Top 14 Athletes from Virginia

One state, and a roster that runs from Wimbledon to the Hall of Fame by way of a racetrack. The hard part is comparing them at all.

1

Arthur Ashe

Born in Richmond; the only Black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.

1000pts

2

Moses Malone

Born in Petersburg; jumped straight from high school to the pros and won three MVP awards.

873pts

3

Alonzo Mourning

Born in Chesapeake; twice defensive player of the year and an NBA champion in 2006.

668pts

4

Ralph Sampson

Born in Harrisonburg; three-time college player of the year before a decade in the NBA.

565pts

5

Michael Vick

Born in Newport News; the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

565pts

6

Ronde Barber

Born in Roanoke; the only NFL player with more than 45 interceptions and more than 25 sacks.

565pts

7

Pernell Whitaker

Born in Norfolk; Olympic gold medallist and world champion across four weight divisions.

565pts

8

Dell Curry

Born in Harrisonburg; a sixteen-season NBA shooter and the league's sixth man of the year in 1994.

565pts

9

Gabby Douglas

Born in Virginia Beach; the first American to win team and individual all-around gold at one Olympics.

439pts

10

Lawrence Taylor

Born in Williamsburg; the linebacker who forced NFL offences to redesign their protection schemes.

439pts

11

Justin Verlander

Born in Manakin-Sabot; an MVP, three Cy Young awards and three no-hitters.

439pts

12

Allen Iverson

Born in Hampton; an NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion at barely six feet tall.

282pts

13

Secretariat

Foaled at Meadow Stable in Doswell in 1970 and still the record holder in all three Triple Crown races.

282pts

14

Bruce Smith

Born in Norfolk; retired with 200 sacks, still the most in NFL history.

282pts