|
20th Century Top 50
|
|
Rank |
Profile |
|
1 |
Jim
Palmer, Scottsdale
Scottsdale High basketball and baseball star; eight-time 20-game winner and
three-time Cy Young winner for
Orioles. |
|
2 |
Charlie
Hickcox, Phoenix
Won three golds and a silver swimming at 1968 Olympics; set eight world records
within 16 months in '67 and
'68. |
|
3 |
Curley
Culp, Yuma
All-America defensive lineman and NCAA wrestling champion at Arizona State; six
Pro Bowls in 14 NFL
seasons. |
|
4 |
Michele
Mitchell, Phoenix
Won platform-diving silver at 1984 and '88 Olympics and U.S. title nine times;
now coaches at Arizona, where she was a four-time
All-America. |
|
5 |
Ty
Murray, Glendale
Youngest all-around rodeo world champion, at 20; shares record of six world
titles. |
|
6 |
Randall
McDaniel, Phoenix
All-America offensive guard at Arizona State in 1987; Pro Bowl pick 10 times
with
Vikings. |
|
7 |
Sean
Elliott, Tucson
Wooden Award winner at Arizona in 1989 and was Pac-10's alltime leading
scorer; fourth-leading scorer in Spurs
history. |
|
8 |
Danny
White, Mesa
Only Arizona State quarterback in College Football Hall of Fame; third-ranked
passer in Cowboys'
history. |
|
9 |
Louis
Tewanima, Second Mesa
His silver medal run in the 10,000 meters at the 1912 Olympics set a U.S.
record that stood for 52
years. |
|
10 |
Bob
Baffert, Nogales
Leading money winner among trainers over last three years; his horses have won
four of last nine Triple Crown
races. |
|
11 |
Curt
Schilling, Phoenix
Fastball clocked at 89 mph while at Shadow Mountain High; 319 strikeouts for
Phillies in 1997 is NL record for
righthanders. |
|
12 |
Marilyn Ramenofsky-Wingfield, Phoenix
Three-time U.S. swimming champion broke world record in 400-meter freestyle
three times in
1964.
|
|
13 |
Michael
Carbajal, Phoenix
An Olympic silver medalist in 1988, he unified the IBF and WBC light flyweight
titles in '93; has a career record of
48-4. |
|
14 |
John
Denny, Prescott
Cy Young winner in 1983; had 123 career wins with Cardinals, Indians, Phillies
and
Reds. |
|
15 |
Lafayette (Fat)
Lever, Tucson
Set ASU career records for assists and steals; NBA All-Star point guard
twice.
|
|
16 |
Kerri
Strug, Tucson
Clinched U.S. women's first Olympic team gymnastics gold in 1996 on final vault
despite twisted ankle; three-time medalist at world
championships. |
|
17 |
Jim
Grabb, Tucson
Won two singles and 20 doubles titles, including 1992 U.S. Open, in 13 years on
ATP
tour. |
|
18 |
Jon
Cole, Glendale
Held more than 200 U.S. and European state and meet marks in discus and shot put
in 1960s and early '70s, then made three Olympic teams as
weightlifter. |
|
19 |
Jerry
Colangelo, Phoenix
Put Arizona on major league map; bought Suns in 1987 and brought big league
baseball to Phoenix 10 years
later. |
|
20 |
Wilford
White, Mesa
Led NCAA in rushing at ASU in 1950; Danny White's
father. |
|
21 |
Mike
Pagel, Phoenix
Set ASU season record for TD passes in 1981; played for Sun Devils' College
World Series champion that year; played 12 years in
NFL.
|
|
22 |
Dwayne
Evans, Phoenix
Set three age-group track world records at age 11; won 200-meter bronze at 1976
Olympics at 17, making him youngest track medal winner
ever. |
|
23 |
Darren
Woodson, Phoenix
Walk-on linebacker at ASU moved to safety for Cowboys when drafted in '92;
All-Pro four
times. |
|
24 |
Tom
Pagnozzi, Tucson
Won three Gold Gloves as catcher with Cardinals from 1987 to '97; All-Star in
'92. |
|
25 |
Win
Young, Phoenix
Three-time NCAA diving champion at Indiana; bronze medalist at 1968
Olympics.
|
|
26 |
Fred
Carr, Phoenix
All-America linebacker and member of UTEP's basketball team in 1967; started 140
straight games for Packers; MVP of '71 Pro
Bowl. |
|
27 |
Michael
Bates, Tucson
Won bronze in 200-meter dash at 1992 Olympics; made Pro Bowl three times with
Panthers.
|
|
28 |
Rodney
Peete, Tucson
All-Pac-10 third baseman and All-America quarterback and Heisman runner-up at
USC; was drafted by NFL and
MLB. |
|
29 |
Danny
Villa, Nogales
Outland Trophy finalist and All-America guard at ASU in 1986; 12-year NFL
career. |
|
30 |
Jimmy
Bryan, Phoenix
Seven straight national dirt-track championships in late 1940s and early
'50s; three U.S. National Auto Racing championships and won the '58 Indy 500;
killed in a race accident in '60 at age
33.
|
|
31 |
Hank
Leiber, Phoenix
Three-time NL All-Star outfielder with New York Giants and Cubs from 1933 to
'42. |
|
32 |
Mossy
Cade, Eloy
All-America at Santa Cruz High in track and football; All-America cornerback at
Texas. |
|
33 |
Patsy
Willard, Mesa
Diver won bronze at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo; also won seven national
championships. |
|
34 |
Cecil
Mulleneaux, Phoenix
Played six seasons in the NFL between 1932 and
'38. |
|
35 |
Carl
Mulleneaux, Phoenix
Football, track and wrestling star at Utah State; second Arizonan to play in the
NFL, following older brother,
Cecil. |
|
36 |
Bob
Horner, Apollo
Jumped from ASU to Braves' starting lineup; homered in his first major league
game and was NL Rookie of the Year in 1978; in '86 hit four homers in a game,
and had 218 in his
career.
|
|
37 |
Billy
Mayfair, Phoenix
First to win U.S. Amateur and U.S. Public Links titles; has five victories in 11
years on PGA
Tour. |
|
38 |
Keith
Russell, Mesa
Won silver in platform diving at 1967 Pan Am Games, placed fourth at '68
Olympics and won silver and bronze at the '73 world
championships. |
|
39 |
Louie
Espinoza, Phoenix
Won WBA junior featherweight title in 1987; also held NABF, USBA and WBO titles
and had pro record of 52-12-2. |
|
40 |
Mike
Bibby, Phoenix
Led Arizona to NCAA title as a freshman in 1997; made NBA All-Rookie team with
Grizzlies in
'99. |
|
41 |
Billy
Hatcher, Williams
Only player to hit safely in his first seven World Series at bats, hit .750
for Reds in 1990 Series; career .264 hitter with four 30-steal seasons in 12
years with seven
teams. |
|
42 |
Ron
Hassey, Tucson
School-record 86 RBIs for 1974 ASU team; played in majors for 14
years.
|
|
43 |
Howard
Twitty, Phoenix
Earned $2.7 million and won three tournaments in 24 years on PGA Tour; Comeback
Player of the Year in
1993.
|
|
44 |
Mark
Alarie, Scottsdale
Fifth-leading scorer in Duke history; All-America on the 1986 team that won
NCAA-record 37 games; played five years with Nuggets and
Bullets. |
|
45 |
Gilbert (Gib)
Dawson, Douglas
Running back led Douglas High to win over Tucson High in 1946, ending its
32-game win streak; played one year with
Packers.
|
|
46 |
Vance
Johnson, Tucson
NCAA long-jump champion at Arizona in 1982; played in four Super Bowls as member
of Broncos' Three Amigos receiving
corps. |
|
47 |
Byron
Evans, Phoenix
All-America linebacker, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year at Arizona in 1986;
played eight years with
Eagles.
|
|
48 |
Alex
Kellner, Tucson
All-Star lefthander as A's rookie in 1949, when he went 20-12; won 101 games in
12-year
career. |
|
49 |
Eddie
Urbano, Tucson
NCAA 150-pound wrestling champion in 1985; a two-time All-America at ASU with a
105-17-1 record. |
|
50 |
Rob
Waldrop, Scottsdale
Outland Trophy winner as a noseguard at Arizona in
1993. |
