Great Hungarian Sports Figures
These athletes made their mark in different sports but they all shared Hungarian ancestry:
Baseball
- Al Hrabosky, known as the “Mad Hungarian”, relief pitcher known for his blazing fastball, currently an analyst for FOX Sports Net
Body Building
- Mickey Hargitay, body builder and actor, a member of Mae West’s stage show and Jayne Mansfield’s ex-husband
Boxing
- Laszlo Papp, first boxer in Olympic history to win 3 consecutive gold medals
- Zsolt Erdei, bronze medalist in the middleweight division at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
Football
- George “Papa Bear” Halas, legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, called the “father of the NFL”
- Larry Csonka, former running back and Super Bowl VIII MVP, currently a television host
- Don Shula, winningest coach in NFL history
- Joe Namath, New York Jets quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, affectionately known as “Broadway Joe”
- Lou “The Toe” Groza, kicker for the Cleveland Browns, Hall of Famer and 6-time All Pro
Golf
- Julius Boros, golfing legend and member of the PGA Hall of Fame and World Golf Hall of Fame.
Gymnastics
- Bela and Martha Karolyi, gymnastics coaches who have coached Olympic medalists including Nadya Comaneci
- Ekaterina Szabo, born in Romania of Hungarian descent. Winner of 4 Olympic gold and 1 silver medal, member of the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
Hockey
- Joseph “Bronco” Horvath, played for 6 NHL teams but is best remembered for his time with the Boston Bruins centering the “Uke Line” with Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk
Horse Racing
- Kincsem, the most successful thoroughbred race horse ever, who won all 54 of her starts
Skating
- Elvis Stojko, 3-time World Figure Skating Champion, 7-time Canadian National Champion and winner of 2 Olympic silver medals
Soccer
- Ferenc Puskás, considered to be the greatest soccer player in history, played 84 games with the Hungarian National Team and scored a world record 83 goals
- Sándor Kocsis, known as the “Man with the Golden Head”, he scored 75 goals in 68 internationals, including a record 7 hat-tricks
Swimming
- Mark Spitz, Olympic swimming legend who won 7 gold medals at the 1972 Games in Munich
- Krisztina Egerszegi, youngest athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal for swimming, 5-time gold medal winner in individual events
Volleyball
- Karch Kiraly, American volleyball player who is the only person ever to have won Olympic medals (both gold) in both indoor and beach volleyball.
Water Polo
- Gergely Kiss, water polo player who first came to prominence helping the Hungarian team win gold during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He dominated the competition during the 2004 Athens Olympics. Kiss scored 3 times in the first quarter, and scored the game winning goal on a power play.