Hometown Heroes: The Most Popular Athletes in Each State Revealed!
We all have those people we remember from our hometowns that made it big. From Muhammad Ali to Michael Jordan, many of the greatest athletes of all time call America home. But have you ever wondered which sporting star is more revered in each US state?
A new study by TopUSCasinos.com uncovers the top sporting star in each state to reveal which athlete steals the show the most back home. To reveal each US state’s most celebrated sporting hero, TopUSCasinos first collected data for each of the fifty states’ most successful and prodigious athletes from Bleacher Report. From here, TopUSCasinos analyzed each athlete’s respective Wikipedia page to assess visits during a twelve-month period between March 2020-March 2021. The athlete for each state with the most page views during this period is considered their area’s leading hometown hero.
With nearly 60% of states ranking a basketball or football icon as their top hometown hero. It’s by no surprise that basketball’s Michael Jordan takes the crown as North Carolina’s state superstar. (Go Hornets!) But, it’s not only basketball and Football that are celebrated. By, turning our attention to the ring, one of the sport’s most celebrated athletes, Muhammad Ali, is comfortably the greatest to ever come out of Kentucky. Heading westward Tiger Woods’ golfing heroics have cemented him as California’s leading sportsman, while tennis’ Andre Agassi is top in Nevada.
Discover your state’s hometown hero below:
| State | Top Athlete | Sport |
| Alabama | Charles Barkley | Basketball |
| Alaska | Curt Schilling | Baseball |
| Arizona | Billy Graham | Wrestling |
| Arkansas | Scottie Pippen | Basketball |
| California | Tiger Woods | Golf |
| Colorado | Vincent Jackson | Football |
| Connecticut | Floyd Little | Football |
| Delaware | Randy White | Football |
| Florida | Roy Jones Jr. | Boxing |
| Georgia | Jackie Robinson | Baseball |
| Hawaii | B.J. Penn | MMA |
| Idaho | Jake Plummer | Football |
| Illinois | Dwyane Wade | Basketball |
| Indiana | Larry Bird | Basketball |
| Iowa | Kurt Warner | Football |
| Kansas | Barry Sanders | Football |
| Kentucky | Muhammad Ali | Boxing |
| Louisana | Peyton Manning | Football |
| Maine | Edmund “RIP” Black | Football |
| Maryland | Babe Ruth | Baseball |
| Massachusetts | Patrick Ewing | Basketball |
| Michigan | Magic Johnson | Basketball |
| Minnesota | Kevin Garnett | Basketball |
| Mississippi | Brett Favre | Football |
| Missouri | Jayson Tatum | Basketball |
| Montana | Phil Jackson | Basketball |
| Nebraska | Gale Sayers | Football |
| Nevada | Andre Agassi | Tennis |
| New Hampshire | Carlton Fisk | Baseball |
| New Jersey | Rick Barry | Basketball |
| New York | Alex Rodriguez | Baseball |
| North Carolina | Michael Jordan | Basketball |
| North Dakota | Roger Maris | Baseball |
| Ohio | Jack Nicklaus | Golf |
| Oklahoma | Jim Thorpe | Decathlon, Pentathlon |
| Oregon | Danny Ainge | Basketball |
| Pennsylvania | Wilt Chamberlain | Basketball |
| Rhode Island | Vinny Pazienza | Boxing |
| South Carolina | Joe Frazier | Boxing |
| South Dakota | Billy Mills | Long Distance Running |
| Tennessee | Reggie White | Football |
| Texas | Lance Armstrong | Road Cycling |
| Utah | Jim Mcmahon | Football |
| Vermont | John Leclair | Ice Hockey |
| Virginia | Allen Iverson | Basketball |
| Washington | John Elway | Football |
| West Virginia | Jerry West | Basketball |
| Wisconsin | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Basketball |
| Wyoming | James Johnson | Basketball |
