The 25 Best Short Athletes of All Time

Height And Sport: 5'3", Basketball

Accolades: Shortest Player in NBA History

Muggsy doesn't have the accolades like most of the guys on this list, but having a 14-year career as the shortest player in NBA history should be enough. He made a name for himself as the Charlotte Hornets' starting point guard during the early '90s, and was a big reason for their success (along with 'Zo and LJ, of course). Tyrone Bogues was given his nickname because of his nagging defense. His low center of gravity allowed him to pick the pockets of some of the greatest players in the NBA (1,369 career steals). He never backed down from the likes of Michael Jordan and Gary Payton.

Height And Sport: 5'6", Basketball

Accolades: 1986 NBA Dunk Contest Champion

Before his NBA career began with the Altlanta Hawks, Spud made noise at Midland College and turned that into a scholarship at NC State. Relatively unknown, Webb became a household name when he beat teammate Dominique Wilkins in the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the shortest player to ever win the contest. During his first four seasons in the L, Spud averaged 15 minutes a game. But when finally given a chance to see some real action, Spud didn't disappoint. The Hawks bumped him up to around 26 minutes a game and Spud answered by averaging 11 points, six assists, and a steal and some change. Like Muggsy, he didn't have the accolades, but both players made it OK to be short in a land of giants.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Football

Accolades: 5x Pro Bowler, 4x All-Pro, 3x NFL Receptions Leader, 2x AFC Champion, 2011 AFC Receiving Yards Leader

While he has yet to win a Super Bowl, the Patriots' diminutive slot receiver has changed the way the position is now played, setting numerous records along the way. Welker has recorded more catches than any NFL player since 2007, reaching 500 receptions for the Patriots in just 70 games, a league record. He is the youngest among the active leaders in career receptions and receiving yards, and currently ranks 29th and 67th all-time in those respective categories. At just 30 years old, Welker will undoubtedly climb those rankings over the next several seasons.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Baseball

Accolades: 14x All Star, 13x Gold Glover Winner, 1999 AL MVP, 2003 World Series Champion, 7x Silver Slugger Award Winner

The man known as "Pudge" burst onto the scene in 1991, getting married in the morning then making his MLB debut that night. He never looked back from there, as he set the new gold standard for defensive catchers with his incredible ability to call games and throw out potential base stealers. His .457 caught stealing percentage is the highest in history by a catcher, and with 2427 games behind the plate he also has logged the most games ever as a catcher. He will be a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2016.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Basketball

Accolades: Basketball Hall-of-Fame, 1979 NBA All-Star, 1971 NBA All-Rookie First Team, Two-time NCAA First Team All-America

While Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb may have grabbed all the headlines for their exploits as little men in the NBA, it is Murphy who is the shortest player in NBA history to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Murphy was one of the best defensive point guards of the 1970s era, using his incredible quickness to wreak havoc on both the offensive and defensive ends. He was also an incredible free throw shooter, boasting an .892 percentage for his career and putting up a then-record .958 percentage in 1980-81.

Height And Sport: 5"8, Baseball

Accolades: 7x All Star, 3x World Series Champion, 1986 Silver Slugger Award Winner, 1986 Batting Title, 1987 All Star MVP, 808 Stolen Bases (3rd All Time)

While the debate rages on whether he should be a Hall-of-Famer, there's no doubting that when he played Tim Raines was as great a leadoff man as baseball has ever seen. His incredible longevity and ability maintain his speed despite his age led him to accumulate over 2,600 hits for his career, and his 808 stolen bases are the fourth-highest total in Major League history. Many of his contributions cannot be measured in commonly-used baseball statistics (although they can with more advanced sabermetric numbers), which has been a major reason why Raines continues to be shut out of the Hall of Fame.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Golf

Accolades: 1974 World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee, 4x PGA Player of the Year, 3x Vardon Trophy Winner, 1953, AP Male Athlete of the Year, 5x PGA Tour Leading Money Winner

After an absolutely amazing 1948 in which he won 10 tournaments (including two majors), it seemed like Hogan was poised to go to a level never before seen on the course. However, he and his wife were involved in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus, which left Hogan with massive internal injuries and several lifelong problems. It's a testament to his toughness that not only did he recover sufficiently to live a normal life, but indeed he won 12 tournaments overall and six of his major titles after the accident. Nevertheless, he was forced to retire in 1951 due to his physical problems, leading to one of the greatest "what ifs" in sports history.

Height And Sport: 5'6", Boxing

Accolades: 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, 1982 World Amateur Championships Silver Medalist, WBC Lightweight Champion, IBF Lightwelterweight Champion, WBC Welterweight Champion, WBC Light Middleweight Champion, 40-4-1-1 (17 KOs)

Whitaker started out his winning ways early, as he took home the gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His professional career saw him earn even more honors, winning titles in four different weight classes and being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006. While he was on the losing end of some of his most famous fights with the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya, Whitaker didn't lose much else; he finished with a career record for 40-4-1 and was never knocked out.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Baseball

Accolades: 12x All-Star, 1933 World Series Champion, 511 career home runs

There has never been a slugger who used what little size he had as proficiently as Ott. Despite weighing just 170 pounds, the diminutive outfielder was one of the most prolific sluggers in the early days of baseball. He led the National League in home runs six different times, and led his team in home runs for an unheard of 18 consecutive seasons. He also was the first National League player to post eight consecutive seasons of 100 or more RBI, and in the 1933 World Series hit a home run that put his team up for good in the top of the 10th inning.

Height And Sport: 5'8", Speed Skating

Accolades: 8x Olympic Medalist (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze)

It's difficult to make speed skating seem interesting, but every four years Apolo Ohno manages to draw viewers' eyes to the ice with incredible displays of skill and athleticism on the ice. He has won more medals than any Winter Olympian in American history, getting to the podium in each of the last three games and winning gold in both 2002 and 2006. He even added a victory on "Dancing with the Stars" for good measure after the 2006 Turin games, just once more accolade in an already highly decorated career.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Boxing

Accolades: WBO Welterweight Champion, Former IBF Super Bantamweight and WBC International Super Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight Champion, 54-5-2 (38 KOs)

Pacquiao has recently lost his aura of invincibility, but that does not do anything to diminish what he has accomplished over the course of his career. The Pac Man is the first person ever to win championships in eight different divisions, including lineal titles in four different weight classes. He has become one of the very few true superstars of modern boxing, achieving fame outside of the ring and becoming the commercial face of his sport. Considering one of his two most recent losses both have been shrouded with questions (the loss to Timothy Bradley the result of corrupt judges), we may not have seen the last of Pacquiao in his prime.

Height And Sport: 5"8, Baseball

Accolades: 2001 BBWAA Hall of Fame Inductee, 10x All Star, 2x World Series Champion, 6x Gold Glove Award Winner, 6x Silver Slugger Ward Winner, 1989 AL Batting Title, 1991 ALCS MVP, 1993 All Star MVP, 1993 Branch Rickey Award Winner, 1996 Roberto Clemente Award Winner

The infectious energy and enthusiasm that the stocky Twins outfielder brought to the field everyday separated Puckett from his peers and made him an absolute icon in Minnesota. It helped that he could absolutely mash, too; he had over 200 hits four seasons in a row from 1986 to 1989 and five times overall, and was only the second player in the 20th century to record 2,000 hits in his first 10 calendar years in MLB. His walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series is one of the most legendary moments in baseball history, and this Hall-of-Famer would surely have reached numerous other milestones had his career not been cut short at age 35 by an eye disease.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Boxing

Accolades: Pro Record of 108-6-2, 1984 WBC Superfeatherweight Champion, 1987 WBA Lightweight Champion, 1988 WBC Lightweight Champion, 1989 WBC Light Welterweight Champion, 1990 IBF Light Welterweight Champion, 1994 WBC Lightweight Champion

Widely regarded as the greatest boxer in Mexican history and Mr. KO with 87 wins by Knock Out, Chavez won six different titles in three weight classes and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Over the course of his career, he defeated 15 different fighters who were crowned champions at some point in their careers, and he finished with a staggering 108 total wins for his career. He holds numerous records across all weight classes, among them most title fight wins with 31 and most title defenses won by knockout with 21. That is one bad man.

Height And Sport: 5"9, Diving

Accolades: 4x Olympic Gold Medalist, Silver Olympic Medalist, 5x World Champion Gold Medalist, 6x Pan American Games Gold Medalist, 2x Summer Universiade Gold Medalist

While there are only two diving events in the Olympics, Louganis sure knew how to make them count. He is the only man in history to sweep the events in consecutive games, winning a pair of golds both in 1984 in Los Angeles and in 1988 in Seoul. He took home his 1988 medals despite suffering a concussion in the preliminary rounds when he slammed his head on the platform, an injury that surely would have kept him out of the competition in modern times but 25 years ago merely served to heighten his focus.

Height And Sport: 5'8", Boxing

Accolades: IBO, WBC, The Ring and IBF Welterweight Champion, Former WBC Lightweight, Middleweight, and Super Middleweight Champion, 43-0-0 (26 KOs)

Pretty Boy Floyd has been a wild success by pretty much any measure: he has made an ungodly amount of money, has never lost a fight as a professional, and has been one of the most talked-about boxers in the world throughout his career. He is undoubtedly one of the most technically gifted fighters ever to step into the ring, and thanks to this skill has avoided taking much punishment throughout his career. While Mayweather is often been accused of ducking Manny Pacquiao and not being aggressive enough in the ring, the long line of well-known and respected opponents he has defeated would suggest that he's doing just fine.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Racing

Accolades: 2000 International Motor Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, 1996 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee, 1992 Driver of the Century, 1990 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee, 1979 IROC VI Champion, 1974 USAC National Dirt Track Champion, 1969 INDY 500 Champion, 1967 Daytona 500 Champion 4x IndyCar Champion, 1978 Formula One World Champion, 3x 12 Hours of Sebring Winner, 4x IndyCar Champion, 1969 ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year



Andretti is widely considered the most successful American in the history of Formula One racing, and with good reason. He has won races in pretty much every car ever made, and is indeed the only American since 1978 to win a Formula One race. He's the only driver in history to win the Indy 500, Daytona 500 and Formula One World Championship, and is the only driver ever to be named United States Driver of the Year in three different decades. Essentially, he is the manifestation of the adage, "If you ain't first, you're last."

Height And Sport: 5'7", Martial Arts

Accolades: 1958 Hong Kong Inter-School amateur Boxing Champion, 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong

It's perfectly reasonable if you think "movie star" when you think of Bruce Lee. But really, he was much more than that. Competing as an amateur in the late 1950s, Lee dominated the amateur boxing scene in Hong Kong before his parents sent him to America in early 1959 after Lee got in a street fight with the son of a notorious Triad family. While he no longer competed as an amateur after coming to the US, Lee began teaching and occasionally fighting those who challenged his skills, routinely defeating world champions in many different martial arts.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Soccer

Accolades: 3x FIFA Ballon D'Or winner, 2009 FIFA POY, 3x UEFA Champions League Champion, 5x La Liga Champion

Quite simply, there has not been a player like Messi in many, many years. The Argentine's wizardry on the ball defies all logic, as he manages to wiggle his way through crowds and maintain his touch without regard for the sheer degree of difficulty or the often brutal tackles sent his way. He is fearless as he patrols the attacking midfield for Barcelona and Argentina, and his nose for the goal is what propelled him to becoming the modern era's most prolific goal scorer when he bagged 91 across all 2012 competitions. And oh yeah, for all he's accomplished, he's only 25.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Baseball

Accolades: 1972 BBWAA Hall of Fame Inductee, 3x AL MVP, 18x All Star, 13x World Series Champion, MLB All Century Team

Before he could be famous for his ridiculous sayings and Aflac commercials, Yogi Berra was a Hall-of-Fame catcher for the New York Yankees. The guy just flat out knew how to win; as a player, he won 10 World Series titles with the Yankees, including five in a row from 1949 to 1953.His imprint on history is everywhere, from being the catcher for the only perfect game in World Series history to coining the phrase "It ain't over 'til it's over." And if you ever doubted whether this guy was tough, consider this: before joining the Yankees (where he once caught an entire seven hour, 22-inning game), he was a gunner's mate for the Navy in the D-Day invasion.

Height And Sport: 5'9", Football

Accolades: 8x Pro Bowler, 4x All-Pro First Team, 1993 Super Bowl MVP, 3x Super Bowl Champion, 1990 ROY, 4 Rushing Titles, NFL Hall of Fame

Smith was more than just the all-time leading rusher in NFL history; he was a force of nature who steamrolled opponents with a devastating combination of power and quickness the likes of which the league had rarely seen before. Smith is the gold standard for running backs, owning just about every record in the books while also leading his Cowboys teams to three Super Bowl titles in the mid-90s. Along with Jerry Rice (another undersized legend), he is the only non-kicker in league history to record over 1,000 points for his career.

Height And Sport: 5'7", Hockey

Accolades: 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee, 11x Stanley Cup Champion, 1958 First Team All Star, 1959 Second Team All Star

The "Pocket Rocket" is the greatest winner ever to lace up skates, having won a staggering 11 Stanley Cups as a player (the most in NHL history and tied for the most in any North American professional sport). The diminutive Richard overcame his lesser stature by managing to stay healthy throughout his career, playing in more games (1,256) than anyone in Canadiens' history. He also had a flair for the dramatic, scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 1966 Finals against the Detroit Red Wings.

Height And Sport: 5'5", Soccer

Accolades: 1986 World Cup Gold Medalist, 1986 FIFA Golden Winner, 1990 World Cup Silver Medalist, 1981 Metropolitano Champion, 1983 Copa Del Rey Champion, 1983 Copa De Liga Champion, 1983 Supercopa de Espana Champion, 2S Serie A Champion, 1987 Coppa Italia Champion, 1989, UEFA Cup Champion 1990 Supercoppa Italiana Champion

While his off-field life has created incredible controversy, some consider Maradona to be the greatest player in history. His incredible speed and skill on the ball put him in a class above all others, and along with Pele was named the co-Player of the Century by FIFA. In leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, he scored two goals in a game against England that perfect encapsulated his career. The first was his notorious "Hand of God" goal in which he punched a ball into the net (only the ref didn't notice), and the second was a miraculous one man effort in which he covered over half the field and out-dribbled the entire England defense for a goal which FIFA honored in 2002 as "Goal of the Century."

Height And Sport: 5'7", Baseball

Accolades: 1999 BBWAA Hall of Fame Inductee, 10x All Star, 2x World Series Champion, 5x Gold Glove Award Winner, 1982 Silver Slugger Award, 2x MVP, 1982 Comeback POY, 1972 All Star MVP

While he is better known now as the know-it-all, irritating former color commentator for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, Morgan was also one of the best second basemen ever to play baseball. A vital cog in the "Big Red Machine" that won two World Series titles in the mid-70s, he won NL MVP honors in both of those seasons batting back-to-back atop the Reds' lineup with all-time hits leader Pete Rose. While he was a very small guy at just 5' 7", Morgan flashed excellent power for a second baseman by hitting 268 career home runs, including a career-high 27 in 1976.

Height And Sport: 5'8", Football

Accolades: 1989 ROY, 10x Pro Bowler, 10x All-Pro First Team, 4x Rushing Champion, 1997 NFL co-MVP

To appreciate Barry Sanders, you really had to see him play. Nobody has ever had his blend of athleticism and just raw speed, and the only reason he did not put up gaudier career numbers has more to do with his decision to retire after 10 pro seasons. This is not to say that the elusive, compact back out of Oklahoma State didn't put up monster stats; at the time of his retirement, Sanders was just 1,500 yards short of the all-time record for career rush yards. He rushed for over 1,100 yards in his worst statistical season, never missing a Pro Bowl in all 10 of his NFL seasons.

Height And Sport: 5"8, Soccer

Accolades: 1999 Athlete of the Century, 1999 Football Player of the Century, All Time Leading Scorer of Brazilian National Football Team, 3x World Cup Gold Medalist, Record for most goals scored 1,238, 2x Roca Cup Champion, 2x Copa Libertadores Champion, 5X Taca Brasil Champion, 4x Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo, 2x Intercontinental Cup Champion, 1977 NASL Soccer Bowl Champion, 1977 NASL Atlantic Conference Championship, 1965 Copa Libertadores Top Scorer, 11x Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer, 1959 Copa America Top Scorer, 1970 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Winner, 1958 FIFA World Cup Silver Boot, Silver Ball, and Golden Ball Winner

The on-field exploits of Edison Arantes do Nascimento are well-known. He is the consensus greatest footballer ever to play the game, having won pretty much every individual and team trophy that the sport has to offer. He has indeed transcended the game itself, a reflection of the individual creativity and style that has made soccer the most popular sport in the world. The pint-sized star has also had a quite a film career for himself, with a memorable and stirring portrayal of Luis Fernandez, star of the POW team in the classic movie Victory.