|
20th Century Top 50
|
|
Rank |
Profile |
|
1 |
Jesse
Owens, Cleveland
Broke three world records and tied another in one day at Big Ten track
championships in 1935; a year later he enraged Hitler, winning four golds
(100 meters, 200, 4x100 relay and long jump) at the Berlin
Olympics. |
|
2 |
Jack
Nicklaus, Columbus
Won six Masters, five PGA, four U.S. Open and three British Open titles;
five-time PGA player of year (1967, '72, '73, '75,
'76). |
|
3 |
Pete
Rose, Cincinnati
Alltime hits leader with 4,256; won three batting titles; was National
League MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP in 1975; banned from baseball for
life in 1989 for conduct detrimental to the sport while managing
Reds. |
|
4 |
Archie
Griffin, Columbus
Three-time All-America at Ohio State and only player to win two Heisman
Trophies (1974 and '75); rushed for 5,177
yards. |
|
5 |
Paul
Brown, Massillon
Coached Ohio State to national title in 1942; directed Cleveland Browns to four
AAFC titles (from 1946 to '49) and three NFL titles (1950, '54,
'55). |
|
6 |
Mike
Schmidt, Dayton
Seventh on alltime home run list with 548; won three NL MVPs and 10 Gold
Gloves at third base for
Phillies. |
|
7 |
John
Havlicek, Lansing
Played in three NCAA finals at Ohio State (from 1960 to '62); helped lead
Celtics to eight titles; 13-time
All-Star. |
|
8 |
George
Sisler, Manchester
St. Louis Browns first baseman twice hit .400 (1920, '22); his 257 hits in '20
is still a
record. |
|
9 |
Marion
Motley, Canton
Alltime leading AAFC rusher; played from 1946 to '53 for Browns and ran for more
than 4,700 yards and 39 TDs. |
|
10 |
Edwin
Moses, Dayton
Won 400-meter hurdles at 1976 and '84 Olympics, and a bronze medal in
'88. |
|
11 |
Don
Shula, Plainesville
Won an NFL-record 347 games as a coach; took six Colts and Dolphins teams to
Super Bowl and won twice (VII,
VIII). |
|
12 |
Ken Griffey
Jr., Cincinnati
Former Moeller High star is 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove
winner; 1997 AL
MVP.
|
|
13 |
Roger
Staubach, Cincinnati
Won the 1963 Heisman as Navy junior; led Dallas to two Super Bowl titles ('72,
'78); led NFC in passing five times ('71, '73, '77, '78,
'79). |
|
14 |
Calvin
Jones, Steubenville
Two-sport star in basketball and football at Steubenville High;
offensive-defensive guard won 1955 Outland Trophy at
Iowa. |
|
15 |
Phil
Niekro, Lansing
Hall of Fame knuckleballer won 324 games over 24 seasons; led the NL in wins
twice and in complete games four
times.
|
|
16 |
Bobby
Knight, Orryville
A member of the Ohio State basketball team that won the NCAA championship in
1960; since 1971 has coached Indiana to three NCAA
titles. |
|
17 |
Woody
Hayes, Clifton
Coached Ohio State to five national titles (1954, '57, '61, '68, '70) and four
Rose Bowl
victories. |
|
18 |
Rollie
Fingers, Steubenville
Hall of Fame pitcher had 341 career saves; won AL MVP and Cy Young awards in
1981 with Brewers; was World Series MVP in '74 with
A's. |
|
19 |
Jerry
Lucas, Middletown
Middletown High star played in three NCAA finals at Ohio State; averaged 17 ppg
in NBA
career. |
|
20 |
Thurman
Munson, Akron
Six-time All-Star as Yankees catcher; won 1976 AL MVP with .302 average and 105
RBIs. |
|
21 |
Len
Dawson, Alliance
Threw for 239 touchdowns and almost 29,000 total yards in 18-year pro career;
led Chiefs to win over Vikings in 1970 Super
Bowl. |
|
22 |
Scott
Hamilton, Bowling Green
Won gold medal in figure skating at 1984 Olympics; four-time world champion
(from '81 to
'84). |
|
23 |
Jack
Lambert, Mantua
Quarterback at Mantua High before moving to linebacker at Kent State; seven-time
All-Pro led Steelers defense to four NFL championships in the
1970s. |
|
24 |
Madeline Manning, Cleveland
Won Olympic gold in track in 1968 and silver in '72; was the first American
woman to break two minutes in the 800 meters with time of
1:59.8. |
|
25 |
Willie
Davenport, Warren
Defensive back at Southern U; won Olympic gold in 110-meter hurdles in 1968;
pusher on U.S. four-man bobsled team in
'80.
|
|
26 |
Howard (Hopalong)
Cassady, Columbus
Ohio State halfback led Buckeyes to national title in 1954 and won '55 Heisman
Trophy. |
|
27 |
Barry
Larkin, Cincinnati
Ten-time All-Star and 1995 NL MVP; led Reds to '90 World Series
title. |
|
28 |
Tony
Trabert, Cincinnati
In perhaps the greatest individual year in tennis, won 1955 French, Wimbledon
and U.S. championships and 27 other
titles. |
|
29 |
Branch
Rickey, Lucasvillle
As Dodgers boss he integrated major leagues in 1947 when he brought up Jackie
Robinson. |
|
30 |
Lou
Groza, Martins Ferry
Six-time All-Pro; played in 13 championship games for Cleveland from 1946 to
'67.
|
|
31 |
Harold
Anderson, Akron
All-Ohio in football and basketball; set state record in low hurdles; coached
Toledo and Bowling Green basketball teams for combined 29
seasons. |
|
32 |
Shirley
Fry, Akron
Won 1956 Wimbledon and U.S. singles championships, '51 French and '57 Australian
titles, making her, at the time, one of three women to win all the
majors. |
|
33 |
Nate
Thurmond, Akron
All-America at Bowling Green in 1963; averaged 15 points over 14-year pro
career. |
|
34 |
James
Jeffries, Carroll
World heavyweight champion after just 13 pro fights, held title from 1899 to
1910. |
|
35 |
Paul
Warfield, Warren
A two-way star at Ohio State; played wideout in four NFL title games with Browns
between 1964 and '69 and in three Super Bowls with
Dolphins. |
|
36 |
Glenn
Davis, Barberton
Got 400-meter-hurdle gold medals in 1956 and '60 Olympics, setting Olympic
records both
times.
|
|
37 |
Elmer
Flick, Bedford
Hit .367 for 1900 Phillies; batted .313 over 13-year career; led AL in
triples from 1905 to '07. |
|
38 |
John
Heisman, Cleveland
Credited with introducing center snap; father of forward pass; coached Georgia
Tech to three straight undefeated seasons from 1915 to
'17. |
|
39 |
Alan
Page, Canton
All-America at Notre Dame; nine-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman led Vikings
to four Super
Bowls. |
|
40 |
Larry
Csonka, Stow
Broke most of Jim Brown's rushing records at Syracuse; in 11 seasons with
Dolphins and Giants, ran for 8,081
yards. |
|
41 |
Aaron
Pryor, Cincinnati
Won WBA junior welterweight belt in 1980 and successfully defended it eight
times. |
|
42 |
Chuck
Noll, Cleveland
In 23 seasons coached Steelers to four Super Bowl
titles.
|
|
43 |
Rube
Marquard, Cleveland
Pitched Giants to 73 wins in three seasons as New York took titles in 1911, '12
and
'13.
|
|
44 |
Johnny
Kilbane, Cleveland
Held world featherweight crown for 11 years after beating Abe Attell in
1912. |
|
45 |
Cris
Carter, Middleton
All-America at Ohio State; as Vikings receiver set NFL single-season record
with 122 catches in
1994.
|
|
46 |
Ezzard
Charles, Cincinnati
World heavyweight champion (1950-51); 96-25-1 for
career. |
|
47 |
Dave
Wottle, Canton
Ran 1:44.3 in 1972 Olympic trials to equal 800-meter world record, then took
gold medal in
Munich.
|
|
48 |
Dick
Kazmaier, Maumee
Princeton tailback won Heisman and Maxwell trophies in
1951. |
|
49 |
Gus
Johnson, Akron
Six-time NBA All-Star, enjoyed his best season in 1966-67, averaging 20.7
points. |
|
50 |
Bernie
Kosar, Boardman
Quarterbacked University of Miami to 1983 national title; played 12 seasons
in the
NFL. |
