Who were your childhood sports heroes?

[Suerreal]

I grew up in Detroit.

My Heroes:
Bill Freehan (Detroit catcher)
Mickey Lolich (Detroit pitcher who wasn't Denny McLain)
Gordie Howe
Mark Spitz

[jk the sooner fan]

Steve Davis
George Brett

[Scott D]

Bobby Orr
Ronnie Lott
Dave Parker
Willie Stargell
Alex English
and Tony Bernazard

Sue..quit hatin on Al Kaline ;)

[royalfan5]

George Brett
Tom Rathman
Frank White
Razor Ruddock
Bill Laimbeer

[HoserSooner]

Reggie Jackson
Darryl Sittler
Tony Dorsett

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Mickey Mantle, Nellie Fox, Jimmy Harris, Tommy McDonald, Clendon Thomas, + the Superhuman Wilt Chamberlain...

[sooneron]

Joe Washington, Chuck Howley, Mean Joe, Cesar Cedeno, Lee Roy Selmon

[JohnnyMack]

Spencer Tillman
Jamelle Holieway
Rickey Dixon
MJ
Roger Staubach
Danny White

[SoonerStormchaser]

Thurman Thomas...while he was with the Bills...and for the record: I had no clue about OU or OSU at that point.

[sooneron]

Danny White
I'll never forget seeing him get planted by Wilbur Marshall in the backfield- greatest moment ever!

[critical_phil]

mark schultz
dave schultz
brian bosworth

[Suerreal]

Sue..quit hatin on Al Kaline ;)

My brother'd already picked him. No way I was going to have the same hero as my brother. . .

[sanantoniosooner]

Steve Largent
Jim Zorn
George Brett
Walter Payton

[swardboy]

Jim Hart...qb for St. Louis Cardinals
The Mick
Bob Helgendorf...pitcher for the Tulsa Oilers
Jerry Rhome...qb for Tulsa Hurricane
Howard Twilley....wide receiver for Tulsa Hurricane

[KC//CRIMSON]

Roger Staubach
Dan Pastorini
Stu Crumb
Tulsa Roughnecks:
Barry Wallace
Victor Moreland
Charlie Mitchell
Laurie Abrahams
Billy Caskey
Alan Woodward
Iraj Danaeifard

[Williesan]

Roger Staubach
<snip>
Tulsa Roughnecks:
Barry Wallace
Victor Moreland
Charlie Mitchell
Laurie Abrahams
Billy Caskey
Alan Woodward
Iraj Danaeifard

Man! That brings back some memories. I remember my dad getting to play golf with Charlie and Victor out at Rolling Hills back in the day. Talk about making a 9 year old soccer fan's day!

My list was something like this:
Ozzie Smith
Walter Peyton
Holieway / Boz / Scott Case / Spencer Tillman
MJ
Wayman Tisdale

Cheers!

Williesan

[Kels]

JC Watts
Drew Pearson
Ryne Sandberg
Billy Sims
Ed Jones
Leon Durham
David Vickers
Roger Staubach
Ron Cey
Patrick Collins

[JohnnyMack]

Man! That brings back some memories. I remember my dad getting to play golf with Charlie and Victor out at Rolling Hills back in the day. Talk about making a 9 year old soccer fan's day!

My list was something like this:
Ozzie Smith
Walter Peyton
Holieway / Boz / Scott Case / Spencer Tillman
MJ
Wayman Tisdale

Cheers!

Williesan

Where's my pictures?

[reevie]

Dale Murphy
Steve Largent

[pb4ou]

Tony Dorsett
Drew Pearson
Butch Johnson
Chris Chambliss
Dale Murphy

[KC//CRIMSON]

Man! That brings back some memories. I remember my dad getting to play golf with Charlie and Victor out at Rolling Hills back in the day. Talk about making a 9 year old soccer fan's day!

Heh. I worked in the kitchen at Charlie Mitchell's restaurant when I was a teenager. Good Times.

[BudSooner]

Roger Staubach
Reggie Jackson
Catfish Hunter
Drew Pearson
Mean Joe Green
Terry Bradshaw


Though the following aren't athletes, I had to throw them in also-
AJ Foyt
David Pearson
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
Don Garlits
Red Farmer(started racing back in '49 and is still going strong at 74yrs young)
Steve Kinser(500 career feature wins in the World of Outlaws)
Mario Andretti

[SleestakSooner]

Jim Thorpe, Jack Nicklaus, Joe Montana, Hammerin Hank, Willie Stargel, Dr. J, Majic and MJ and yeah it took me several decades to grow up!

[47straight]

<--- Glenn Sullivan
Brian Bosworth
Steve Largent
Gil Morgan
And one of the older kids, a football player in my home town who went to my church, was a lifeguard, and an all-around great guy and role model and is now a doctor. Funny how he seemed like such a massive mountain of a dude when I was 8, but now I tower over him. :)

[birddog]

sweetness.

[goingoneight]

Troy Aikman
Michael Jordan
Nolan Ryan

Yeah, that's kind of an out there list, I know... I'm a young'un.

[Turd_Ferguson]

John Riggins
Franco Harris
Lynn Swann
Tug McGraw
Joe Montana
Dan Marino

[AllAboutThe'O']

Roger Staubach - In fact, I cried the day I heard that he retired from the NFL. That was the first time I had ever heard of someone retiring from a job.

Dale Murphy - Not a Braves fan, but just loved to see Murphy play on the Superstation. In fact, to this day, my lucky number is 3, Murph's number.

Julius Erving - Back when the NBA was really the NBA.

Craig Morton - Not when he was playing for the Cowboys, but when he was with the Broncos. His was the first autographed photo I ever received.

[Octavian]

Cool thread.



Joe Montana - hands down winner. In one of the first football games I watched in its entirety...me and my grandma watched the Niners obliterate the Broncos in SB XXIV. I dunno how she stomached sitting through the whole thing since it was over by the 2nd quarter...but she knew how much I liked Montana so she did. I thought Super Joe was beyond human. I teared up a year later when the Giants beat the Niners on a last second FG in Candlestick to win the NFC championship. I still can't stand the name Jeff Hostetler. I haven't had a favorite NFL team since Montana left the Chiefs and my interest in the NFL hasn't been the same since.


Magic Johnson - I loved the way he drove the fastbreak and how he could pass the ball and trick people. Never saw him actually win a championship, but it just seemed like every kid who liked sports had to pick between Jordan and Magic. I picked Magic in my first grade year (he had the cooler name and 5 rings...at the time, Jordan didn't have any) and the Bulls promptly went out and beat the Lakers 4-1 in the 1991 NBA Finals for Michael's first championship. I didn't like MJ or the Bulls until after they were gone. I look back at them now with nostalgic respect...but at the time, I loved to see them lose. I still like the Lakers - but I wouldn't call them a "favorite." My interest in the NBA is near non-existent until late in the playoffs.


Cale Gundy - Yeah, I know...a combined 2-9-1 vs. Nebraska, Texas, and Colorado. A lot of painful Dallas losses in there, but I still say we could've come back and beat Colorado that day in '93 when we were 5-0 and coming from behind late in the third quarter in Norman...before he got knocked out. I was a fifth grader that year during his sr. season (and he FINALLY beat Texas!). He never lived up to the Monster's expectations but we never had to suffer through a loss to OSU with Cale and he did go 2-0 in bowl games. Funny thing is...later I saw him occassionally around town or on road trips and didn't think twice about it. I dont know him and he never realized he passed someone who used to really look up to him. He's just another guy now. I have a picture with him after a game in Norman during the '92 season. It's somewhere back at my parents' house and I should find it. I think I was 9 at the time. Good memories.



So...I guess my last hero faded away in '94 when Montana left KC. That's also about the time I discovered rock music and girls and it's never been quite the same since.

[StoopTroup]

"Pistol" Pete Maravich

John Havlicek

Jimmy Conners

John McEnroe

Bill Russell

Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain

Dick Butkus

Barry Switzer

I know I'm missing someone...

[Ike]

Thurman Munson
Ron Guidry
Don Mattingly

[OUHOMER]

Funny, how you almost tell the ages here

[olevetonahill]

Funny, how you almost tell the ages here
Why I aint saying Nuthin :eek:

[sooner_born_1960]

Johnny Bench

[Okieflyer]

http://www.dallascowboysfanclub.com/photos/index.6.jpg

http://www.born-today.com/Today/pix/bench_johnny.jpg

http://www.virabit.com/~museumof/Files/joe%20washington%20jr.jpg

[soonerbrat]

Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras.

i like tennis.

[1stTimeCaller]

Dale Murphy
Bruce Suter (Sutter?)
Randall Cunningham

[GrapevineSooner]

Roger Clemens (before he turned to the darkside)
Nolan Ryan (for beating up Robin Ventura)
Troy, Emmitt, and Irvin
Mark Aguirre
Rolando Blackman
Derek Harper
Mike Modano
Ed Belfour
Pat Lafontaine (Easter epic against the Caps)
Ray Ferraro
David Volek (broke up the Pens dynasty with an OT winner in Game 7)
Jeremy Roenick

[JohnnyMack]

Roger Clemens (before he turned to the darkside)


So, when he was in high school?

;)

[SoonerBOI]

Michael Vick and Pacman Jones :)
Seriously, Dr. J, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus

[Howzit]

Mark Spitz
Steve Davis
Joe Wiley

[skycat]

George Brett
Tony Dorsett
Rolando Blackman
Darrell Ray Dickey :O

[OhU1]

Johnny Bench. Even before I ever lived in Oklahoma. I was a big Red's fan. The 2nd MLB game I ever attended was in Cincinnati in 1975 - Johnny Bench hit 2 home runs which was real exciting to me since he was my favorite player. I got his autograph on a baseball in 2001. Bench is still a real down to earth intelligent guy. A great Oklahoman.

[Okieflyer]

Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras.

i like tennis.

You are young!;)

When I think tennis, I think Conner, McEroe and Borg!:O

[JohnnyMack]

Rudy Galindo
Rock Hudson
Liberace

Nice list.

:rolleyes:

[Chuck Bao]

Roger Staubach
Walt Garrison
Bob Lilly
Roman Gabriel
Fran Tarkenton
Lee Roy Selmon
Joe Washington
Jimbo Elrod
Tinker Owens

[WILBURJIM]

Mike Lucci
Lem Barney
Dick LeBeau
Steve Owens
Charley Sanders
Al Kaline
Jim Northrup
Norm Cash
Dwight Stones
Lynn Swann

[Mixer!]

Johnny Bench
Mickey Mantle
Calvin Hill
Bobby Orr
Oscar Robertson

[Fraggle145]

Ya I'm a young'n too. Lemme preface this list by saying that my family is from long island, NY, but i was born Okie

Gary Carter - Catcher NY Mets. favorite by far dont know why
Doc Gooden
Darryl Strawberry
...pretty much the entire 85 through the early 90s Mets teams. Saw my first pro game at Shea in 85 when I was 5 yrs old. This nice old man gave us box seat tickets and tickets to the diamond club (I think he was trying to hit on my aunt, but I was blown away).

Hulk Hogan - ya I'll own up to it

John Elway - don't know why I liked him either
Troy Aikman
Emmitt Smith

The Boz
Cale Gundy
My dad and I always used to listen on the radio in the car. I even had a Boz haircut.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Bart Starr
Johnny Unitas
Ray Nitschke

[OKC-SLC]

George Brett
Brian Bosworth
Jamelle Holieway
Dan Marino
Farouk Jugdish
Machdeb Jahalasfat

[soonerinabilene]

Nolan Ryan
Troy Aikman

When I was a little kid, I would go visit my grandparents every summer in Skiatook. Every time the cubs would come on WGN we would watch it, and for some reason I became a huge fan of mark grace. He wasnt great, just decent, but him and dawson were my two favorites.

[soonerbrat]

oh, and Jamelle Holieway.

[Fraggle145]

I cant believe that none of the other young people here had hulk hogan as a hero...

[Turd_Ferguson]

Johnny Bench. Even before I ever lived in Oklahoma. I was a big Red's fan. The 2nd MLB game I ever attended was in Cincinnati in 1975 - Johnny Bench hit 2 home runs which was real exciting to me since he was my favorite player. I got his autograph on a baseball in 2001. Bench is still a real down to earth intelligent guy. A great Oklahoman.
Werd. I have a picture of Johnny Bench taken with my Grandmother in Houston back in the 70's. She passed away in 85 right after I graduated HS. Couple of years ago, my wife snuck the picture out and sent it to Johnny to autograph. Twas a great early Christmas preasent.

Edit to add: I wanted to throught punch her for making me cry in front of a couple of friends.:mad:

[birddog]

Roger Staubach
Dan Pastorini
Stu Crumb
Tulsa Roughnecks:
Barry Wallace
Victor Moreland
Charlie Mitchell
Laurie Abrahams
Billy Caskey
Alan Woodward
Iraj Danaeifard

how about delroy allen, keeper for the roughnecks?

[goingoneight]

... if it means anything, I have a great story to tell.

My little cousin, age seven, was born and raised an OSpuke fan. Some of his first words were 'boomer loser' and 'orange power.' The child was lost. About a year ago, my cousin (his mother) separated and divorced her OSewe hubby. I never disliked the guy, but hey... sometimes things just don't work out.
Last year he traveled with me to watch a Sooner game. Hehe, I was moving in for the kill. He was only 6 1/2 years of age when I told him the story of Paul Thompson. He continued to watch Sooner games all season long. While not understanding winning and losing completely yet, he knew... and still knows how great PT, and how great a sacrifice PT made for OU. He basically says "PT coulda got rich, but he stayed a Sooner for his team!"

Close enough for a little kid. Paul Thompson was still his favorite "player" last I heard about three weeks ago. For his eighth B-Day, got him a #12 Sooner jersey. :)

[phead903]

Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras.

i like tennis.

I liked tennis, too, but for me it was:
Bjorn Borg
Stan Smith

Also:
Ron Santo
Calvin Hill
Jack Mildren (Still upset that Pat Sullivan won the Heisman instead of Jack!)
Jerry West