Okay, so we’re really featuring 51 athletes, counting Washington D.C. — which we did… We noticed many similar lists online were inaccurate. After countless hours of research, we hopefully finished a mission to answer one question — who is the most iconic athlete from each state? We proudly present the athlete state map.
Many lists you’ll find represent athletes’ birthplaces, but we wanted to find out where our favorite stars actually grew up. Each athlete on this map is not only iconic locally or even internationally but also spent a considerable amount of their childhood in their respective state.
Some notes on the athlete state map:
- Alabama is also home to Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays, who is considered by many the most talented athlete to ever play the game. Aaron got our vote for being widely considered the ‘true’ home run king, holding a name that is more recognizable to non-baseball fans. This state was our toughest decision by far.
- Colorado‘s Dempsey spent a considerable amount of time in the state but also moved around to West Virginia and Utah as well.
- Montana‘s Phil Jackson moved to North Dakota in the sixth grade.
- New Jersey‘s Shaquille O’Neal moved to San Antonio, TX at age 15, where he became a high school star.
- Jim Brown was born in Georgia and moved to New York at age eight.
- Steve Young grew up in Utah and moved to Connecticut at age eight. He returned to Utah for college to attend BYU.
- Elgin Baylor represents Washington D.C.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him @JHelmuth or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Hopefully, you use the athlete state map for good, for greater appreciation of sport, and not to make fun of your friends. Unless they are from New Hampshire.
