From Pro14 to World Champion at the PDC, Gerwyn Price has managed to successfully convert from rugby to the world of darts. In juts six years after hanging up his boots Price has become only the fourth player to surpass a million in earnings on the Order of Merit. This accomplishment is truly outstanding, and adds Price to a very small list of players who achieve success in different disciplines
1. Michael Jordan – Basketball and Baseball
Picture this you are at the top of your game professionally, dominating in the NBA three consecutive years in a row ,at the your peak and then you just call it a day. There is something poetic about it I suppose, Eric Cantona was somewhat similar. He quit Manchester United at the age of 31 to pursue a career in acting. Jordan on the other hand quit to pursue a career in another sport, baseball.
Following the exhaustion of the “three-peat” , the 1992 Olympics and more importantly the death of his father who always desired to see him play baseball, Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls. He then signed for the Major league team the Chicago White Soxs. Both teams conveniently owned by the same man, Jerry Reinsdorf. From here he he was loaned out to Birmingham Barons to get some experience but recorded very average numbers.
People may look and laugh at his time on the baseball field however its worth noting that Jordan had not played the sport since High School and was widely tipped by coaches who went to bat for him saying he had a good chance to make it to the Major Leagues. We would never find out though as he eventually left the world of baseball behind and joined the Chicago bulls again to add once again to his impressive trophy haul.
It was another Jordan crossover though that would have more success in baseball. Brian Jordan earned the rare honor of being named an All-Star in the NFL and MLB. Jordan played three years with the Atlanta Falcons before signing exclusively with the baseball team the St. Louis Cardinals.
2. Kevin Moran – Football and Soccer
Kevin Moran has two All Ireland medals along with an FA Cup medal ( he was also the first ever man to be sent off in an FA Cup final, Id argue that is just as impressive). From 1976 to 1977 Moran managed to bag two All Ireland medals with his native Dublin by defeating Kerry in 76 and Armagh in 77. To make it more impressive Moran also was named as an All Start in the year they defeated Kerry in the final.
All the while Moran continued to play soccer for the like of UCD and Pegasus. Here he was spotted by spotted by Billy Behan, a Manchester United scout. In 1978 he signed with the Red Devils however did manage to appear in one more All Ireland final while under contract that same year in a losing effort to Kerry. Moran went onto spend ten years at United before being eventually displaced by Steve Bruce and moving to Sporting Gijon in Spain.
3. Conor McGregor – MMA and Boxing
Say what you will about the man, but to have the gaul to step into a professional boxing match for the first time with the greatest boxer of all time has to be respected. That is what McGregor did, and from a sporting perspective he did himself proud. Forget all the money it generated and the silly antics, we were treated to a hugely global event and got to share it with the rest of the world. We covered this fight in-depth in this article – go check it out.
MMA and boxing has quite a few stars of other sports make the crossover. Bobb Sapp former American footballer springs to mind fighting with Japanese promotion Pride FC while while Basketballer Nate Robinson was recently knocked out in a boxing ring.
4. Briege Corkery & Rena Buckley – Football and Camogie
Just the 34 All-Ireland Senior Medals shared between them! Rena Buckley & Briege Corkery win again in Croke Park. https://t.co/Hkv18NQ2PH pic.twitter.com/NPzWnVY5hO
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) September 25, 2016
Make that 36 All Ireland titles between them! Take that in for a second 36 ALL IRELAND TITLES! Their rise to dominance in the Gaelic world mirror each other so much that in 2015 Buckley and Corkery were named joint winners of the 2015 The Irish Times/ Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Their first accolade came in 2005 winning the All Ireland football championship and then going onto help Cork achieve no less then 11 All Ireland victories in 12 years. On the camogie side of things both players won seven All Ireland medals together. Corkery for all here troubles managed a total 16 All Star titles. Rena despite trailing in the All Star department with 11, did become the first ever player to captain both Cork teams in the All-Ireland Camogie & Football.
Rena also went for the triple play, representing Ireland in an International rules test against Australia!
5. Gene Conley, Basketball and Baseball
At 6’8 and 225 pounds you would think Gene Conley would be prime for Basketball. If you thought that, well you would be right, Boston Celtics had the same thought process as you. Picking him up in the early 50’s to play professionally. Conely didn’t have to best start to his Celtics Career and moved onto Major League Baseball, naturally.
Here he became a four time all-star and won the world series in 1957 with the Milwaukee Braves. Conley then decided to have another crack at basketball , and went onto win three NBA Championships with the Celtics. At some stages he was playing both sports in tandem, once pitching the The Boston Red Sox to a victory just nine days after helping the Celtics capture their NBA title in 1961.
The Washington Sports Hall of Fame included Conley in its 1979 class of inductees, why Washington you ask? Well before his remarkable professional career , Conley went to Washington State where he was an All-American track star! That on top of becoming the only athlete in history to win world titles in two of the big four pro american leagues, means Conely is probably thee greatest professional dual athletes to ever live.
6. WIll Ferrell – Basketball and Nascar and Figure Skater
Starting off in the 70’s Will Ferrell then known as Jackie Moon, played for the Michigan based Flint Tropics. After an agreement was made between the NBA and the ABA, to absorb the ABA and some teams with it, Moon had the people believe that Flint would have a team competing in the NBA. Unfortunately this was not to be the case and The Tropics were disbanded, but not before defeating the San Antonio Spurs to win the first and last ever Mega Bowl!
After a few years off the radar, possible partying with his brother at the Roxbury, Ferrell changed disciplines and went south to compete on the Talladega speedway. Ferrell once again changed his name, this time to Ricky Bobby and formed a formidable alliance with teammate Cal Naughton Jr, where the team M.O would be “If you aint first, you’re last”. Unfortunately for Bobby his rise coincided with the arrival of Jean Girard, Formula One great. A rivalry for the ages ensued and would culminate in thee most spectacular fashion at Talladega.
Despite his love for racing and basketball, Ferrell always had one eye on the ice. Once again changing his name to avoid suspicion , the newly christened Chazz Michael Michaels wanted to bring some charisma to the world of figure skating. However his name would not be the only thing he changed, no he changed the perception of what double figure skating could be. Aligning with the former child prodigy Jimmy MacElroy, Chazz and McElroy formed the first ever male tandem in doubles figure skating. This allowed them to perform a move known as the “Iron Lotus” and captured gold, along with the hearts of millions.
Since retiring from the sporting world Ferrell has managed to enter the Eurovision. We wish him well in all his future endevours.
7. Sergio Garcia, Golf and Soccer
The 2017 masters winner has been a pro golfer for the passed 22 years. However is a massive soccer fan, even go so far as to becoming Chairman of his local soccer team CF Borriol. Not only that but Garcia has managed to register at least 6 minutes of action with the Spanish side in the fourth tier Tercera División . Back in 2010 Garica came on in the 1-0 defeat to Ribarroja CF , as the the Chairman I’m sure you can do that sort of thing. Not the most glamorous example of a dual sport star but I needed to include a golfer, so cut me some slack!
8. Herschel Walker , NFL and Bobsleigh and MMA
Walker seemed destined for greatness after coming out of college with the coveted Heisman Trophy. Regarded as one of the greatest ever college players Walker went onto to play in the NFL for 11 years with giants of the game like the Dallas Cowboys , Minnesota Vikings , Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants . Not content though with just the NFL, Walker represented America in the 1992 Winter Olympics in France competing in the two-man bobsled. Then in 2009 Walker signed with MMA promotion Strikeforce and currently has a 2-0 fighting record. I suppose the fact that he is fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do would help.
Also In 1988, while a member of the Dallas Cowboys, he danced with the Fort Worth Ballet for a single performance, just so you know.
Have you anyone to add? Lets us know!
