There’s no doubt about it. The average person’s chances of making it in Hollywood are about the same as their chances of winning the lottery, even if they are considered to be very talented or they grew up around celebrities. Then there’s a totally different group of people. A group of people that are almost as rare as a sighting of the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot. We are talking about people that not only made it to the big time as performers on the stage and the big screen, they also had a knack for playing sports at a high level.
It is in honor of those talented individuals that we present to you 12 Celebrities Who Were Once Star Athletes. Most of these celebrities saw their athletic careers end before they began, while in others it was obvious that sports was just a hobby they were really good at and they were always meant to be in the spotlight for something else. Only one of these individuals played sports at a high enough level for long enough to be known as an athlete first, but everyone on this top 12 list is talented in more ways than one to say the least.
12. Carl Weathers
Unless you’re really into classic movies, the name Carl Weathers may not exactly roll off the tongue. Weathers isn’t necessarily considered an A-list celebrity, but he’s known for two particular roles that have defined his career… and they are drastically opposite. Weathers’ most famous movie role was that of the villain turned best friend Apollo Creed from the Rocky series. Years later he would star as Chubbs, Adam Sandler’s caddie in the movie Happy Gilmore.
Believe it or not, Weathers actually played the linebacker position at San Diego State University. While he never made it to the professional level himself, he was coached by another pseudo-celebrity and future NFL legend John Madden, who won a lot of NFL games during his career and also sold a lot of video games with his name on them. At the end of the day, it turns out that Weathers, and not Sylvester Stallone was the real athletic hero in his earlier days. Perhaps they should have cast him as Rocky Balboa instead… that way we could have seen John Madden play the role of Mickey and it would all come full circle.
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