. He was a 5-time All-Star, scored over 25,000 points, and got the Pacers into their only NBA Finals to date, in 2000. He also matched Cheryl's 1984 feat by winning an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996.

UCLA and the Pacers both retired his Number 31, and he is in the Hall of Fame. His career probably started a little too late to get him named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, but, presuming there's a 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players named in 2021, he'll be in it.

1. Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis Colts, 1998-2010. No need to say, "If only he had spent his entire career with the Colts," or even, "If only he hadn't missed the 2011 season due to injury." And, yes, there is a cloud over him, as a result of how he treated a female student trainer at the University of Tennessee. But he remains Indiana's greatest pro athlete, and it isn't even close.

He made 14 Pro Bowls, 11 of them with the Colts. He won 5 NFL MVP awards, 4 with the Colts. He led the Colts to 8 Division titles, 3 AFC Championship Games, and Super Bowls XLI and XLIV, winning the former and being named the game's MVP.

Indiana is, of course, a basketball State. But, more than any Notre Dame, IU or Purdue figure, he, head coach Tony Dungy, and general manager Bill Polian made it a football State as well. They turned the Colts from a team that still seemed out of place, still seemed as though it belonged in Baltimore, into an Indiana institution. (The fact that the Ravens have since won 2 Super Bowls, and that most Marylanders would have to be over 50 to remember the Baltimore Colts as a Playoff team, helps in that regard.

Manning was named to the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team, and the Colts retired his Number 18 (the 1st such honoree from the Indianapolis years) and inducted him into their Ring of Honor. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 8th on their list of the NFL's 100 Greatest Players. He becomes eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year.

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