GAME-CHANGERS
Top 10 American sportsmen who have taken their talents to the political arena
Nov 3, 2020, 2:44 pm
Schwarzenegger famously became the Governor of California. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
Happy Election Day Houston. Regardless of which Presidential candidate comes away victorious, millions of Americans hope that 2020 will be the last year sports and politics clash. Here are the top 10 American sportsmen who have taken their talents to the political world.
1. Jesse Ventura (Ind)- Famed wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura served as Minnesota's governor from 1999 to 2003.
2. Frank White (D)- White had an illustrious 18 year career with the Kansas City Royals that included five trips to the All-Star Game and a World Series ring. He served as a member of the Jackson County (Missouri) Legislature from 2014 to 2016. He has since become a county executive.
3. Walter Johnson (R)- The Hall of Fame fireballer pitched three Triple Crown (strikeout, wins, ERA) seasons during his illustrious 20-year career in MLB. After his award-winning trip to Cooperstown, "The Big Train" took a chance in the political world and served as commissioner of Montgomery County, Maryland.
4. Jack Mildren (D)- The former Oklahoma and New England Patriots quarterback served as Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma from 1991 until 1995.
5. Tom McMillen (D)- McMillen played basketball for the University of Maryland and went on to the NBA for the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets. Following his NBA career, he became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district from 1987 to 1993.
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)- The three-time Mr. Universe and seven-time Mr. Olympia served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
7. Corey Booker (D)- Booker caught one touchdown pass in three years of playing tight end at Stanford. Booker claims that being cut his senior year helped craft his political career leading to becoming a US senator from New Jersey.
8. Anthony Gonzalez (R)- The 2007 1st round NFL pick out of Ohio State played five years at wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He has been serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 16th district since last year.
9. Kevin Johnson (D)- Johnson played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns from 1987 to 2000. He completed his B.A. in political science from Cal Berkeley after retiring, and went on to serve as Mayor of Sacramento from 2008 to 2016.
10. Colin Allred (D)- After a standout career at Baylor University, Allred played linebacker in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans from 2006-2010. Since 2019, Allred has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas 32nd district.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Marcell Ozuna hit his major league-leading eighth homer and Orlando Arcia’s RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
It completes a three-game sweep of the struggling Astros and is Atlanta’s fourth straight victory.
The Braves scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie it at 4-4. Michael Harris II started the 10th as the automatic runner on second and there was one out in the inning when Seth Martinez (1-1) intentionally walked Matt Olson.
Ozuna lined out to right field to send Harris to third base. Arcia then singled on a ground ball to left field to score Harris and put the Braves on top.
Pinch-runner Jake Meyers was on second when Kyle Tucker walked with no outs in the 10th. Meyers moved to third on a fly out by Yainer Diaz but Jeremy Peña grounded into a double play to end it.
A.J. Minter (3-1) got the last two outs of the ninth for the win and Raisel Iglesias earned his fifth save.
Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. added his first homer of the season to help the Braves to the victory. Ozuna also leads the majors with 23 RBIs and he extended his hitting streak to 16 games, which ties his career best and is the longest active streak in the majors.
Yordan Alvarez and Mauricio Dubón both homered for the Astros, who fell to 6-14 and are last in the AL West.
There was one out in the first when Alvarez connected on his homer to the seats in left field to put Houston up 1-0.
Ozuna opened the second with his 432-foot shot to left field, which bounced off the wall and tied the game.
Acuña put the Braves up 2-1 when he sent the first pitch of the fifth inning to straightaway center field.
The Astros tied it on an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the fifth and Kyle Tucker’s RBI double came next to put the Astros up 3-2.
Dubón hit his first home run of the year off Jesse Chavez to start Houston’s sixth and push the lead to 4-2.
Harris singled to start the seventh before a ground-rule double by Austin Riley. Olson reached, and Harris scored on a fielding error by first baseman José Abreu when he couldn’t grab a routine ground ball.
There was one out in the inning when Riley scored on a sacrifice fly by Arcia to tie it at 4-all.
Houston starter J.P. France allowed four hits and two runs in five innings.
Max Fried gave up seven hits and three runs in five innings.
UP NEXT
Braves: Atlanta is off Thursday before opening a series against Texas on Friday night with LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 4.58 ERA) on the mound.
Astros: Houston is also off Thursday before ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night against Washington. The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.