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You're never too old to be great.
Fact: Mark McGwire ranks first in the AB/HR stat (at bats per home run), which measures the frequency at which players hit home runs. Second on that list: Babe Ruth.
Fact: In the 1986 NBA playoffs, Michael Jordan and the Bulls faced Larry Bird and the Celtics, one of the all-time great teams. In Game 2, Jordan set a playoff record against the highly touted squad by scoring 63 points in a single game. Later, Bird called Jordan, "just God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Fact: Mike Tyson wasn't even old enough to drink when he knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in the sport's history. Berbick was 33. Tyson? Only 20 years old.
Fact: Brett Favre set numerous records during his career, a few of which have been broken since his retirement in 2010. But one record in particular looks almost untouchable: his 297 consecutive regular-season starts (321 if you count the postseason). He didn't miss a single game from 1992–2010.
Fact: Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal began their careers together playing for the Orlando Magic in the early '90s. They reunited in 2007, this time on the Miami Heat. That was Hardaway's final season in the league.
Fact: Wayne Gretzky is nicknamed "the Great One" due to the fact that he's widely considered to be the greatest hockey player ever. He still holds 60 NHL records despite retiring in 1999.
Fact: Jerry Rice's career spanned 20 seasons. In that time, he set numerous records. He's the all-time leader in receiving yards with 22,895. Second place is not even close (Terrell Owens with 15,934).
Fact: When Mia Hamm retired in 2004, she had scored the most international goals (158), a stat that included both men and women. She also made Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living soccer players.
Fact: As a kid, Michael Johnson was mocked for his upright running style. They would say he ran "funny." When he went pro, commentators would say, "He could be the world record holder if he changes his running style." He ultimately proved them all wrong and went on to win 13 gold medals.
Fact: Despite being well-known for having been attacked with a police baton in an attempt to remove her from the 1994 Winter Olympics, she recovered quickly and went on to win the Silver Medal.
Fact: Bruce Smith, aka the Bad Things Man, is the all-time sack leader with 200 career sacks.
Fact: Despite retiring in 2006, Kwan remains one of the most decorated figure skaters in the history of the sport.
Fact: Bo Jackson is the first athlete ever to be an all-star in both pro football and pro baseball. And despite his legendary athleticism, he doesn't think he would've been able to do it today. "The talent pool is that deep now [...} If you try to do both you're going to be riding the bench in both."
Fact: Dennis Rodman was one of the best rebounders the NBA had ever seen, and he led the league in rebounds per game seven years in a row.
Fact: Dominique Dawes was the first black woman to both make the US Olympic team in gymnastics and to win an individual Olympic Medal in gymnastics.
Fact: Monica Seles won nine total Grand Slam titles and was number one in the world for 178 weeks. If not for a vicious knife attack that kept her from the sport for two years, some believed she would have become the most accomplished female player ever.
Fact: Randy Johnson holds the distinction of being the oldest player to pitch a perfect game in MLB history. He was 40 at the time.
Fact: The original "Ronaldo," Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima is considered one of the sport's all-time greats. He was only 20 when he won his first of three FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Fact: When Tiger Woods won his first Masters tournament at the age of 21, he was the youngest golfer to ever do so. Not only that, but he won by 12 strokes, the widest margin of victory in the history of the tournament.
Fact: Like Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders played both pro football and pro baseball, and he's consider the last superstar to do so. He has the honor of being the only player to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Fact: Over the course of his career, Holyfield won the heavyweight title four different times. In so doing, he surpassed Muhammad Ali's record, who had done it three times.
Fact: Like Ewing, Barkley also earned two Hall of Fame inductions for both his personal career and for being on the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team." He was also the league MVP in 1993.
Fact: Barry Sanders has been called the most elusive runner in NFL history, the best player to never see a Super Bowl, and the 1997 league MVP. With these in mind, here's an odd stat for you: Sanders holds the record for most yards lost by a running back, having gained 1,114 career yards in the wrong direction.
Fun Fact: When Jeff Gordon won his first Cup Series championship in 1995, he was the youngest driver to ever do so. At the award ceremony, he toasted with milk instead of champagne.
Fun Fact: Christian Laettner, whose game-winning shot against the Kentucky Wildcats still lives on in the memories of college basketball fans everywhere, was allegedly one of the most hated players in college basketball. There's even an ESPN 30 For 30 about it titled I Hate Christian Laettner.