Danny Abramowicz
FOOTBALL
1963–1974
The biggest NFL star to graduate from Xavier University’s football program, Abramowicz holds school career records for pass catches (102) and touchdown catches (13). He played eight seasons with the Saints and the 49ers, earning All-Pro honors in 1969, then coached with the Bears and the Saints. XU dropped football in 1973, and every few years there’s talk of reviving it.
Photograph courtesy FC Cincinnati
Lucho Acosta
SOCCER
2021–PRESENT
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Acosta joined FC Cincinnati after stints with D.C. United and Atlas (Mexico) and scored in his first match. As team captain and the face of the franchise, he won Major League Soccer’s MVP Award in 2023, when FCC had the league’s best regular season record (Supporters’ Shield), and was named to the MLS Best XI in three of his four seasons here. He currently plays for FC Dallas.
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Shaun Alexander
FOOTBALL
1991–2007
His senior season (1994) for the Boone County Rebels ranks among the best in U.S. prep football history, rushing for 3,166 yards and scoring 54 touchdowns. Alexander enjoyed a stellar college career at Alabama, leading the nation in touchdowns his senior season and getting drafted in the first round in 2000 by the Seahawks. He was NFL MVP in 2005.
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Ken Anderson
FOOTBALL
1971–1986
Drafted from tiny Augustana College in Illinois, Anderson went on to a 16-season NFL career with the Bengals, leading the NFL in passer rating four times, completion percentage three times, and passing yards twice. He was NFL MVP in 1981, when he led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl. The following season he set a record for completion percentage (70.6) that stood for more than 25 years. Anderson has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times and is regarded as one of the best players without a gold jacket.
Photograph courtesy ASSOCIATED PRESS
Eddie Arcaro
HORSE RACING
1931–1962
Born in Cincinnati, Arcaro won his first race shortly before turning 16 and would go on to win the Kentucky Derby five times, including atop Triple Crown winners Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948). Known as “The Master,” he was a fierce competitor on the track, earning a one-year suspension for nearly putting another rider over the rail. His 1951 book I Ride to Win! is said to have inspired a young Steve Cauthen (see page 33).
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Sara Bachus Redman
VOLLEYBALL
1994–2002
She led Seton High School to a state volleyball championship, then at Xavier she was Atlantic-10 Conference Player of the Year in both 2000 and 2001. The Muskies played in the conference tournament title match all four of her years on campus, earning their first A-10 regular season title in 1998 and first tournament title in 2001, which put XU into the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Dexter “Skywalker” Bailey
BASKETBALL
1976–1984
Bailey earned his nickname at Summit Country Day with his dunking ability, which helped lead the Silver Knights to the 1980 state basketball final and garnered him Ohio Class A Player of the Year honors. When he chose Xavier over Ohio State, it signaled a change for XU’s program. Bailey averaged 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his sophomore year, which would push the Muskies into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in decades, paving the way for the program’s later rise.
Photograph courtesy 1947 "Enquirer File"
Tom Ballaban
FOOTBALL
1948–1951
Ballaban was a three-year starting offensive lineman at Xavier University and was an instrumental force on the Salad Bowl team that finished 10–1. The 1949 season saw XU post victories over Dayton, Miami, and UC and beat Arizona State 33–12 in the New Year’s Day bowl game. He would later coach basketball and football at St. Xavier High School; the Bombers’ football field is named for him.
Johnny Bench
BASEBALL
1967–1983
Widely considered the greatest catcher of all time, Bench was National League Rookie of the Year and then two-time NL MVP, two-time World Series champion with the Big Red Machine, two-time NL home run leader, three-time NL RBI leader, 14-time All-Star, and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner. He’s a first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer and member of the Reds Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and Major League Baseball All-Time Team. The Reds retired his No. 5 in 1984.
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Andrew Benintendi
BASEBALL
2009–PRESENT
Benintendi had 213 career hits for the Madeira Mustangs, still the second most in Ohio high school history, and ranks in the top 10 in state history in career RBI and batting average. He finished second for 2017 AL Rookie of the Year with the Red Sox and won a World Series championship with them the next season. He won a Gold Glove with the Royals in 2021 and was selected as an All-Star in 2022. He currently plays for the White Sox.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Abbey Bessler Schuster
VOLLEYBALL
2013–2017
One of the most decorated Xavier volleyball players of all time, she was a three-time AVCA All-Region first team selection, two-time All-America honorable mention selection, and 2013 East Region Rookie of the Year. Bessler is XU’s all-time leader in attack attempts (5,094) and points (2010), ranks second in kills (1,774) and sixth in digs (1,392), and is a member of the 1,000–1,000 club for kills and digs.
Don Biggs
HOCKEY
1993–2002
A native of suburban Toronto, Biggs played 458 games for the Cincinnati Cyclones during their time in the International Hockey League, scoring 147 goals and tallying 444 total points total—both career records for the franchise. He played 12 NHL games earlier in his career before coming to Cincinnati. The Cyclones retired his No. 22 in 2001, while he was still playing.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Tara Boothe-Smith
BASKETBALL
1998–2006
Boothe was a three-time All-Kentucky basketball star at Highlands High School, finishing as the school’s second all-time scorer. She went on to be Xavier’s all-time leading women’s scorer with 2,324 points and third all-time rebounder with 1,004. She still holds the XU single-season scoring record with 659 points during the 2004–05 season as well as the single-season scoring average record with 21.5 ppg in 2005–06.
Photograph courtesy Broeg Chiropractic
Eva Broeg
SOCCER
1993–2001
Broeg graduated from Dixie Heights High School to become a four-year starter for Northern Kentucky University’s women’s soccer team, which she led to four consecutive conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances and Final Four slots, including the national championship match in 2000. She earned all-conference and all-region honors as a senior.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Lenny Brown
BASKETBALL
1995–1999
Brown lettered four years for Xavier basketball, starting in XU’s debut season in the Atlantic-10 Conference. He led the Muskies to a combined 70–25 record over his final three seasons, which included first-ever A-10 regular season titles in 1997 and 1998 and a first-ever A-10 tournament title in 1998. His jumper at the buzzer gave XU an upset win over then-No. 1 UC at the Shoemaker Center in the 1996–97 season.
Jim Bunning
BASEBALL
1949–1971
Born in Southgate, Bunning played one season of baseball at Xavier before being drafted by the Tigers, for whom he debuted in 1955. He was a nine-time All-Star and three-time strikeout leader and pitched no-hitters in both leagues (with the Tigers in 1958 and a perfect game for the Phillies in 1964). He became the first pitcher in baseball history to pitch a no-hitter, win 100 games, and record 1,000 strikeouts in both leagues. Bunning was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame and had his No. 14 retired by the Phillies.
Photograph courtesy Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow
FOOTBALL
2020–PRESENT
After a notable high school career in Athens, Ohio, Burrow spent three years at Ohio State before transferring to LSU, where he won the Heisman Trophy and the College Football Playoff National Championship as a senior. He was selected No. 1 overall by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL draft and in 2021 led them to their first playoff win in 31 years and a spot in Super Bowl LVI. He’s fought through major injuries, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year twice, and led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season.
Photograph courtesy St. Xavier Athletics
Pete Carothers
SWIMMING
2000–2004
During his time at St. X, Carothers collected nine state championship titles for the AquaBombers and was named an 18-time All-American. He was a four-time Division I state champion (butterfly and freestyle) and an integral part of five state championship relay teams. He later attended Stanford University, where he was an NCAA finalist, and qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200-meter butterfly.
Steve Cauthen
HORSE RACING
1976–1992
The son of a Texas farrier and a Kentucky horsewoman, Cauthen burst onto the racing scene in 1976, earning a record-setting $6 million at the age of 16. Two years later, the teenager and Affirmed clashed with Jorge Velásquez and Alydar in three epic races on the way to becoming the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown. Cauthen then raced in Europe, racking up accolades along the way, finally retiring to Kentucky in 1993. He now serves as the racing manager for Dixiana Farms in Lexington.
Brent Celek
FOOTBALL
2007–2017
At La Salle High School, Celek was named first-team all-district in football as both a junior and senior and lettered two years in the shot put and discus. He played for the Cincinnati Bearcats under coaches Rick Minter and Mark Dantonio and won UC’s Claude Rost Award (Most Valuable Player) and was second-team All-Big East Conference. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Eagles, for whom he played 11 seasons and won Super Bowl LII.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Lionel Chalmers
BASKETBALL
2000–2015
Chalmers led Xavier to two Atlantic 10 regular season championships, two A-10 tournament titles, and four NCAA Tournament berths, including XU’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance in his senior season (2004) when he averaged 21.8 points per tourney game. He was taken in the second round by the Clippers in the 2004 NBA Draft and played in professional leagues in Europe through 2015.
Photograph by AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman
Ezzard Charles
BOXING
1940–1959
The Cincinnati Cobra was world heavyweight champion for almost two years (1949–1951), though he was better known as a light heavyweight or even a middleweight. Charles beat his idol, Joe Louis, and lost twice to Rocky Marciano in what are regarded as classic heavyweight title fights. His family moved to Cincinnati from Georgia when he was a child, and he attended Woodward High School before excelling in Golden Gloves and AAU boxing and then turning pro.
Photograph by Gharee (public domain)
Rick Charls
HIGH DIVE
1973–1983
When the Oak Hills High School product leapt off a foot-square platform 172 feet above Sea World in San Diego for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, he became the second man to successfully dive from that height. Three more divers followed, and, depending on your perspective, that record either still stands or was bested by Laso Schaller in 2015. Footage of Charls’s feat resurfaced on YouTube decades later, resulting in a surge of attention for the then-teacher.
Cris Collinsworth
FOOTBALL
1981–1988
An All-American receiver at the University of Florida, Collinsworth was taken in the second round by the Bengals in the 1981 NFL Draft. He caught 67 passes, the most by an NFL rookie in 21 years, and finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting—the same season Ken Anderson won MVP and the Bengals made it to their first Super Bowl. Collinsworth played all eight of his pro seasons in Cincinnati and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Dave Concepción
BASEBALL
1970–1988
The second greatest shortstop in Reds history, the native of Venezuela was a key member of the Big Red Machine, winning two World Series, five Gold Glove Awards, and two Silver Slugger Awards and being named an All-Star nine times. He’s a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, and the franchise retired his No. 13.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Cheryl Cook
BASKETBALL
1981–1985
Cook was the nation’s No. 2 scorer her senior year at UC with a 27.5 average, earning second-team All-American honors, and No. 6 her junior year (27.4). She played on the U.S. Women’s gold-medal-winning team in the 1983 Pan American Games, but an injury kept her off of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. Cook is the only UC women’s basketball player to have her number retired.
Greg Cook
FOOTBALL
1964–1973
Cook was a star quarterback at UC, leading the nation in touchdowns, completions, and passing yards his senior season in 1968. He set an NCAA record that year with 554 passing yards against Ohio University. He was taken by the Bengals No. 5 overall in the 1969 NFL Draft and was destined to lead the team in its second-ever season, but a shoulder injury limited him to 11 games in his rookie year. He would play just one more NFL game afterwards.
Michelle Cottrell Marston
BASKETBALL
1994–2002
After earning 12 varsity letters at Boone County High School in basketball, volleyball, and track, Cottrell became a four-year basketball starter for the NKU Norse and helped capture the 2000 Division II National Championship, the first national title in school history. She was twice named Division II National Player of the Year, was a three-time first-team All-American, and remains NKU’s all-time leading career scorer.
Dave Cowens
BASKETBALL
1965–1980
A graduate of Newport Catholic High School, Cowens was an All-American at Florida State before being drafted No. 4 overall by the Celtics. He won the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and 1973 MVP awards and won championships with Boston in 1974 and 1976. He’s a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Celtics retired his No. 18.
Bob Crable
FOOTBALL
1975–1987
Born and raised in Deer Park, Crable led Moeller to consecutive state championships in 1975, 1976, and 1977, compiling a three-season record of 36–0. He played for Notre Dame, including under his old high school coach, Gerry Faust, and twice was named All-American. Crable was a first-round pick by the Jets in the 1982 NFL Draft and played linebacker for six seasons.
Read More Here:
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: D-H
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: I-P
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: R-Y
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