Sports
- Harry "the Golden Greek" Agganis1 - college football star and professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox
- Tom Anastos - Head Hockey Coach, Michigan State University
- Peter Angelos - MLB owner of the Baltimore Orioles
- Annastasia Batikis - played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1945
- David Batista (Bautista) - WWE SmackDown!, professional wrestler (Greek mother)
- Clay Bellinger - MLB player of the Baltimore Orioles
- Adam Burish - NHL player with the Dallas Stars
- Nick Calathes - former Florida Gators basketball player
- Al Campanis - MLB player and executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jimmy Carson - NHL hockey player (original family surname Kyriazopoulos)
- Chris Chelios - NHL hockey player
- Anton Christoforidis - professional boxer, NBA World Light Heavyweight Champion 1941
- Zach Collaros - quarterback for the University of Cincinnati football team
- Ria Cortesio - professional baseball umpire
- Tara Dakides - pro snowboarder and champion from California
- Chris Farasopoulos - NFL player, played for the New York Jets
- Nick Fotiu - NHL player, played for the New York Rangers
- Danielle Fotopoulos - soccer player, US women's national soccer team
- George Kottaras - catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
- Nick Galis - basketball player, played in Europe (where he is known as Nikos Galis) and is regarded as one of Europe's all-time basketball greats
- Alex Grammas - MLB manager and infielder for St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs.
- Laird Hamilton (born Laird John Zerfas) - surfer
- Alex Holmes - NFL tight end for the St. Louis Rams, mother is Greek
- George John - Soccer player, currently with Major League Soccer club FC Dallas
- Maria Kanellis - professional wrestler with WWE Smackdown
- Alex Karalexis- professional fighter with the Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Chris Karamesines - racecar driver
- Dean Karnazes - ultramarathon champion, writer, businessman
- Mike Karakas - NHL player for the Islanders 1935–1946
- Alex Karras - NFL player with the Detroit Lions, wrestler and actor
- Lou Karras - NFL player with the Washington Redskins, older brother of Alex Karras
- Ted Karras - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, older brother of Alex Karras
- Gus Kartes - former Olympiacos Piraeus footballer
- Eric Karros - former MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now a baseball broadcaster
- George Kastrinakis - former professional basketball player in Greece
- Michael Katsidis - (born in Australia) current boxer
- Bobby Kingsbury - MLB player for the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Frank Klopas - retired soccer player, formerly of AEK, Apollon, Kansas City Wizards, Chicago Fire and the U.S. national team
- Chris Kontos - former NHL player known for his prolific scoring in the play-offs
- George Kontos - MLB pitcher with the San Francisco Giants
- John Korfas - former Greek pro basketball player.
- Tom Kostopoulos - NHL hockey player.
- Niko Koutouvides - NFL linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kosta Koufos - player for the Utah Jazz in the NBA and the Greece national team
- Alexi Lalas - soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, U.S. national team
- Steve Lappas - former college basketball coach at Villanova and UMass
- Themistocles Leftheris - American pair skater, 2007 U.S. National Pairs bronze medalist
- Kay Lionikas - played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1948–1950
- Billy Loes, MLB Pitcher for the Dodgers and other teams
- Jim Londos - champion wrestler during the 1930s
- Greg Louganis - Olympic diving champion (Greek by adoption; ethnically Samoan and Swedish)
- Christina Loukas- Olympic diver
- Nick Markakis - MLB outfielder who currently plays for the Baltimore Orioles
- Tino Martinez - former MLB first baseman for the N.Y. Yankees (Greek mother)
- Aaron Miles - MLB player for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and Colorado Rockies (paternal grandmother)
- David Nelson - former professional Greek basketball player
- Gus Niarhos - MLB Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox, Phillies
- Joe Panos - NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills 1994–2000 (birth name Zois Panagiotopoulos)
- Petros Papadakis - Host of various sports shows on radio, former college football tailback and team captain at USC 1996–2000.
- Milt Pappas - MLB pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds and other teams
- Tom Pappas - Track & field decathlete, 2003 world decathlon champion and 2-time Olympian.
- June Peppas - All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 1948–1954
- George Parros - NHL hockey player
- Tony Pashos - NFL lineman with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
- Lonnie Paxton - NFL New England Patriots long-snapper 2001–2003
- Peter Philipakos - Soccer player, formerly of Olympiacos F.C., currently with Ethnikos Piraeus.
- Pete Pihos - NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles (Pro Football Hall of Fame)
- Joseph Pilates - inventor of Pilates
- Dawn Marie Psaltis (Dawn Marie) - former WWE diva
- Kurt Rambis - former NBA player, won 4 championships with the L.A. Lakers (birth name Kyriakos Rambidis)
- Chris Roupas - Former Greek American Professional Basketball Player, First Penn State Nittany Lion to play professional basketball in Greece
- John Sitaras - fitness professional, creator of the Sitaras Method and founder of Sitaras Fitness in New York City
- Pete Sampras - tennis player, considered one of the best tennis players in history
- Fred Smerlas - NFL player for the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots
- Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder1 - sports commentator
- Alex Spanos - NFL owner of the San Diego Chargers
- Trish Stratus - WWE diva
- Matt Stover - NFL player, kicker for Baltimore Ravens
- George Theodore - MLB outfielder for the New York Mets
- Craig Titus - American bodybuilder
- Gus Triandos - MLB player for the Baltimore Orioles and other teams
- Lou Tsioropoulos - former NBA player with the Boston Celtics
- Garo Yepremian - NFL player (Greek Cypriot origin)
- George Zaharias - sports promoter and professional wrestler in the 1930s (birth name Theodore Vetoyanis)
- Gust Zarnas - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers 1938–1940
- Clint Zavaras - MLB pitcher with the Seattle Mariners in 1989
Read more about this topic: List Of Greek Americans, List
Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“...I didn’t come to this with any particular cachet. I was just a person who grew up in the United States. And when I looked around at the people who were sportscasters, I thought they were just people who grew up in the United States, too. So I thought, Why can’t a woman do it? I just assumed everyone else would think it was a swell idea.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 85 (June 17, 1991)
“Guys do not have a genetic blueprint that allows them to understand or love sports.”
—Lesley Visser, U.S. sports reporter and announcer. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 82 (June 17, 1991)
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)