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Though born in Cerritos, California, on November 21, 1966, Troy Aikman grew up in Henryetta, Oklahoma. He attended the University of Oklahoma before going to UCLA, where he was the third-rated passer in NCAA history. Aikman was the first overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft for the Dallas Cowboys, and in his 52nd game, he reached 10,000 yards passing. He retired from the Cowboys after the 2000 season and can now be seen as a member of the Fox NFL broadcast team.
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Born in Oklahoma City on December 7, 1947, Johnny Bench grew up in Binger. He achieved his childhood dream of becoming a major league baseball player in 1968 when he was moved up "the bigs" to the Cincinnati Reds. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, and received numerous other awards, such as National League Rookie of the Year (1968), World Series MVP (1976) and a 14-time All-Star.
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Henry "Hank" Iba began coaching at Oklahoma State University (then Oklahoma A&M) in 1934. He was selected as Coach of the Year in 1945 and 1946. He is the only person to have coached three Olympic basketball teams, winning in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. His career as a professional coach at OSU continued until his retirement in 1970.
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Mickey Mantle, born on October 20, 1931, in Spavinaw, grew up in Commerce. Though the Yankees wanted to sign Mantle in 1948, they had to wait until he graduated, and on his graduation day, Mickey Mantle became a member of the Yankees Class D team in Kansas. In 1951, Mantle became a New York Yankee, playing in his first World Series. He still holds a World Series record with 18 home runs, 42 runs, 40 rbi, and 43 bases on balls. Mickey Mantle died after a liver transplant in 1995.
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Shannon Miller, who grew up in Edmond, is perhaps the most famous gymnast (male or female) in American history. She won 5 Olympic gold medals in 1992. In 1996, she lead the American women’s gymnastics team to its first team Olympic gold medal ever. She also won a gold medal on the balance beam. Shannon spent seven years on the U.S. National Team. Miller was awarded medals in the 1997 World University Games, the 1995 World Championships, the 1994 World Championships (individual and team) and the 1993 World Championships.
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Barry Sanders was born in Wichita, Kansas, on July 16, 1968. He played for Oklahoma State University, where he won the Heisman Trophy and set 24 collegiate records in 1988. In 1989, Barry joined the Detroit Lions and was named Rookie of the Year. He currently holds the number three spot for Most Career Yards Gained, surpassed only by Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith.
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Jim Thorpe was raised as a Sac and Fox named Wa-Tho-Huk in Oklahoma. After going to Carlisle, Jim Thorpe became well-known for his athletic abilities. He won Olympic medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, but they were lost when it was found that he had played semiprofessional baseball. In 1950, the Associated Press named Jim Thorpe the greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century. All of Thorpe's medals were restored in 1983, thirty years after his death.
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Bud Wilkinson played collegiate football at the University of Minnesota, leading the team to three national championships in the '30s. Following World War II, he coached at the University of Oklahoma from 1946 to 1963. He coached National Championship teams in 1950, 1955 and 1956. His coaching career record was 145-29-4, making him one of the most celebrated coaches of all time.
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