Illustration by Donough O'Malley
Sandy Koufax
The iconic Dodgers lefty began his path to the MLB Hall of Fame on the University of Cincinnati freshman basketball team. He then joined coach Ed Jucker’s other squad and struck out 51 batters in 32 innings during one Bearcats season before signing with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers.
Ben Roethlisberger
You didn’t think we could put a Pittsburgh Steeler on the Top 100 list, did you? But of course the legend of Big Ben began in Oxford, where he started all four years, including the 2003 campaign that saw Miami go 13–1 and win its first MAC championship in 17 years.
Tom Seaver
A legit Reds star who played here for five-plus seasons (1977–1982), he missed the peak of the Big Red Machine. His three Cy Young awards and MLB Hall of Fame plaque all say “New York Mets.” (See also: Scott Rolen.)
Charlie Joiner
The wide receiver spent three and a half seasons with the Bengals of Paul Brown and Ken Anderson (as well as offensive coordinator Bill Walsh) but was traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1976, where he played another 11 years to seal a Hall of Fame career.
Mark Messier
The then-18-year-old center played one season for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association after his first team, the Indianapolis Racers, folded. The league was absorbed by the NHL the following year, and Messier joined his former Racers teammate Wayne Gretzky on the Edmonton Oilers. They’d win five Stanley Cups together, then Messier would lead the Rangers to one in 1994.
Photograph via 1978 Cincinnati Stingers trading card
O.J. Mayo
The West Virginia native was the first “next LeBron” when he moved here to attend and play basketball for North College Hill High School. In 2006, 16,500 fans saw Mayo and the Trojans take on Oak Hill Academy at U.S. Bank Arena. He’d play college ball at USC and then eight years in the NBA.
Amber Harris
The Indianapolis native led Xavier to four Atlantic 10 conference basketball tournament titles and was A-10 Player of the Year in 2009–2010. She was the No. 4 pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the highest draft pick in XU history, and won championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013.
Steven Beattie
The Irish football (which is to say soccer) forward was a two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year at NKU and led the Norse to the 2010 national championship. He was selected by Toronto FC in the 2011 MLS Draft but never joined the team, spending most of his professional career back home in Ireland.
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