Heroes

Heroes

Who are some of our heroes?

Willie Mays- 7095 put outs as an outfielder- All time record, career batting avg was .302, 8 consecutive years he drove in 100 runs or more, won the Gold glove award 12 times, had 660 home runs 3rd all time homerun record,

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born April 16, 1947 as Fredrick Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr) is an American athlete and retired professional basketball player, widely considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time. During his 20 years in the NBA from 1969 to 1989, he scored 38,387 points – the highest total of any player in league history – in addition to winning a record six Most Valuable Player Awards. He was known for his "Skyhook" shot, which was famously difficult to block because it put his 7’ 2" in body between the basket and the ball. Abdul-Jabbar’s success began well before his professional career; in college, he played on three championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games.

Peter Edward "Pete" Rose, Sr. (born April 14, 1941, in Cincinnati, Ohio), nicknamed Charlie Hustle, is a former player and manager in Major League Baseball. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, best known for his many years with the Cincinnati Reds. Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at bats (14,053), and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions (2B, LF, RF, 3B, and 1B). Rose’s nickname, "Charlie Hustle", was given to him for his play beyond the "call of duty" while on the field. Even when being walked, Rose would run to first base, instead of the traditional walk to base. Rose was also known for sliding headfirst into a base, his signature move

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), also popularly known as "Babe", "The Bambino", and "The Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914 to 1935. Named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". He was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a record which stood for 34 years until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth’s lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record for 39 years, until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, just missing the vaunted .400 mark. His .690 career slugging percentage, and 1.164 career OPS, remain the major league records.

SGT. ALVIN YORK

He overcame conscientious objections to answer the call to WWI. On October 8, 1918, with an eye trained by hunting in rural Tennessee, York picked off 17 Germans with 17 rounds; 132 others surrendered to the lone, lanky corporal. Back in the U.S., York put away his Medal of Honor and opened a Bible college. This exemplar of the American fighting man died in 1964, all but forgotten.

ROSA PARKS

From the back of a Montgomery bus she rose as the mother of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks could have given her seat to a white man; she could have allowed the unjust laws of segregation to continue. She could have allowed centuries of oppression to continue for just one more day, one short bus ride. Instead, announced President Clinton at the presentation of her 1996 Medal of Freedom Award, "When our descendants look back in time to trace the fight for freedom, Rosa Parks will stand among our nation’s greatest patriots, the legendary figures whose courage sustained us and pushed us forward."

ANDREW CARNEGIE

This immigrant son of a Scottish weaver turned his own savings into one of the world’s greatest philanthropic institutions. He amassed his wealth during the boom of the industrial age -- his Carnegie Steel Corporation sold for $400 million in 1901 -- through a strict adherence to Darwinian principles of capitalism. Competition he argued, though often difficult on the individual, bettered the entire race. As for his own responsibility, and for others in his millionaire class, charity was the only way. A true believer in the quest to "help those who will help themselves," Carnegie’s money produced some of the world’s finest libraries, museums, and universities.

All of these people played an important role in the lives of people around the world, but what is missing?

§ Some entertained

§ Some showed us what fortitude was