Best Athlete From 10 Major U.S. Cities

By Jacob Kornhauser

Major cities in the United States produce a lot of people, which means they produce a lot of sports talent as well. These players were the best of the best to ever come from their respective major cities in the country.

Best Athlete From 10 Major U.S. Cities

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Boston - Jeff Bagwell — Bagwell made a name for himself in Houston, but he was born in Boston. He went on to be one of the best hitters of his generation, clubbing 449 homers and reaching base at a career .408 clip. At some point, he's likely to reach the Hall of Fame even though he wasn't elected this year.

Philadelphia - Kobe Bryant — Philly is home to countless basketball stars, but none as great as Kobe Bryant. One of the greatest players in the history of the sport will retire after this season and get the farewell he deserves. Love him or hate him, he's one of the most skilled players of all time and will be remembered by basketball fans forever.

Chicago - Rickey Henderson — It's fitting that Rickey Henderson came from the Windy City because he ran like the wind during his quarter-of-a-century-long career. MLB's all-time steals leader perfected the art of stealing bases, but some people forget he was also a great hitter. He batted a career .279, reached base at a .401 clip and scored an MLB-record 2,295 runs over the course of his career.

Los Angeles - Tiger Woods — Tiger is technically from Anaheim, which isn't exactly Los Angeles, but it's close enough. After all, the Los Angeles Angels were called the Anaheim Angels for a long time. While Tiger doesn't appear prepared to become competitive again anytime soon, he was more dominant in his prime than any other golfer in history. Watching him play the game was like watching art in motion.

Phoenix - Darren Woodson — Surprisingly, Phoenix doesn't have a vast history of producing great athletes, but Woodson is certainly a great one to come out of the desert. The hard-hitting defensive back dominated the game physically and made opposing playmakers fear for their health. Nowadays, he might not be able to get away with some of the stuff he did back then, but he was pretty good in his day.

Denver - Roy Halladay — Halladay is lucky he didn't pitch for his hometown Rockies, because he would've gotten roughed up quite a bit. Pitching for the Blue Jays and Phillies, though, he dominated for the majority of his career. In his prime, between 2008 and 2011, he won at least 17 games and had an ERA below 3.00 each year. He fell off sharply at the end of his career, but he's still the best Denver-born athlete of all time.

Houston - Vince Young — Sure, Vince Young ended up being a pretty big bust in the NFL, but he was one of the best college quarterbacks of all time. He led his Texas Longhorns to the most classic National Championship win of all time over the mighty USC Trojans. The image of him holding up the championship trophy with confetti falling down will forever be viewed as a great moment in the history of sports.

San Diego - Ted Williams — One of the best hitters of all time, Ted Williams had the sweetest left-handed swing in the history of the game. When he struck the ball well, it could travel over 500 feet. Not everyone liked him, but everyone respected him, because he could hit a baseball like nobody before or since. If he hadn't lost so much playing time to active military service, he would've had even more impressive numbers.

Dallas - Ernie Banks — Mr. Cub is one of the most legendary athletes of all time, because he transcended the game. He played with such joy, and as a result he became the most beloved figure in the history of one of baseball's most historic franchises. His tragic death last year seemed to motivate the 2015 Cubs to overachieve and reach the NLCS. In 2016, they will be looking to do the one thing Ernie always wishes he could've seen.

New York City - Michael Jordan — It figures that the country's biggest city would've produced arguably its greatest athlete. Jordan isn't usually associated with the city where he was born, because he made a name for himself in North Carolina and Chicago, but you can never change where you're from. Born in the Big Apple, MJ went on to things even bigger than the city that never sleeps.

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