The list was comprised of (mostly) United States politicians who served semi-recently. Also we limited the athletes to Professional or Olympic (or professional wrestling) in lieu of collegiate athletes like J.C. Watts.
Bob Mathias was included because of his unbelievable Olympic performances.
10. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
A former U.S. Olympian and Gold Medalist at the 1963 Pan-Am games in Judo, Campbell served as a Senator from Colorado from 1993-2005 after serving in the House from 1987-1993. Campbell holds the distinction of being only the third Native American member of the Senate.
9. Tom McMillan
NBA player, Rhodes Scholar, U.S. Congressman; Tom McMillan has done it all. After a 12 year NBA career, McMillan opted to go the political route and represented the fourth congressional district of Maryland from 1987-1993. McMillan is believed to be the tallest member of the United States Congress at 6-11.
8. Jim Ryun
After securing silver in the 1968 Olympics in the 1,500 meters, Ryun traded in his spikes for a run at Congress. Ryun held office from 1996-2007 as a House member from Kansas' second district.
7. Jesse Ventura
Although not a congressman, Ventura captured the national spotlight after becoming Governor of Minnesota in 1999. The former professional wrestler known as "The Body" served one term in office before opting not to run for re-election in 2003. Ventura currently endorses candidates and steroids (just kidding) in his spare time.
6. Heath Shuler
After an awful run in the NFL (and that is being kind) Shuler recently secured the House bid from the 11th district of North Carolina in 2007. Shuler won the election with 54% of the vote, which oddly enough was the same number as his career 54.3 quarterback rating.
5. Bob Mathias
A two-time gold medalist in the Decathlon (1948 and 1952) Mathias served in the House from 1967-1975 representing the 18th congressional district of California. He unfortunately passed away in 2006 from cancer.
4. Steve Largent
The pro football hall-of-famer from the Seahawks served eight years in the House (1994-2002) from the first district of Oklahoma. The seven-time Pro Bowler is currently President & CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association.
3. Jim Bunning
A current Senator from Kentucky since 1999, Bunning is best known in the sporting world for being a baseball hall-of-famer and proud owner of a no-hitter AND perfect game. Bunning was elected to Cooperstown in 1996 after going 224-184 in his career.
2. Jack Kemp
The former Buffalo Bills quarterback and Bob Dole running mate, Kemp served the House from 1971-1989 before unsuccessfully running for President in 1988. Kemp then served on George H.W. Bush's cabinet before losing out to Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1996.
1. Bill Bradley
Bradley had a storied collegiate career, ten year NBA career and served on the Senate from 1979-1997. After a failed bid at the Presidency during the 2000 Democratic primaries, Bradley has mostly stayed out of the spotlight.
Gerald Ford was all Big Ten at Michigan in football and had NFL offers. We went on to become President. Shouldn't he be on the list?
ReplyDeleteif you read the intro, it explains that pro athletes and olympians were only included otherwise people like Ford and J.C. Watts would have made this list.
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