Editor’s note: Over the next week, Arizona Daily Star staffers and contributors will answer eight burning sports questions.
Today’s question: Who’s your sports hero?
RYAN FINLEY, sports editor
The San Diego Padres’ Tony Gwynn “was everything a kid’s boyhood idol should be,” says sports editor Ryan Finley.
Tony Gwynn. The greatest pro athlete in the history of my hometown of San Diego, “Mr. Padre” made his major-league debut when I was 2 and retired when I was a college senior. Gwynn was everything a kid’s boyhood idol should be: Humble and hardworking with a great laugh and a common touch. (A sweet lefty swing and a .338 career batting average helps). I met him a few times when I was young and interviewed him a couple more times as a young journalist, and, I’m proud to say, he was everything I hoped he’d be. I’m lucky.
GREG HANSEN, sports columnist
Everything about Mickey Mantle appealed to me. The pinstripes. Jersey No. 7. He was a switch-hitter. He was movie-star handsome. He played for the Yankees. He hit in the clutch as well as anyone I’ve seen. He hit a World Series home run off the unhittable Sandy Koufax.
I never used a glove that wasn’t a Mickey Mantle model. I taught myself to switch-hit when I was 10 because of Mickey Mantle. I luv ya, Mickey.
In February 1985, Mantle flew to Tucson to speak at the dedication of a Big Brothers/Big Sisters project. I stood at the American Airlines gate, nervous, waiting to introduce myself and interview Mickey. But I was too awestruck. I followed him to the dedication ceremony and finally summoned the courage to ask a few dumb questions.
About two weeks later I got an 8x11 envelope in the mail with what I instantly recognized as Mantle’s handwriting as a return address. It was a color photograph in his Yankee pinstripes, over which he wrote: “Dear Greg, Thanks for the article in the Daily Star.”
It hangs above my desk to this day.
MICHAEL LEV, UA football/baseball beat reporter
Disclaimer: I’m going to cheat on some of these and list two answers. For this one, it’s impossible to split the difference. Walter Payton and Michael Jordan are my biggest sports heroes.
I grew up in Chicago, and Payton’s prime with the Bears coincided with my becoming a lifelong sports fan. Until Mike Ditka came along in the 1980s, most of those teams weren’t very good. The quarterbacking was abysmal. Payton was the focal point of every defense he faced. He manufactured some of the most magnificent 3-yard runs you’ll ever see through sheer determination. He was the best all-around player in the sport. No one had a better blend of toughness and talent, fearlessness and flair.
Chicago Bears’ Walter Payton rushes during a home game on Oct.17, 1985 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. (AP Photo)
Payton’s final season was 1987. Jordan was just getting started. He won the first of five MVP awards for the ’87-88 season. I wasn’t a huge Bulls fan growing up. I’d been a Jordan fan since his North Carolina days. Now I was a diehard. His hops were insane. His competitive drive was unparalleled. Every game was truly must-see TV. After years of highlights and heartbreak, Jordan and the Bulls became the sport’s greatest modern-day dynasty. I savored every minute of it.
CAITLIN SCHMIDT, sports enterprise reporter
Anyone who knows me is rolling their eyes already, so let’s give the people what they want. My sports hero is Peyton Manning, and it’s not even close. He kind of ushered me into the game, so I kind of feel like he and I came up in the NFL together. I started watching football with a group of friends during my last years of high school, and we would make casual wagers on the games in which our teams played. I had to pick a team, and I liked that the Colts took a chance on starting a rookie quarterback. (I also grew up with horses, so it almost seemed meant to be). The Colts went 3-13 that year and Manning led the league in interceptions, a rookie record that still stands today, but I also love an underdog and was undeterred in my loyalty. The next year, they flipped the script and went 13-3 under Manning’s leadership, and the rest is history. Lucky for me, Manning also turned out to a likable guy and great person, sealing the deal on his hero status.
JUSTIN SPEARS, sports producer
Easily Kobe Bryant. Growing up a die-hard Lakers fan — especially in a divided house when it comes to sports — meant countless hours of watching “The Lake Show.” Bryant was my favorite player on my favorite basketball team for two decades. From the time I first watched basketball until I graduated college, Kobe was always donning purple and gold. Whenever my brother and I shot baskets in the driveway, I didn’t want to be any other player besides Kobe, so I constantly worked on turnaround fadeaway jump shots.
Watching Kobe Bryant on TV sent a young Justin Spears, now a Star sports producer, to the driveway to work on his turnaround fadeaway jumper.
Why is he my sports hero? The relentless work ethic and drive to always be perfect at his craft was what set him apart from other talented players. I adopted the “Mamba Mentality” at an early age. I may not be the most talented writer or radio host, but I put in hours and do what others aren’t. That can make a difference not just in the immediate future but in the next few decades. I’ve never been within 15 feet of Kobe, but he’s impacted my life more than any athlete ever could.
ALEC WHITE, sports producer
My sports hero is Peyton Manning. He’s one of my all-time favorite athletes, and seemingly every CBS afternoon game or “Sunday Night Football’ game featured Manning when I was a kid. The reason why I’d put him in the hero category is the way he went about playing football. No one prepared more, took the job more seriously or strove for perfection more than he did. Manning was always one step ahead of the defense. It’s also incredible that he had four neck surgeries in one year then joined the Broncos and went to two Super Bowls. To me, he’s the GOAT; sorry, Tom Brady.
PJ BROWN, contributor
My first one was Ernie Banks. I wanted to play first base like he did, and I try take the love of the game to everything I do — just like he did. “It’s a great day for a ballgame; let’s play two,” as he’d say.
Finish of the fourth heat of the decathlon 100 meter dash at the Olympics in Rome on September 5, 1960. Rafer Johnson (USA # 447) the first in front of Eef Kamerbeek (Netherlands # 188) and Gurbachan Singh Randhawa (India # 176). Rafer Johnson’s time was lo”9. (AP Photo/Olympic pool)
My other hero is Rafer Johnson, the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon. While I never saw him compete in the 1956 or 1960 Olympics — I wasn’t born yet — I’ve read everything, seen the old clips and interviewed him for a story on the Special Olympics. He was (and is) all about giving to others, a true team player and a real inspiration. He is an unassuming, charming legend — he is the hero everyone needs in their life.
BRETT FERA, contributor
My wife, Lindsey, is the baseball expert in our household. So when I posed this question to her, the reply couldn’t shock me: Cal Ripken Jr. OK, I see it. A legitimate MVP-caliber résumé and Hall ofFame career at the plate. And then, of course, there’s “The Streak,” not to mention he appeared as clean as could get during a wickedly dirty era for his sport. He’s seemingly every bit the good person off the field, too.
And while he played the part of baseball’s ironman, he tended to look the part of “everyman.” As Lindsey puts it, he did all that “and he looks like an accountant!” Works for me.
Ripken makes my top three, along with WNBA and former UConn star Maya Moore (she’s taking another year off this season to help a man she believes was wrongly convicted of a crime get out of prison), and tennis GOAT and all-around nice guy Roger Federer.
JOHN MCKELVEY, contributor
Cal Ripken Jr. Everything you could ever want from a sports athlete. Nicest person off the field, played the sport with a passion, did everything right and the best ability is always avail-ability.
