The 14 Greatest Athletes From California
Public courts in Compton, a Pasadena high school, a Riverside dojo — the state turns out a particular kind of career.
1Serena WilliamsBorn in Michigan but made in Compton, where she and Venus learned the game on public courts.
2Tiger WoodsBorn in Cypress and won three straight US Amateurs before turning twenty-one.
3Jackie RobinsonRaised in Pasadena and a four-sport athlete at UCLA before he ever played pro baseball.
4Ronda RouseyBorn in Riverside, trained in Southern California and won her Olympic judo medal out of it.
5Ted WilliamsSan Diego born, the last man to hit .400 in a Major League season.
6Barry BondsRiverside born, played most of his career in San Francisco and holds the home-run record.
7Cheryl MillerRiverside's other great, who scored 105 points in a single high-school game.
8Venus WilliamsThe other half of the Compton pair, with five Wimbledon singles titles.
9Bill RussellMoved to Oakland as a boy and won two college titles at San Francisco before the Celtics.
10Marion JonesLos Angeles born and a five-medal sprinter in Sydney, all later returned.
11Tony GwynnLos Angeles born, spent twenty seasons with San Diego and won eight batting titles.
12Lisa FernandezLong Beach born softball pitcher with three Olympic golds.
13Kerri Walsh JenningsSanta Clara born and the most decorated beach volleyball player in Olympic history.
14Klay ThompsonLos Angeles born, and half of the shooting pair that changed how the Warriors played.
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Comments
Her mother won a world judo title in 1984, before she was born. Fourteen Californians here, and most stayed at the top twice as long: https://youpick.best/articles/ronda-rousey-ranked-many-ways
