Have you ever been watching a sports game and thought to yourself, “Man, what is in the water where these guys are from?” Well, we can’t answer what is in the water but we can tell you where they’re drinking their water.
The guys over at Area Vibes took a look at where the most American professional athletes hail from. They collected player information from Sports-Reference.com sites related to baseball, football, basketball, and hockey to determine pro athlete birth states and cities. They then compared the number of players by state per 100,000 residents and by city per 10,000 residents.
“Based on the data, Washington, D.C, has produced the greatest number of professional baseball, basketball, hockey, and football players (a little over 53 athletes per 100,000 residents). You might be familiar with some of these players, such as Indianapolis Colts quarterback and 2012 NFL draft first overall pick Andrew Luck. There’s also the 2013-14 NBA League MVP Kevin Durant, who is now enjoying the Pacific Coast as a member of the Golden State Warriors.”
When boiling it down to each professional league, Washington, D.C. still reigns supreme in 3 of the 4 sports, with hockey being the lone exception.
Only eight states have at least one city or more that have produced the most professional hockey players per 10,000 residents. Massachusetts has five cities represented, which is followed by Minnesota (four cities), New York and Michigan (three cities each), Connecticut (two cities), and Illinois, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin (one city each). With over two players per 10,000 residents, Edina, Minnesota, is the top city. Two current NHL players – Arizona Coyotes defender Jamie McBain and New York Islanders center Anders Lee – hail from this town.
Saginaw, Michigan, has produced the most professional basketball players – around two players per 10,000 residents. You may have never heard of the city before, but you may have heard of the most recent on-court celebrate born in the city: Draymond Green. Two other Michigan success stories come from Flint – Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee and Boston Celtics shooting guard James Young. Both of these players went in the first round of their respective NBA drafts and are examples of the quality of players born in Flint, Michigan.
Only two of the top 20 hometowns for professional football players are located in Texas. However, Ohio has the most cities represented: Youngstown (almost 11 players per 10,000 residents), Canton (seven players), Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton (around five players each).
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has given birth to nearly seven professional football players per 10,000 residents. Ty Law, former defensive back for the New England Patriots and three-time Super Bowl champion, calls the greater Pittsburgh area his birthplace. Hall of Fame quarterbacks and league MVPs Dan Marino and Joe Montana also hail from the metropolitan areas surrounding Pittsburgh.
The St. Louis Cardinals have the second most World Series wins in all of Major League Baseball, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it has produced the highest number of professional baseball players (9.4) per 10,000 residents.
Lawrence Berra, better known as “Yogi,” was a native son of St. Louis but helped the New York Yankees win 10 out of 27 World Series championships. In Cincinnati – which has produced the second highest number of professional baseball players (6.7) – Pete Rose is the picture of success as a player. Rose (also known as “Charlie Hustle”) brought two World Series championships to Cincinnati, Ohio, in addition to the significant number of individual accolades he earned as a player.
Across all possible cities in the four major sports, Chicago has had the most baseball (370), basketball (125), and football (464) players born within its city limits. Another city producing a significant amount of talent, and placed second behind Chicago in football (231) and basketball (103) and fifth (231) in baseball, is Los Angeles, California.
(Source)
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