Famous Irish Athletes

Luck o’ the Irish to you as we pay homage to 6 famous Irish athletes for St. Patrick’s day. These six greats include famous men and women, such as boxer Micky Ward, quarterback Tom Brady, baseball legend Mark McGwire, and many more. Accordingly, take a look at their amazing accomplishments below.
 

“Irish” Micky Ward

George Michael “Micky” Ward Jr. is an Irish-American former professional boxer. With 15 years in the ring, Ward held a 38-13 record as a junior welterweight-27 of those wins by knockout. Notably, Ward was challenged once for the 1997 IBF welterweight title. He also held the WBU light welterweight title in 2000. Ward is most well known for a trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti, including a victory dubbed “Fight of the Century.” In addition, the feature film, “The Fighter,” was based on his early career.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady plays quarterback for the New England Patriots. He was drafted in 2000 after playing at the University of Michigan. Arguably, Brady is one of the best quarterbacks of the century. Furthermore, the famous quarterback has won two NFL MVP awards, four Super Bowl MVP awards and a record five Super Bowl wins.

Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick is a professional stock car racing driver. Especially relevant, she is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. Patrick is the first female NASCAR driver to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole. Additionally, she is the highest female to finish in the Daytona 500 (in 8th place). Finally, Patrick is the first woman to lead the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race.

Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire “Big Mac” is a professional baseball player and currently a bench coach. From 1986-2001, McGwire played as first baseman for the Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals. First and foremost, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 bats, the best at bats per home run ratio in baseball history. He is also the fastest player to hit 500 home runs in only 5,487 at-bats. McGwire is a 12 time All-Star, 2-time World Series champion and AL Rookie of the Year in 1987. Most notably, he received the Gold Glove Award in 1990 and the Silver Slugger Award three times. Ultimately, McGwire is a 5x MLB home run leader, NL RBI leader and was on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan, “The Ryan Express” is a former pitcher. He played for a record 27-years and four different teams: the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers. Above all, Ryan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan is an 8-time MLB All-star and his 5,714 career strikeout are first in baseball history. In addition, he is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, and is tied with Bob Fellers for the most one-time hitters.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is a former baseball shortstop for the New York Yankees. First of all, Jeter is a 5x World Series champion. Playing 20 seasons, he is the Yankee’s all–time career leader in hits, doubles, games played, stolen bases, times on base, plate appearances and at bats. Furthermore, his other accolades include 14 All-Star selections, 5 Gold Glove awards, 5 Silver Slugger Awards, 2 Hank Aaron awards, Al Rookie of the Year (1996), and a Roberto Clemente award.

 
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