Dave DeBusschure: A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and an eight time All-Star, DeBusschure averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds during his 12 year career while winning two NBA titles as a member of the NY Knicks. DeBusschure also spent two years as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, making his debut in 1962. That season he pitched a six hit complete game shut out against the Cleveland Indians. A two sport star at the University of Detroit, DeBusschure gave up his promising baseball career after the 1963 season to concentrate on basketball. The wisdom of that decision was borne out in 1997 when DeBusschure was named one of the Top 50 NBA players of All Time.  Babe Didrickson dominated women's sports like no other in the 20th Century. Babe Didrickson: She dominated women's sports like no other in the 20th Century. Babe was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year six times, the first for her heroics in track and field, the last five for her dominance of golf. While Babe excelled in all sports, her versatility made her a track and field team unto herself. In fact, Babe won the 1932 Olympic qualifying AAU championships by herself as the only member of the Employer's Casualty team, while scoring 30 points and competing in eight of the ten events, winning six. That summer in the Olympics - and limited to three events - she took two golds and a silver. A founding member of the LPGA, Didrickson dominated golf in the 40s and 50s while winning 82 tournaments in all, including five majors. In 2000, ESPN named Babe Didrickson the 10th greatest athlete of all time. Look for a major biography of Didrickson by the New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning writer Don Van Natta, Jr. in 2009. Willie Gault: Gold Medalist in the World Championships and world record holding sprinter, Gault was the # 1 draft choice of the Chicago Bears in 1983 after an All American career at Tennessee. Gault played 11 seasons in the NFL where he scored 44 touchdowns and pulled down 333 passes from his position as a wide receiver. Gault had one of his most memorable performances in the 1985 Super Bowl when he caught four passes for 120 yards and returned four kick offs for 49 yards helping "Da Bears" to their only SuperBowl victory. He capped his career in 1988 when he was selected to the US Winter Olympic Bobsled team as an alternate. Bob Hayes: Bullet Bob from Florida A&M via Jacksonville Raines High School won two Olympic Gold Medals and held virtually every World Record in the sprints during the early 1960s. Hayes, who was the first man to run the 60 in fewer than six seconds, became the first Olympic sprint star to reach greatness in the NFL. As a member of the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, Hayes scored 71 touchdowns during his remarkable career, earning four All Pro nods and a SuperBowl ring. A member of the Track and Field Hall of Fame and a member of the Dallas Cowboy Ring of Honor, Hayes's absence from the Football HOF is a glaring omission. The Hall announced last month that Hayes is one of two "senior" players eligible for induction in the class of 2009. The honor is long overdue. Brian Jordan: The number one selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1988 Major League baseball draft from the University of Virginia, Jordan signed a free agent contract with the NFL Falcons, squeezing in NFL games while sharpening his baseball skills in the Cardinals organization. Jordan led all NFL cornerbacks in tackles during the 1990 season with 193. Seemingly on his way to a long NFL career, Jordan decided his true calling was baseball. He made his Major League debut in 1992 and went on to play 15 seasons and finishing with a .282 batting average, 824 rbi and 184 home runs. Jordan was selected to the 1999 National League All Star Team. His finest year was 1998 when he batted .319 with 25 homeruns and 95 RBI as a member of Cardinals. The following winter he signed with the Atlanta Braves where he drove in 115 runs and helped the Braves reach the World Series. Deion Sanders: "Neon Deion" is the only man in history to play in the World Series (Atlanta 1992) and the Super Bowl (49ers and Cowboys). Considered possibly the greatest cornerback in NFL history, Deion was as electric returning kicks as he was patrolling the defensive backfield. The 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a nine time All-Pro, Sanders finished his career with 53 interceptions. His 19 touchdowns on returns and interceptions are an NFL record. Remarkably, for more than a decade, Sanders was also playing Major League Baseball. He broke in with the Yankees in 1989, playing in 641 big league games before retiring as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 2001. He led the National League in triples with 14 in 1992. One year later, he hit .304. His 57 stolen bases were second most in the National League during the 1997 season. Bill Sharman: A member of the NBA Hall of Fame and an 11-time All Star during his stellar career with the Boston Celtics, Sharman played baseball in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for five seasons. Called up to the big club for the 1951 September pennant run, Sharman made history when the entire Dodgers bench was ejected from a game during the last week of the season. Since Sharman made no appearances in his only call up to the big league, he holds the distinction of being the only Major League player with more ejections (1) than games played (0). Signed out of USC, Sharman was one of the greatest shooters of his era. He made an incredible 342 of 367 free throws during the 1957 season. For his career, Sharman attempted 3,559 free throws making an amazing 3,143. Shaq missed more free throws in the 2000-01 season than Sharman did in his entire career. Honorable Mention:
Dave Winfield: Drafted to play professional football, basketball and baseball out of the University of Minnesota. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. Dishonorable Mention:
Michael Jordan…You remember. Frank Pace has produced nearly 500 episodes of network television, including Murphy Brown and Suddenly Susan. He is currently the Producer of the ABC Series George Lopez. He can be reached at
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