The 25 Greatest Sports Careers Ruined by Injury

25.Yao Ming

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1997-2011
Career Stats: 19 PPG 9.2 RPG 1.9 BPG
Injuries: Stress fracture in left foot, hairline fracture in left foot, fractured left ankle

The saddest part about it was that Yao Ming was so close to putting it all together. So close to dominating. So close to living up to the massive hype he carried from the moment the Houston Rockets drafted him first overall in 2002. Yao steadily improved during his first three seasons, increasing his points per game total from 13.3 to 17.5 to 18.3. He had a soft touch from 18-feet. Deft passing skills. He’d developed into a solid man post defender. And he was surprisingly durable, missing just two games in his first three seasons.

He got even better. In 2005, he averaged 19.9 points and 9 rebounds per game through the first 22 games despite a hurting big toe. But that toe injury turned out to be much more serious than initially feared. Surgery to clean up an infection led to more complications over the years such as a bone infection, multiple foot fractures, and knee and ankle problems. When he suited up, he was more unstoppable than ever. He averaged a career-high 25 PPG in 2006-07 and made an All-NBA Second Team. Then he’d get hurt again. Yao Ming retired in 2011 an eight-time All-Star but his greatest impact occurred off the court. Aside from Michael Jordan (and maybe LeBron James), has anyone had a greater hand broadening the global reach of the NBA?

24.Robert Griffin III

Sport: Football
Years Active: 2012-2014 2016 2018-2020
Career Stats: 63.0 Cmp% 43 TD 30 INT 9271 YDS
Injuries: Torn ACL, Dislocated Ankle, Shoulder Fracture

RGIII’s career arc was sadly predictable. Of course, he’d end up getting hurt. He appeared slight for a quarterback. Coaches schemed up designed runs for him. He took hits. He tore his ACL at Baylor. Still, it was also quite obvious that the 2011 Heisman winner would flourish in the NFL. Griffin always seemed to make the right decision on RPO’s (run/pass options). He was an accurate passer and threw a pretty deep ball. As a rookie, he led hapless Washington to a division title, while throwing 20 touchdowns to just 5 picks and completing over 65 percent of his passes.

RGIII got injured down the stretch after taking a hit while scrambling against Baltimore. He then made the mistake of playing through the sprained knee. It didn’t seem to impact him early in Washington’s NFC Wild Card game against Seattle. Griffin threw two touchdowns in the first quarter putting his team ahead 14-0. But his knee got balky as the game went on. He struggled to get up from hits. He limped. What happened next was obvious to anyone paying attention. With around seven minutes left he dropped back and slipped on the shoddy FedEx Field turf. His knee? Bent at a frightful angle. The result? A torn ACL and LCL. RGII was never the same thrower or runner afterwards. Within three years, he was gone from Washington. He spent the rest of his career as a backup.

23.Juan Martin del Potro

Sport: Tennis
Years Active: 2004-2022
Career Stats: 2009 U.S. Open champion
Injuries: Multiple surgeries on both wrists, multiple knee fractures

In the hyper-partisan era of men’s tennis’s Big Three (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, if you must ask), Juan Martin del Potro, the Gentle Giant from Tandil, Argentina, was a fan favorite no matter who he faced. Del Potro burst onto the scene in the summer of 2008 winning four tournaments and 23 consecutive matches. At the 2009 French Open, he pushed Roger Federer to five sets in the semifinals. He got his revenge three months later in Flushing, defeating the five-time defending champion in the finals of the U.S. Open. He was just 20 years old.

A booming forehand was del Potro’s main weapon. But he could also crack the backhand and was a good mover for a big man on both clay and hard court. But a wrist injury suffered in early 2010 triggered a slow, torturous process for del Potro, one that he repeated again and again. Over the next decade, he’d rehab, struggle to regain his form, ascend back into the top five, then get hurt again. He had multiple surgeries on his left wrist; even when “healthy” the pain forced him to hit slice backhands to protect the ligaments. A fractured kneecap in 2019 shelved him for nearly three years, and effectively ended his career, one that will be remembered as the greatest What If… in tennis history.

22.Brandon Roy

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 2006-2011, 2012-2013
Career Stats: 18.8 PPG 4.3 RPG 4.7 APG 1.0 SPG
Injuries: Arthroscopic knee surgery on both knees, Meniscus tear in right knee, lack of cartilage between bones in both knees

Though Roy starred at the University of Washington and was probably the most talented player in the 2006 NBA Draft, injury concerns led to him falling to the Portland Trail Blazers at six. Roy had knee problems going back to high school when he had the first of six knee surgeries.

A 6-foot 6-inch shooting guard, Roy was an explosive athlete who could finish at the rim, which complimented his killer crossover and step back jumper. Alongside LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, he formed the Portland Trail Blazers own big three. But Oden couldn’t stay healthy and Roy’s career took a turn for the worse after tearing his meniscus in 2010. Roy eventually developed arthritis, forcing him to retire at 27. A comeback with the Timberwolves was abandoned after five games after which he permanently retired.

21.Bernard King

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1977-1993
Career Stats: 22.5 PPG 5.8 RPG 3.3 APG
Injury: Torn ACL

The pride of Brooklyn, New York, Bernard King honed his game on the playgrounds of Fort Hamilton. Following an All-American campaign with the Tennessee Volunteers, he took his talent to the NBA. Though a prolific scorer, King bounced around the league, from New Jersey to Utah to Golden State before finding his way back home to New York where he became a superstar.

In his brief but memorable tenure with the Knicks, King scored 50 points in consecutive games, dropped 60 on Christmas Day 1984, and made two All-Star teams. But then, in March 1985, King suffered a devastating injury, tearing his ACL and meniscus and broke a bone in his knee. King made one last hoorah during the 1990-91 season, averaging 28.4 points per game and making his last All-Star appearance.

20.Tony Conigliaro

Sport: Baseball
Years Active: 1964-1967, 1969-1971, 1975
Career Stats: .264 BA 166 HR 516 RBI
Injuries: Dislocated jaw, linear fracture of left cheekbone, left retina damage

Tony C seemed destined to break the Curse of the Bambino. The Massachusetts native still holds the record for most home runs by a teenager in MLB history and is the second youngest player to hit 100 home runs behind only Mel Ott.

Conigliaro’s career turned in a violent flash. On August 18, 1967, he was hit by a pitch on his left cheekbone and carried off the field on a stretcher. With a broken jaw and severely damaged retina, Conigliaro missed the rest of the season and sat out all of 1968. He won Comeback Player of the Year in 1969 and achieved career highs in home runs and runs batted in the next season. But his eyesight kept deteriorating, forcing him to retirement.

19.Maurice Stokes

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1955-1958
Career Stats: 16.4 PPG 17.3 RPG 5.3 APG
Injury: Post-traumatic encephalopathy

Stokes, a western Pennsylvania native, was an immediate sensation in the NBA dropping 32 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists in his debut for the Rochester Royals and would go on to win Rookie of the Year. Over three seasons, the 6-foot-7 big man averaged 16.4 points, 17.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Celtics legend Bob Cousy once described his game as “Karl Malone with more finesse.”

It all came to a crashing halt on March 12, 1958, when Stokes hit his head on the floor while driving to the basket. Despite being knocked out for several minutes, he returned to the game after being revived with smelling salts. (It was a different time.) Stokes fell ill on the return flight. Eventually, he suffered a seizure and lapsed into a coma. When he awoke six weeks later, he was a quadriplegic.

18.Pete Maravich

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1970-1980
Career Stats: 24.2 PPG 4.2 RPG 5.4 APG 1.4 SPG
Injuries: Multiple knee surgeries

Pistol Pete was a magician on the basketball court. At times, he played as if he had a string attached to the basketball. He fathered a style of ballhandling that would go on to influence Steph, Kyrie, and AI. At LSU in the late 1960s, Maravich was one of the most famous athletes in America. When he departed Baton Rouge, he left as the all-time leading NCAA Division I men’s scorer with 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 per game.

The show continued in the NBA. He broke ankles, made dazzling passes, and scored at will. With Atlanta and later New Orleans, Maravich was a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA First Team selection, and won the scoring title in 1977. Yet his brilliance didn’t translate to team success. He didn’t win a playoff series until his tenth and final season when he was coming off the bench for the Celtics. By that point, knee injuries had robbed him of his lateral movement and quickness. But in his prime he was the original Human Highlight Film.

17.Bill Walton

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1974-1987
Career Stats: 13.3 PPG 10.5 RPG 2.2 BPG
Injuries: Foot surgery, ankle surgery

The Portland Trailblazers' No. 1 pick in the 1974 Draft impacted the league as soon as he suited up. He averaged 12.8 points and 12.6 rebounds in his rookie season but was held to ]35 games due to various injuries. It wasn't until the 1976-77 season that Portland got a high return on their investment. Big Red averaged a career best in points (18.6) rebounds (14.4) and blocks (3.2) per game and earned his first All-Star selection. The season ended with Portland’s first, and only, championship and Walton being named Finals MVP.

Despite breaking his foot the following season, The Big Redhead won the regular season MVP award posting 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, five assists, and 2.5 blocks per game. But this was the start of lingering foot injuries for him. After missing the entire 1980-81 season due to another foot injury, and several other surgeries to his feet, Walton never reached that MVP level again. He came off the bench for the Boston Celtics in 1986, winning Sixth Man of the Year and another championship before retiring in 1990 to become one of the best color commentators in basketball. Throw it down, big man! Throw it down!

16.Tracy McGrady

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1997-2012
Career Stats: 19.6 PPG 5.6 RPG 4.4 APG
Injuries: Back spasms, microfracture knee surgery

McGrady established himself as one of the premier players in the NBA during the 2000-01 season. With teammate Grant Hill sidelined with ankle injuries, T-Mac became their only option. He’d go on to win the Most Improved Player award and was selected to his first All-Star game.

For the next seven years McGrady was the best perimeter player in the league not named Kobe Bryant. He peaked during the 2002-03, averaging 32.1 points per game and winning the first of his two scoring titles and making his second All-NBA First Team. But McGrady experienced nagging back spasms following a move to the Rockets in 2004, which, slowly, robbed him off his otherworldly athleticism. Microfracture surgery followed. Soon, he was reduced to coming of the bench. He played one season in China before retiring in 2013.

15.Ralph Sampson

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1983-1992
Career Stats: 15.4 PPG 8.8 RPG 1.6 BPG
Injuries: Surgery on both knees, back problems

Sampson, the three-time National college player of the year at the University of Virginia, was the original unicorn. Standing at a towering 7-foot-4 with the skills of a small forward, he dominated the NBA as a rookie averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. Eventually, the Houston Rockets paired him with another young center named Hakeem Olajuwon. The Twin Towers arrived in 1986, eliminating the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals; Sampson hit a buzzer-beater to clinch the series in Game 5.

Despite losing to the Celtics in the Finals, the future looked bright. But knee and back problems slowed him down and sapped his skills. Would the Lakers have gone back-to-back in 1987 and 1988 if they had to face a healthy Twin Towers? We’ll never know.

14.Arvydas Sabonis

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1995-2003 (NBA)
Career Stats: 12.0 PPG 7.3 RPG 2.1 APG
Injuries: Two Achilles tendon ruptures, arthritic foot

When Arvydas Sabonis signed with the Portland Trail Blazers after a decade of dominance in Europe, he arrived with a caveat. You should’ve seen him before he popped his Achilles. Pre-Injury Sabonis is discussed with the type of reverence and awe typically reserved for folk heroes and mythic figures. He was an athletic 7-foot 4 with an unstoppable post-up game, a sweet jumper, and surprising athleticism. At times, he’d step out on to the perimeter, palm the ball, and sling no-look passes to cutters. Highlights of Pre-Injury Sabonis are worth the trip to YouTube.

He was no longer that player at the time of his NBA debut. After all, Sabonis could no longer run or jump. But he still had skill and guile and dropped the prettiest dimes for a big man until Nikola Jokic came around. The Lithuanian would play an important part on the late 90’s Trail Blazers teams that made six straight playoff appearances and took two trips to the Western Conference Finals. But at one point he was good enough to be the one driving the bus.

13.Mike Trout

Sport: Baseball
Years Active: 2011-Present
Career Stats: .294 BA 400 HR 1013 RBI
Injuries: Calf strain, Back inflammation, Fractured bone in hand, Torn meniscus

A lot of athletes on this list have sad stories—cautionary tales of unfulfilled potential and what could have been. That’s not Mike Trout. The Los Angeles Angels centerfielder was the undisputed best player in baseball from 2012-2020 and was on pace to be the greatest player the game had ever seen. For nine straight seasons, Trout finished in the top five of the American League MVP voting. He won two. He probably should have won at least four. Though the Angels made just one playoff appearance during that incredible run is not an indictment of Trout, the quintessential five-tool player. He hit for power. He hit for average. He stole bases and was an elite defender in center.

The injuries started during the 2021 season. A right calf strain that was initially believed to be a 6–8-week thing ended up limiting him to 36 games. From 2021 to 2024 he played in just 266 of the Angels 648 games. He suffered from back inflammation. He broke his hand. Tore his meniscus. When he returned from an early season stint on the injured list in 2025, he became a full-time designated hitter. Trout stayed relatively healthy but was now a replacement level player. 

12.Derrick Rose

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 2008-2024
Career Stats: 17.4 PPG 5.2 APG 3.2 RPG
Injuries: Torn ACL, Two torn meniscus

Derrick Rose, the top overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, was the savior Bulls fans had waited for since Michael Jordan retired from the franchise for a second time. The city immediately embraced him — and not just because he was one of them. (Born and raised on the South Side, Rose attended Simeon Career Academy.) D-Rose was great from the start. A speedy and powerful 6-foot-3 point guard who could jump out of the gym, he averaged 16.8 points per game, led the Bulls to a playoff berth, and was the near unanimous Rookie of the Year in a class that included Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love.

In the 2010-11 season, D-Rose averaged 25 points per game while guiding the Bulls to 62 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He was the near unanimous MVP. But in the next season’s playoffs with the Bulls up 12 with about a minute left, Rose tore his left ACL while driving in the paint. He missed the entire 2012-13 season and would continue having knee problems for the rest of his career. Robbed of his athleticism, Rose evolved into a crafty scorer and a top sixth man who bounced around the league. Perhaps his greatest moment occurred on October 31, 2018, when he dropped a career-high 50 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rose sobbed afterwards. For one night, the old D-Rose was back.

11.Andrew Luck

Sport: Football
Years Active: 2012-18
Career Stats: 60.8 Cmp% 171 TD 83 Int 23,671 YDS
Injuries: Torn labrum, lacerated kidney, calf strain

There are top prospects and then there was Andrew Luck. When he graduated from Stanford in 2012, Luck, the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, was the most complete prospect at the position since John Elway. How good was Andrew Luck? The Colts ditched Peyton Manning for him after winning the “Suck for Luck” sweepstakes. Luck did not disappoint, leading the Colts to three straight playoff berths. He had a rocket arm, a high pre-snap IQ, and a Brett Favre like DGAF attitude when it came to fitting a ball into a tight window.

But he took a lot of big hits behind the Colts patchwork offensive line. During the 2015 season, he suffered a sprained shoulder, lacerated kidney and a partially torn abdominal muscle. Luck then missed the entire 2017 season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. When he returned in 2018, he was still at the peak of his powers, throwing 39 touchdowns to 15 picks and winning Comeback Player of the Year. Then in one of the most shocking moments in recent NFL history, Luck, who’d been sidelined with a calf strain, abruptly retired in August 2019. He cited the persistent mental and physical toll that the injuries had taken on him. “It’s taken the joy out of me,” Luck said in a news conference. “The only way forward is to remove myself from football.”

10.Ken Griffey Jr.

Sport: Baseball
Years Active: 1989-2010
Career Stats: .284 BA 630 HR 1,836 RBI
Injuries: Left knee surgery, hamstring surgery, broken wrist

Ken Griffey Jr. was the face of the Seattle Mariners in the 1990s. Scratch that. He was the face of Major League Baseball. During his prime, The Kid was considered the best player in the game. He made the All-Star team every year that decade and slugged 56 home runs in back-to-back seasons in 1997 and 1998.

Prior to the 2000 season, the Mariners traded Griffey to his hometown Cincinnati Reds where his father had spent his best seasons. Soon after, he signed a nine-year, $112.5 million contract. But starting in 2001, Griffey could not stay healthy. The injuries piled up. A torn patella tendon; dislocated kneecap; multiple hamstring tears, and a dislocated shoulder. Griffey still ended his career with 630 dingers but baseball might have a different home run king had he avoided injury.

9.Earl Campbell

Sport: Football
Years Active: 1978-1984
Career Stats: 9,407 YDS 74 TD
Injuries: Knee surgery, spinal surgery, nerve issues

Earl Campbell was one of the NFL’s most prolific running backs ever to lace up his cleats. In his first season, Campbell rushed for 1,450 yards on his way to both Offensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors. His best season came in 1980 when he rushed for 1,934 yards, leading the NFL in rushing for a second consecutive season, and picking up an MVP.

The Tyler Rose had a signature running style. Campbell was known to lower his shoulder and deliver crushing blows to would-be tacklers, making defenses think twice before squaring up. But he took as much punishment as he doled out. Campbell began to wear down during his fifth season before knee and back injuries forced him out of the league after eight seasons.

8.Sterling Sharpe

Sport: Football
Years Active: 1988-1994
Career Stats: 8,134 YDS 65 TD 595 REC
Injury: Damaged vertebrae

Shannon Sharpe’s older brother put up mind-boggling numbers in his short, but spectacular career with the Green Bay Packers. In an era still dominated by ground and pound offenses, he caught 100 passes in consecutive seasons and accumulated 500 receptions faster than any receiver. Sharpe was the total package: speed, power, route-running and hands.

For the final three years of his career, he teamed with quarterback Brett Favre to power one of the NFL’s most feared offenses. But during the 1994 season he suffered a frightening neck injury that cut short his career; doctors said he risked paralysis if he were to play another down. In a long overdue honor, Sharpe was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August 2025.

7.Penny Hardaway

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1993-2007
Career Stats: 15.2 PPG 4.5 RPG 5.0 APG
Injuries: Four left knee surgeries, Microfracture knee surgery

Before LeBron, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was the closest comparison we’d seen to Magic Johnson. And for a while, he lived up to the bill. He instantly made an impact, averaging 16 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game while guiding the Orlando Magic to their first every playoff appearance. Year Two ended in the NBA Finals. As the Robin to Shaq’s Batman, they seemed destined to rule the 90s.(Lil Penny would come along for the ride.)

But then Shaq left for Los Angeles in the summer of ’96 and Penny suffered his first major knee injury the following year. Knee problems continued to hamper his career. Though he continued to play for the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, he never regained the form that made him one of the most exciting young stars in league history.

6.Grant Hill

Sport: Basketball
Years Active: 1994-2013
Career Stats: 16.7 PPG 6.0 RPG 4.1 APG 1.2 SPG
Injury: Broken Ankle

Grant Hill is the only Blue Devil in history (a 2x National Champion at that!) that was never hated on. He was that good. A 6-foot-8-inch forward with a sweet jumper, a high IQ, and ridiculous hops, Hill could do it all. In the pros, he led the Detroit Pistons in scoring, rebounds, and assists three times, and put up 9,293 points, 3,417 rebounds, and 2,720 assists in his first six seasons, putting him in the same company as Bird, LeBron, and the Big O.

Hill was primed to be the face of the NBA in the post-Michael era until he broke his ankle during the 2000 Playoffs. Despite the injury, the Orlando Magic signed him to a max free agent contract that summer. But the years ahead would be filled with rehab, setbacks, and more injuries; he played just 135 games over the next five years. Once healthy, Hill evolved into a super role player for the Phoenix Suns, but he was robbed of the kind of career he seemed destined for. Later in life, he publicly blamed the Orlando and Detroit team doctors for mismanaging his injuries.

5.Sandy Koufax

Sport: Baseball
Years Active: 1955-1966
Career Stats: 165 W 2.76 ERA 2396 K
Injury: Arthritic elbow

Koufax struggled during the first six years of his career going 36-40. He tried striking out every batter and didn’t trust his defense. After a conversation with a teammate in 1961, Koufax began pitching with more control, resulting in a six-year run of dominance. He won three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, two more World Series titles, and two World Series MVP awards.

The public wasn’t aware, however, that Koufax pitched in tremendous pain during his prime. Sometimes he’d wake up with his arm black and blue. Eventually, he developed arthritis and was told that he could lose use of his arm if he continued pitching. And so he walked away at the top of his game. Yogi Berra said it best: “I can see how he won 25 games,” he said about Koufax’s 193 season. “What I don’t understand is how he lost five.” The Left Arm of God is the youngest player to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

4.Monica Seles

Sport: Tennis
Years Active: 1988-1993, 1995-2003
Career Stats: 9 Grand Slams
Injury: Stabbed in the back

In the spring of 1993, 19-year-old tennis player Monica Seles ruled over the sport of tennis. She had just won her third consecutive Australian Open and was the three-time defending French Open champion. And she’d also won the U.S. Open in 1991 and 1992. Then, on April 30, 1993, during a quarterfinal match vs. Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Germany, a crazed fan sneaked towards the court and stabbed Seles between the shoulder blades during a changeover. It was later revealed that her attacker was a fan obsessed with Seles’ rival, Steffi Graf.

Seles’ injuries weren’t life-threatening, or career-threatening, but they took a major psychological toll on her. She spent over two years away from the game until returning in the summer of 1995. She won in Canada and then lost a thrilling U.S Open final to Graf. In January, she won the Australian Open for a fourth time completing her inspiring comeback. But it was her last major title.

3.Gale Sayers

Sport: Football
Years Active: 1965-1971
Career Stats: 4,956 YDS 39 TD
Injuries: Torn ligaments in right knee, torn cartilage

The Bears’ running back was Barry Sanders before Barry Sanders. Strong, quick, and elusive, Sayers could find the tiniest hole in the O-line and was impossible to tackle in the open field. As a rookie, he scored a then-NFL record 22 total touchdowns. As a follow up, Sayers became the first Bear to lead the league in rushing.

Sayers blew out his knee in November 1968. When he returned the following season, he was still productive but was clearly not the same player. He then injured his other knee and was forced to retire. His recovery and relationship with teammate Brian Piccolo was immortalized in the made-for-TV movie, Brian’s Song. Despite playing just 68 career games, Sayers’ accomplishments were enough to make him the youngest player to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame at the age of 34.

2.Terrell Davis

Sport: Football
Years Active: 1995-2002
Career Stats: 7,607 YDS 60 TD
Injuries: Torn right ACL and MCL, arthroscopic surgery on both knees, stress reaction in lower left leg

Terrell Davis almost ended the Barry Sanders-Emmitt Smith debate for good. In his first four seasons, he averaged over 1,600 yards and 14 rushing touchdown per season. Davis then did the impossible: He got three-time Super Bowl bridesmaid John Elway over the hump. On the world’s biggest stage, David rushed for 157 and yards and became the first player to record three rushing TDs in the Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXII victory of the Packers.

The following year, Davis put up 2,000 yards rushing and earned himself MVP, while leading Denver to a second straight Super Bowl title. He was on pace to be the greatest running back in NFL history. But he tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus in 1999 (while trying to make a tackle on an interception, no less). A stress reaction in his knee the following season, complicated his recovery. He retired in 2002 in possession of the greatest four-year run a running back ever had.

1.Bo Jackson

Sport: Football / Baseball
Years Active: 1986-1994
Career Stats: 2,782 YDS 16 TD, .250 BA 141 HR 415 RBI
Injury: Hip replacement surgery

Who’s the greatest athlete of all time? Most people born before 1980 will likely answer Vincent Edward “Bo” Jackson. He was built like a tank, faster than a Dodge Charger fueled by nitrous oxide, and had an arm as powerful as a howitzer. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner was a legend before leaving school to be the top pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. But Bo also knew baseball. As a junior at Auburn, he cracked 17 home runs in 42 games and batted .401. The Kansas City Royals selected him in the fourth round of the MLB Draft.

Bo would go on to become the first athlete named an All-Star in two major sports. As a running back, he was a threat from anywhere on the field, breaking multiple runs of over 80-plus yards. At bat, he might a 525-foot home run or a one-armed home run. Nothing was impossible Bo seemed fated for dual Hall of Fame honors until dislocating his hip during an NFL Playoff game in January 1991. The injury was much more severe than originally thought. He damaged his blood vessels, fractured one of his hip bones, and lost cartilage. Bo was forced to retire from the NFL soon after but he returned to baseball in 1993 and was named Comeback Player of the Year. In typical dramatic fashion, he hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season.