Famous Athletes

Virginia has produced some ballers, racers, swimmers and putters. Be surprised by which great athletes call Virginia home.

These professionals and Olympians have represented Virginia in their various sports.

Baseball

David Wright (1982- ) Norfolk; New York Mets (2004-present); BIO
Justin Verlander (1983- ) Manakin-Sabot; Detroit Tigers (2005-present; Rookie of the Year; 2011 league MVP; 2011 Cy Young Award Winner); BIO

Basketball

Moses Malone (1955-2015) Petersburg; Philadelphia 76ers (1983 league MVP) BIO
Ralph Sampson (1960- ) Harrisonburg; Houston Rockets (1983-1988, Rookie of the Year); Golden State Warriors (1987-1989); Sacramento Kings (1989-1991); Washington Bullets (1991-1992) BIO
Alonzo Mourning (1970- ) Chesapeake; Charlotte Hornets (1992-1995); Miami Heat (1995-2008; 1999, 2000 Defensive Player of the Year); Olympic Gold Medalist (Sydney 2000) BIO
Allen Iverson (1975- ) Hampton; Philadelphia 76ers (1996-2006; Rookie of the Year, 2001 league MVP); Denver Nuggets (2007-2008); Detroit Pistons (2009). Olympic Bronze Medalist (Athens 2004) BIO

Boxing

Pernell Whitaker (1964- ) Norfolk; aka "Sweet Pea"; multi Welterweight and Lightweight championships; International Boxing Hall of Fame (2007) BIO
Norvel Lee (1924-1992) Eagle Rock; Olympian awarded the gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games; AAU's national heavyweight champion in 1950, 1951, and 1952; student of Howard University in D.C.; served in WWII as a Tuskegee Airman. BIO

Football

Bill Dudley (1921- 2010) Bluefield; Pittsburgh Steelers; pro football Hall of Fame (1966) BIO
Heath Miller (1982- ) Honaker; Pittsburgh Steelers (2005-2015); Super Bowl XL and XLIII winner BIO
Willie Lanier (1945- ) Clover; Kansas City Chiefs (1960-70); pro football Hall of Fame (1986) BIO
Bruce Smith (1963- ) Norfolk; Outland Trophy winner at Virginia Tech (1984); Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins. BIO
Lawrence Taylor (1959- ) Williamsburg; New York Giants (1981-1993); pro football Hall of Fame (1999) BIO
Fran Tarkenton (1940- ) Richmond; Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants; pro football Hall of Fame (1986) BIO
Atiim Kiambu Hakeem-ah "Tiki" Barber (1975- ) Roanoke; New York Giants (1997-2006); sports broadcaster; author BIO
Jamael Orondé "Ronde" Barber (1975- ) Roanoke; Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997-present); Super Bowl XXXVII winner; author BIO
James Farrior (1975- ) Richmond; New York Jets (1997-2001); Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-present); Super Bowl XL and XLIII winner BIO
Plaxico Burress (1977- ) Norfolk; Pittsburgh Steelers (2000-2004); New York Giants (2005-2008); New York Jets (2011) BIO
Michael Vick (1980- ) Newport News; Atlanta Falcons (2001-2007); Philadelphia Eagles (2009-2013); New York Jets (2013-2015) BIO
DeAngelo Hall (1983- ) Chesapeake; Atlanta Falcons (2004-2007); Oakland Raiders (2008); Washington Redskins (2008-present)BIO
Danny Aiken (1988- ) Roanoke; New England Patriots (2011-2014); New York Giants (2015) BIO
Percy Harvin (1988- ) Virginia Beach; Minnesota Vikings (2009-2012); Seattle Seahawks (2013); New York Jets (2014); Seattle Seahawks (2014); Buffalo Bills (2015-2016) BIO
Darren Sharper (1975- ) Richmond; Green Bay Packers (1997-2004); Minnesota Vikings (2005-2008); New Orleans Saints (2009-2010) BIO
Erron Kinney (1977- ) Ashland; Tennessee Titans (2000-2005) BIO
Michael Robinson (1983- ) Richmond; San Francisco 49ers (2006-2009); Seattle Seahawks (2010-2014); Super Bowl XLVIII winner. BIO
Kam Chancellor (1988- ) Norfolk; Seattle Seahawks (2010-present); Super Bowl XLVIII winner. BIO
Russell Wilson (1988- ) Richmond; Seattle Seahawks (2012-present); Super Bowl XLVIII winner. BIO
Chandler Fenner (1990- ) Virginia Beach; Seattle Seahawks (2012-2013), Super Bowl XLVIII winner; New York Giants (2014). BIO
Torrey Smith (1989- ) Richmond; Baltimore Ravens (2011-2014), San Francisco 49ers (2015-2016); Philadelphia Eagles (2017-present), BIO
Database of Football

Golf

Sam Snead (1912-2002) Hot Springs; three Masters titles, three PGA titles, one British Open title BIO
Curtis Strange (1955- ) Norfolk; U.S. Open champion (1988,1989); winner, Canadian Open (1985) BIO
Lanny Wadkins (1949- ) Richmond; PGA title (1977) BIO

Gymnastics

Gabrielle Douglas (1995- ) Virginia Beach; Gymnast. Olympic Gold Medalist (London 2012). First African-American all-around gymnastics champion. BIO

Martial Arts

Terrence Jennings (1986- ) Alexandria; Taekwondo. Member US Olympic Team (London 2012). BIO

Racing

Wendell Scott (1921-1990) Danville; First (and only, as of this publication) African-American to win a NASCAR race (1963); "State Hero" Resolution by the Virginia General Assembly (1991); International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee (1999); Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Inductee (2000) BIO
Ward Burton (1961- ) South Boston; Daytona 500 Winner (2002) BIO
Jeff Burton (1967 -) South Boston; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year (1994) BIO
Stacy Compton (1967- ) Hurt; record average start position (4.9) for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1999) BIO
Denny Hamlin (1980- ) Chesterfield; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year (2006) BIO
Danny O'Quinn (1985- ) Coeburn; NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year (2006) BIO
Ricky Rudd (1956- ) Chesapeake; NASCAR's "Iron Man" with a Sprint Cup-record 788 consecutive starts (1981-2005); NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year (1977) BIO
Elliott Sadler (1975- ) Emporia; runner-up for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year (1999) BIO
Hermie Sadler (1969- ) Emporia; SpeedTV analyst and advocate for Autism; Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year (1993) BIO
Jon Wood (1981- ) Stuart; Homestead-Miami 2007 Bud Pole Award Winner for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series; Currently a free agent BIO

Swimming

Whitney Hedgepeth (1971- ) Colonial Heights; Three-time NCAA Champion, Gold and Silver Olympic Medalist (Atlanta 1996) BIO
Rada Owen& (1978- ) Chesterfield; member US Olympic Team (Sydney 2000) BIO
Matt McLean (1988- ) Sterling; Olympic Gold Medalist (London 2012) BIO

Tennis

Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) Richmond; Wimbledon Champion (1975) BIO

Track & Field

Kellie Wells (1982- ) Richmond; member US Olympic Team (London 2012) BIO
LaShawn Merritt (1986- ) Portsmouth; Olympic Gold Medalist (Beijing 2008) BIO
Francena McCorory (1988- ) Hampton; member US Olympic Team (London 2012). Indoor 400m World Record Holder (50.54) BIO
T'erea Brown (1989- ) Hampton; member US Olympic Team (London 2012) BIO