The NHL pregame show on Vs. (PLEASE no playoff spoilers–I’m watching the games on DVR) called that Sydney Crosby “the first teenager to win a scoring title in major professional sports” with 120 points at age 19. Having just watched Liverpool put the final nail in PSV’s coffin in the UEFA Champions League, I was immediately struck by the realization that they probably meant “American major professional sports”**, probably including only MLB, the NFL, the NHL, and the NBA. OK, that’s believable. So, I have three questions for the GQ crew. For the purposes of these questions, “major league” means any pro sports league that’s ever had truly substantial nationwide coverage. This includes the Finnish elite hockey league and the Ukrainian premier soccer league just as much as it does the NBA and the NFL. It doesn’t have to be its region’s biggest league in its sport at the time; for example, I would consider the WHA, ABA or AFL to be “major leagues” in their glory days. But all ages must theoretically be able to play–for example, a 19-year-old taking the scoring lead in a U-20 World Cup would be a lot easier than taking the scoring lead in the English Premier League.
Has any teenager ever led a major league in goals? Assists?
Has any teenager ever led MLB or the Japanese equivalent league in a more significant baseball stat, like batting average, home runs or (for a pitcher) strikeouts etc.? I assume the Vs. definition of “scoring” is total runs scored in this case, which isn’t nearly as highly regarded as hockey’s point scoring statistic is.
Has any teenager ever led a major league tournament (playoffs, UEFA Champions League, World Cup, etc.) in scoring or a similar stat?
Thanks!
** The NHL’s status as a Canadian league is merely a technicality, to be dispensed with for the purposes of this thread.
Bob Mathias won the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon in 1948 and 1952, earning the title of (arguably) the “Best Athlete in the World”. He was 18 in 1948.
Pele led Brazil to the 1958 World Cup when he was 17, with the only goal in the quarterfinal game, 3 in the semis, and 2 more in the championship game.
I think you’ll find hundreds of examples of Olympic champions who were teenagers. The youngest medalist was Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras, who was just ten when he won a bronze in the parallel bars event. Some Olympic historians believe that a seven year old was part of a Dutch rowing team that won the gold in 1900. The team substituted a young french boy for their coxswain in order to get under the weight limit. Although photographs document that this event occured, there is considerable debate about whether the boy should be considered a medal winner.
Tennis has been dominated by young players for the last forty years, especially on the women’s side. Martina Hingis won the Australian Open at 16 in 1997. She also won the women’s doubles at Wimbledon a year earlier when she was just 15.
The youngest NBA player to lead the league in scoring was Bob McAdoo at 22 years old in the 1973-74 season.
Al Kaline was baseball’s youngest batting champion, just 20 years old when he paced the AL in 1955. Tony Conigliaro was twenty when led the American League in homers in 1965, the youngest player to wear that crown.
The youngest NASCAR Champion was 21-year old Bill Rexford in 1950. Youngest in the modern era was Jeff Gordon at age 24 in 1995.
Mike Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion at 20.
There are no teenagers in pro football, not during the modern era anyway.
Sorry… I forgot about golf & horse racing. Morgan Pressel became the youngest golfer to win an LPGA major just two weeks ago. She was 18. Youngest male golfer to win a major was Johnny McDermott, 19 when he won the US Open in 1911.
Steve Cauthen was the youngest jockey to win a triple crown race – he won all three in 199 at the age of 17.
Last summer, Marco Andretti, son of Michael Andretti and grandson of Mario Andretti, became the youngest person to win an Indy Car-style race, winning the Infineon Indy Grand Prix at the age of 19 years, 5 months and 14 days.