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20th Century Top 50: Illinois
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Rank |
Profile |
|
1 |
Jackie
Joyner-Kersee , East St. Louis
World's best female athlete; won six Olympic medals -- three
gold -- and set heptathlon world record in
1988. |
|
2 |
George
Halas , Chicago
Papa Bear: 63 years with the Bears; 318 wins as coach is second alltime;
patriarch of the
NFL.
|
|
3 |
Dick
Butkus , Chicago
A top 10 Heisman finisher and two-time All-America at Illinois; the gold
standard for NFL middle
linebackers.
|
|
4 |
Red
Grange , Wheaton
Football's Roaring '20s answer to Ruth and Dempsey; built legend at Illinois;
had eight spectacular seasons in
NFL. |
|
5 |
Bonnie
Blair , Champaign
Top U.S. female winter athlete; won five speed skating golds and dominated
her sport for nearly a
decade.
|
|
6 |
George
Mikan , Joliet
Three-time All-America at DePaul; won seven titles in nine pro seasons;
helped make basketball a big man's
game. |
|
7 |
Jimmy
Connors , East St. Louis
Record 109 men's pro singles titles, including eight Grand Slams; one of most
fiery players to cross the
baseline.
|
|
8 |
Isiah
Thomas , Chicago
High school All-America; NCAA champ at Indiana; NBA's best small guard since
Cousy led Pistons to back-to-back
titles. |
|
9 |
Otto
Graham , Waukegan
Basketball and football All-America at Northwestern; passed Browns to seven
pro titles in 1940s and
'50s.
|
|
10 |
Ray
Nitschke , Chicago
Bruising fullback at Illinois; soul of Packers' dynasty in he 1960s; perhaps
the hardest-hitting linebacker
ever.
|
|
11 |
Dianne
Holum , Chicago
Won four speed skating medals at 1968 and '72 Olympics, including
1,500-meter gold in
'72. |
|
12 |
Mark
Aguirre , Chicago
Led DePaul to Final Four in 1979; won Naismith Award in '80; three-time NBA
All-Star had 18,458 career
points.
|
|
13 |
Kellen
Winslow , East St. Louis
Tight end with lineman size and wideout speed; Missouri All-America; had 541
receptions for Chargers from 1979 to
'87.
|
|
14 |
Robin
Roberts , Springfield
Best righthander in Phillies history, won 20 games in six straight seasons
and was a seven-time
All-Star. |
|
15 |
Kirby
Puckett , Chicago
Ten-time All-Star with Twins; led AL in hits three straight years; MVP of the
1991
ALCS.
|
|
16 |
Johnny
Weismuller , Chicago
Was king of the pool before King of the Jungle: five swimming golds at 1924 and
'28 Olympics; starred in 12 Tarzan
movies. |
|
17 |
Knute
Rockne , Chicago
End on three undefeated Notre Dame teams; patron saint of coaches started
Fighting Irish's grand
tradition. |
|
18 |
Red
Ruffing , Nokomis
Won 273 games; had four 20-win seasons and won seven World Series games with
Yankees. |
|
19 |
Ray
Meyer , Chicago
Had 37 winning seasons in 42 years at DePaul; NCAA's 11th-winningest basketball
coach. |
|
20 |
Dan
Issel , Batavia
Kentucky's alltime leading scorer; dangerous big man on the perimeter;
seven-time ABA and NBA
All-Star.
|
|
21 |
John
Kinsella , Oak Brook
Swam to two world records and won Sullivan Award in 1970; won 1,500-meter silver
at '68 Olympics and relay gold in
'72.
|
|
22 |
Johnny
Lattner , Chicago
Heisman-winning back at Notre Dame in 1953; only player to win Maxwell Award
twice; made Pro Bowl in only NFL
season. |
|
23 |
Lou
Boudreau , Thornton
Seven-time All-Star shortstop; American League MVP in 1948 and batting champion
in
'44. |
|
24 |
Bart
Conner , Morton Grove
At the 1984 Olympics he won team and parallel-bar gold
medals. |
|
25 |
Kenesaw Mountain
Landis , Chicago
Illinois judge was baseball's first and most powerful commissioner; cleaned up
after Black Sox scandal and ruled game for 24
years.
|
|
26 |
Bob
Richards , Champaign
Won Sullivan Award in 1951; only man to win two Olympic pole vault golds
('52 and
'56).
|
|
27 |
Jerry
Sloan , McLeansboro
Two-time NBA All-Star with Bulls; sixth-best career winning percentage as
NBA
coach.
|
|
28 |
George
Connor , Chicago
Outland Trophy winner at Notre Dame in 1946 was three-time All-America;
All-Pro with Bears at three
positions.
|
|
29 |
Jack
Sikma , Wichert
Three-time NAIA All-America at Illinois Wesleyan (1975 to '77); seven-time
NBA
All-Star.
|
|
30 |
Red
Schoendienst , Germantown
Ten-time All-Star at second base; managed Cardinals to 1967 World Series
victory.
|
|
31 |
Terry
Cummings , Chicago
All-America at DePaul; NBA Rookie of the Year in 1983, twice an NBA All-Star
in 17-year
career.
|
|
32 |
Ken
Anderson , Batavia
Holds NFL record for season completion percentage (70.6), set mark for
consecutive completions (20); 1981
MVP.
|
|
33 |
Ted
Kluszewski , Argo
Sleeveless slugger (279 career homers) led NL first basemen in fielding five
times; league record holder for consecutive games scoring a run (17). |
|
34 |
Bill
Fischer , Chicago
Outland Trophy winner and member of Notre Dame's national champions in 1946 and
'47; All-Pro guard for
Cardinals.
|
|
35 |
Maurice
Cheeks , Chicago
Stifling defender; deft playmaker won 1983 NBA title with 76ers; retired as
career steals
leader. |
|
36 |
Harold
Osborn , Butler
Won decathlon and high jump gold at 1924 Olympics; only person to win decathlon
and an individual event at same
Games.
|
|
37 |
Joe
McGinnity , Rock Island
Led NL in appearances and wins five times from 1899 to 1908; won 35 games in
'04.
|
|
38 |
Mike
Krzyzewski , Chicago
Won two NCAA titles as coach at Duke; only John Wooden and Dean Smith took more
teams to the Final
Four.
|
|
39 |
Tim
Hardaway , Chicago
Led Carver High to city title in 1985; UTEP's alltime leader in steals and
assists; five-time NBA All-Star with Warriors and
Heat.
|
|
40 |
Ray
Schalk , Litchfield
Top defensive catcher of 1910s and '20s; first receiver to back up plays at
first and third
base. |
|
41 |
Bill
Veeck , Chicago
Colorful owner of Indians, St. Louis Browns and White Sox; had a midget bat
and exploded scoreboard to promote
teams.
|
|
42 |
Red
Kerr , Chicago
Slick-passing center led Illinois to 1952 Final Four; played 844 straight
NBA games, a record that stood for 17
years.
|
|
43 |
Quinn
Buckner , Phoenix
Guard won two state titles at Thornridge High, NCAA championship with undefeated
Indiana in 1976 and NBA ring with Celtics in
'84.
|
|
44 |
Frederick (Fritz)
Pollard , Chicago
Second black All-America, as back at Brown in 1916; first black NFL coach, with
Akron and Hammond
Pros. |
|
45 |
Phil
Cavarretta , Chicago
Cubs first baseman at 18, hit pennant-clinching homer as 19-year-old in
1935; was MVP and batting champion in
'45.
|
|
46 |
Cazzie
Russell , Chicago
Won city title at Carver High; Michigan All-America guard; NBA All-Rookie team
in
1966-67.
|
|
47 |
Ralph
Metcalfe , Chicago
Set or equaled world records in three sprint events between 1932 and '36; won
two individual silvers, a bronze and a relay gold in two
Olympics.
|
|
48 |
John (Paddy)
Driscoll , Evanston
Multithreat player -- runner, passer, defender and master punter and
dropkicker -- at Northwestern from 1915 to '16 and with Cardinals and
Bears.
|
|
49 |
Jim
Bottomley , Nokomis
First baseman for Cardinals, Reds and Browns was NL MVP in 1928 and hit .371 in
'23. |
|
50 |
Sam
Jethroe , East St. Louis
Speedy Negro leagues star was Braves' first black player; 1950 NL Rookie of
the
Year. |
