List of famous American sports figures who became politicians

This is a list of notable American sports figures who served at the state or national level. It only includes those who were successful in their election to office, not those who were defeated (such as Richard Petty).
*Dave Albritton - 1936 Olympic high jump medal winner. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives for six terms.
*Bill Bradley - Basketball player at Princeton University, 1964 Olympic gold medal team, and the NBA's New York Knicks. Served as U.S. senator from New Jersey from 1978 to 1996.
*Jim Bunning - MLB player with the Detroit Tigers, Phillies, Pirates, and the Dodgers. Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th District from 1987 to 1999. Currently serving in the U.S. Senate since 1999.
*Terry Dehere - Played basketball for Seton Hall University from 1989 until 1993 and for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Vancouver Grizzlies from 1993 to 1999. Served on the Jersey City Council from 2001 to 2007. Currently serves on the Jersey City Board of Education since 2007.
*Fob James - An All-American halfback for the Auburn University football team from 1952 to 1955. Governor of Alabama from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1995 to 1999.
*Kevin Johnson - Basketball player at California and for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. Currently Mayor of Sacramento.
*Walter Johnson - Hall of Fame MLB pitcher for the Washington Senators 1907-1927; elected to the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Commissioners 1938; unsuccessful Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from the Maryland 6th district in 1940
*Hayes Jones - Winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Served as Michigan State Representative in 2006.
*Jack Kemp - NFL quarterback for the Buffalo Bills from 1962 to 1969. Kemp began his political career with nine terms as a Congressman for Western New York, from 1971 to 1989, and subsequently served as Housing Secretary in the George H. W. Bush administration.
*Steve Largent - NFL player for the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1979. Served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma from 1994 until 2002.
*Don Lash - A long-distance runner who won 12 national titles from 1934 to 1940, including seven consecutive men's national cross-country championships, and who set a world's record for the two-mile run in 1936. He was elected to five terms (1973 - 1982) as a Republican member of the Indiana State House of Representatives.
*Bob Mathias - Decathlon winner at the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1952 Summer Olympics. Between 1967 and 1975, Mathias served four terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, representing the northern San Joaquin Valley of California.
*Charles Thomas McMillen - Basketball player at the University of Maryland and the NBA's Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets. Served as a Democratic U.S. Congressman who represented the 4th congressional district of Maryland from 1987 to 1993.
*Ralph Metcalfe - Medal winner at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. He served as a Democrat representing Illinois' 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 1978.
*Jack Mildren - An All-American quarterback at the University of Oklahoma and with the NFL's Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots. In 1990, Mildren became the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.
*Wilmer Mizell - MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets from 1952 to 1962. Served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 5th district from 1969 to 1975.
*Tom Osborne - Head football coach for the University of Nebraska from 1973-1997 and currently the Athletic Director at the university. Served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district from 2000 to 2006.
*Alan Page - Football player at the University of Notre Dame and the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. In 1992, Page was elected to an open seat as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
*Jim Ryun - The last American to hold the world record in the mile run (along with many other track records) and participated in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Summer Olympics. Served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing the 2nd District in Kansas, from 1996 to 2007.
*Heath Shuler - Football player at the University of Tennessee and the NFL's New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders. Elected in 2007 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th district.
*Jesse Ventura - Professional wrestler of the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation. Served as Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003.
*J. C. Watts - Football player at the University of Oklahoma and the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders. Served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 4th district from 1995 to 2003.
*Byron White - Football player at the University of Colorado and the NFL's Pittsburgh Pirates, leading the league in rushing in 1938. Served as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1962 to 1993.

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