Father's Day special: Of sportsmen and their children
By Ma. Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/21/2009 12:16 AM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”—Muhammad Ali
Indeed, sports champions are gifted with bodily-kinesthetic skills. They are also armed with a courageous heart and tremendous fighting spirit.
But could sports champions be made and honed in the home? Could they even emerge from the moment they were born? Could the desire, dream and vision that Ali was talking about refer to a child’s aim to emulate his or her father who has already reaped success in sports?
As the world marks Father’s Day, here are some notable sportsmen and their children who followed in their footsteps.
Muhammad Ali
World boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s legacy was continued by his daughter Laila, the undefeated middleweight champion with 24 wins.
Ali, a three-time world heavyweight champion, was hailed by the British Broadasting Corp (BBC) as the “Sports Personality of the Century”. He was also praised by Sports Illustrated as the “Sportsman of the Century”.
Deemed as “The Greatest,” Ali described his fighting style with the phrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
Laila, meanwhile, has scored 21 knockouts including her KO victory in her debut match over April Fowler with just 31 seconds into Round 1. In her last fight in 2007, Laila knocked out Gwendolyn O’Neal in 56 seconds. She took a sabbatical from boxing to start her own family.
Laila even continued the famous Ali-Frazier rivalry, which originally pitted her father against former world heavyweight champion “Smokin’” Joe Frazier.
Frazier defeated Ali by unanimous decision in 1971’s “The Fight of the Century.” Ali bounced back and beat Frazier also via unanimous decision in 1974. The trilogy was sealed in “The Thrilla in Manila,” where Ali won by TKO in the 14th round.
The bout “Ali-Frazier IV” ensued in 2001, this time involving Laila and Frazier’s daughter, Jacqui Frazier-Lyde. Ali triumphed via a majority judges' decision in eight rounds.
The fight between Laila and Jacqui was the first pay-per-view boxing card headlined by women.
Jacqui (13-1 with 0 KOs) was a lawyer prior to being a champion fighter. She joined women’s boxing at age 38. Her brothers, Joe Jr. and Marvis, were also boxers.
Another boxing legend, two-time world heavyweight champ George Foreman, has a son who recently tried out the sport.
George III, nicknamed “Monk” was triumphant in his boxing ring debut last June in Louisiana. He knocked out his opponent Clyde Weaver in the first round.
The elder Foreman has 10 children, five of which are boys whom he all named “George.” His daughter, Freeda Georgia Foreman, also got into professional boxing.
Other boxing tandems
Another famous father and son tandem in boxing, shared not only a surname but also a first name, is the one of Floyd Mayweather, Sr. and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Floyd Sr. was a welterweight contender in the 1970s and 1980s. He gained more fame as a trainer as well as being the father of boxing star Floyd Jr., a five-division champion and former pound-for-pound king.
Floyd Jr. was set to return to the ring in July after retiring in 2007. But his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez was postponed because “Lil Floyd” sustained a rib injury.
Floyd Sr., meantime, recently found out in 2007 that he has another son who is also boxer. A DNA test confirmed that light middleweight amateur Justin Jones was a Mayweather.
Other senior and junior boxing tandems include Roy Jones, Sr. and Roy Jones, Jr., Felix Trinidad, Sr. and Felix Trinidad, Jr. and Julio Cesar Chavez , Sr. and Julio Cesar Chavez , Jr. Julio Cesar Sr.’s youngest son, Omar, is also a boxing prospect.
Mexico’s Jose Morales has two champion boxers as sons, namely Diego and Erik. Even “Golden Boy” Oscar de la Hoya’s father, Joel Sr., was a boxer. Oscar’s brother, Joel Jr., and grandfather, Vicente, were fighters as well.
Filipino boxing fathers and sons
On the home front, former World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion and World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight titlist Luisito Espinosa was the son of Leo Espinosa, a former Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight king.
The Magramos, also known as the “Skull and Bones family,” had renowned boxer Ric as its patriarch. His sons Ric Jr., Ronnie and Melvin also got into their father’s sport.
Filipino boxing icon Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, meantime, did not have a child who followed in his great footsteps. But the late WBA and WBC super featherweight champion’s grandson, Juan Martin Elorde, is an up and coming boxer.
PBA generations
More father-and-child tandems can be spotted in the Philippines' beloved sport, basketball.
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) superstar Robert “Sonny” Jaworski, Sr., is regarded as the “Living Legend.” He is part of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of All Time.
“Jawo” was the first-ever playing coach in the PBA for Ginebra San Miguel. His son, Robert “Dudut” Jaworski, Jr., also played in his father’s team.
Both father and son went on to join politics as “The Big J” was a former senator while “Dudut” was a former congressman of Pasig City.
Another former senator who was a PBA star and coach is Freddie Webb. His son, Jason, also played for the PBA. Freddie and Jason currently give ball game commentaries on PBA.ph (Jason), radio dzMM (Freddie) and sometimes during live games.
Ex-PBA player Santiago “Sonny” Cabatu, Sr. also has a son seeing action for the Barangay Ginebra Kings. He is Santiago “Junjun” Cabatu, Jr.
Billy Mamaril of the Shell Turbochargers is the son of Romulo Mamaril, who played for the Crispa Redmanizers, Ginebra San Miguel and Formula Shell.
Seven-time PBA Best Import Bobby Parks is a father to a prospective pro, Ray, who played for the Ridgeway Middle School varsity team in Memphis, Tennessee.
Former PBA player Peter Aguilar’s son, Japeth, joined the Ateneo Blue Eagles before moving to the US where he played with the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I.
Barangay Ginebra Kings coach Jong Uichico, meantime, was a former player and head coach of the De La Salle Green Archers. He was also a member of the national youth basketball team. He led the San Miguel Beermen to six PBA championships. Uichico’s son, Johan, had a stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
PBA legend Alvin “The Captain” Patrimonio also has sports-minded children, but they took a different path. Christine and Clarice Patrimonio are junior tennis players who trained in Valencia, Spain.
Fathers and sons in NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) also has its share of fathers and sons in the league.
Hall of Famer Bill Walton is the father of Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton.
Brent Barry of the Houston Rockets is the son of another Hall of Famer, Rick Barry. Rick’s other sons, Scooter, Jon and Drew, were also basketball players.
Rick and Brent Barry comprise the second father-son tandem that has won NBA Championships. The first father-son duo to do so was Matt Guokas, Sr. and Matt Guokas, Jr.
Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Bibby is the son of former NBA player Henry Bibby. At present, Henry is the assistant coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The son of "His Royal Airness" Michael Jordan also tried to get into the sport of his superstar dad. Jeffrey Michael Jordan played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois in 2007.
Other sports
Six-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill is the son of National Football League (NFL) star Calvin Hill, a member of the 1971 Super Bowl winners.
Ken Norton, Jr. of the NFL won three Super Bowls while his father, Ken Norton, Sr. defeated Muhammad Ali to become a heavyweight champion in 1978. Ken Sr. is an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
NFL also has Archie Manning and NFL players Peyton and Eli. His other son, Cooper, was an all-state high school receiver who was sidelined by spinal stenosis.
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, Sr. has two sons who got into race car driving, former driver Kerry and Dale Jr. who is a NASCAR star himself.
Lee and Richard Petty are Motorsports Hall of Famers. Lee, the elder Petty, won three championships and the inaugural Daytona 500. Richard, meantime, retired with seven championships and the most career wins (200).
In Major League Baseball, there’s Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffery, Jr., Felipe and Moises Alou, and Bobby and Barry Bonds.
Bobby and Brett Hull, and Gordie and Mark Howe, meanwhile, excelled in the National Hockey League.
In Philippine tennis, there is the duo of Felix and Felicisimo Ampon. Felix represented the Philippines in the Davis Cup back in the 1920s and 1930s. His son, Felicisimo, was also a Davis Cup player.
“Mighty Mite” Felicisimo was the first Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Athlete of the Year declared in 1950.
His victories include a Davis Cup singles championship, Pan-American championship singles title in Mexico, and a gold medal in the Far Eastern Games before the war.
Felicisimo also won a doubles' gold medal with Raymundo Deyro in the 1958 Asian Games. In 1953, he won the Wimbledon Plate championship which is a tournament for players who lost in the first and second rounds of Wimbledon.
___________________
Sources: Wikipedia.org, LailaAli.com, The Chronicle (Chron.com), AskMen.com, TennisArchives.com, PhilTennis.com, SaddoBoxing.com
Photo courtesy of MuhammadAliProject.info
Comments