Historic Hotties

Remember when I told all of you about the Ladies… fantasy football league? Well, sorry I didn’t give an update, but there’s one now! In a race that wasn’t so close, our two invitees, Thistle Warrior and Pam, crushed the Ladies. For real, it wasn’t funny. In the end it was between the two of them to see who would win. And our winner was…

Thistle Warrior! Her prize is a free post on this here blog. So without further ado here is TW.

I owe much of my sports fandom to my dad. He instilled in me with a love for sports, particularly its history. Over the years between my dad’s stories, documentaries, and countless books I have noticed that sports are an absolute hotbed for hotness. So without further ado, here is my Top 5 Historic Hotties:

5. Jim Thorpe

He was Bo Jackson x 10 long before Bo in all his commercial and Tecmo Bowl glory. His historic career began at Carlisle Industrial Indian School where he starred on their legendary football team. In the 1912 Olympics he blew away the competition, winning gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon. He went on to play both professional baseball and football and is considered by many to be the greatest athlete of the 20^th century. (Also, he had some seriously hot teammates at Carlisle. You absolutely must check out “The Real All-Americans” by Sally Jenkins—it is a fantastic read plus it has some lovely pics.)

4. Ted Kluszewski

When I started playing softball, my dad used to call me Kluszewski because of the way I wore my sleeves. But the real Big Klu was really something to see. Or should I say his arms, hot damn that man had arms! And he didn’t need steroids to grow them.

3. Jim Brown

One of the toughest running back to ever play the game, he relished hitting defenders as hard as possible. Also a multisport athlete, he was an All-American in football and lacrosse while also lettering in basketball and track. But most notably here is that handsome face and those amazing RB legs, mmmm…

2. Julius Erving

Dr. J was my first athlete crush and the first retirement I cried over. I only got to see him in his late Sixers days, but my dad regaled me of the glorious days of the ABA. Dr. J was one of the most entertaining players to watch with un-freaking-believable moves, finger rolls and dunks. The man (and his hair) could defy gravity. (He still looks pretty good in that Dr. Pepper commercial too!)

1. Roberto Clemente

I could write all day about this man, but I’ll just give the cliff notes. He was a social pioneer. He was one of the greatest right fielders of all time. He was an absolute sweetheart to his fans and family. And he was a genuinely nice guy who did a great deal of kindness for others. Oh yeah, and he has to be one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen. (BTW, “Clemente” by David Maraniss is one of the best bios of Clemente I’ve yet to read. And it has several photos!)