# Most intellectual athletes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 22, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172 "2015-09-22T01:49:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/21 "2015-09-22T17:00:15Z")
The first SI Sportsman of the Year, and the first man to run a 4 minute mile, was Dr. Roger Bannister, who had a long career as a neurologist in England. Yes, he was LITERALLY “a brain surgeon.” ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/22 "2015-09-22T17:13:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Former Bengals punter Pat McInally was a Harvard graduate and the only NFL player ever to get a perfect score on the Wunderlic Test. Ryan Fitzpatrick, also a Harvard grad and current starting QB for the Jets, owns the highest score for a QB with 48/50. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/23 "2015-09-22T17:43:41Z")
Ethan “Bubblegum” Tate. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/24 "2015-09-22T17:52:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Former Bengals punter Pat McInally was a Harvard graduate and the only NFL player ever to get a perfect score on the Wunderlic Test. He also probably made a few bucks from the idea he sold to Kenner: [Starting Lineup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starting_Lineup_%28toy_line%29) sports action figures. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/25 "2015-09-22T18:35:14Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Frank Ryan quarterbacked for the Rams, Browns, and Redskins. He won the championship with the Browns in 1964 and got his Ph.D. in mathematics at Rice University in 1965. I’d like to add something about the remarkable Dr. Ryan. His [wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Ryan_(American_football)) contains these two statements. > [@](#): > > In 1966, he bounced back with a superb season, leading the league with 29 touchdown passes and finishing second with 2,976 yards despite playing with intense pain. > [@](#): > > In 1966, Ryan published two fundamental papers on the set of asymptotic values of a function holomorphic in the unit disc in Duke Mathematical Journal. Makes the most productive year of my life, and almost everyone’s, look like a pile of puke. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/26 "2015-09-22T20:05:00Z")
One of my childhood idols, and one of the greatest NHL goalies ever, was Ken Dryden. Dryden got his undergraduate degree at an Ivy League school (Cornell), won a few Stanley Cups, took a few seasons off to get his law degree, then came back to the NHL and won a few more Stanley Cups. Not too shabby. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/27 "2015-09-22T20:09:41Z")
Wow- here’s a guy I remember well as a player, but whose intellectual accomplishments I didn’t know. When I was a kid, I remember that Charlie Johnson was the quarterback of the Denver Broncos (he played for several teams over a 15 year career). While he was playing for the (then) St. Louis Cardinals, he earned his master’s degree and his doctorate in Chemical Engineering at Washington University. After retiring from football, he was a Chemical Engineering professor for decades at his alma mater, New Mexico State. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/28 "2015-09-22T20:21:25Z")
Matt Birk, an All-Pro center with the Vikings and Ravens, was a Harvard man with a high GPA. Very smart guy, but he says he had a teammate who was much smarter: running back Robert Smith. People may recall that Smith was at the center of a mini-scandal when he was a freshman at Ohio State. Smith was both a phenomenal athlete and an ambitious young man with hopes of going to medical school one day. Every football factory recruited him, and he told all the coaches, “I need to take a heavy load of math and science courses. Level with me: can I do that and still play for your team?” Every coach, including John Cooper of Ohio State, swore he could. But when Smith arrived in Columbus, he found that he’d been enrolled in a lot of Basket Weaving and Playground Management and Music Appreciation type courses. He complained, and was told by coaches, essentially, “You’re here to play ball, kid!” Smith went public, and got a lot of media attention at the time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/29 "2015-09-22T20:32:14Z")
I’d forgotten about [Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smith_%28running_back%29#After_retirement). He walked away from the game after the 2000 season (in which he’d led the NFC in rushing, and was named to the Pro Bowl) to pursue his medical career. He is also apparently an amateur astronomer. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/30 "2015-09-22T23:44:03Z")
Myron Rolle was a Rhodes Scholar, now studying to be a doctor. Roger Staubach was a Naval Academy graduate who made a fortune (half a billion dollars or more) in real estate during and after his career, using his football salary as seed money. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/31 "2015-09-23T01:19:58Z")
Several athletes are being mentioned over and over. Are people reading the thread before posting? :dubious: > [@Enginerd](#): > > …Fromer Viking (and Hall of Famer) Alan Page is an Associate Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. A number of other former NFL players have law degrees - Cris Collinsworth, Steve Young, Ron Mix, Pat Haden… Another former NFL player, now a judge: [http://cp.cuyahogacounty.us/internet/ID-73-JudgeName-DickAmbrose-judgedetails.aspx](http://cp.cuyahogacounty.us/internet/ID-73-JudgeName-DickAmbrose-judgedetails.aspx) > **[Dick Ambrose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Ambrose)** > > Richard John Ambrose (born January 17, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1975 to 1983. During his playing days he was nicknamed "Bam-Bam", after the eponymous character from The Flintstones, for his tackling and physicality. > Ambrose played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. After retiring from the NFL, he became an attorney and has been a judge of the Cuy... ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/32 "2015-09-23T03:58:16Z")
Golfers Bobby Jones was a lawyer with degrees from Ga Tech, Emory, and Harvard Cary Middlecoff (won Masters and US Open) was a dentist. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/33 "2015-09-23T04:21:02Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > One of my childhood idols, and one of the greatest NHL goalies ever, was Ken Dryden. Dryden got his undergraduate degree at an Ivy League school (Cornell), won a few Stanley Cups, took a few seasons off to get his law degree, then came back to the NHL and won a few more Stanley Cups. > > Not too shabby. Don’t forget his experiences in Parliament. (Another Dryden fan) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/34 "2015-09-23T05:09:21Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another former NFL player, now a judge: > > [http://cp.cuyahogacounty.us/internet/ID-73-JudgeName-DickAmbrose-judgedetails.aspx](http://cp.cuyahogacounty.us/internet/ID-73-JudgeName-DickAmbrose-judgedetails.aspx) > [Dick Ambrose - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Ambrose) And, this reminded me that former Bears kicker [Bob Thomas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._Thomas) is now Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/35 "2015-09-23T05:15:02Z")
Shaquille O’Neal, Ph.D. Olympic gold medal hurdler Edwin Moses has a bachelor’s degree in physics, and an MBA. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/36 "2015-09-23T13:54:56Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’d forgotten about [Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smith_%28running_back%29#After_retirement). He walked away from the game after the 2000 season (in which he’d led the NFC in rushing, and was named to the Pro Bowl) to pursue his medical career. He is also apparently an amateur astronomer. I thought about Smith but purposely did not mention him in this thread because I think his intellectualism is all in his own head. He obviously is not a doctor. When he was “bullied” at Ohio State he nearly transferred to Stanford, but decided football was too important and didn’t want to miss a season due to transfer rules. Same as Myron Rolle, you emphasize academics and then go to Florida State or Ohio State. Of course you can get a good education at those schools, but you know they want their football players to be playing football. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/37 "2015-09-23T14:03:38Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > When he was “bullied” at Ohio State he nearly transferred to Stanford, but decided football was too important and didn’t want to miss a season due to transfer rules. He also complained publicly and to the school about practice cutting into academic time (and it was, in fact, over NCAA guidelines), then left school early for the NFL draft. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/38 "2015-09-26T11:38:38Z")
If no one has mentioned it yet, Dikembe Motumbo and the late Manute Bol. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/39 "2015-09-27T07:40:04Z")
Doc Medich became an M.D. after his major league baseball career ended, though it was not the most successful career ever. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172/40 "2015-09-27T14:33:30Z")
> [@denquixote](#): > > Doc Medich became an M.D. after his major league baseball career ended, though it was not the most successful career ever. So did figure skater Debi Thomas [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-intellectual-athletes/732172.md?page=3)