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OUR SPORTS HEROES

By BECKY DIXON

When it comes to sports heroes, few states have a deeper roster than Oklahoma. In fact, ABC’s Wide World of Sports named Oklahoman Jim Thorpe the “Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century.” A celebrated Olympian, Thorpe became the National Football League’s first real superstar. Here are eight more outstanding Oklahoma athletes:

TROY AIKMAN Drafted into the NFL in 1989, former Henryetta resident Troy Aikman completed nearly 3,000 career passes while leading the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles. What’s more, Aikman also set the standard off the field. In 1992, he established a foundation that funds high-tech interactive playrooms in children’s hospitals. As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones once told me, “Every father in Texas wants his son to be like Troy Aikman, and every mother wants her daughter to marry Troy.”  Long considered the Lone Star State’s most eligible bachelor, Aikman is now married and has three daughters. He continues his NFL involvement as a commentator for Fox Sports.

BARRY SANDERS Heisman trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Barry Sanders was a star at Oklahoma State University before earning a reputation as one of the greatest running backs of all time during a long career with the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the NFL in rushing four times and was the first player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first ten seasons. He was also the first player to record five 1,500-yard rushing seasons and the only one to hit that mark in four consecutive seasons. Sanders retired from football in 1998 and is now a businessman whose investments include a majority stake in a Tulsa bank.

STEVE LARGENT After four promising years as a wide receiver for the University of Tulsa, Steve Largent's NFL career got off to a disappointing start. The Houston Oilers drafted him in the fourth round, then decided he was too small and too slow to play in the NFL. After only four games, the Oilers traded him to the expansion Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an eigth-round pick. The Seahawks wound up getting the better end of that trade as Largent went on to break record after record during his 14 seasons with the team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995. After retiring from the Seahhawks, Largent returned to Oklahoma and served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is now CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), an organization that serves the wireless communications industry.

STEVE OWENS Thanks to the success of the University of Oklahoma’s football program, the Sooner State boasts a long list of other gridiron greats. These include 1969’s Heisman Trophy winner, Steve Owens. One of eleven children, Owens told me during an interview that he developed his running skills trying to be first to the dinner table! One of the greatest Sooners ever, Owens later enjoyed a Pro Bowl career with the Detroit Lions. He now runs an insurance firm and is an ambassador for OU football. He says one of his proudest moments came when fellow Sooner Jason White won the Heisman in 2003.

J.C. WATTS Another celebrated Sooner is Eufaula’s J.C. Watts. A charismatic leader, Watts quarterbacked OU to two consecutive Big 8 and Orange Bowl titles in the 1970s. Going from the football field to the political arena, Watts served as U.S. Congressman in Oklahoma’s Fourth District from 1994-2002. Though Watts is now retired from politics, many believe he will get back in the game and run for governor in 2006.

WAYMAN TISDALE While OU may be best known for football, one of the school’s most famous athletes played basketball. In 1983, Tulsan Wayman Tisdale became the only college freshman ever named a Consensus All-American. Tisdale went on to win an Olympic gold medal and enjoy a successful NBA career with the Pacers, Kings, and Suns. I recently interviewed Tisdale at his ranch outside Tulsa. Wayman says his wife, Regina, runs the ranch while he pursues a new path as a jazz musician.

 

MICKEY MANTLE For Commerce native Mickey Mantle, baseball was a true field of dreams. The New York Yankee’s career statistics are staggering: 536 home runs and 2,415 hits. This earned the “Mick” three MVP titles and the coveted Triple Crown in 1956. Mantle is a Hall of Famer, but when I interviewed him in 1992, he admitted he’d played a bit too hard off the field and wished he’d taken better care of himself. He died in 1995 at age 63, but his baseball legacy lives on.

 

SHANNON MILLER Every four years, the Olympics give us a new gymnastics sweetheart. In 1992 it was Shannon Miller, an American and an Oklahoman. Then only fifteen, the Edmond native led the U.S. to the bronze medal in team competition and also won the individual silver in the all-around. Four years later, Miller struck gold, leading the U.S. to its first women’s team title and winning the individual gold on the balance beam. The most decorated American gymnast in history, Miller now travels the country as a motivational speaker.

From Shannon Miller to Troy Aikman, Oklahoma’s athletes are a rich part of our state’s heritage. As Oklahoma approaches its centennial in 2007, the stories of our sports heroes are sure to play a major role in the celebration