I was thinking the other day about how the offspring of famous professional athletes don’t usually exceed the performance of their parents. Then I got thinking about those rare cases when they both had outstanding careers. In particular, I’m thinking about fathers and sons who play the same professional sport. So, who is the best father/son combo in the world of professional sports? I’ve got a few in mind, but I know there have got to be others.
Football:
Archie Manning/Peyton Manning
Baseball:
Bobby Bonds/Barry Bonds
or
Ken Griffey Sr./Ken Griffey Jr.
In hockey, we have Bobby Hull and son Brett- both authentic superstars.
Basketball star Grant Hill is the son of stellar Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill.
Former heavyweight champ Ken Norton’s son, Ken Jr., was an all-Pro middle linebacker with the Cowboys and the 49ers.
Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese’s son Brian won a college football national title as quarterback of the Michigan Wolverines. And Brian’s been a pretty good (occasionally great) quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
NBA scoring champ Rick Barry has several sons (including Jon & Brent) who’ve played pro basketball (none as well as Dad).
NBA star Mike Bibby’s dad Henry played for the Knicks- and his uncle Jim was a good pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
Gus Bell was an all-star outfielder for the Reds in the 1950s, and his son Buddy was an all-star 3rd baseman for the Indians and Rangers.
Randy Hundley was a terriffic catcher for the Cubs, and his son Todd became a big league catcher, too.
The Phillies’ all-star catcher Bob Boone had a son Brett, who was an all-star 2nd baseman for the Seattle Mariners.
It’s funny, but one of the first father/son combos that I thought of when I started thinking about this whole thing was Ken Norton Sr. and Jr. But alas, they played different sports. I can’t believe I didn’t think of Bobby and Brett Hull in hockey. That’s the type of father/son duo I’m talking about, both top caliber in the same sport.
Quite a few good examples of baseball duos, but I still think either the Griffeys or the Bonds would get the vote.
So, as I have it now.
Football(US)
Archie/Peyton Manning
or
Bob/Brian Griese
Football(Soccer)
Frank Lampard / Frank Lampard
Ian Wright / Shaun Wright-Phillips
Archie Gemmill / Scott Gemmill
Harry Redknapp / Jamie Redknapp
I don’t know anything about Soccer, so I defer to Crusoe
Baseball
Ken Griffey Sr./Jr.
or
Bobby/Barry Bonds
Basketball
Henry/Mike Bibby
or
Rick/John or Brent Barry
Joe (Jelly Bean) Bryant, who played for the 76ers in the 1970’s has a son who plays for the Lakers.
Dolph Schayes is an NBA hall of famer - his son Danny had a long NBA career.
The biological father of Jalen Rose played for the Pistons.
In different sports there is Calvin Hill (football) and son Grant (basketball); and Kyle Rote (football) and son Kyle Jr. (soccer).
BTW, the Bells of baseball have a third generation playing pro ball, no?
Yogi Berra’s son Dale had a successful baseball career.
Hall of Famer George Sisler had two baseball playing sons. Dick Sisler was an All-Star, and his home run in 1950 put the Phillies in the World Series. Dave Sisler was a moderately successful relief pitcher.
All-Star Felipe Alou is father of All-Star Moises Alou. Felipe had a long and successful career, and Moises looks even better.
Sandy Alomar, Sr., was also a success (and an all-star). His sons Sandy, Jr. and Roberto were also all-stars.
It seems that the NBA has yet to field a superstar combo of father and son yet. Plenty of combinations of great/decent, decent/great and decent/decent, just no great/great combos. Is that because of the smaller number of players in the NBA compared to other sports?
I suppose on a combined greatness scale, if any of Michael Jordan’s kids even make it to the NBA they would be near the top. Also, if Bill Walton’s kid, Luke ends up playing in the NBA and being half the player his old man was, thats a pretty good duo. I suppose you could say his old man was only half the player he could have been, but that’s a topic for another day.