Ranking the Best 2-Sport Athletes of the Last 50 Years

Reaching the highest level in any sport is a remarkable accomplishment. For an athlete to achieve the same in a second sport is nothing short of an incredible feat.

It doesn't happen often, of course.

Looking back at two-sport athletes since 1970, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders highlight the group. They're far from alone, though. During this span, several others have thrived in different sports, and some even earned medals in two events at the Olympics.

Athletes who compete in biathlon, triathlon, decathlon, etc., merit a hearty golf clap but are excluded from consideration.

Kyler Murray: Football and Baseball

Shortly before he won a Heisman Trophy as Oklahoma's quarterback in 2018, Kyler Murray heard his name called as a first-round pick of the Oakland Athletics. He ultimately passed on baseball after the Arizona Cardinals selected him No. 1 overall. He won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019.

         

Marquise Goodwin: Football and Track

Through 2019, Marquise Goodwin has seven years of NFL experience with more than 3,000 all-purpose yards. The wide receiver is set to join the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. Goodwin also finished 10th in long jump at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

           

Jeff Samardzija: Baseball and Football

Jeff Samardzija earned All-American honors as a receiver for Notre Dame in the mid-2000s. However, the Chicago Cubs selected him in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. Samardzija chose baseball and earned an All-Star nod in 2014, and he cracked $100 million in career earnings in 2019, per Spotrac.

           

Travis Pastrana: Moto X and Rally Car

The daredevil of the 2000s, Travis Pastrana defied the known limits of motocross with double backflips and any number of absurd tricks. He won 17 career X Games medals, including four in rally car. He later competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series too.

           

Tom Glavine: Baseball and Hockey

In 1984, the Los Angeles Kings used a fourth-round pick on Tom Glavine, who racked up 47 goals and 47 assists as a senior in high school. But the center hung up the skates and focused on pitching. Glavine headed to the Atlanta Braves, winning two Cy Youngs and earning a place in the Hall of Fame.

           

Herschel Walker: Football and Bobsled

Midway through a 12-year NFL career, Herschel Walker represented the United States at the 1992 Olympics. He finished ninth in bobsled with teammate Brian Shimer. Walker ranks 12th in NFL history with 18,168 all-purpose yards. He later went on to become an MMA fighter.

               

Danny Ainge: Basketball and Baseball

Danny Ainge is best recognized for his playing and executive careers with the Boston Celtics. He also logged 711 plate appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1979-81. Ainge left baseball for basketball in 1981, winning two NBA titles and earning an All-Star nod in 1988. Little known fact: He is the only athlete ever to be named a high school All-American in three sports: basketball, baseball and football.

           

Others of Note

• Lolo Jones, Russell Wilson, John Elway, Tony Gwynn, Jonathan Ogden, Ronda Rousey

Ester Ledecka headed to the 2018 Winter Olympics as a contender in the parallel giant slalom. Representing the Czech Republic, she'd established herself on a snowboard as a two-time world champion.

Alpine skiing, though, was a different story.

Nevertheless, she pulled off a stunning upset in the super-G. Television coverage had already cut away from the event after the favorites had completed their runs, yet she stormed down the mountain for a gold. Ledecka became the first athlete to win events in both Alpine skiing and snowboarding at the same Winter Games.

A first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988, Brian Jordan initially pulled double duty in football. The safety latched on with the Atlanta Falcons and started alongside Deion Sanders. Jordan started 15 games for the Falcons in both 1990 and 1991.

But after he'd progressed through the Cardinals' system, the outfielder signed a contract to focus on baseball.

Jordan played seven seasons in St. Louis and then joined the Atlanta Braves and secured an All-Star trip in 1999. His 15-year baseball career ended with a .282 average and 184 homers.

As a senior at Florida State in 1993, Charlie Ward threw for 3,032 yards with 31 total touchdowns to only four interceptions. Deservedly so, the All-American quarterback hoisted the Heisman Trophy.

Football wasn't his future, however.

Ward joined the New York Knicks after they selected him in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft. A record-setting point guard at FSU, he enjoyed an 11-year career in the NBA. Ward is ranked fifth in Knicks history with 744 career steals and 598 three-pointers, and his 2,451 assists are seventh.

After winning a silver medal at the 1995 Worlds, Clara Hughes won a pair of bronze medals at the 1996 Olympics. The Canadian also represented her country at the 2000 Games.

During the next decade, she achieved her most success on the ice through the 5000m and team pursuit events. Hughes collected four Olympic medals—highlighted by a gold and bronze at the Turin Games—in 2002, 2006 and 2010. She added six more at World Championships from 2003 to 2009.

On materials alone, snowboards and skateboards aren't terribly different. One has wheels, one does not. But to suggest the sports are similar would be a disservice to Shaun White's accomplishments.

White rose to popularity thanks to the X Games. From 2002 to 2013, the snowboarder earned 18 medals—including 13 goals—in superpipe and slopestyle. He also earned five in skateboard vert competitions, taking home golds in 2007 and 2011.

The Flying Tomato also celebrated a gold medal in halfpipe at the 2006, 2010 and 2018 Winter Olympics.

While this is only a ranking based on White's sporting successes, it is important to note they have been clouded by allegations he sexually harassed Lena Zawaideh, who was formerly in the band Bad Things alongside White. Zawaideh filed a lawsuit in 2016 alleging, among other things, that White sent her multiple photos of male genitalia and forced her to watch extreme pornographic videos, including one in which a couple had sex on top of a bear they had killed.

White initially told TMZ the lawsuit was "bogus" while admitting to sending Zawaideh graphic texts. He then referred to the allegations as "gossip" at the 2018 Games before apologizing for the comment and his past behavior.

Zawaideh reached a settlement with White in the lawsuit in 2017.

One of the greatest defenders in NFL history, Deion Sanders also spent nine seasons in Major League Baseball.

He broke into the majors with the 1989 New York Yankees but became a real factor on the Braves in 1992. Sanders hit .304 and smacked a league-high 14 triples. Five years later for the Cincinnati Reds, he totaled a remarkable 56 steals.

Not bad for someone who thrived on the gridiron.

Sanders intercepted 53 passes during a 14-year career and won Defensive Player of the Year in 1994. He earned All-Pro recognition six times, made eight Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl on both the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

Despite the Yankees selecting him in the second round of the 1982 MLB draft, Bo Jackson headed to Auburn. He merely won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted the powerful running back No. 1 overall in 1986.

Because he felt the Bucs attempted to sabotage his baseball career, though, Jackson joined the Kansas City Royals.

Since he'd declined to sign with the Bucs, they forfeited his rights. Jackson then joined the Los Angeles Raiders as a seventh-round pick in 1987, running for 2,782 yards in 38 games and securing a Pro Bowl spot in 1990. After that season, however, he retired from football because of a hip injury.

Jackson played eight MLB seasons, peaking in 1989 with an All-Star nod and finishing 10th in American League MVP voting. He smashed 32 homers and drove in 105 runs that season. Jackson finished his career in 1994 with a .250 average and 141 home runs.