Your favorite athletes when you were a kid?

clarkgriswold said:
How does one become a Keenan McCardell fan? Great player, worthy of fandom, but not one I would have expected.
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I was 5 or 6 when the Jaguars entered the league, and being that I was originally from Jacksonville, I became a fan. McCardell was just someone I liked. Fred Taylor was another.
 
A couple standouts>

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Younger me:
Al Kaline
Bill Freehan
Willie Horton
Julius Erving
Pete Maravich
Dave Bing

Older me:
Bernie Kosar
Johnny Bench
Lance Parrish
Alan Trammel
Dennis Rodman - when a Piston
Bill Laimbeer
 
Baseball
Darryl Strawberry
Jose Rijo
Barry Larkin
Eric Davis
Chris Sabo

Football
Ickey Woods
Troy Aikman
Emmit Smith
Charles Haley
Deion Sanders

Basketball
Dominique Wilkens
Spud Webb
Shaquille O'neal

Boxing/Wrestling
Mike Tyson
Ric Flair
Sting
The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)
Macho Man Randy Savage
Jimmy Snuka
 
Baseball
McGwire
Griffey
Randy Johnson
Kerry Wood
Hideo Nomo

Football
Reggie White
Brett Favre
Barry Sanders

Later on in life...
Pat Tillman
Tom Brady

Basketball
MJ
Bird
David Robinson

Later on...
LeBron

Boxing/ Wrestling
Ultimate Warrior
Hulk Hogan
Legion of Doom
Degeneration X
Tyson
 
MontetheCarlo said:
Bart Starr
John Brockington
Cesar Geronimo
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The Big Red Machine's starting lineup was star-studded and filled with Hall of Famers and fan favorites: Rose, Morgan, Bench, Perez, Concepcion, Griffey, Foster and who did I miss? Oh yeah, the centerfielder...who was that?...what's-his-name...Geronimo.

Geronimo is an awesome and unique choice. (y) Four consecutive Golden Gloves (1974-77). He was a tremendous defensive player with a helluva an arm. He was a sometimes overlooked, but important component of the Big Red Machine.
 
Mantle despite being an Indians' fan
Payton sweetness - tragic ending
Havlicek lost interest in pro bb after Bird/Johnson
Gretsky 2:1 assist to goal ratio, iirc
Nicklaus "taught me" the game of golf
 
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Really just Barry Larkin. Always cared more about the teams than players. Plus, growing up in Cincinnati with no NBA team & the Bengals being the joke of the League didn’t leave a lot of options. I still remember having a Kijana Carter poster that said “Fire in the Hole.” That’s pretty representative of the Bengals in the 90s.
 
Under 10

Walt Clyde Frazier
Willie Stargell

10 & over
Sugar Ray Leonard
Clark Kellogg
Carl Lewis
Jack Lambert
 
Under 10:
Kenny Anderson
Pete Johnson
Kenny Riley
Larry Csonka
Jim Plunkett (early Patriot years)

10&over:
Dan Marino
The Marks brothers (Duper & Clayton)
Steve Largent
Wilbert Montgomery
Harold Carmichael (thought it was cool that he wore non-traditional number - 17 in an era that you did not see it too much)

I'm a football guy but I do have some baseball players I liked too.....save that for later
 
Julius "Dr. J" Erving - waited in great anticipation for his arrival into the NBA when it merged with ABA for 1976-77 season. Eventually came to realize his best, most dazzling years were maybe already behind him by then.

Walt "Clyde" Frazier - I shamelessly admit buying Puma Clydes in the 70s solely based on his persona. By the time he got with the Cavs his career was basically over, but Clyde Frazier epitomized cool back in the 1970s.

Dave Parker - this was before the time of widespread cable TV and I didn't have access to his live game performances. I remember Sports Illustrated did an article on him calling him possibly the best of all time...then I saw him gun down a baserunner with a throw to the plate in the 1979 All Star game. Was kinda disapponted that he got kind of fat and wasn't the same player after about 1981 but for a few years he was really good and had a great arm.

Rocky Bleier, Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene... Could any kid growing up in the 70s not have more role models from those great Steelers teams back then? I remember I had a Lambert #58 Steeler jersey that I wore with great reverence when I was about 12.
 
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OJ, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, KA Jabbar, Ali, Rose, Golden Bear And I can't forget The Scrambler, Fran Tarkentan and the Snake too!
 
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