Picking Out The 30 Best Athlete Yearbook Pictures Ever

Uncovering High School Yearbook Photos of Professional Athletes

Torrey Pines High School

Whenever people begin to get older and look back at their younger days, one of the first things that they go back to is looking at pictures from school related activities, and specifically their high school yearbook pictures. These pictures serve as a tool that can take you back in time, and often times are a bit funny to look back on because of the different styles of clothes, hair and other things that define the different time periods. Other times, these pictures are just downright embarrassing.

While it oftentimes may not seem to be this way, professional athletes once upon a time were regular high schoolers who participated in weird fashion trends, had weird looking hair, and generally were strange teenagers. Some guys take these strange looks and out of style outfits into their style once they become rich and famous, but it is clear you will never see an athlete as unhinged in public as they were in their younger and more fun-natured days.

Keeping these weird trends, high school and professional athletes in mind, I have formed a list of the 30 best athlete high school yearbook pictures ever. The people selected shown hail from sporting leagues such as the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and NASCAR, and compose both active and retired athletes. Furthermore, they give a nice run back through the different trends that your friends, parents, or possibly even grandparents were a part of during their upbringing.

Enjoy, and try not to laugh too hard!

Tyler Leli is a Washington Capitals writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter, "Like" him on Facebook or join his network on Google.

30. Charles Barkley

Leeds High School

Charles Barkley still has the same face today as he did back in high school, but that hair style is just terrible (or turr-ii-ble if you're Sir Charles).

29. CC Sabathia

Vallejo High School

New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia looks a lot like what he did in high school after losing a decent amount of weight over the last few years, but you surely can't miss deny he has aged a little bit.

28. Kobe Bryant

Lower Merion High School

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant has aged a bit since his high school days, and has also gained some muscle to put on a rather small frame that is shown in this picture.

27. Tom Brady

San Mateo Junipero Serra High School

Even back in high school, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looks like the cool guy on campus, and one could say things have worked out for him.

26. Shane Battier

Detroit Country Day School

Shane Battier may have graduated from high school in 1997, but he has a hair style that looks better suited for the 1980's.

25. Alex Rodriguez

Westminster Christian School

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez looks far more innocent in this picture than he ever will again, as performance-enhancing drugs have helped grow his stature, and his infamy.

24. Danica Patrick

Hononegah Community High School

Danica Patrick may be feisty enough to get into arguments with Richard Petty today, but she looks more like a young child than a high schooler in this picture.

23. Colin Kaepernick

John H. Pitman High School

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaerpernick only graduated from high school in 2006, and it is hard to argue that he doesn't look the exact same today as he did as a senior in high school.

22. Dwight Howard

Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard has always loved the game of basketball, but it looks like he didn't like the weight room until after leaving high school.

21. Sidney Crosby

Harrison Trimble High School

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby looks eerily similar today to how he did back in high school, although he certainly has a few more bruises and chipped teeth today than he did back then.

20. Ken Griffey Jr.

Archbishop Moeller High School

Ken Griffey Jr. recently participated in one of the most boring television interviews ever on ESPN, but one could imagine he could talk about his silly hairdo in this picture for hours at a time.

19. Paul Pierce

Inglewood High School

The school attire that Brooklyn Nets small forward Paul Pierce is wearing in this picture looks eerily similar to the uniform that is displayed on Lil Wayne's album The Carter IV. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

18. Tiger Woods

Western High School

Tiger Woods has aged quite a bit over the years, and sadly doesn't rock the near afro that he had in this picture. Worst of all, he doesn't go by Eldrick.

17. Jeremy Lin

Paolo Alto High School

Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin was in high school during this yearbook photo, but he surely looked like a 12 or 13 year old.

16. Bill Belichick

Annapolis High School

The strangest thing about this high school yearbook picture is that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't decide to wear a hoodie.

15. Drew Brees

Westlake High School

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees surely would have won the award for the most serious person in his high school class based on this yearbook picture.

14. Josh Hamilton

Athens Drive High School

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Josh Hamilton has racked up quite an impressive MLB career, but along the way, he has also aged quite a bit from this high school yearbook photo.

13. Chad Johnson

Miami Beach Senior High School

Chad Johnson has always been known as a jokester, but he looks strangely serious in this picture. In fact, he looks more like a future senator than a star football player.

12. LeBron James

St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

LeBron James still looks nearly the same as he did in high school, except it is a bit strange to actually see his hair line.

11. Shaquille O'Neal

Robert G. Cole High School

Shaquille O'Neal has always been known as a goofy character, and this yearbook picture with a bow-tie only shows that he carried this fun-loving style back to his high school days.

10. JR Smith

Lakewood High School

New York Knicks shooting guard JR Smith looks extremely serious in this picture, and his full name being spelled out only furthers that serious look.

9. Dennis Rodman

South Oak Cliff High School

Dennis Rodman may hang out with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un nowadays, but back in high school, he actually looked like quite a civil guy.

8. Rob Gronkowski

Woodland Hills High School

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski may have grown a bit in stature since high school, but he still appeared to be the mischievous party goer back then that he is today.

7. Joakim Noah

Lawrenceville School

Strangely enough, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah actually had very similar hair to back in high school, but he now ties it back so fans don't get to see it flailing wildly.

6. Jeff Gordon

Tri-West High School

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon is beginning to grow a bit old, and it would be hard for him to not sit back and laugh at the goofy mustache and mullet he rocked back in high school.

5. Barry Bonds

Junipero Serra High School

Barry Bonds is now regarded as one of the faces of the steroid-era in MLB, and there is no doubting that his head has grown a bit since this high school yearbook picture.

4. Blake Griffin

Oklahoma Christian School

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin looks nothing short of goofy in this picture, as his mix of a half grown afro and cheesy smile are too much to not laugh at.

3. Wayne Gretzky

North Park Central High School

Wayne Gretzky is the generally regarded as the greatest hockey player of all-time, but his hairstyle being featured here is anything but great.

2. Derek Jeter

Kalamazoo Central High School

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is entering his final season playing baseball, and he has certainly grown up a lot from the mullet style hair shown in this high school yearbook photo.

1. Brett Favre

Hancock North Central High School

Brett Favre has recently been pictured with extremely gray hair, and it is questionable whether he could even grow the classic 1980's mullet he rocked in this picture.