The 50 Greatest Delaware Sports Figures

This list of the top 50 greatest 20th-century athletes originally appeared in the Dec. 27, 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated. Have someone to add to SI's list? Click here to submit your choices.

20th Century Top 50 Rank Profile 1 Randy White, Wilmington Co-MVP of Super Bowl XII went to nine Pro Bowls in 14 seasons (1975-88) with Cowboys. 2 Judy Johnson, Wilmington Pittsburgh Crawfords third baseman was two-time Negro leagues All-Star in the 1930s and 1975 Hall of Fame inductee. 3 Delino DeShields, Seaford High school All-America in baseball and basketball; has 393 steals in 10 seasons with Expos, Dodgers, Cardinals and Orioles. 4 Harold (Tubby) Raymond, Newark Is 284-109-3 in 34 seasons as Delaware football coach; led Blue Hens to 1971 and '72 small-college national titles, and '79 Division II crown. 5 Victor Willis, Wilmington Eight-time 20-game winner had 45 complete games and pitched 410 innings for 1902 Boston Braves. 6 Margaret Osborne DuPont, Wilmington Won 37 major tennis titles from 1941 to '62, including six in singles competition (three U.S. championships, two French championships and one Wimbledon). 7 Val Whiting, Wilmington Averaged 30.3 points and 16.1 rebounds as senior at Ursuline Academy in 1988-89; two-time All-America at Stanford. 8 Steve Watson, Wilmington Caught 353 passes in nine years with Broncos, All-Pro in 1981, played in two Super Bowls. 9 Vicki Huber, Wilmington Eight-time individual champ in track and cross-country at Villanova was sixth in 3,000 meters at 1988 Olympics. 10 Mike Hall, Dagsboro Won five world powerlifting titles from 1986 to '91; two-time gold medal winner at Pan Am Games. 11 Dave Nelson, Newark Delaware football coach from 1951 to '65 was architect of Blue Hens' famed wing T offense; led school to Lambert Cups in '59, '62, '63. 12 Ed (Porky) Oliver, Wilmington Won eight PGA Tour events and was runner-up at 1953 Masters; member of U.S. Ryder Cup team in '47, '51 and '53. 13 Dallas Green, Newport Delaware basketball standout from 1953 to '55; managed '80 Phillies to franchise's first -- and only -- World Series title. 14 Frank Masley, Newark Member of 1980, '84, '88 U.S. Olympic luge team; six-time national singles champion. 15 Dionna Harris, Wilmington Junior college All-America at Delaware Technical and Community College; outfielder for gold-medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic softball team. 16 William McGowan, Wilmington AL umpire from 1925 to '54 worked major-league-record 2,541 straight games. 17 Audie Kujula Showalter , Wilmington Delaware outfielder was 1977 AIAW softball player of the year; set Blue Hens record for career average (.530). 18 Creighton Miller, Wilmington Notre Dame All-America halfback ran for 911 yards and 13 TDs to help Irish to 1943 national championship. 19 Franklin Shakespeare, Wilmington Member of U.S. crew that beat favored Soviet eight-oared boat in 1952 Olympics; first Delawarean to win a gold medal. 20 Dave May, New Castle Outfielder had 920 hits and 96 homers in 12-year career (1967-78) with Braves, Orioles, Rangers and Pirates. 21 Ron Waller, Laurel Ran for 716 yards and was All-Pro as a rookie with Rams in 1955. 22 Ed Michaels, Wilmington All-America guard at Villanova in 1935 is considered best lineman in Wildcats' history. 23 Jimmy Caras, Wilmington Won 1936 pool world championship at age 26; added three more world titles between 1938 and '49. 24 Vic Zwolak, Wilmington Won NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase title for Villanova in 1963 and '64, NCAA cross-country crown in '63; was a steeplechaser on '64 U.S. Olympic team. 25 Bill Bruton, Marshallton Had .273 average with Braves and Tigers; led NL in steals three times; batted .412 in '58 World Series for Milwaukee. 26 Terence Stansbury, Newark Left Temple as Owls' alltime leading scorer; first Delaware native to reach NBA, where he spent two seasons with Indiana, one with Seattle in mid-1980s. 27 Conway Hayman, Newark All-America guard at Delaware in 1970 played six years with the Oilers. 28 George Schollenberger, Laurel Renowned Laurel High football coach had five unbeaten teams in 36-year coaching career. 29 Chris Short, Milford Two-time All-Star pitcher was 135-132 with 3.43 ERA in 15-year major league career; was 17-9 with 2.20 ERA in 1964 with Phillies. 30 Tim Wilson, New Castle Had 19 TDs as senior at DeLaWarr High in 1973; spent six years with Oilers, rushing for career-best 431 yards in '78. 31 Derrick May, Newark Son of Dave May (#20) had .271 average in 10-year career with six clubs; best year was 1993, when he hit .295 with 77 RBIs for Cubs. 32 John Wockenfuss, Wilmington Catcher-outfielder had .274 average, 16 home runs and 65 RBIs for Tigers in 1980. 33 Lou Brooks, Wilmington Ranked heavyweight in 1940s; won more than 100 bouts as an amateur. 34 Jamie Duncan, Wilmington Buccaneers linebacker was Delaware high school player of the year as junior and senior at Christiana High; All-America as a senior at Vanderbilt in 1997. 35 Rosemary Y. Miller, New Castle Eight-time Delaware trapshooting champion; second at 1973 U.S. nationals. 36 Madge Vosters, Wilmington Won 12 national doubles squash titles and five U.S. senior titles in 1940s and '50s. 37 Laron Profit, Dover Set Caesar Rodney High basketball career-scoring record and was Delaware player of the year in 1995; starred at Maryland; now with Wizards. 38 R.R.M. (Bob) Carpenter, Wilmington Owned Phillies from 1943 to '72; specialized in finding young talent, including Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts. 39 John Wilcutts, Magnolia Won 1,755 harness races and more than $4.7 million during 25-year career as driver. 40 Mary Ann Hitchens, Milford Had 196-76-30 mark as Delaware field hockey coach from 1973 to '88; first female president of America East Conference. 41 Luke Petitgout, Georgetown All-America lineman at Sussex Central High; starred at Notre Dame; off-and-on starter at guard as Giants rookie in 1999. 42 Rita Justice, Wilmington Top 10 kegler on Professional Women's Bowling Tour from 1964 to '75. 43 Bill Collick, Lewes Delaware State football coach from 1985 to '96 had school-best 78-40 record and 11 straight winning seasons. 44 Dave Tiberi, New Castle Ranked middleweight lost controversial split decision to James Toney in 1992 IBF middleweight championship bout that resulted in U.S. Senate boxing investigation. 45 Dexter Boney, Wilmington Brandywine basketball star was named all-state three times; averaged 31.6 points as sophomore at Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College in 1989-90; played two years at UNLV. 46 Patsy Hahn, Wilmington State's best female junior golfer; turned pro in 1962 and placed sixth in '64 U.S. Open. 47 Lennell Shepherd, Wilmington 1965 national junior weightlifting champ won eight state titles. 48 Milton Roberts, Rehoboth Cofounded Delaware lacrosse program in 1948 and coached team from '50 to '57. 49 Arthur Redden, Wilmington Track and football star at Howard High; won light heavyweight boxing gold medal at 1967 Pan Am Games. 50 Spencer Dunkley, Newark Delaware center set 13 school records from 1989 to '93; went on to play in CBA and several overseas leagues.

Photograph by AP Photo