1. Buster Crabbe --Olympic swimmer and movie star in the 1920's and '30's, Clarence "Buster" Crabbe was born in Oakland, Calif. but grew up in Hawaii. Later he graduated from USC and in his college town, Los Angeles, won a 400 meter freestyle gold medal in the '32 Olympic Games. He had a long movie career appearing most significantly in Westerns for Universal and Paramount studios. Crabbe died in 1983 at the age of 75.
2. Willie Thrower --football quarterback from western Pennsylvania who led Michigan State to a national championship in 1952 and was the first black starting QB in the NFL, replacing George Blanda for the Chicago Bears in 1953. It would be another 15 years before another African-American, Marlin Briscoe, would play quarterback in the NFL. Died Feb. 20, 2002.
3.Tom Gola--high school and college basketball legend in Philadelphia, Pa., where he scored a lot of goals while betting 2,222 points for LaSalle High and then earned All-America honors three years for LaSalle University while a four-year starter. He led LaSalle to NIT championship as freshman and NCAA runner-up to Bill Russell-led U. of San Francisco in 1955.
4.Danny Heater--high school basketball. At Burnsville (W.Va.) High on Jan. 26, 1960, nobody was 'hotter' than Heater, who scored a national record 135 points in a game vs. Widen (W.Va.), which remains on the books 42 years later.
5. Willie Cager --basketball star from New York City who helped lead Texas Western, the all-black college which later became UTEP, to the 1965-66 NCAA title. Cager averaged seven points and four rebounds that year and had 15 points in a tournament game against Cincinnati.
6. Steve Smear --football defensive lineman also from Pa. who played at Penn State and later was a two-time all-star for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League (1970, '71).
7. Rollie Fingers --baseball relief pitcher from Steubenville, Ohio who was a Hall of Fame inductee in 1992 after a 17-year career with the A's, Padres and Brewers. Fingers, known for his handlebar mustache, had 341 career saves and appeared in 16 World Series games. He was the pitching hero for the A's in the '74 World Series when he recorded a win and two saves and was selected the series MVP. He also was the American League MVP and Cy Young award in '81 with the Brewers.
8. Cecil Fielder --robust power hitter for the Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees, Angels and Indians who played in Japan for a year in 1989 and then surprised the baseball world in 1990 when he slugged 51 homers for the Tigers and led the Major Leagues in RBI for three straight years ('90-92). Born in Los Angeles, his son Prince Fielder, is a promising prospect and was selected seventh overall by the Brewers in the most recent draft.
9. James Jett --Olympic sprinter and football wide receiver from Charleston, W.V. who's currently playing for the Oakland Raiders. He has played all of his 10 years in the NFL with the Raiders with his best year coming in '97 when he had 46 catches for 804 yards (17.5 average) and 12 touchdowns.
10. Joey Goodspeed --bruising running back from Chicago area who played at Notre Dame and currently is with the San Diego Chargers in his rookie season in the NFL.