Athlete
Butterfly McQueen
Born in Tampa, where her father worked as a stevedore and her mother as a maid, Thelma McQueen determined early in life to become a dancer. By age 13 she was living in Harlem performing with a dance troupe and theater company. While appearing in a 1935 production of +A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she danced in the Butterfly Ballet, earning her professional name of Butterfly McQueen in the process (she hated the name Thelma and later had her new moniker legalized). Read the rest of this entry »
Shaquille O’Neal
He’s as big as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, if not bigger, stronger than Wilt Chamberlain, and runs like Magic Johnson.
— University of Texas coach Tom Penders on Shaq
AT twenty-one, basketball behemoth Shaquille O’Neal was earning comparisons to Wilt Chamberlain and inheriting Michael Jordan’s position as the N.B.A.’s No. 1 attraction. An army brat, O’Neal grew up—way up—on military bases overseas, on his way to adult measurements of 7′1″ and 300 pounds. Read the rest of this entry »
Joe Montana
In sports . . . you play from the time you’re eight years old, and then you’re done forever.
— Joe Montana
JOE MONTANA was this close to going to North Carolina State University on a basketball scholarship before Notre Dame came through with a football grant. A good thing, too. At Notre Dame, [...]
Michael Jordan
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
— Michael Jordan
CUT from his high school varsity team as a sophomore, Michael Jordan rebounded from the setback to become the greatest basketball player the world has ever seen. He was an instant star at the University of North Carolina, sinking a last-minute, game-winning shot as a freshman in [...]
Magic Johnson
They said playing basketball would kill me. Well, not playing basketball was killing me.
— Magic Johnson
EARVIN JOHNSON was born in Lansing, Michigan, the sixth of ten children. To support the large family, his father worked night jobs after finishing his shift at a General Motors plant. When Earvin Sr. had free time, he would watch [...]
