Image via Complex Original
Two decades ago, Deion Sanders did something that no other athlete has ever done before and that is play in a professional baseball and football game all in a matter of 24 hours. As a member of the Atlanta Braves, Deion played in Game 4 of the 1992 NLCS on a Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following the conclusion of that game, he hopped on a flight to Florida to join his Atlanta Falcons as they took on the Miami Dolphins on a Sunday afternoon. It was pretty much like multi-tasking on steroids (all natural, no pun intended!).
But this amazing feat got us thinking: Who else has dominated sports world similar to the way Primetime did? So, in honor of Neon Deion's 46th birthday, we present the best pro players who felt that competing in one sport just wasn't good enough. Here are the Greatest Two-Sport Professional Athletes of All Time...
15. Danny Ainge
Sports: Basketball & Baseball
Career Years: Basketball (1981-1995) Baseball (1979-1981)
OK, we all remember Danny Ainge as a member of those great Celtics teams during the '80s, but many forget (or never knew) that he had a three-season career in the MLB, too. From 1979 to 1981 he played second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. Ainge was batting .220 and two career home runs before making the switch to the NBA. Two championships, nearly 12,000 career points, and a sweet executive job later, it's safe to say he made the right choice.
14. Charlie Ward
Sports: Basketball & Football
Career Years: Basketball (1994-2005) Football (1990-1994)
Charlie Ward was a marginal point guard averaging 6.3 PPG and 4 APG throughout his 11-year career. From the mid '90s throughout the early 2000s he gained a rep as the New York Knicks scrappy defensive-minded general. Ward's greatest athletic accomplishments came years earlier when he dominated on the football field for Florida State. As FSU's quarterback he won the 1993 Heisman Trophy, and led the Seminoles to a national championship in the 1993 Orange Bowl.
Ward joined the NBA after being selected 26th overall by the New York Knicks. The talented QB said he chose the NBA over the NFL after he was not guaranteed more than a third-to fifth-round pick in the NFL Draft. Ward was also drafted as a pitcher by the Milwaukee Brewers. He is the first Heisman winner to play in the NBA. This dude had the opportunity to play three sports professionally and we can't even dominate our rec league. #lifeaintfair
13. Bronko
Sports: Football & Professional Wrestling
Career Years: Football (1930-1937, 1943) Professional Wrestling (1933-1960)
Bronko Nagurski's dominance on the football field helped the Bears win two championships. During his football career he played as a lineman and fullback. That skill set is unique for today's NFL, much less the league nearly a century ago. Nagurski started to participate in professional wrestling during his football career and reached his peak when he won the National Wrestling Association world title in 1939. When we make our badass athletes of all time list Nagurski' will no doubt be guaranteed a spot.
12. Dave DeBusschere
Sports: Basketball & Baseball
Career Years: Basketball (1962-1974) Baseball (1962-63)
As a member of the Chicago White Sox in their 1962-63 season, Dave DeBusschere was a solid pitcher who actually threw a shutout against the Cleveland Indians. But many people remember DeBusschere's Hall of Fame achievements on the hardwood. Dude was voted to eight All-Star teams, six NBA All-Defensive teams, and won two championships with the Knicks. #beastmode #kony
11. Brian Jordan
Sports: Baseball & Football
Career Years: Football (1989-1991) Baseball (1992-2006)
Though Brian Jordan only spent three full seasons in the NFL, he earned a rare distinction being named to an All-Star team in two professional sports. He earned a Pro-Bowl selection as an alternate in 1992 for his play as a safety with the Atlanta Falcons and was voted to the 1999 National League All-Star game while playing as an outfielder on the Braves. His at-bat music? You already know.
10. Lionel Conacher
Sports: Football & Baseball
Career Years: Hockey (1925-1937) Football (1933-1934)
The Big Train was a dominant pro athlete. He was voted Canada's top athlete of the first half of the 20th Century. In football, Conacher was a part of the 1921 champion Toronto Argonauts. In hockey, he won a memorial cup and two Stanley Cups. He also won awards and honors in boxing, lacrosse, and wrestling. Many people label Conacher as the "Canadian Jim Thorpe" (more on him in a bit) because of his overall impact the games he played and his ability to succeed in many different sports.
9. Herschel Walker
Sports: Football & MMA
Career Years: Football (1983-1997), MMA (2009-Present)
After spending most of career playing football in the USFL and NFL, Herschel Walker decided to give mixed martial arts a try at the age of 48. Considering the well-documented brutality, most people would say that type of move is suicidal but with two fights under his belt, Hersch is 2-0 with both wins coming by way of TKO. How does 50 and unfuckwitable sound?
8. Harvey Pulford
Sports: Hockey & Football
Career Years: Hockey (1893-1908), Football (1893-1909)
Most of the athletes on this list played at most three sports. Harvey Pulford was the ultimate Swiss Army knife, but the most important thing about his career was that he won at every sport he played in. Pulford was captain of the Ottawa Hockey Club that won the Stanley Cup three years in a row. His Ottawa Football clubs won national championships in 1898, 1899, 1900, and 1902. He was a member of the undefeated 1910 Ottawa Rowing Club eight team that won Canadian and North American Championships. As a boxer, he won Eastern Canadian light heavyweight and heavyweight titles between 1896 and 1898. #unfuckwitable #ballsohard
7. Bob Hayes
Sports: Football & Track and Field
Career Years: Football (1965-1975) Track & Field (1962-1964)
Not many people know who Bob Hayes is, but dude forever changed the way football is played. After winning gold in 100 meters and 4x100 meter relay during the 1964 Summer Olympics, Hayes took the NFL by storm. In his first two seasons, he led the NFL in touchdown receptions and forced defenses to develop zone defenses and the bump and run in an effort to slow him down. Yeezy said it best.
6. Jim Brown
Sports: Football & Lacrosse
Career Years: Football (1954-1965) Lacrosse (1954-1956)
Jim Brown might be the best running back of all time in NFL history. What people forget is that he was a master with the stick. The lacrosse stick that is. Brown played lacrosse for Syracuse while playing football and basketball in college. Brown was the second leading scorer during his sophomore year with Syracuse. Brown also added a first team all-American nomination to his already sterling college career in his senior year. Brown wasn't too shabby on the football side either. He was a three-time NFL MVP, and nine-time Pro Bowler in just nine seasons in the NFL. Brown retired from the NFL at the age of 29 during the filming of The Dirty Dozen. He would go on to achieve accolades in the acting world such as filming the first interracial sex scene when he smashed Raquel Welch in 100 Rifles. Epic career moves FTW.
5. Deion Sanders
Sports: Football & Baseball
Career Years: Football (1989-2000, 2004-2005) Baseball (1989-1995, 1997, 2001)
You would think that after playing in a game of baseball, people would be tired. But not for Deion Sanders. Right after that game ended, Primetime hoped on a flight to Florida to join his Atlanta Falcons as they took on the Miami Dolphins on a Sunday afternoon. Truly a badass dude with a track record to prove it.
4. Bo Jackson
Sports: Baseball & Football
Career Years: Football (1987-1990) Baseball ( 1986-1994)
As the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two different sports, you better believe that Bo Jackson was a freak athlete. From 1989 All-Star Game MVP in baseball to rushing for 554 yards on 81 carries in just seven games, Bo was the epitome of a successful two-sport talent...but he especially gets the 'Plex cosign for his classic contributions to the gaming world. #boknowseverything
3. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Sports: Golf & Track and Field
Career Years: Golf (1935-1956), Track & Field (1932 Olympics)
Yo, ladies! What, you thought it was just the fellas that could dominate two games? Think again. After racking up two gold medals at the 1932 Olympics (80-meter hurdles and javelin), Babe became a professional golfer in 1947 and would win 10 majors becoming the greatest female golfer of all time. Oh yeah, she could also play baseball. Ladies is pimps too...*Jigga voice*
2. Gene Conley
Sports: Baseball & Basketball
Career Years: Baseball (2952, 1954-1963) Basketball (1939-1940, 1943-1944, 1952-1953, 1958-1964, 1966-1968)
In any professional sport, the two categories that are most often used to measure an athlete's greatness are All-Star appearances and championships won. Gene Conley is the only athlete in sports history to win a championship in two of the four major American sports. As a pitcher, he was named to four All-Star teams and won a World Series in 1957 with the Milwaukee Braves. As a forward with the Boston Celtics, Conley racked up three consecutive championships from 1959–1961. That's a total of four rings in two different leagues, fam. Charles Barkley, Dan Marino, and Bron Bron have to be hurting right now.
1. Jim Thorpe
Sports: Baseball & Football
Career Years: Football (1915-1917, 1919-1926, 1928) Baseball (1913-1915, 1917-1919)
Simply put, Jim Thorpe is the greatest athlete of all time that you may never have heard of. Dude received gold medals at the 1912 Olympics for decathlon and pentathlon. Then he made his MLB debut as an outfielder with the New York Giants in 1913. Then in 1915, he joined the Canton Bulldogs in the American Professional Football Association which would later become the NFL. He spent seven years in MLB and 13 seasons in the NFL. Without a doubt the best multi-sport athlete of all time.