The 20 Greatest Teenagers in Sports History

Wayne Gretzky is one of the most decorated athletes in sports history. Back on this day in 1984, with the Edmonton Oilers, he became the first teenager to score 50 goals in a season. This would be the beginning of an illustrious career that would see “The Great One” end up with the most points in NHL history, along with a slew of other accolades and records. Gretzky dominated his sport like few others have in history, but that’s not to say there haven’t been a host of baby-faced assassins that have dominated their respective athletic arenas. So, from LeBron James winning Rookie of the Year at 19, to Pele winning the World Cup at 17, we present The 20 Greatest Teenagers in Sports History.

Written by Adam Silvers (@silversurfer103)

Sport: Football

Achievements as a Teen: As a freshman at Philadelphia High in 1978, Marcus Dupree ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash, scored five touchdowns as a wide receiver and seven more as a kickoff and punt returner. As a sophomore he was switched to running back and rushed for 1,850 yards while racking up 28 touchdowns. Dominating one sport would be enough for any athlete, but not everyone was Marcus Dupree. Dupree also played on Philly High's basketball team, which finished 1979 with a 33-4 record and reached the semifinals of the Mississippi State basketball tournament. Still not enough? Okay, cool. Dupree also played first base and catcher for the baseball team, hitting .481 in his junior year. That same year he rushed for 2,550 yards and scored 34 touchdowns. His senior year saw him tally 2,995 yards and 36 touchdowns. He finished high school with 7,335 yards and 87 touchdowns, a national high school record. Let's all just take a moment to breathe.

Career Recap: While his high school career was nothing short of amazing, the same cannot be said of his college career at Oklahoma and his short stint in the NFL. Dupree was hampered by injuries and after a standout freshman year at OU, it was all downhill from there. Despite not starting until the seventh game of the season, Dupree finished his freshman year with 1,444 yards and 13 TD's, this would be his last prolific year as a football player. The subject of an ESPN 30 for 30 film entitled, The Best That Never Was, Dupree was one of those rare cases of a standout athlete who for a multitude of reasons couldn't find his feet in the pros.

Sport: Tennis

Achievements as a Teen: Jennifer Capriati debuted at the age of 14 in 1990. Later that season she became the youngest player ever to crack the top 10. Between 1990-1993 (age 14-17) Capriati won six singles titles, including a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Career Recap: Capriati finished with a record of 430-176. She tallied 14 career titles and reached number one in the world in 2001. She won the Australian Open back-to-back in 2001-2002, and she took home the French Open title in 2001. Combine those Grand Slam victories with her Olympic gold from 1992, and Caps earned her induction into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

Sport: Boxing

Achievements as a Teen: In his first 15 fights at age 18, Iron Mike won all by either TKO or KO. We're really not too surprised. He made his pro debut on March 6, 1985 knocking out Hector Mercedes in the first round. Thus began the curious tale of one Mike Tyson, an oft-misunderstood figure that rose to boxing stardom.

Career Recap: After he threw his last punch, Tyson finished with a record of 50-6-0, racking up 44 KO's in the process. He is the former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles. He was just 20 years old at the time. Mike has also provided us with numerous quotes, and plenty of laughs to last a lifetime. Salute to one of the truest, albeit controversial, American athletes and entertainers of our generation.

Sport: Basketball

Achievements as a Teen: At the time of his debut in 1996, Bryant became the youngest player to ever play in an NBA game. He was just 18 years and 72 days old. As his minutes increased so did his prowess. He finished the 1997-1998 season as runner up for Sixth Man of the Year, and he won the Slam Dunk contest. He was named an All-Star that season and thus became the youngest player in NBA history to become an All-Star starter. The Mamba was destined for greatness.

Career Recap: Kobe Bean Bryant is currently a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, the 2008 NBA MVP, and a 15-time NBA All-Star. He has managed to take home two scoring titles, and 10 All-NBA first team nods. Proving his all-around talent, he has nine NBA All-Defensive first team selections, and he's showed his patriotic side taking home two gold medals while representing the Red, White, and Blue. The legend continues to grow.

Sport: Basketball

Achievements as a Teen: LeBron James, the scrawny kid from Ohio, has blossomed into the most dominating player in the game at the moment. He first took the Association by storm when he took home Rookie of the Year honors at 19 and became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in a game. At the end of his rookie campaign he joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game in their rookie season.

Career Recap: After putting his days in Cleveland behind him, LeBron has moved onto bigger and better things in South Beach. He was finally crowned an NBA champion in 2012 as well as taking home the Finals MVP. He is already a three-time (with a fourth one on the way in a couple months) NBA MVP, and a nine-time All-Star. He has one scoring title and is a six time All-NBA first team selection. In addition to all that, King James is a four time All-Defensive first team member and he was hailed as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 2012. Whether Cleveland fans have any love for him or not, he's the Cavs all-time leading scorer, and he has two Olympic gold medals to his name to top off his ever growing resume. The world waits to see just how many accolades LeBron will end up with when he decides to hang 'em up.

Sport: Tennis

Achievements as a Teen: Chris Evert burst onto the scene in 1973 at the age of 18. That year she managed to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon finals, losing both, but youth would be served. She made it back to both of those finals just a year later at 19, and let's just say history would not repeat itself. Evert now had two grand slam titles to her name before the age of 20 in what would go on to become one of the greatest tennis careers in history.

Career Recap: By the time she was finished with her playing days Evert had boasted a record of 1,309-145, the second best winning percentage in tennis history. She racked up an astounding 157 titles and climbed the ranks to reach number one in 1975. She won the Aussie Open twice, Wimbledon three times, the US Open six times, and the French Open a mind-boggling seven times. We'll do the math for you, that's 18 Grand Slam championships. Her 34 Grand Slam finals appearances are more than anyone in history. She found her place among the other kings and queens of the court when she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Sport: Gymnastics

Achievements as a Teen: Mary Lou Retton was the first female gymnast outside of Eastern Europe to win an Olympic all-around gold medal. After winning the US Nationals, and the US Olympic Trials at just 16 in 1984, Retton underwent a knee operation just before the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She recovered just in time, and proceeded to win said all-around gold medal for the United States, one of five metals she took home at those games. She was hailed for her 1984 heroics by being named Sports Illustrated's "Sportswoman of the Year."

Career Recap: Retton capped her career by being inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. She was the first female athlete to appear on the cover of a Wheaties box and has a gymnastics move named after her called "The Retton Flip," which we're sure is totally suitable for children.

Sport: Tennis

Achievements as a Teen: Tracy Austin won her first pro title at 14. No, that's not a typo. Two years later at 16, she captured the 1979 US Open singles title, becoming the youngest player to do so. In 1980 she became the youngest sports millionaire ever at the time. How does one top that, and all before they turn 18?

Career Recap: Austin finished with a career record of 335-90, racking up 30 titles along the way. She reached number one in the world in 1980 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992. After that first historic US Open victory, she mustered one more championship in Queens in 1981.

Sport: Hockey

Achievements as a Teen: At 18 years of age Sid the Kid burst onto the NHL scene with the Pittsburgh Penguins. A successful rookie campaign saw him gather 102 points, best for sixth in the league overall. In his second season he led the NHL with 120 points and became the youngest player, and only teenager, to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season Crosby took home the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL MVP. So much for a sophomore slump.

Career Recap: Crosby has racked up numerous honors and accolades in his young career. He won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy, given to the leading scorer, in 2007. He took home MVP honors that year and was named the Sporting News NHL player of the year in 2007 as well. He achieved the ultimate when he hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Pens, and he even has an Olympic gold medal to his name with Canada from the 2010 Winter Games. The Pens currently sit atop the Eastern Conference and are set to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Sport: Tennis

Achievements as a Teen: Boris Becker became the youngest player to ever win the men's Wimbledon singles title at the age of 17 in 1985. He matched that by retaining his Wimbledon title the very next year. This was just the start of one of the most illustrious careers in tennis.

Career Recap: Boris Becker finished with a record of 335-90, amassing 49 titles in his historic career. He reached the pinnacle when he was ranked number one in 1991. He won the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996, and Wimbledon in 1985, 1986, and 1989. He has made three French Open semi-final appearances, and captured a US Open title in 1989. He won Olympic gold in the 1992 games in Barcelona and was hailed as ATP Player of the Year in 1989. He was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sport: Baseball

Achievements As a Teen: "Doc" Gooden made his debut with the NY Mets in 1984 at age 19. In that season he went 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA, and a rookie record 260 strikeouts in 218 innings. That's just an alarming rate in any era of the game for a pitcher of any age.

Career Recap: Gooden went 194-112 for his career, with a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts. He was a four-time All-Star (1984-86, 1988), and a three-time World Series Champion. In 1985, Don took home the Cy Young and the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the NL in wins, strikeouts and ERA. He even has a Silver Slugger on his resume. Gooden threw a no-hitter in 1996 and helped the Yankees win their first World Series title in 18 years. If it weren't for his love/hate (mostly love) relationship with booger sugar who knows how much greater he could have been.

Sport: Track & Field

Achievements as a Teen: Jim Ryun was the first high schooler ever to run a sub-four minute mile, running 3:59.0 as a junior. In 1966, he broke the world record at age 19, with a time of 3:51.3, and that same year he set world records in the mile and half-mile runs. The year got even sweeter when he took home Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" award, in addition to the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.

Career Recap: Ryun finished with four world records and was the Track and Field News Athlete of the Year winner in 1966 and 1967, the first athlete to win the award in consecutive years. Add that to the 1966 SI "Sportsman of the Year" award, the 1966 James E. Sullivan award, and the 1966 ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year award. Run Ryun, run.

Sport: Basketball

Achievements as a Teen: Cheryl Miller is now known for her insight and commentary into the game of basketball but back in the day she did more stuntin' on the court than anything else. During her high school years she led Riverside Polytechnic to a 132-4 record between 1978-1982. From 1981-1982 she averaged 32.8 points and 15 rebounds a game. She also scored 105 points in a game during the 1982 season. No wonder she used to kick Reggie's butt in one-on-one.

Career Recap: A 1984 Olympic gold medalist, Sheryl Miller scored over 3,000 career points at USC. A tally that remains good enough to be sixth overall in NCAA history. She was a four-time All-American and her college rebounding mark of 1,534 ranks her third all-time in NCAA history. Miller was named Naismith College Player of the Year three times, and led the Trojans to a 112-20 record while collecting back-to-back NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984. She was, of course, named Tournament MVP both years. Upon graduating USC in 1986 Miller was drafted into multiple professional leagues, including a men's league. Injuries forced her to end her playing days, but she's still a contributor to the game she once dominated.

Sport: Boxing

Achievements as a Teen: Wilfredo "The Radar" Benitez became the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17. On March 6, 1976, with his high school classmates in attendance, he faced WBA Light Welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes. Cervantes was 30 years old with a record of 74-9-3 with 35 KO's and 10 title defenses. Did this look fair to anyone on paper? Anyway, Benitez took the champ 15 rounds and earned a split decision win.

Career Recap: After becoming the youngest champion in boxing history at the age of 17, Wilfredo Benitez went on to win world championships in three separate weight divisions. He finished with a record of 53-8-1 and became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. At 22, Benitez became the youngest three-time world champion in boxing history by knocking out WBC World Super Welterweight Champion Maurice Hope in an epic clash that lasted 12 rounds. Sadly, the years after retirement have been a lot harsher on the champ than the ones he spent in the ring.

Sport: Tennis

Achievements as a Teen: Martina Hingis is one on the most accomplished teenage athletes of all time. She came within one match of completing the career Grand Slam at just 16 years old in 1997. She lost the French Open final to Iva Majoli that year—undoubtedly a trivia question for years to come. Hingis captured numerous singles and doubles titles, all before the age of 20.

Career Recap: Hingis hung up her racket with a record of 548-133. She claimed 45 titles and ascended to the number one ranking in 1997 at just 16. She won the Australian Open from 1997-99, Wimbledon and the US Open in 1997, and was a French Open finalist in 1997 and 1999. She has gained $20,130,657 in prize money alone, and is a 12-time Grand Slam finalist. She was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Sport: Swimming

Achievements as a Teen: Michael Phelps won six Olympic gold medals before he turned 20. Two weeks after his 20th birthday he racked up five more gold medals at the 2005 World Championships. He received praise from all corners of the sporting world, including the former most decorated Olympic swimmer of all-time, Mark Spitz.

Career Recap: Phelps won six golds in Athens 2004, eight golds in Beijing 2008, and four golds in London 2012. He has 22 Olympic medals overall and 26 gold World Championship medals. He is a seven-time World Swimmer of the Year according to Swimming World Magazine, and was the Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" in 2008. He was named AP "Athlete of the Year" in 2008 and 2012. Phelps is the holder of 39 world records and is the most decorated Olympian of all time. Phelps also showed he was a man of the people when a photo emerged of him at a University of South Carolina party engaging in some water pipe activities. Hey, dude just loves the water. Can't blame him.

Sport: Gymnastics

Achievements as a Teen: Nadia Comaneci was just 14 years old when she took home three gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics. At those same games she became the first gymnast to ever receive a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event. She went on to achieve two more gold medals at the 1980 Olympics at the age of 18.

Career Recap: In 1984, Comaneci was a recipient of the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by the International Olympic Committee. She became the youngest recipient of the award at the time (22). She received the award again in 2004, thus becoming the only athlete to receive the award twice. Comaneci was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1993.

Sport: Baseball

Achievements as a Teen: "Bullet" Bob Feller was just 17 years old when he debuted for the Indians in 1936, he was still in high school at the time. You'd think a 17-year-old might be nervous pitching in his first professional game, but not Feller. He struck out 15 batters in his debut, and 17 during a performance later in the season. At age 18 he finished with a 3.39 ERA and 150 strikeouts. In 1938 he led the league in K's with 240 at just 19. Strasburg who?

Career Recap: In 570 games Bob Feller pitched 3,827 innings and posted a win-loss record of 266-162, with 279 complete games. He had 44 shutouts and a career 3.25 ERA, he threw no-hitters in 1940, 1946, and 1951. He threw 12 one-hitters in his career and won a World Series title in 1948. Feller led the American League in wins six times and strikeouts seven. In 1946 he recorded 348 strikeouts, a record that stood for 27 years. An eight time All-Star, Feller was ranked 36th on Sporting News's list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He won the Triple Crown in 1940 and was inducted to Cooperstown in 1962. Salute to "Rapid Robert" for being one of the best that America's game has ever seen.

Sport: Soccer

Achievements As a Teen: Pele began playing for Brazilian club side Santos at only 15, the Brazilian national team at 16 years of age, and won his first World Cup at 17. So much for a learning curve. It was in that first World Cup in 1958 that Pele was introduced to the world. He scored the only goal in the quarters against Wales, then went on to record a hat-trick in the semis against France. This, of course, made him the youngest to record a hat-trick in World Cup history. In the final against Sweden, Pele scored twice en route to a 5-2 victory. He was overcome with joy after winning the title, and rightly so. We can only imagine what it would be like to lift one of the most coveted trophies in sports history before 18.

Career Recap: In 1999, Pele was voted Football Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. That same year "The Black Pearl," was hailed as Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. With 1,281 goals in 1,363 games Pele is the most successful league goal scorer in the world. Pele is the all-time leading scorer for the Brazil national team and remains the only footballer to be part of three World Cup winning squads.

Sport: Hockey

Achievements As a Teen: The Great One debuted for the Edmonton Oilers at just 19 years of age in the 1979-80 season, and promptly went on to take home the Hart Memorial Trophy. That's the MVP award for those of you keeping score at home. That would be the first of eight consecutive Hart trophy's to start Gretzky's career. He also tied for the league lead in points with 137, this remains the highest point total by a first year player in NHL history. Did we mention Gretzky also became the youngest player to notch 50 goals? Of course he did.

Career Recap: In 20 NHL seasons "The Great One," managed to rack up the most points in NHL history. Achieving 14 straight seasons with at least 100 points, Gretzky has more assists than any player has points in the history of the league. Baller. He also remains the only player in NHL history to record over 200 points in a season, he did it four times. When it's all said and done Wayne Gretzky hung up his skates with 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and six all-star records. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Salute to one of the truly greatest athletes any game has ever known.