Greatest multi-sport athletes of all time

A two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, former shooting guard Danny Ainge played baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays before jumping to the NBA. Ainge was only a career .220 lifetime hitter, so his choice to switch to basketball was probably the right one. Ainge is currently the general manager of the Celtics.

Although he played ONLY nine years in the NFL, Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown is still considered by many as football’s greatest running back. A Pro Bowler in all nine of his NFL seasons, Brown was also a college basketball, baseball and lacrosse player at Syracuse. In fact, Brown was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1983.

A four-time All-Star and former World Series champion with the Milwaukee Braves, pitcher Gene Conley also won three championships with the Boston Celtics during Bill Russell’s heyday. Although he wasn’t an All-Star on the hardwood, Conley is one of a select few to win championships in two of the four major North American professional sports.

A legend on the hardwood with the New York Knicks, Hall of Fame NBA player Dave DeBusschere had a brief stint as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. DeBusschere pitched two seasons, finishing with a career record of 3-4 and a 2.90 ERA. DeBusschere is one of only 12 athletes to play in both the NBA and MLB.

A two-time All-Star with the Angels, outfielder Darin Erstad was also an All-American punter at the University of Nebraska. A member the Cornhuskers' 1994 national championship team, Erstad could have very well been a punter in the NFL had he not chosen to focus solely on baseball.

As a basketball player at Kent State University, Antonio Gates led the Golden Eagles to an appearance in the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. After leaving college, Gates chose to pursue football, and since 2003 he has been one of the NFL’s best tight ends with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. An eight-time Pro Bowler, Gates is one of 20 NFL players with over 100 career touchdowns. He currently is a free agent.

Glavine is best known for his Hall of Fame pitching career with the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, but he was also drafted in the fourth round of the NHL Draft, ahead of future hockey Hall of Famers Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. Glavine wisely chose baseball over hockey, winning 305 games and finishing with a 3.54 ERA. He also won a World Series with Atlanta.

Perhaps the greatest tight end in NFL history, Tony Gonzalez was also a key member of the 1997 California Golden Bears team that made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Playing his best years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Gonzalez is the first tight end in NFL history to catch over 1,000 career passes.

Similar to Antonio Gates, tight end Jimmy Graham also played college basketball, at the University of Miami, before turning to the NFL. Now with the Green Bay Packers, Graham is a five-time Pro Bowler.

“Bullet Bob” Hayes' nickname should be a dead giveaway to his most famous physical attribute. Hayes was a speed demon, both on the gridiron for the Dallas Cowboys and on the track. He won two gold medals in track at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the U.S.

Todd Helton is best known as the slick-fielding, great-hitting first baseman for the Colorado Rockies. However, as broadcasters loved to remind fans, he was also a backup quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers, even spending one season behind Peyton Manning. Helton played 17 seasons for the Rockies, finishing with over 2,500 hits, 369 home runs and a career batting average of .316. The five-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and 2000 NL batting champ received 70 votes in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

Drafted in both the NFL and MLB, Henson played third base for the New York Yankees and quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He played in only eight career MLB games and nine NFL games but had an accomplished career at Michigan, first backing up Tom Brady and then starting two seasons and managed to make three NFL teams: the Lions, Vikings and Cowboys.

One of the greatest individual athletes of all time, Bo Jackson was both an All-Star in Major League Baseball and a Pro Bowl player in the NFL. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn, as a running back he had his football career cut short by a devastating hip injury in 1990. Although Jackson managed to play four more seasons in the MLB after the injury, there’s no telling how much he would have accomplished if was able to stay healthy.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is best known for his work as an actor and a champion in the WWE. Very few realize, however, that he was originally a football player and a member of the 1991 national champion Miami Hurricanes. Johnson even played several years in the Canadian Football League before he made his mark in professional wrestling.

Known best for his 15 years as a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, Ed “Too Tall” Jones briefly left football in 1979 to pursue a career as a boxer. Jones fought six heavyweight bouts, winning five by knockout. In 1980, however, Jones chose to return to the Cowboys. He has never publicly discussed his reasons for returning to football.

Lolo Jones is one of a select few to be able to say she is a summer and winter Olympian. Jones finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles in the 2012 games in London and placed 11th in bobsled at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Marion Jones won three gold medals in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Unfortunately a steroid scandal forced Jones to admit in 2007 that she used performance-enhancing drugs. Despite the hit to her reputation, she was able to earn a roster spot with the Tusla Shock of the WNBA in 2010. Jones played 47 games for the Shock before being cut in 2011.

After playing two seasons in the NFL with the Bills and Falcons, Brian Jordan made the jump to baseball. It was a wise choice. Jones played 14 seasons in the majors, hitting 184 home runs with a career batting average of .282. He was even an All-Star in 1999 with the Braves.

A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, outfielder Kenny Lofton was also a star basketball player at the University of Arizona. He helped lead the Wildcats to the Final Four in the 1988 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. If Lofton did not choose to play baseball, he likely would have had a career in the NBA as a point guard.

A six-time Pro Bowl quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he attended Syracuse University Donovan McNabb also played basketball for legendary coach Jim Boeheim, primarily as a bench player. A career in the NFL was far more suited for McNabb.

One of the most dominant pass rushers the NFL has seen, the recently retired Julius Peppers got his start in athletics playing basketball at the University of North Carolina. The nine-time Pro Bowl player eventually chose to focus solely on football after several years of college ball. With 159.5 career sacks, Peppers made a good decision.

The man to break the color barrier in North American professional sports, former Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman Jackie Robinson was also an NCAA champion in track and field. The baseball Hall of Famer won the 1940 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships in the long jump and also played basketball and football while attending UCLA.

An All-American wide receiver at Notre Dame, Jeff Samardzija likely could have had a long and successful NFL career. Instead, he is in the midst of enjoying a long and successful MLB career. Samardzija was an All-Star in 2014 with the Athletics and is currently a starter for the San Francisco Giants.

One of the best cornerbacks and return men in NFL history, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders also played Major League Baseball over three different decades. An eight-time NFL All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion, Sanders was an outfielder for the Yankees, Braves, Reds and Giants. He even led the NL in triples in 1992.

One of the most versatile athletes ever to walk the planet, Jim Thorpe was an Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Fame NFL player. Thorpe also played six years of baseball, as he was an outfielder for the Giants, Reds and Braves. He is widely considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

Prior to enjoying a long and successful career as a professional football player, Herschel Walker was an All-American track and field star at the University of Georgia. Walker even competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsled, finishing seventh. Of course, most of us know him best for being the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and playing in the NFL and USFL. The former running back is member of the College Football Hall of Fame and has even competed in MMA.

Although he won the 1993 Heisman Trophy at Florida State as quarterback, Charlie Ward chose to pursue a career in the NBA. Ward played in the NBA for 11 years, primarily with the Knicks. He averaged 6.3 points and four assists per game as point guard for his career.

Quarterback Chris Weinke won the 2000 Heisman Trophy at Florida State. Prior to playing at FSU, however, he played several years of minor league baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. After failing to make it to the majors after some time, he gave up baseball to attend FSU. Weinke also played seven years in the NFL with the Panthers and 49ers.

Prior to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1998 at Texas, Ricky Williams was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and played a little minor league baseball. Of course, Williams chose football, set the all-time NCAA career rushing record (since broken) and became one of the most coveted NFL Draft picks ever for the New Orleans Saints, who traded a bounty to draft him. He led the NFL in rushing in 2002 and racked up over 10,000 yards for his career, though he's known just as well for leaving the NFL due to his desire to smoke marijuana  and then returning to produce for the Miami Dolphins before retiring after the 2011 season.

In seven full NFL seasons, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback has been to two Super Bowls and won one already. Prior to being drafted in the third round by Seattle, Wilson was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, we know he also had a distinguished college career, breaking many of Philip Rivers' passing records at N.C. State before playing his final season at Wisconsin, and he's now one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Hall of Fame major leaguer Dave Winfield played just about every sport imaginable. A standout in baseball, basketball and football and a track and field athlete at the University of Minnesota, he was drafted by the Hawks in the NBA, Jazz in the ABA and Vikings in the NFL. In the end, Winfield chose to play baseball, where he racked up over 3,000 hits and made 12 All-Star appearances.

One of the greatest female athletes of the 20th century, “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias was an Olympic gold medalist in track and field and successful pro golfer. Zaharias won 41 LPGA events and was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN.