Many have tried but only a handful of professional athletes are able to make the crossover into a successful acting career. We may not see them walk onto a stage and receive an Emmy or an Oscar but some have become very successful in their second careers and have also turned into some fairly respectable actors.

The criteria I used for this list is they had to have played a sport professionally. For the “order” criteria (which was not easy) I took into consideration their body of work in both their sports career and their acting career. I also considered their acting ability and their overall success as an actor. I am not including any professional bodybuilders or professional wrestlers in this list because stage presence and theatrics are already exhibited in these two sports.

Pro Sports Career: Played Baseball with Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies & Atlanta Braves from 1962-1967

It just seems fitting that Bob Ueker should come in at number 12 but at least he made the cut. After his lackluster baseball career Uecker made the most of it by making fun of himself and describing his experiences on the talk show circuit and then started appearing in several TV shows & movies. His line “Just a bit outside” from the move Major League is still a classic. He later was one of the main characters in the TV series Mr. Belvedere which aired from 1985 to 1990.

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Despite brilliant careers, many sporting figures have blown their reputations away by foolishness or crime. This is a list of the top 10.

10. Pete Rose (1941 - Reds, Phillies, Expos - Reds Manager)

In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds; some accusations claimed that he bet on, and even against, the Reds. After years of public denial, in 2004 he admitted to betting on, but not against, the Reds. After Rose’s ban was instated, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the “permanently ineligible” list from induction. His hordes of adoring fans each, in their own way, continue to plead for his inclusion into the Hall, but thus far, no one is bending. So, I guess that just goes to show you how incomprehensibly stupid it is to bet while still employed by the MLB. Nice one, Charlie Hustle.

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Sporting events garner so much media attention these days that you can be certain that anytime something goes wrong, someone will catch it on film. This is a list of 30 of the most brilliant (and often hilarious) sporting photos caught on film. As usual, click the image for a larger view.

30

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Today Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. The year 2006 saw MMA set pay-per-view records surpassing both boxing and pro wrestling. In 1993, MMA or Ultimate Fighting was introduced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The first tournament was conceived with the intention of finding out which martial art was superior. In the end a young Brazilian, Royce Gracie was left standing defeating his opponents with an almost unknown style of grappling, Brazilian jiu jitsu. The top fighters of today are well-rounded athletes with expertise in striking (boxing, muay thai) and grappling (jiu jitsu, judo, wrestling) as well as some of the best cardiovascular training in sports. Pankration, a version of wrestling including strikes was an event in the ancient Olympic games. While the first modern events had few rules and no time limits, since 1999 state athletic commissions under the Unified Rules of MMA, which includes 32 fouls, have sanctioned competitions. No one has ever died in sanctioned MMA competition.

10. Rickson Gracie 11-0

Family champion of the infamous Gracies of Brazil, Rickson is said to have over 400 victories in jiu jitsu, vale tudo, amateur wrestling and various other combat sports. His pro record stands at 11 wins with no losses. Son of Brazilian jiu jitsu’s founder Helio Gracie, Rickson is a 7th degree black belt in Gracie jiu jitsu. Always promoting Gracie Jiu Jitsu as the best fighting style in the world, the only spot on his record came in an American Sambo tournament. Gracie claimed the rules were not properly explained to him. Forever a legendary figure to all mixed martial artists, he doesn’t rank higher because his professional wins came against some less than stellar competition.

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Everyone loves to see a world record. Here is a list of the 10 most impressive world records ever set in athletics.

10. Yelena Isinbayeva Pole Vault

Apart from being smoking hot, Yelena Isinbayeva is also the best female pole vaulter currently competing, and has set 20 world records, 9 of them in 2005 alone. She is virtually unbeaten since the Olympic Games of 2004.

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