From Mickey Mantle to Lou Gehrig to Joe Dimaggio, the New York Yankees have had their fair share of legends don the pinstripes. Soon enough, shortstop Derek Jeter will be mentioned in the same breath as the names previously mentioned. That is, if his name already isn’t currently being mentioned among those greats.

In his first year as a full-time player, Derek Jeter was named the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees, a role he has yet to relinquish. He was named an Opening Day starter in 1996 and as a rookie, he hit .314 with 10 home runs and 78 RBI. Those numbers were good enough to earn him the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year.

Jeter never looked back after having an incredible rookie campaign. He’s currently a nine-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He was also honored with the Babe Ruth Award in 2000, was the MLB All-Star Game MVP in 2000 and won the AL Hank Aaron Award in 2006.

Perhaps more important than his career stats is that Jeter has helped the Yankees win four World Series titles. After winning a championship as a rookie in 1996, the Yankee captain has helped the Bronx Bombers win three-consecutive titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Derek Jeter is one of the most recognizable players in baseball, if not of any sport in the U.S. He’s a born leader and has a charismatic personality that the New York media eats up. Many players have been chewed up and spitted out by the “Bronx Zoo,” but not Jeter.

Even though some consider him overrated as a defender, nobody can argue that Jeter gives his all on every single play. Multiple times he’s given up his body on plays, which includes diving head first into the stands to produce outs. He’s the ultimate team player who always appears focused and determined.

Other shortstops might have better numbers or more awards, but arguably none of them mean as much to their teams as Derek Jeter has meant to the New York Yankees. If he’s not considered a legend now, he will be in due time.

Former Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb was as much of a menace on the field as he was off it.

By the time Ty Cobb retired in 1928, he had set more than 90 MLB records. He still holds the record for career batting average at .367 and his 12 batting titles are also unrivaled. Ty Cobb hit at least .320 for 23 consecutive seasons and also scored 2,245 runs.

Cobb was a danger (literally) on the base paths, too. He stole 892 bases in his career and rumor has it, he used to sharpen the metal spikes on the bottom of his cleats so that they would cut into any infielder that impeded his progress. (Cobb debunked that rumor after he retired, however.)

Ty Cobb led the American League in slugging percentage and hits a total of eight times in his career. He also led the AL in steals six times, runs scored five times, triples and RBI four times, doubles three times and home runs once. On three separate times during his career, Cobb batted above .400 and in one four-year span he averaged .401 – an incredible feat in the game of baseball. And if it weren’t for Pete Rose, Cobb’s record of 4,191 hits would still stand today, as well.

For as much as Ty Cobb was revered for his game, he was hated for the way he treated teammates, fans and the general public. Cobb was a racist who hated blacks, Catholics and northerners.

In one incident during his career, Cobb fought a black groundskeeper over the condition of a Tigers’ spring training field and then choked the man’s wife when she tried to break up the fight. Cobb was also a real treat to deal with when he drank, and apparently was abusive to teammates, waitresses and anyone else who pissed him off.

As the legend goes, only four people from baseball showed up at his funeral. Still, Ty Cobb was one of the best baseball player s in the history of the game.

Most sports legends have a legendary story to share. Most of these stories are embellishments of the original tale, but some are unexplainably true.

THE BLEACHER REPORT has complied some of these legendary stories for your amusement. Did Deion Sanders really run the fastest time at the NFL Combine? How many goals did Pele average during his career? How many reverse dunks did Earl “The Goat” Manigault pull off to win a $60 bet? Find out below.

Soccer

Pele

At the age of 17, the great Pele, established himself as the definition of Brazilian football, as he scored a hat trick in his first World Cup Tournament. During a time when the game was much more physical and bookings were much less frequent, its said that Pele put the ball in the net 1280 times in 1363 career fixtures with international and club teams. That’s nearly a goal per game!

Pele won a total of 32 titles during his career. Perhaps his most amazing feat was bringing soccer to a new level in America in the 70’s while playing for the Cosmos.

Baseball

Satchel Paige

Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige is best known for his long career and high salary.  While Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams were overseas fighting with the armed forces, Satchel was the highest paid athlete in America.

However, Satchel is a legend for intentionally walking loaded bases in the 1942 Negro World Series to face the most feared slugger of his time, Josh Gibson.

Paige went on to strike Gibson out in 3 pitches. Gonads, my friends, gonads!

And rumor has it, Page won 104 out of 105 games in 1934.

Josh Gibson

Now Josh Gibson’s story will make Paige’s tale even more unbelievable.
Josh Gibson was known at the time as “The Black Babe,” because of his home run power.  Sadahara Oh from Japan is known as the all-time baseball home-run leader with over 800. Behind him there’s Barry Bonds, Hank Aarons, Babe Ruth, and the list goes on.

There are no precise numbers, but Gibson was said to have hit 962 homers in his career, with 84 in 1936!
The first thing fans usually say to discredit Gibson’s accomplishments is, “He was playing in the Negro League.”  However, Paige played in both the Negro League and the majors.
During his MLB career, Paige had an era of 3.29. That’s not bad even by today’s standards.

Football

Deion “Prime-Time” Sanders

I think we all know how great of an athlete Deion was. He played pro baseball and football, excelling at both. In college he was also a track and field star, while being named an All-American three times in football.

But the Deion story most fans forget, that I love the most involves his 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine.
Legend has it, in 1989, Prime Time walked on to the field with nothing but a pair of gym shorts, flip-flops, a t-shirt and a gold chain. Sanders proceeded to slip off his sandals and run a 4.12 40 yard dash - barefoot!

Enough said!

There are many more sports legends that have redefined expectations.

Earl “The Goat” Manigault, a 6-foot-2 guard from Harlem, is known to have done 36 consecutive reverse dunks to win a $60 bet. He also set the record in New York City for most points scored by a junior high student with 57.

Manigault’s other accolades involve a double dunk, where he’d finish one dunk, grab the ball after it goes through the net while still in the air, only to slam it one more time before landing. His acrobatics were on display for money once again, when he leapt to the top of a backboard to snatch $20 someone had stuck to a piece of bubble gum.

It’s amazing what some sports legends can do. How about the NIKE commercial where Tiger Woods continuously bounces a golf ball off one of his clubs and then drives it into the distance?

How good defensively was St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop Ozzie Smith? So good that he’s one of only a handful of baseball players to have ever made the Hall of Fame based solely on his defense.

“The Wizard” was one of the best defensive shortstops the game of baseball has ever seen. He started his career for the San Diego Padres in 1978, but made a name for himself as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, the club he played for from 1982 to 1996.

Ozzie Smith only hit .262 with 28 home runs and averaged just 43 RBI per season, but it didn’t matter. He was so good defensively that baseball fans consider him a legend. Smith also kept fans entertained with his highlight reel plays, back flips and hand springs that he regularly performed on the diamond.

Smith played his last game on October 17, 1996. Over his career, he would go on to rack up 13 Gold Glove Awards, 15 All-Star Game appearances and one World Series title in 1982. He also won the Roberto Clemente Award (given to players for character and charitable contributions to the community) in 1995, the Branch Rickey Award (awarded in recognition to a player’s exceptional community service) in 1994 and the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (given to players who best exemplify character and integrity both on and off the field) in 1989.

On January 8, 2002, Ozzie Smith was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He received a first ballot vote by receiving 91.7% of the votes cast and even served as a torchbearer in the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics as the torch based through Salt Lake City.

The shortstop position has certainly changed over the years. Nowadays, more power is expected from the position than ever before with the emergence of Hanley Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez (former shortstop who now plays third base for the Yankees) and Miguel Tejada.

But in the not too distance past, shortstops were almost solely known for their defense. And Ozzie Smith is certainly a legend in that category.

Rich “Goose” Gossage started his baseball career with the Chicago White Sox in 1972. After pitching there until 1976, he would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1977), New York Yankees (1979-1983, 1989), San Diego Padres (1984-1987), Chicago Cubs (1988), San Francisco Giants (1989), Texas Rangers (1991), Oakland Athletics (1992-1993) and Seattle Mariners (1994). He also spent one season in Japan playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 1990.

There might not have been a more dominant relief between the years of 1975 and 1985 than Goose Gossage. During that span, Gossage made the All-Star team nine times and deserves mention as one of the greatest relievers in baseball history.

During his 22 years in baseball, Goose Gossage was the MLB save leader three times and was also among the top six in saves nine times. He was among the top six vote-gettors for the Cy Young award five times and compiled 310 career saves during a time when the stat meant more than it did in today’s game.

One of the more interesting stats in baseball is that Goose Gossage had to save a total of 52 games in which he needed at least seven outs to close out the win. One baseball’s other great closers was Dennis Eckersley and by comparison, “The Eck” had only five such saves among his career total of 390. Trevor Hoffman (2) and Mariano Rivera (1) – two of baseball’s top closers in today’s era – had even less such saves in their careers.

For his career, Goose Gossage amassed a won-loss record of 124-107 and an ERA of 3.01. He was selected to nine All-Star Games, was a World Series champion in 1978 when he was a member of the New York Yankees and won the 1978 AL Rolaids Relief Man of the year.

For all of his career accomplishments, Goose Gossage was passed over to being inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2000. But in 2008, Gossage received enough votes to be enshrined into the Hall and thus his career reached its pinnacle.

Rich “Goose” Gossage is certainly a legend among MLB relievers.

When the name Willie Mays gets brought up, most sane baseball fans associate the legendary outfielder with the San Francisco Giants. But at one point at the end of his career, Mays did play with the New York Mets.

SI.com did a unique feature in their Photo Gallery section in which they compiled a group of sports legends that quite didn’t look right wearing certain teams uniforms throughout their career.

The list makes you say, “Boy Michael Jordan looks weird in that Washington Wizards uniform.” Below is SI.com’s list.

Willie Mays
New York Mets, 1972-73
Mays led the Giants from 1951 through 1972, before being traded midseason to the Mets. In just a handful of at-bats, Mays had little impact on his new team.

Michael Jordan
Washington Wizards, 2001-03
Sure, he owned part of the team. But MJ just didn’t look right in a Wizards uniform and he failed to get his team to the playoffs.

Joe Namath
Los Angeles Rams, 1977
After 12 years with the Jets, Namath dragged his worn out knees to Los Angeles for one more shot at glory. He played in just four games, throwing three TDs and five INTs.

Bobby Orr
Chicago Blackhawks, 1976-79
After making his mark on NHL history in Boston, Orr joined the Blackhawks. He played just 26 games for Chicago.

Hank Aaron
Milwauke Brewers, 1975-76
After setting the all-time home run record with the Braves, Aaron spent two seasons in Milwaukee — the city in which he began his career with the Braves before they moved to Atlanta.

Patrick Ewing
Seattle Supersonics, 2000-01
Ewing spent one season with the Sonics and the next year in Orlando. He didn’t average double-digit scoring in either season.

Tony Dorsett
Denver Broncos, 1988
Dorsett followed up 11 seasons in Dallas with one forgettable season in Denver.

Babe Ruth
Boston Braves, 1935
After 15 years rewriting the record books in pinstripes, Ruth joined the Braves, who simply wanted him to boost attendance. Ruth had just 72 at-bats with the Braves.

Ray Bourque
Colorado Avalanche, 1999-2002
Actually Bourque did contribute to the Avalanche’s success, which included a Stanley Cup in 2001. But he just doesn’t look right out of the Bruins uniform he wore for 21 years.

Dominique Wilkins
Boston Celtics, 1994-95
‘Nique had 12 great seasons in Atlanta before bouncing around with the Clippers, Celtics, Spurs and Magic at the end of his career.

There might not have been a finer closer than the “Eck” in major league baseball history.

Dennis Eckersley started his Major League Baseball career with the Cleveland Indians in 1975. After three seasons in Cleveland, he played for the Boston Red Sox (1978-1984) and the Chicago Cubs (1984-1986), before finally winding up with the Oakland A’s in 1987.

It was in Oakland where he reached legendary status.

On April 3, 1987, the Chicago Cubs traded Eckersley to the Oakland A’s, where he eventually replaced injured closer Jay Howell. The Eck went on to save 16 games in 1987, but he truly made his mark the following year, recording a league-leading 45 saves in 1988.

Dennis Eckersley recorded saves in each of the four games Oakland won while sweeping Eck’s former team, the Boston Red Sox, in the 1988 AL Championship Series. From there, the A’s met their cross-bay rival the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series. In the series many coin as “The Earthquake Series”, Eckersley secured a victory in Game 2 and saved the final game of the series as Oakland swept the Giants.

Eckersley went on to become baseball’s most dominant closers from 1988 to 1992. During that span, he finished as the American League saves leader twice, while also finishing second twice and third once. Also during that span, he never posted an ERA higher than 2.96 and went on to save a remarkable 220 games.

Dennis Eckersley had perhaps his best season in 1992, when he won the American League Cy Young Award, which is given to the league’s best pitcher, as well as the AL’s Most Valuable Player Award. He also became only the third pitcher to save 51 games in a season. (The other two were Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Willie Hernandez in 1984.)

Only two pitchers in the history of baseball have ever finished with a 20-win season and a 50-save season. One is the Braves’ John Smoltz. The other is the Eck.

Eckersley went on to play nine years with the A’s before joining manager Tony LaRussa in St. Louis for the 1996 season. Eckersley eventually finished his career in Boston, playing one final season with the Red Sox in 1998.

For his career, Dennis Eckersley was a six-time All-Star and a World Series champion. On top of being the AL’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young in 1992, he also was named The Sporting News’s AL Pitcher of the Year, as well.

Dennis Eckersley’s career accomplishments were recognized when he was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2004. His 390 career saves ranks him fifth on the all-time list.

Not all legends are made on the gridiron, hardwood or baseball diamond. Some are made in the broadcasting booth.

Ernie Harwell was born January 25, 1918 in Washington, Georgia. He graduated from Emory University and from there he began his career working as a copy editor and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution. Ernie Harwell also was a regional correspondent for one of the top sports publications, The Sporting News.

Ernie Harwell got his first announcing gig for the Atlanta Crackers, which was a minor league baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia between 1901 and 1965. In 1948, Ernie Harwell became the only announcer in the history over baseball to be traded for a player when Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey dealt catcher Cliff Dapper to the Crackers in exchange for breaking Ernie Harwell’s broadcasting contract. Ernie Harwell took over for regular Dodgers’ broadcaster Red Barber, who became hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.

Ernie Harwell broadcasted for the Dodgers through 1949 and then jumped to the rival New York Giants from 1950 to 1953. Ernie Harwell’s famous call of Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the word” during the 1951 National League pennant playoff game is still aired today throughout the country. Ernie Harwell also announced for the Baltimore Orioles from 1954 to 1959.

In 1960, Ernie Harwell became the voice of the Detroit Tigers. It was there in Detroit that he became a legend.

Ernie Harwell replaced longtime Tigers’ play-by-play announcer Van Patrick in 1960. Ernie Harwell was the voice of the Tigers until Tigers’ flagship radio station WJR didn’t renew his contract in 1991. After spending a stint with the California Angels in 1992, public outcry demanded that Ernie Harwell was brought back to Detroit.

Ernie Harwell began calling innings 1-3 and 7-9 of each Tiger game and from 1994 to 1998 he did the Tigers’ television broadcast. In 1999, the Tigers welcomed Ernie Harwell back to the radio booth full-time, until he announced his retirement in 2002.

For his broadcasting career, Ernie Harwell did the play-by-play for two All-Star Games (1958 and 1961) and two World Series (1963 and 1968). Ernie Harwell’s voice could also be heard throughout his career on CBS Radio, ESPN Radio and on WJR when the Tigers went to the 1984 World Series.

Below are some of Ernie Harwell’s most notable calls:

—-“It’s gone! - Ernie Harwell’s recollection of his call of the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, the home run by Bobby Thomson that won the NL pennant for the New York Giants on October 3, 1951. The NBC TV broadcast on which Ernie Harwell made the call was not preserved or recorded for posterity.”

—-“Here’s the set by Segui, the pitch…swung on, a drive to left! That’ll be the ball game! It’s over the head of Gosger! McLain wins his thirtieth, here comes Stanley, he’ll score…Willie Horton hits a single and the ball game is over, and the Tigers win it 5-4…Denny McLain is one of the first out of the dugout, racing out, and Horton is mobbed as the Tigers come from behind, and McLain has his thirtieth victory of the 1968 season! - Calling the final out on September 14, 1968. It was the 30th win of the year for Denny McLain, the first such feat for a major league pitcher since Dizzy Dean in 1934.” - Ernie Harwell

—-“This big crowd here ready to break loose. Three men on, two men out. Game tied, 1-1, in the ninth inning. McDaniel checking his sign with Jake Gibbs. The tall right-hander ready to go to work again, and the windup, and the pitch…He swings, a line shot, base hit, right field, the Tigers win it! Here comes Kaline to score and it’s all over! Don Wert singles, the Tigers mob Don, Kaline has scored…The fans are streaming on the field…And the Tigers have won their first pennant since nineteen hundred and forty-five! Let’s listen to the bedlam here at Tiger Stadium! - Calling Don Wert’s game winning single to give the Tigers the American League pennant on September 17, 1968.” - Ernie Harwell

—“Gibson has tied the record of Sandy Koufax, 15 strikeouts in a single World Series game. Trying for number 16 right now against Cash to break the record. He takes his set position, he delivers, here’s the pitch…Swing and a miss, he did it! - Calling St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson’s record-setting 16th strikeout against the Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. (Audio) ” - Ernie Harwell

—“Here comes Herndon, he’s got it! And the Tigers are the champions of 1984! - Calling the last out in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series.” - Ernie Harwell

—-“Peña digging in, waiting, here’s the set, the pitch…Swing and a miss! And the Toronto Blue Jays win it, the final game of 2002. The final score: the Blue Jays 1, and the Tigers nothing. - Harwell calling the last out in his final game broadcast on September 29, 2002.” - Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell continues to be beloved in the city of Detroit and throughout the world of baseball. He’s a true living legend and one of the best broadcasters in sports history.

One of the greatest hitters in baseball history was born May 9, 1960 in Los Angeles, California. His name? Anthony Keith Gwynn, better known as Tony Gwynn.

Tony Gwynn made his Major League debut July 19, 1982 for the San Diego Padres. His final game was October 7, 2001 for those very same San Diego Padres. Tony Gwynn played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Padres, which is a remarkable feat considering how athletes jump from sports city to sports city nowadays.

In his first game in 1982, Tony Gwynn drove a base hit off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Sid Monge. Twenty years later in 2001, Tony Gwynn got his final hit off Colorado Rockies pitcher Gabe White. In between those 20 years, he compiled 3,141 hits in route to becoming the Padres’ all-time hits leader.

Hits aren’t the only Padres’ record Tony Gwynn holds, either. Tony Gwynn is also the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in average (.338), games played (2,440), at bats (9,288), runs (1,383), doubles (543), triples (85), RBI (1,138), walks (790) and stolen bases (319).

It’s safe to say that Tony Gwynn is the greatest player in Padres history.

Below are some of Tony Gwynn’s most memorable moments:

500th hit – August 18, 1985 vs. Atlanta pitcher Craig McMurtry
1,000th hit – April 22, 1988 vs. Houston pitcher Nolan Ryan
1,135th hit – September 17, 1988 vs. Atlanta pitcher Jim Acker (Gwynn became the Padres’ all-time hitter leader, surprising Dave Winfield.)
1,500th hit – August 15, 1990 vs. Montreal pitcher Steve Frey
2,000th hit – August 6, 1993 vs. Colorado pitcher Bruce Ruffin
2,500th hit – August 14, 1996 vs. Cincinnati pitcher Hector Carrasco
3,000th hit – August 6, 1999 vs. Montreal pitcher Dan Smith
3,141st hit – October 6, 2001 vs. Colorado Gabe White

For his career, Tony Gwynn was selected to 15 All-Star Games, was a five-time Gold Glove Award winner and a seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Tony Gwynn also won several more awards, including the Roberto Clemente Award in 1999, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1998 and the Branch Rickey Award in 1995. In honor of his accomplishments, the San Diego Padres retired Tony Gwynn’s #19 jersey.

Not many players in the history of baseball had a better plate approach than Tony Gwynn. Tony Gwynn’s legacy was built on what he did with the bat, but he was also a solid defender and despite his size, could swipe a bag with the best of them, too.

In 2007, Tony Gwynn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He earned 97.6% of the total votes and was a first ballot inductee.

Nolan Ryan is often highly regarded as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. As one of the hardest throwing right-handed pitchers ever, Nolan Ryan threw pitches that were regularly hit above 100 mph on the radar gun.

Nolan Ryan started his career with the New York Mets in 1966 and played with the organization until 1971. In 1972, Nolan Ryan was traded to the California Angels and lasted eight seasons there until he signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Houston Astros after the 1979 season. Nolan Ryan then left Houston in a contract dispute following the 1988 season and joined the Texas Rangers.

For his career, Nolan Ryan compiled a 324-292 record as a starter and struck out 5,714 batters, which is still a MLB record. Nolan Ryan also holds the record for most career no-hitters with seven.

Nolan Ryan finished his stellar career with an ERA of 3.19, was an eight-time All-Star and a World Series champion in 1969. He was also named American League The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 1977 and is the only player to have his jersey retired by three different teams (California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers).

Nolan Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and earned 98.2% of votes, which was just six votes short of a unanimous election. He’s often compared to the great Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles Dodgers), since Nolan Ryan broke two of Sandy Koufax’s records (no-hitters and the single-season strikeout mark).

Nolan Ryan is a true pitching legend, although some like to question his place in history because of his low winning percentage (.526). But while other pitchers might have had better stats, arguably no player mastered the strikeout as well as the Nolan Ryan “Express.” He was also incredibly durable, too, as evidence that he played in more seasons (27) than any other player in Major League Baseball history.