Greg Hansen's top 10 most accomplished sports figures in Tucson, UA history
- Updated
Annika Sorenstam, who won an NCAA championship and 73 LPGA tournaments, tops the list.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Editor's note: This summer Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today's list: the 10 most accomplished sports figures in Tucson history.
Jim Furyk was part of the most impressive recruiting class in UA golf history, and possibly any sport at the school.
In the spring of 1988, Furyk was ranked No. 2 by the American Junior Golf Association, a smart and steady golfer from Mannheim, Pa. But the son of a golf pro was only the third-highest ranked golfer in the UA Class of 1988 as signed by coach Rick LaRose.
South African Manny Zerman was the No. 1 junior amateur in the world as ranked by Golf Magazine, and Long Beach, Calif., golfer Jeff Manson was ranked No. 1 in the United States.
Manson ultimately left school and became a teaching pro in Southern California. Zerman reached the finals of the 1990 and 1991 U.S. Amateur, and was a first-team All-American as Arizona won the 1992 NCAA championship.
Furyk struggled a bit.
"My junior year, I didn’t play well," he told the Star in 1992. "I had a real off year. I had short-game troubles and I couldn’t count on my putter."
At the 1992 NCAA finals, Furyk played the No. 4 spot in the Arizona lineup. After that — wow. What else can you say?
Now 47, Furyk is the captain-in-waiting of the USA’s 2018 Ryder Cup team. He won the 2003 U.S. Open. He has won 17 PGA Tour events and in 2010 was the PGA Tour Player of the Year, winning the FedEx Cup.
From 1999-2015, Furyk was ranked in the world’s Top 10 for 430 weeks.
He is easily in the Top 10 of my rankings of the most accomplished sports figures in Tucson and UA history.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Lightly recruited – to put it mildly – Sorenstam arrived in Tucson from Sweden in the fall of 1990 without ever making a recruiting visit. She had been spotted in an amateur tournament in Japan by UA coach Kim Haddow, who happily discovered that no one else was recruiting the Swedish junior champion. After winning the 1991 NCAA championship at Arizona, Sorenstam became perhaps the top women’s golfer in history. She won 73 LPGA tournaments, 10 majors, and was player of the year eight times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005). In 2003, Sorenstam played in the PGA Tour’s Colonial Championship, the first women’s golfer on the men’s tour since 1945.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
His post-UA career is a five-part harmony: 1, He played for five NBA championship teams, draining the clinching shot in the 1997 NBA Finals for the Chicago Bulls; 2, He became the lead analyst for TNT/CBS during the NCAA tournament from 2003-07; 3, He became general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-10; 4, He returned to CBS/TNT for three more NCAA tournaments; 5, He became the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, winning 2015 and 2017 NBA championships and posting a 207-39 record.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Winning the 2015 Triple Crown while training American Pharoah was the career pinnacle for the horse trainer from Nogales and the UA. Baffert trained horses that won the Kentucky Derby in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2015 and also won six Preakness Stakes and two Belmonts. His horses have won more than 2,750 races.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In addition to his 17 PGA Tour victories, Furyk shot the lowest round, 58, in sanctioned PGA Tour history.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
When the UA outfielder was chosen the 1980 NCAA baseball player of the year, leading Arizona to the national championship, his career was just beginning. He played 10 seasons in MLB and then managed the Boston Red Sox to historic World Series championships in 2004 and 2007, before guiding the Cleveland Indians to the 2016 World Series. He also spent a year as one of ESPN’s top baseball analysts.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
After a standout basketball career at Marana High School, Cervi became the top barrel racer in the world, winning National Finals Rodeo titles in 1995, 1999, 2010 and 2013.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Although he played third base and shortstop on UA baseball teams in 1988 and 1989, Hoffman’s career was defined by his change from hitting to pitching. He was a seven-time All-Star relief pitcher, saving a then-MLB record 601 games, and finishing second in Cy Young Award balloting twice. He's a favorite to be voted into the Hall of Fame in January.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
A 1,000-yard rusher at Canyon del Oro High School, 1968, and a graduate of UA Law School, Hochuli is among one of the most accomplished referees in NFL history. He has been a crew chief the last 26 years, calling Super Bowl XXXII and XXXVIII in addition to five NFL conference championship games. Hochuli began as a Pop Warner League referee in Tucson in 1970 and worked high school and Pac-10 games until joining the NFL in 1985.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
A basketball standout at Sabino High in 1980, and a 1984 UA grad, Hicks began his career humbly, as the public address announcer for UA baseball games at Kindall/Sancet Field, and as the press box announcer at Arizona Stadium in the late 1980s. After a stint as weekend anchor at Channel 4, Hicks was hired by CNN in 1989. By 1992, he was working for NBC and for the last quarter-century has been NBC’s lead golf announcer and Olympics swimming play-by-play voice as well as working NFL broadcasts for two decades.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Given the NFL’s high national profile, "Gronk" may be the most well-known former UA athlete today. Despite a series of injuries, the tight end has played in four Pro Bowls for New England, helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls and has caught passes for more than 1,000 yards in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Editor's note: This summer Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today's list: the 10 most accomplished sports figures in Tucson history.
Jim Furyk was part of the most impressive recruiting class in UA golf history, and possibly any sport at the school.
In the spring of 1988, Furyk was ranked No. 2 by the American Junior Golf Association, a smart and steady golfer from Mannheim, Pa. But the son of a golf pro was only the third-highest ranked golfer in the UA Class of 1988 as signed by coach Rick LaRose.
South African Manny Zerman was the No. 1 junior amateur in the world as ranked by Golf Magazine, and Long Beach, Calif., golfer Jeff Manson was ranked No. 1 in the United States.
Manson ultimately left school and became a teaching pro in Southern California. Zerman reached the finals of the 1990 and 1991 U.S. Amateur, and was a first-team All-American as Arizona won the 1992 NCAA championship.
Furyk struggled a bit.
"My junior year, I didn’t play well," he told the Star in 1992. "I had a real off year. I had short-game troubles and I couldn’t count on my putter."
At the 1992 NCAA finals, Furyk played the No. 4 spot in the Arizona lineup. After that — wow. What else can you say?
Now 47, Furyk is the captain-in-waiting of the USA’s 2018 Ryder Cup team. He won the 2003 U.S. Open. He has won 17 PGA Tour events and in 2010 was the PGA Tour Player of the Year, winning the FedEx Cup.
From 1999-2015, Furyk was ranked in the world’s Top 10 for 430 weeks.
He is easily in the Top 10 of my rankings of the most accomplished sports figures in Tucson and UA history.
Lightly recruited – to put it mildly – Sorenstam arrived in Tucson from Sweden in the fall of 1990 without ever making a recruiting visit. She had been spotted in an amateur tournament in Japan by UA coach Kim Haddow, who happily discovered that no one else was recruiting the Swedish junior champion. After winning the 1991 NCAA championship at Arizona, Sorenstam became perhaps the top women’s golfer in history. She won 73 LPGA tournaments, 10 majors, and was player of the year eight times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005). In 2003, Sorenstam played in the PGA Tour’s Colonial Championship, the first women’s golfer on the men’s tour since 1945.
His post-UA career is a five-part harmony: 1, He played for five NBA championship teams, draining the clinching shot in the 1997 NBA Finals for the Chicago Bulls; 2, He became the lead analyst for TNT/CBS during the NCAA tournament from 2003-07; 3, He became general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-10; 4, He returned to CBS/TNT for three more NCAA tournaments; 5, He became the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, winning 2015 and 2017 NBA championships and posting a 207-39 record.
Winning the 2015 Triple Crown while training American Pharoah was the career pinnacle for the horse trainer from Nogales and the UA. Baffert trained horses that won the Kentucky Derby in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2015 and also won six Preakness Stakes and two Belmonts. His horses have won more than 2,750 races.
In addition to his 17 PGA Tour victories, Furyk shot the lowest round, 58, in sanctioned PGA Tour history.
When the UA outfielder was chosen the 1980 NCAA baseball player of the year, leading Arizona to the national championship, his career was just beginning. He played 10 seasons in MLB and then managed the Boston Red Sox to historic World Series championships in 2004 and 2007, before guiding the Cleveland Indians to the 2016 World Series. He also spent a year as one of ESPN’s top baseball analysts.
After a standout basketball career at Marana High School, Cervi became the top barrel racer in the world, winning National Finals Rodeo titles in 1995, 1999, 2010 and 2013.
Although he played third base and shortstop on UA baseball teams in 1988 and 1989, Hoffman’s career was defined by his change from hitting to pitching. He was a seven-time All-Star relief pitcher, saving a then-MLB record 601 games, and finishing second in Cy Young Award balloting twice. He's a favorite to be voted into the Hall of Fame in January.
A 1,000-yard rusher at Canyon del Oro High School, 1968, and a graduate of UA Law School, Hochuli is among one of the most accomplished referees in NFL history. He has been a crew chief the last 26 years, calling Super Bowl XXXII and XXXVIII in addition to five NFL conference championship games. Hochuli began as a Pop Warner League referee in Tucson in 1970 and worked high school and Pac-10 games until joining the NFL in 1985.
A basketball standout at Sabino High in 1980, and a 1984 UA grad, Hicks began his career humbly, as the public address announcer for UA baseball games at Kindall/Sancet Field, and as the press box announcer at Arizona Stadium in the late 1980s. After a stint as weekend anchor at Channel 4, Hicks was hired by CNN in 1989. By 1992, he was working for NBC and for the last quarter-century has been NBC’s lead golf announcer and Olympics swimming play-by-play voice as well as working NFL broadcasts for two decades.
Given the NFL’s high national profile, "Gronk" may be the most well-known former UA athlete today. Despite a series of injuries, the tight end has played in four Pro Bowls for New England, helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls and has caught passes for more than 1,000 yards in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
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