show name	SportsCenter
format	Sports
runtime	60 to 90 minutes depending on content
picture format	480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV)
starring	''See SportsCenter Anchors and Reporters''
country	United States
language	English
network	ESPN, ESPNEWS
company	ESPN
first aired
last aired	present
website	http://espn.go.com/blog/sportscenter }}

''SportsCenter'' is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 6, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, ''SportsCenter'' is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major sporting events, along with commentary, previews and feature stories. The show has proven highly durable, having been aired more times than any other program in American television, with more than 30,000 unique episodes. It celebrated its 35,000th show in 2009. The show is taped in ESPN's HDTV studio facilities in Bristol, Connecticut and Los Angeles, California.

Air times[link]

''SportsCenter'' normally airs live on weekdays from 9 AM ET to 3 ET, as well as at 6 ET (typically 60 or 90 minutes), 11 ET and 1 AM ET (typically 60 minutes each). The 1 AM ET edition is repeated at 2 AM ET and again from 5-9 AM ET.

Saturday viewers on average are around 15 million. On Sundays it is more around 20 million. an hour-long episode airs at 8 AM ET and another edition of varying length airs at 10 AM ET; the 11 ET edition airs for 90 minutes on Sundays and is repeated through the night. In the event of live sports coverage on the network, the show is occasionally delayed or moved to another ESPN channel. The show also is known to start early and run long, if the preceding game ends ahead of schedule or if breaking news warrants. The 1 AM ET (10 PT) edition of ''SportsCenter'' now airs live from Los Angeles and repeats throughout the night.

History[link]

''SportsCenter'' was conceived and created by executive editor John A. Walsh. George Grande introduced the country to ESPN when he co-anchored the first episode of ''SportsCenter'' on September 7, 1979. His co-anchor was Lee Leonard, a longtime New York broadcaster. According to ''Entertainment Weekly'', Leonard spoke these words as the show opened: "If you're a fan, what you will see in the next minutes, hours, and days to follow may convince you that you've gone to sports heaven." Grande spent ten more years with ESPN and ''SportsCenter'' until 1989. Another early addition to the show was Chris Berman, who joined ESPN a month after its debut and became a fixture at ''SportsCenter'' until the early 1990s, when his main efforts became focused on the network's NFL coverage and ''Baseball Tonight''; however, Berman remains a frequent contributor to the Sunday night 11 p.m. edition. Bob Ley also began anchoring early in the show's history and still regularly appears on the Sunday morning ''SportsCenter'' in addition to hosting ''Outside the Lines''.

1988–2001[link]

In 1988, the format was changed by executive editor John Walsh from individual sports or leagues to "newspaper style." Thus, it aired stories based on their importance regardless of the sport.

Early graphics and music included various kinds of sports balls flying outward, featuring a rapid-fire electronic audio track that was a version of "Pulstar", by Vangelis. By the early 1990s, the first of several theme songs to incorporate ESPN's trademark "duh-nuh-nuh, duh-nuh-nuh" fanfare was in use. The current theme music was composed by Annie Roboff, who also co-wrote Faith Hill's 1998 hit "This Kiss".

Throughout the 1990s, ''SportsCenter'''s set saw many changes (see below). In 1994, ESPN began the ''This is SportsCenter'' ad campaign to promote the show.

The 11 p.m. anchor team of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann achieved great popularity in the late 1980s and the 1990s (interrupted by Olbermann's brief move to ESPN2 at that channel's launch). After Olbermann left ESPN in 1997, Kenny Mayne became Patrick's co-host; when Patrick moved to the 6:00 p.m. edition, Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott became the top anchor team.

In 2001, Bell Globemedia and ESPN (who received a minority stake) jointly acquired the Canadian sports network TSN. As part of its shift to ESPN-influenced branding, it renamed its own sports news program ''SportsDesk'' to ''SportsCentre''using the same intros and theme as the ESPN version, except with its title rendered using Canadian spelling.

September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, ESPN interrupted regular programming at 11:05 a.m. Eastern Time to cover the immediate aftermath of the attacks on America through a simulcast of sister network ABC. The network considered not airing ''SportsCenter'' that night, and debated the topic for about an hour. Finally, a half-hour version aired which reported on the impact the attacks had on the sports world, announcing the cancellations of major U.S. sporting events that had been announced up to that time.

2004-2008[link]

''SportsCenter'' began broadcasting in High definition on June 7, 2004. Along with the conversion came a new set designed by Walt Disney Imagineering (situated in a studio at ESPN's new "Digital Center"), and a new graphics package entitled "Revolution" designed by Troika Design Group. During that summer, ESPN celebrated its 25th anniversary, by counting down the top 100 moments of the past 25 years. They showed the countdown every day starting May 31, 2004, until the #1 moment, the United States men's national ice hockey team's victory over the USSR during the 1980 Winter Olympics, was aired on September 7, 2004.

Over the summer of 2005, ''SportsCenter'' premiered a segment called "50 States in 50 Days", where a different ''SportsCenter'' anchor traveled to a different state every day to discover the sports, sports history, and athletes of the state.

On April 4, 2006, ''SportsCenter'' started showing highlights of Major League Baseball games in progress, which were previously an exclusive to another program, ''Baseball Tonight''. This is seen in the Baseball Tonight Extra segment. Prior to that date, highlights of the aforementioned Major League Baseball games weren't shown on ''SportsCenter'' until the games were completed.

On February 11, 2007, after the NBA game between the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns, the 30,000th ''SportsCenter'' show aired. In that milestone show, Bob Ley recapped the events (and not-so-great moments) during the first 10,000 shows, Chris Berman did the same during the middle 10,000, as did Dan Patrick during the remaining 10,000. Steve Levy and Stuart Scott were the anchors on that 30,000th show. They also began broadcasting ''SportsCenter Minute'', which is a web-streaming one-minute ''SportsCenter'' update seen exclusively on ESPN.com.

The 11 p.m. Eastern Time edition on May 6, 2007 saw another major change, as ''SportsCenter'' introduced a "rundown" graphic across the right side of the screen. This feature appears only during reruns of the overnight show Monday through Saturday and on the main Sunday night program; on ESPNHD, it fills the right pillarbox where the ESPNHD logo would usually appear during standard definition footage.

The 6 p.m. ET edition of ''SportsCenter'' moved up to 5 p.m. ET on May 28, 2007, and was, for the first time ever, extended to three hours. In that episode, ESPN aired live coverage of Roger Clemens's second start for the New York Yankees' minor league club in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The 11 p.m. ET edition of ''SportsCenter'' on August 7, 2007, which was anchored by John Buccigross and Cindy Brunson, showed live coverage of Barry Bonds's 756th career home run, which broke the old MLB record set by Hank Aaron. (ESPN was carrying the game live on ESPN2.)

2008 daytime expansion[link]

On August 11, 2008, during the opening week of the Beijing Olympic Games, ''SportsCenter'' began airing live from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The original plan was to start the live block at 6 a.m.; however, the network decided to scale it back before the expansion came to pass.

Former NBC Sports and ''CBS Early Show'' anchor Hannah Storm has joined ESPN to host the 9 a.m. to noon block. The new format now includes two teams of two anchors in three-hour shifts:

9 a.m. - Noon ET: Kevin Negandhi, Hannah Storm

Noon - 3 p.m. ET: John Buccigross, Chris McKendry

Sage Steele will provide updates every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This change also includes a new SportsCenter.com Web site to promote more interaction with viewers. The SportsCenter.com site was launched 8/11/08.

To promote these changes, ESPN held a casting of their employees to see who would be on almost 25 live and unscripted commercials a day. Steve Braband, an International Programmer, won, and can be seen about every half-hour (excluding from 1 to 4 CST) on ESPN. Additionally, the website ''steveislive.com'' was opened, with Steve's daily appearance schedule, blog, and video clips of past appearances and audition footage.

2009[link]

Starting with the 9 a.m.-noon ET edition (which was anchored by Hannah Storm and Sage Steele), ''SportsCenter'' debuted a new graphics package on April 6, 2009, with the "rundown" graphic (shown during the daytime editions) moved to the left side of the screen. A new BottomLine was also released that day on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and ESPNU, but it was quickly removed and reverted back to the old BottomLine (which had been used since April 2003) due to an equipment failure (however, this ticker was successful for the 2009 NFL Draft and the 2009 NBA Draft). The problem was later fixed and the new BottomLine returned on July 8.

April 6, 2009 also saw the launch of West Coast production of ''SportsCenter'' for the first time. The 1 a.m. ET (10 PT) edition of ''SportsCenter'' now airs live from ESPN's production facilities in the newly constructed L.A. Live complex just across from the Staples Center. The set is virtually identical to the main facilities in Bristol and will, for the time being, be produced as just another edition of the show. Neil Everett and Stan Verrett are the primary anchors for the Los Angeles-produced editions of this series.

The 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championship, which was repeatedly delayed due to weather, aired on both NBC and ESPN. Portions of ESPN's broadcast, including the early parts of the Monday final round, were presented as ''SportsCenter'', specifically "''SportsCenter'' at the U.S. Open" which is similar to segments within the show with nightly highlights and analysis that originate from the event locations, much like "''SportsCenter'' at the Super Bowl" and "''SportsCenter'' at the World Series", etc.

In August 2009, Robert Flores, co-anchor of the noon-3pm ET ''SportsCenter'', was replaced in that capacity with John Buccigross. A completely redesigned sportscenter.com Web site was launched 2009-11-16.

2010[link]

On March 1, 2010, European ESPN channel ESPN America began airing a special European edition of SportsCenter, anchored by Michael Kim. The 30-minute program ran five days a week from 6am UK/7am CET, with an repeat showing at 10.30pm UK/11.30pm CET.

Starting August 30, 2010, an additional 7 hours of SportsCenter began airing weekdays on ESPNEWS. The new segments are from 3-6pm ET and 7-11pm ET.

By late 2010, the "rundown" graphic was seen on all ''SportsCenter'' editions.

2011[link]

On April 22, 2011, Josh Elliott, original and main co-anchor of the 9am-noon ET ''SportsCenter'', left the network to join ABC's ''Good Morning America'' & was replaced in that capacity by Kevin Negandhi.

By mid-2011, shortly after ESPN and ESPN2 both switched to a 16:9 letterbox format (in compliance with the #10 AFD code), ''SportsCenter'' began showing the entire high-definition footage and standard-definition footage (with the ESPN logo on both pillarboxes). That required the 16:9 letterbox image to be shrunk in order for it to happen, with the "rundown" graphic seen on the left side of the screen. As of July 21, 2011, ESPNEWS has ''SportsCenter'' in a letterbox format.

In August 2011, John Anderson, who was previously the 11pm ET anchor, moved up to the 6pm spot, replacing Brian Kenny (who departed for the MLB Network).

2012[link]

In April 2012, the ESPN America SportsCenter shown in Europe moved from five to seven days a week with a new start time of 8am UK/9am CET. At the same time the localised version that was previously produced stopped and was replaced with an edited version of the 2am ET show from Los Angeles, cut to fit 45 minutes through removing commercial breaks and stories on European sports such as soccer. This show is then repeated at 8.45am, 4pm & 4.45pm (UK time).

Anchors and reporters[link]

The following weekday schedule is used:

9am-noon ET: Kevin Neghandi and Hannah Storm

Noon-3pm ET: John Buccigross and Chris McKendry

3pm-6pm ET: various(ESPNEWS)

6pm-7pm ET: Jay Harris and John Anderson (and 7pm-8pm on ESPNEWS)

8pm-11pm ET: various (ESPNEWS)

11pm-12am ET: Scott Van Pelt or Steve Levy or John Anderson

1am-2am ET: Neil Everett, Stan Verrett (Los Angeles)

Segments[link]

ESPN Radio[link]

ESPN Radio also has ''ESPN Radio SportsCenter'' with radio highlights airing three times an hour on the ESPN Radio network.

Conditions to showing highlights[link]

Some sports leagues and organizations, including the NBA, NHL and college sports conferences, allow for brief highlights to be shown while the game is in progress. Major League Baseball allows them only as part of the ''Baseball Tonight'' mini-programs, as mentioned above. The NFL does not allow in-progress highlights at all outside of its own live game broadcasts.

ESPN is traditionally unable to air highlights of Olympic Games events until after the events have aired on tape-delay on the broadcast network holding the rights. ESPN began to show more Olympics highlights on-air and online beginning with the 2006 Winter Olympics; they received these extended rights from NBC as part of the deal that saw ABC release Al Michaels from his contract, so he could join John Madden and key production personnel for the new ''NBC Sunday Night Football''. (This same deal gave back the Walt Disney produced Oswald The Lucky Rabbit cartoons that were originally distributed by Universal.)

In addition, there are many anecdotal reports of various TV networks (such as CBS Sports and NBC Sports) that will not release highlights of certain sporting events to ESPN unless its name is labeled across the screen for the entire length of the highlight (Courtesy NBC Sports, etc.). (In some cases, the same stipulation is made to competing programs like FSN's ''Final Score'', but not in all.)

As of 2007, ESPN no longer displays the actual name of the NASCAR Nationwide Series or Sprint Cup Series race during highlights of such (Example: the "Allstate 400 at the Brickyard" was re-dubbed the "Brickyard 400 pres. by Golden Corral") unless the title sponsor of the race is paid for to the network. A similar stipulation also applies to the network's Izod IndyCar Series coverage.

Spin offs[link]

''BassCenter'' (2003–2006)

ScoreCenter on ESPN MobileTV (2007–present)

''SportsCenterU'' (2006–present)

''X Center'' (2005–present)

See also[link]

ESPNews (a 24-hour sports news network from ESPN)

ESPN3 (an interactive home for sports fans)

''SportsCenter Asia'' (the Asian version of ''SportsCenter'')

''SportsCentre'' (the Canadian version of ''SportsCenter'')

'':pt:SportsCenter Brasil'' (the Brazilian version of ''SportsCenter'').It has recently completed 3000 editions.

References[link]

Press release: Consistent Weekday SportsCenter Anchor Teams Beginning Sept. 5

External links[link]

Official site

Official SportsCenter TV show page

Official ESPN site

Sportscenter in Brazil

SportsCenter Altar—a comprehensive fan site

Category:1979 television series debuts Category:1970s American television series Category:1980s American television series Category:1990s American television series Category:2000s American television series Category:2010s American television series Category:American sports television series Category:English-language television series Category:ESPN network shows Category:Australian sports television series

fr:SportsCenter ja:スポーツセンターUSA pt:SportsCenter

name	David Ortiz
team	Boston Red Sox
number	34
position	Designated hitter / First baseman
birth date	November 18, 1975
birth place	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
height	6'4
weight	250
bats	Left
throws	Left
debutdate	September 24
debutyear	1997
debutteam	Minnesota Twins
statyear	May 2, 2012
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.285
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	384
stat3label	Hits
stat3value	1,794
stat4label	Runs batted in
stat4value	1,287
teams	Minnesota Twins (–) Boston Red Sox (–present)
awards	''The Sporting News'' Designated Hitter of the Decade (2009) ''Sports Illustrated'' MLB All-Decade Team (2009) 2× World Series champion (, ) ALCS MVP (2004) 7× All-Star (, , , , , , ) 5× Silver Slugger Award (, , , , ) Hank Aaron Award (2005) 6× Edgar Martínez Award (2003–2007, 2011) AL home run leader () AL RBI leader (, ) MLB record for home runs by DH (339) MLB record for RBI by DH (1,117) Home Run Derby winner (2010) Roberto Clemente Award (2011) }}

David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Previously, Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins from 1997 until 2002. Ortiz is a seven-time All-Star and holds the Red Sox single season record for home runs in a regular season with 54, set during the 2006 season. In 2005, Red Sox ownership presented him with a plaque proclaiming Ortiz "the greatest clutch-hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox".

Early career[link]

Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins (1992–2002)[link]

Ortiz graduated from Estudia Espallat High School in the Dominican Republic and in 1992 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners who listed him as "David Arias". He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Mariners farm team, until 1996, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Dave Hollins. When he arrived in Minnesota, he informed the team that he preferred to be listed as "David Ortiz."

He made his Twins debut in September 1997. For a few years, he was moved back and forth between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats. The Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series that year, where they lost to the Anaheim Angels. Despite showing flashes of talent, Ortiz's time with the Twins will be remembered as a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. He continued to experience knee problems in early 2002 that plagued him throughout the season, despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games. He was released by the Twins after the season. In six seasons with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 home runs and 238 RBI.

Boston Red Sox (2003–Present)[link]

2003[link]

On January 22, Ortiz signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. He played sparingly in the first two months of the season, primarily pinch hitting and starting occasionally as a DH. On June 1, manager Grady Little benched Jeremy Giambi and inserted Ortiz in the starting lineup as the full time DH. In July Ortiz hit 8 home runs, and in August he had 11. He finished the season batting .288 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. He finished 5th in the American League MVP voting.

In the postseason he struggled in the ALDS against the Oakland A's until Game 4 when he hit a 2 run double in the bottom of the 8th inning off of closer Keith Foulke to give the Red Sox the lead. In the ALCS against the New York Yankees, Ortiz had 2 home runs and 6 RBI as Boston lost in 7 games.

2004[link]

Ortiz was a major force in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years and ending the Curse of the Bambino. During the regular season, Ortiz hit 41 home runs and had 139 RBI while batting .301 with an OPS of .983. He finished 2nd in the American League in both home runs and RBI. He was voted onto the All-Star team for the first time in his career. He finished 4th in American League MVP voting.

In the playoffs, Ortiz hit .409 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI. He had multiple game-winning hits to help Boston advance to and ultimately win the World Series. He hit a walk-off home run off of Jarrod Washburn to win the American League Division Series against the Angels. He then hit a walk-off home run against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS and a walk-off single in Game 5 during the American League Championship Series. His post-season heroics earned him MVP honors for the ALCS, the first time a DH had ever been named MVP.

On May 28, Ortiz hit his 100th career home run, a grand slam, off of Joel Pineiro of the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.

Ortiz was suspended for 3 games after being ejected following an incident on July 16 in a game against the Angels in which he threw several bats onto the field that came close to hitting umpires Bill Hohn and Mark Carlson.

2005[link]

Ortiz hit 47 home runs and had 148 RBI while batting .300 with an OPS of 1.001. He led the American League in RBI finished 2nd in home runs and 3rd in OPS. He finished 2nd in the American League MVP voting while leading the Red Sox to their 3rd consecutive playoff appearance.

2006[link]

Ortiz hit 54 home runs (setting a new Red Sox record) and had 137 RBI, while batting .287 with an OPS of 1.049. He led the American League in both home runs and RBI, winning the home run crown by 10 over the 2nd-place finisher Jermaine Dye. He finished 3rd in the American League MVP voting.

On June 29, Ortiz hit his 200th career home run against Duaner Sanchez of the New York Mets at Fenway Park.

On September 20, Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record of 50 set in 1938; in the 6th inning against Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Boof Bonser.

On September 21, Ortiz broke Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record by hitting his 51st home run off his former teammate, Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins. The home run came on a 1–0 pitch in the first inning and it was his 44th home run of the season as a designated hitter, breaking his own American League single-season record.

Health scare[link]

Ortiz said he began feeling ill between games of a day-night doubleheader on August 18, 2006, against New York. Between games, he had gone home and tried to sleep but could not. Ortiz was reportedly driven to the hospital by a team assistant. An irregular heartbeat was the cause for the stress according to his doctors. Ortiz would not originally talk about his condition, but opened up to the media on August 25, reportedly saying "I'm a healthy son of a [gun]."

On August 28, Ortiz had recurring symptoms from his irregular heartbeat and was a last minute scratch in the Red Sox game at Oakland. Manager Terry Francona and General Manager Theo Epstein agreed that Ortiz fly back to Boston where he was reevaluated and cleared to play again in early September.

2007[link]

Ortiz once again played a major role as he helped lead the Red Sox to their seventh World Series title. Despite playing the entire season with a torn meniscus in his right knee as well as nagging injuries to his shoulder and quadriceps, he finished the year hitting .332 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI. In addition, he hit 52 doubles, led the American League in extra base hits and had an OPS of 1.066.

In the postseason Ortiz batted .370 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.

2008[link]

Ortiz started slowly after suffering a wrist injury which caused him to miss several weeks. He played in only 109 games and finished the season hitting .264 with just 23 home runs and 89 RBI, his lowest totals since joining the Red Sox.

2009[link]

Ortiz struggled early in the season, hitting only .206 with no home runs and 30 strikeouts in his first 34 games. On May 22, Ortiz hit his first home run of the season off Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays, ending his career-high 178 homerless at-bat streak. In June, Ortiz broke out of his slump by hitting 8 home runs with 22 RBIs. Ortiz had 9 home runs in both July and August.

On July 9, Ortiz hit his 300th career home run against Luke Hochevar of the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park.

On September 17, Ortiz hit his 270th career home run as a DH off of Jose Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels breaking the all time record held by Frank Thomas.

Ortiz finished the season with 28 home runs and 99 RBI.

2010[link]

Ortiz hit .270 with 32 home runs and 102 RBI in 2010. He also won the Home Run Derby.

2011[link]

On April 2, Ortiz set the record for RBI by a designated hitter with 1,004 passing Edgar Martinez.

On May 21, Ortiz became only the fifth player to hit 300 home runs as a member of the Red Sox, joining Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans.

Ortiz was suspended for 3 games in July for his part in a brawl that took place on July 8 in a game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Ortiz finished the season hitting .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI.

On October 20, Major League Baseball announced that Ortiz was the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award.

Performance-enhancing drug positive test result in 2003[link]

On July 30, 2009, ''The New York Times'' reported that Ortiz and then-teammate Manny Ramirez were among a group of roughly 100 major league players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs during 2003 survey testing. Five months before the ''Times'' allegations surfaced, Ortiz stated in an interview that players who tested positive for steroids should be suspended for an entire season. Before the Red Sox's game that afternoon, Ortiz declined to comment on the report, saying, "I'm not talking about that anymore." Afterwards, he confirmed he had tested positive and promised to speak with the media once he "[got] to the bottom of" the matter.

Ten days later, Ortiz held a press conference before a game at Yankee Stadium and denied ever buying or using steroids but suggested the positive test might have been due to his use of supplements and vitamins at the time. When asked which supplements he had been taking, Ortiz said he did not know. Ortiz was accompanied at the press conference by the general counsel of the players union, Michael Weiner. Because the list of players who tested positive was seized as part of a government investigation and is currently under court-ordered seal pending the outcome of litigation, Weiner said the players union was unable to provide Ortiz with any details about his test result, including what substance he tested positive for.

Personal life[link]

Each time Ortiz crosses the plate after hitting a home run, he looks up and points both index fingers to the sky in tribute to his mother Angela Rosa Arias, who died in a car crash in January 2002 at the age of 46. Ortiz also has a tattoo of his mother on his biceps.

Ortiz and his wife Tiffany have three children. Since marrying Tiffany, he has become a fan of the Green Bay Packers (his wife hails from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a town in between the cities of Green Bay and Appleton).

On June 11, 2008, Ortiz became a United States citizen at John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

Reebok sponsorship[link]

In April 2007, sporting goods company Reebok debuted the Big Papi 10M Mid Baseball cleat at a party in Canton, Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of Reebok International Ltd. At the party, Ortiz was quoted as saying, "Reebok's loyalty and friendship have always made me feel right at home and we are true partners in every sense of the word,... ." Ortiz first used the cleat during the 2007 MLB All Star Game in San Francisco, California.

Charity work[link]

The David Ortiz Children's Fund was founded in 2007 to support a range of causes that Ortiz believes in. The Fund allows Ortiz the flexibility to donate to those children are in the most need at any given time, from Boston to the Dominican Republic and beyond. Ortiz released his own Charity Wine label in 2008 with all the proceeds going to the David Ortiz Children's Fund. The wine called Vintage Papi proceeded to raise $150,000 for charity.

Trademark fight with Jay-Z[link]

In April 2010, rapper and producer Jay-Z and his business partner Juan Perez initiated a trademark infringement case against Big Papi's night club 40/40 located in his native Dominican Republic. The suit claimed that Big Papi's night club name was chosen to take advantage of the fame of the record producers chain of sports clubs. The term 40/40 in baseball refers to the roughly 2 score ballplayers in the Major Leagues who have both 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/04/jayz-sures-red-sox-big-papi-david-ortiz-4040-club-name.html

Career highlights[link]

''The Sporting News'' Designated Hitter of the Decade (2009)

''Sports Illustrated'' MLB All-Decade Team (2009)

Member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.

Member of the 2007 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.

American League Championship Series MVP (2004)

7-time All-Star (2004–2008, 2010–2011)

2005 Hank Aaron Award winner

6-time winner of the Edgar Martínez Award (2003–2007. 2011)

5-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award (2004–2007, 2011)

Top 5 MVP vote-receiver five times (5th, 2003; 4th, 2004; 2nd, 2005; 3rd, 2006; 4th, 2007)

Led the American League in extra base hits 3 times (2004, 2005, 2007)

Led the American League in Home Runs (2006)

Led the American League in Runs Batted In (2005, 2006)

American League Player of the Month for September 2005, July 2006, and May 2010.

Red Sox single-season home-run leader (54; 2006)

Tied with Babe Ruth for AL single-season home-run record in road games (32; 2006)

First player ever to hit two walk-off home runs in the same postseason (against the Angels (ALDS) and Yankees (ALCS), 2004)

First player in Red Sox history to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons (2004–2006)

Set new record for home runs by a DH in 2005 (43), then again in 2006 (47)

6 seasons of at least 30 Home Runs and 100 RBI (2003–2007, 2010)

Tied with Billy Hatcher for all-time post-season consecutive on-base streak (10)

85 extra-base hits or more for four consecutive years, something only 2 other players--Lou Gehrig (5) and Sammy Sosa (4)--have ever done.

Ortiz's home run total increased each year from 2000–2006, starting with 10 home runs, and ending with 54.

Became all time DH home run leader on September 15, 2009 by hitting his 270th as a Designated Hitter.

Won 2010 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby in the final round against Hanley Ramirez.

Has hit 10 career walk-off HR, the highest of any active player, and 20 walk-off hits total. He is currently 2 HR behind Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, the career leaders in walk-off HR.

On April 2, 2011 Ortiz became MLB's all time RBI leader by a Designated Hitter.

On July 27, 2011 Ortiz hit his 1,000th RBI with the Boston Red Sox.

2011 Roberto Clemente Award winner.

See also[link]

50 home run club

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

List of Major League Baseball RBI champions

List of Major League Baseball home run champions

References[link]

External links[link]

David Ortiz's MLB.com site

David Ortiz On ESPN.com

Ten Questions for David Ortiz on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

Stephan and Big Papi

}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League Championship Series MVPs Category:American League home run champions Category:American League RBI champions Category:Major League Baseball designated hitters Category:Major League Baseball first basemen Category:Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Category:Doping cases in baseball Category:Drugs in sport in the United States Category:Arizona League Mariners players Category:Fort Myers Miracle players Category:Gulf Coast Twins players Category:New Britain Rock Cats players Category:Pawtucket Red Sox players Category:Portland Sea Dogs players Category:Salt Lake Buzz players Category:Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Category:People from Santo Domingo

cs:David Ortiz de:David Ortiz es:David Ortiz fr:David Ortiz ko:데이비드 오티즈 hr:David Ortiz lv:Davids Ortiss mn:Дэвид Ортиз nl:David Ortiz ja:デビッド・オルティーズ pt:David Ortiz simple:David Ortiz fi:David Ortiz zh:大衛·歐提茲

Name	Derek Jeter
Width	250
Alt	A man in a grey baseball uniform with a navy helmet prepares to swing at a pitch
Position	Shortstop
Team	New York Yankees
Number	2
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	June 26, 1974
Birth place	Pequannock Township, New Jersey
Debutdate	May 29
Debutyear	1995
Debutteam	New York Yankees
Statyear	May 1, 2012
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.314
Stat2label	On-base percentage
Stat2value	.384
Stat3label	Hits
Stat3value	3,128
Stat4label	Runs
Stat4value	1,785
Stat5label	Home runs
Stat5value	244
Stat6label	Runs batted in
Stat6value	1,209
Teams	New York Yankees (–present)
Awards	12× All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) 5× World Series champion (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) 5× Gold Glove Award (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010) 4× Silver Slugger Award (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) 2× AL Hank Aaron Award (2006, 2009) AL Rookie of the Year Award (1996) All-Star Game MVP Award (2000) World Series MVP Award (2000) Roberto Clemente Award (2000) New York Yankees team captain (2003–present) New York Yankees career hits record New York Yankees career stolen bases record }}

Derek Sanderson Jeter (; born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter has been a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,110), games played (2,426), stolen bases (329), and at bats (9,868). His accolades include twelve All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and the Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits.

The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute to the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He has consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years, and since 2003, he has served as the Yankees' team captain.

Throughout his career, Jeter has contributed reliably to the Yankees' franchise successes in the postseason. He holds many postseason records, and has a .351 batting average in the World Series. Jeter has earned the titles of "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November" due to his postseason heroics.

Jeter has been one of the most heavily marketed athletes of his generation and is involved in several product endorsements. His personal life and relationships with celebrities have drawn the attention of the media throughout his career. Teammates and opponents alike regard Jeter as a consummate professional and one of the best players of his generation. Sportswriters anticipate that Jeter will be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame following his playing career.

Early life[link]

Jeter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey on June 26, 1974. His father, Sanderson Charles Jeter, Ph.D., a substance abuse counselor, is African American; his mother, Dorothy, an accountant, is Caucasian and of Irish/German descent. They met while serving in the United States Army in Germany. As a child, Jeter's parents made him sign a contract every year that set acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Dorothy instilled a positive attitude in her son, insisting that he not use the word "can't". Jeter's sister Sharlee, who is five years younger, was a softball star in high school, while his father played baseball at Fisk University in Tennessee at the shortstop position.

The Jeters lived in North Arlington, New Jersey until Derek was four years old, at which point they moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Derek and Sharlee lived in Kalamazoo with their parents during the school year and spent their summers with their grandparents in New Jersey. Attending New York Yankees games with his grandparents, Jeter became a passionate fan of the team. Watching Yankees player Dave Winfield inspired him to pursue baseball.

High school[link]

Jeter attended Kalamazoo Central High School, where he played baseball and basketball. In his sophomore year at Kalamazoo Central, Jeter batted .557, followed by a .508 average in his junior year. In his senior year, he batted .508 and compiled 23 runs batted in (RBIs), 21 walks, four home runs, a .637 on-base percentage (OBP), a .831 slugging percentage (SLG), 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts), and just one strikeout.

Jeter received several honors after his senior season. These included an All-State honorable mention, distinguishing him as one of the best high school baseball players in Michigan, the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year award, and ''USA Today''s High School Player of the Year. Kalamazoo Central High School inducted Jeter into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 and renamed its baseball field in his honor in 2011. Jeter's baseball talents drew the attention of the University of Michigan, which offered him a baseball scholarship to attend and play college baseball for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team.

Professional career[link]

Draft[link]

As a scout for the Houston Astros, Hal Newhouser evaluated Jeter extensively prior to the 1992 MLB Draft. The Astros held the first overall pick in the draft, and Newhouser, convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team, lobbied team management to select Jeter. However, the Astros feared that Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million to forgo his college scholarship for a professional contract. Consequently, the Astros passed on him in the draft, instead choosing Cal-State Fullerton outfielder Phil Nevin, who signed with Houston for $700,000. Newhouser felt so strongly about Jeter's potential that he quit his job with Astros in protest after they ignored his drafting advice.

The Yankees, who selected sixth, also rated Jeter highly. Yankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University. Though Yankees officials were concerned that Jeter would attend college, Groch convinced them to select him. Regarding the possibility Jeter would attend Michigan, Groch said "the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown", referring to the home city of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The second through fifth picks were Paul Shuey, B. J. Wallace, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Chad Mottola. The Yankees selected Jeter, who chose to turn professional and signed with the Yankees for $800,000.

Minor leagues (1992–1995)[link]

Jeter played four seasons in minor league baseball, then known as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL). Jeter began the 1992 season with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League before advancing to the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL). Weighing , he did not have the appearance of the Yankees' future leader. Jeter struggled in 1992, batting .202. Manager Gary Denbo benched Jeter in the season's final game to ensure his average would not drop below .200, known in baseball as the Mendoza Line. In addition to being frustrated with his play, Jeter was homesick, accruing $400-per-month phone bills from daily calls to his parents.

}} Jeter spent the next offseason focusing on improving his fielding. In 1993, his first full year of professional baseball, he was voted the "Most Outstanding Major League Prospect" by SAL managers after hitting .295 with five home runs, 71 RBIs and 18 stolen bases with Greensboro. He was named to the All-Star team after finishing second in the league in triples (11), third in hits (152) and 11th in batting average. However, Jeter committed 56 errors, a SAL record. Despite this, he was voted the SAL's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, and Best Infield Arm by ''Baseball America''.

Jeter played for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL), the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League, and the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League during the 1994 season, hitting .344 with five home runs, 68 RBIs, and 50 stolen bases combined. He was honored with the Minor League Player of the Year Award by ''Baseball America'', ''The Sporting News'', ''USA Today'', and Topps/NAPBL. He was also named the MVP of the FSL.

The Yankees projected Jeter to be their starting shortstop for the 1995 season, but when he suffered mild inflammation in his right shoulder in the Arizona Fall League, the Yankees signed Tony Fernández to a two-year contract to play shortstop and kept Jeter in Triple-A. During MLB's 1994–95 work stoppage, the Yankees reportedly offered Jeter the opportunity to work out for the MLB team with replacement players in spring training prior to the 1995 season. Jeter declined, choosing not to cross the picket line.

Major leagues (1995–present)[link]

1995–1998[link]

Due to injuries to Fernández and Pat Kelly early in the 1995 season, Jeter made his MLB debut on May 29, 1995. The following day, he collected his first two major league hits and scored his first two career runs. Jeter batted .234 and committed two errors in 13 games before being demoted to Class AAA Columbus.

After Fernández batted a disappointing .245 and appeared in only 108 games due to injuries that season, incoming Yankees manager Joe Torre asserted that Jeter would be the starting shortstop for the 1996 season. However, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, often skeptical of younger players, was not convinced. Clyde King, a close Steinbrenner advisor, observed Jeter for two days in spring training in 1996, and came away with the impression that Jeter was not yet ready. To solidify the shortstop position after an injury to Fernández, Steinbrenner approved a trade that would have sent pitcher Mariano Rivera to the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Félix Fermín, but vice president of scouting Gene Michael and assistant general manager Brian Cashman convinced Steinbrenner to give Jeter an opportunity.

Jeter started at shortstop on Opening Day of the 1996 season, the first Yankee rookie to do so since Tom Tresh in 1962. He hit his first MLB home run that day. Jeter had a successful rookie season, as he hit for a .314 batting average, with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 RBIs. He subsequently earned Rookie of the Year honors.

The Yankees made the 1996 postseason. During Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series (ALCS), with the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4–3 in the 8th inning, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field that was ruled a home run by the umpires. Twelve-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to catch the ball. Right fielder Tony Tarasco claimed that he could have made the catch. Despite Tarasco's pleas with the umpires for fan interference, the home run stood as called, tying the game. The ruling made for the first home run of Jeter's postseason career. The Yankees won the game and defeated the Orioles in five games. Overall, Jeter batted .361 in the 1996 postseason, and the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series to win their first championship since the 1978 World Series.

Coming off of his Rookie of the Year campaign, Jeter headlined a group considered the "new crop" of shortstops, along with Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, as the careers of older shortstops such as Cal Ripken, Jr., Barry Larkin, Ozzie Smith and Alan Trammell were concluding. Prior to the 1997 season, Jeter and the Yankees agreed on a $540,000 contract with performance bonuses. That year, Jeter batted .291, with 10 home runs, 70 RBIs, 116 runs, and 190 hits. Though he hit two home runs during the 1997 American League Division Series (ALDS), the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians.

Jeter earned $750,000 for the 1998 season. That year, Jeter was selected for his first All-Star Game. On the season, he batted .324 with a league-leading 127 runs, 19 home runs, and 84 RBIs, for a team that won 114 games during the regular season and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time. In the playoffs, Jeter hit only .176 in the ALDS and ALCS, but batted .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the San Diego Padres in four games. At season's end, Jeter finished third in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.

1999–2002[link]

Jeter and the Yankees went to salary arbitration before the 1999 season; the aribeter awarded Jeter a $5 million salary. Jeter led the AL in hits that season with 219, while finishing second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134), appearing in his second All-Star game in the process. Jeter, who for part of the year hit third in the batting order, also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop to do so, following Lyn Lary's 107 RBIs in 1931. His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), SLG (.552), and OBP (.438) are all personal bests. In the postseason, Jeter batted .455 in the ALDS, .350 in the ALCS, and .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship, Jeter's third.

During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a seven-year, $118.5 million contract. Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record and delayed a response while Juan González and the Detroit Tigers negotiated on a reported eight-year, $143 million contract extension. When that agreement fell through, so did Jeter's tentative deal. To avoid arbitration, Jeter and the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth $10 million.

Jeter batted .339, leading the team, with 15 home runs, 73 RBIs, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in the 2000 regular season. Jeter recorded three hits, including a go-ahead two-run single, in the 2000 MLB All-Star Game. The performance earned him the All-Star Game MVP Award, the first time a Yankee won the award. During the postseason, he batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to hit .318 in the Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, and .409 in the World Series against the New York Mets. Jeter added two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in the World Series, including a leadoff home run on the first pitch of Game 4 and a triple later in the third inning. His home run in Game 5 tied the game and extended his World Series hitting streak to 14 games. The Yankees defeated the Mets in five games for their third consecutive title, and Jeter's fourth championship overall. Jeter won the World Series MVP Award, becoming the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in the same season.

With one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a ten-year, $189 million contract before the 2001 season to remain with the Yankees. Rodriguez signed a ten-year $252 million contract earlier in the offseason, setting the market for Jeter's negotiations. Jeter became the second-highest-paid athlete, trailing only Rodriguez. The $18.9 million average annual value of Jeter's contract was the third highest in baseball, behind Rodriguez ($25.2 million) and Manny Ramirez ($20 million).

In 2001, Jeter batted .311, with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases, making his fourth All-Star appearance. Jeter made a notable defensive play in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home plate, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw that missed cut-off man Tino Martinez and dribbled down the first-base line. Jeter ran from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it to catcher Jorge Posada, who tagged Giambi out on the leg just before he crossed home plate, preserving the Yankees' one-run lead. Facing elimination, the Yankees eventually won the game, as well as the series. The play, known as "The Flip," was later voted seventh in ''Baseball Weekly''s 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time, and also won the 2002 Best Play ESPY Award.

}} As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the start of the playoffs was delayed and the season's end was extended past the usual October timeframe. The Yankees advanced to the 2001 World Series to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Game 4, which began on October 31, proceeded into the tenth inning with the score tied 3–3. At midnight, the Yankee Stadium scoreboard displayed the message, "Attention Fans, Welcome to NOVEMBER BASEBALL." This was the first time that any non-exhibition MLB game had been played in the month of November. Moments later, Jeter hit a game-winning home run off of Byung-Hyun Kim. The words "Mr. November" flashed on the scoreboard, in reference to former Yankee Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October". Despite Jeter's highlight moments that postseason, Jeter slumped at the plate; he denied injuries were a factor, though a fall into a photographer's box trying to catch a foul ball may have aggravated an earlier hamstring injury. Jeter batted .148 in the World Series, as the Yankees lost in seven games.

Jeter batted .297, with 18 home runs, 75 RBIs, 124 runs scored, 191 hits, and a career-best 32 stolen bases during the 2002 regular season. He led the majors in stolen base percentage (91.4%), getting caught only three times. He made his fifth All-Star appearance. In the 2002 postseason, the Anaheim Angels defeated the Yankees in the 2002 ALDS on their way to winning the 2002 World Series.

2003–2008[link]

On Opening Day of the 2003 season, Jeter dislocated his left shoulder when he collided with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base. Jeter, who had never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons, was subsequently on the disabled list for six weeks, missing 36 games. Jeter returned to bat .324, finishing third in batting average to Bill Mueller, who batted .326. Ramirez finished second.

Steinbrenner named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after Don Mattingly retired in 1995. That postseason, Jeter batted .314 with two home runs, five RBIs and 10 runs scored across 17 playoff games, including three hits in Game 3 of the 2003 World Series against the Florida Marlins – the only three hits Josh Beckett allowed during the game – to lead the Yankees to a 2 games to 1 series lead. However, Jeter went 0-for-4 with a crucial error in the Game 6 loss, and the Marlins won the series in seven games.

The Yankees acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers during the 2003–04 offseason, leading to speculation that the Yankees would move Jeter from shortstop, as Rodriguez had two Gold Glove Awards at shortstop and Jeter had none. The Yankees insisted that Jeter would remain the team's starting shortstop, with Rodriguez moving to third base. The 2004 season began with Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, Jeter broke out of his slump; he hit nearly .400 for the month and collected 9 home runs, a personal best for any single month.

During a July 1, 2004 game against the rival Boston Red Sox, with the score tied at 3 in the top of the 12th inning, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortstop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. He launched himself over the third-base side railing, landing three rows into the left-field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning, and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. For the play, Jeter was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.

Jeter made the All-Star team and finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the second-most of his career; 78 RBIs; 111 runs scored; and a career-best 44 doubles, which broke a Yankee single-season record for doubles by a shortstop, besting Tony Kubek's 38 in 1961. He batted .316 with a team-leading four RBIs as the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 ALDS, as Jeter's Game 2 home run gave the Yankees a 2 games to 0 lead, and were poised to face the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. However, Jeter struggled, batting .200 with one extra-base hit, as the Yankees lost the series to the Red Sox in seven games, despite winning the first three games. Following the 2004 season, Jeter was presented with his first Gold Glove Award.

Jeter hit his first and only grand slam, after 10 years in MLB, on June 18, 2005 against the Chicago Cubs. At one point, Jeter had the most at bats of any active player not to have hit a grand slam. Jeter was second in the AL in runs scored (122) in the 2005 season, and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Jeter won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2005, as his range factor rose to 4.76 and ranked second among AL shortstops. Though Jeter batted .333 during the 2005 ALDS, the Yankees lost to the Angels. Instead, the Yankees signed Johnny Damon to play center field and lead off, with Jeter batting second in the lineup. During the 2006 season, Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit on May 26, 2006, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone. Jeter finished the season second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381), fourth in OBP (.417), and fifth in infield hits (26), earning his seventh All-Star selection. Jeter batted .500 with one home run in the 2006 ALDS, which the Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers. Jeter finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting six times in his 11 full seasons through 2006. Though he lost the MVP Award, he won the Hank Aaron Award, given for superior offensive performance.

Finishing third in the AL with 203 hits, the 2007 season was Jeter's sixth overall and third consecutive season with at least 200 hits. He also finished fourth in both at-bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322). He was selected for his eighth All-Star appearance. In the field, he was involved in turning a career-high 104 double plays. However, he struggled during the 2007 ALDS, batting 3-for-17 (.176) with one RBI, as the Indians defeated the Yankees.

Jeter's slugging percentage (SLG) dropped to .410 in the 2008 season, his lowest mark since 1997. One possible cause was a prolonged slump that he suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist. Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped to as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop.

Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he broke the record against Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd. Despite Jeter's strong September showing, the Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention, the only season in Jeter's career where he did not compete in the playoffs. Following the final game in Yankee Stadium history, Jeter made an impromptu on-field speech, thanking the Yankees fans for their support and asking them to pass on their memories from the venue while making new memories at the new Yankee Stadium.

2009–present[link]

For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter to the leadoff role, based on the rationale that Jeter had a higher OBP than Damon, but grounded into double plays more often. Jeter batted .334, third best in the AL, with a .406 OBP, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases in 35 attepmts, 107 runs scored (in the top 10 in MLB), and 212 hits (second in MLB). During the season, the ''Sporting News''' named Jeter eighth on their list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball.

Jeter achieved two career hit milestones in the second half of the 2009 season. On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history. Then, Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning.

In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series, as he won his fifth World Series championship. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 2009 by ''Sports Illustrated''. Jeter also finished third in the AL MVP voting, behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer and teammate Mark Teixeira.

The 2010 season was statistically Jeter's worst in many respects. The Yankee captain batted .270 with a .340 OBP and .370 SLG and an Adjusted OPS of 90, his first full season with an OPS+ below 100. Despite this, Jeter was elected to start at shortstop in the All-Star Game. He rebounded to bat .342 in his last 79 at-bats after making adjustments to his swing. Following the season, Jeter won his fifth Gold Glove award. He committed six errors during the season, his lowest total in 15 full seasons.

}} After the 2010 season, Jeter became a free agent for the first time in his career. He reached an agreement with the Yankees on a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. Jeter spent the offseason continuing to make adjustments in his swing.

Jeter began the 2011 season batting .260 with a .649 OPS. However, he broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases when he stole his 327th base against the Mariners on May 28, 2011. Jeter suffered a calf injury that required his fifth career 15-day disabled list stint, and his first since 2003. Rehabilitating from his injury in Tampa, Jeter worked on his swing with Denbo. Following his activation from the disabled list, he hit .326 with an .806 OPS in his last 64 games of the season. Jeter finished the year with a .297 batting average, 6 home runs, 61 runs batted in, 84 runs, and 16 stolen bases. He credited the turnaround to his work with Denbo. The last of Jeter's five hits proved to be the game-winning hit. He is the only member of the 3,000 hit club to record all of his hits with the New York Yankees, and one of only two players (the other being Wade Boggs) to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit. Jeter became the second player to reach 3,000 career hits as a shortstop (the first was Honus Wagner). Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount were younger than Jeter on the day of their 3,000th hit. MLB and HBO produced ''Deter Jeter 3K'', a documentary that profiles his path to 3,000 hits, which originally aired on July 28, 2011.

Jeter finished the 2011 season with 162 hits, his 16th consecutive season with 150 hits, which tied him with Pete Rose for the second most consecutive 150 hit seasons, one behind Hank Aaron for the MLB record. Jeter was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given in recognition of charitable endeavors.

Despite concerns that Jeter's age might catch up to him in 2012, the beginning of the 2012 season saw Jeter on a hot streak: he batted .411 through April 23. Rodriguez commented that Jeter is playing as he did in 1999, while Girardi said Jeter looks like he's 25 years old. Ripken said he felt Jeter has a chance to reach 4,000 career hits.

World Baseball Classic[link]

Jeter started at shortstop for the United States national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit .450 (9-for-20) and scored five runs in six games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats. Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.

In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Jeter again started at shortstop. At the start of the tournament, he was named captain of the United States team by manager Davey Johnson. Jeter and the United States team faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the first and only time Jeter played against the Yankees.

Player profile[link]

Jeter is considered to be one of the most consistent baseball players of all time. Jeter has only played fewer than 148 games a season once in his career, when he dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day, 2003. He has an average of 194 hits, 118 runs scored and 23 stolen bases per year over the course of 152 games played.

An aggressive hitter, Jeter swings at most pitches in the strike zone, and many near it. Though right-handed hitters often pull the ball into left field, Jeter's signature inside-out swing, also called the "Jeterian Swing", results in a large portion of hits to center and right field, a trend that has remained consistent throughout his career. He has more home runs to the opposite field than to center or to left, using his swing to take advantage of the short right-field fences at both the old and new Yankee Stadiums. His swing enables him to get hits even when he is slumping.

Jeter is also known for his professionalism. In an age where professional athletes often find themselves in personal scandals, Jeter has avoided major controversy in a high profile career in New York City while maintaining a strong work ethic. Due to his style of play, opponents and teammates hold Jeter in high esteem. Always respectful, he referred to Torre as "Mr. Torre". A clubhouse leader, Jeter diffuses confrontations between teammates.

Postseason performance[link]

Jeter is noted for his postseason performances, and has earned the titles of "Captain Clutch", and "Mr. November" due to his postseason heroics. He has a career .309 postseason batting average, and a .351 batting average in the World Series. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the postseason every year since Jeter joined the team. Jeter holds MLB postseason records for games played (152), plate appearances (679), at-bats (559), hits (191), doubles (31), runs scored (107), total bases (290) and strikeouts (125). Jeter is also third in triples (4), third in home runs (20), fourth in runs batted in (59), and fifth in base on balls (64) and sixth stolen bases (18).

Defense[link]

Jeter has won five Gold Glove Awards. Despite this, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication ''Baseball Prospectus''. The book ''The Fielding Bible'' by John Dewan contains an essay by Bill James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in MLB. Two sites that rely on advanced defensive statistics, FanGraphs.com and FieldingBible.com, rated Jeter below middle-of-the-pack status in 2010, despite his receiving his fifth Gold Glove Award that season.

Jeter committed 18 errors in 2007, his highest total since finishing with 24 in 2000. After the season, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman and his staff saw Jeter's defense as an area that needed to be addressed. At the Yankees' request, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. Jeter's ultimate zone rating (UZR) improved from worst in the AL for shortstops in 2007 to close to league average in 2008.

When asked to responded to criticism of his defense, Jeter replied: "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge." Jeter further asserted that many defensive factors cannot be quantified. The controversy over Jeter's fielding has become a flash point for the debate over whether the analyses of statistics or subjective observation is the better method to assess a player's defensive ability, and for criticism of the Gold Glove Award.

Career highlights[link]

Awards[link]

Award / Honor	Time(s)	Date(s)
AL Major League Baseball All-Star Game	All-Star	12	1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
New York Yankees Player of the Year	5	1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2009
AL Gold Glove Award (SS)	5	2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010
AL Silver Slugger Award (SS)	4	2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
GIBBY Awards Moment Of The Year	2	2008, 2009
Hank Aaron Award	2	2006, 2009
	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award	2	2010, 2011
GIBBY Awards Performance Of The Year	1	2011
	1	2009
	1	2009
	Roberto Clemente Award	1	2009
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year	1	2009
	1	2007
Inductee in Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame	1	2007
Baseball Digest Player of the Year	1	2006
GIBBY Awards Hitter of the Year Award	1	2006
Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star (SS)	1	2006
GIBBY Awards Play Of The Year	1	2004
Players Choice Award Rookie Of The Year	1	2004
''The Sporting News'' "Good Guy in Sports" Award	1	2002
	ESPY Awards Best Play ESPY Award	1	2002
Babe Ruth Award	1	2000
	1	2000
World Series Most Valuable Player Award	1	2000
Joan Payson Award for Community Service	1	1997
	1	1996
	International League All-Star	1	1995
	Florida State League All-Star	1	1994
	Florida State League Most Valuable Player	1	1994
	Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award>''Baseball America'' Minor League Player of the Year	1	1994
	The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year	1	1994
	Topps/NAPBL Minor League Player of the Year	1	1994
New York Yankees Minor League Player of the Year	1	1994
South Atlantic League All-Star	1	1993
South Atlantic League's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, Best Infield Arm	1	1993
	1	1992
	1	1992
	1	1992

Statistical highlights[link]

Led League

Led AL in plate appearances (1997, 1998, 2005)

Led AL in singles (1997, 1998)

Led AL in runs created (1999)

Led AL in runs scored (1998)

Led AL in hits (1999)

League Top–Ten

*11–time Top 10 AL in hits (1997–2002, 2004–2007, 2009)

*10–time Top 10 AL in runs scored (1997–2006,2009)

*9–time Top 10 AL in batting average (1998–2001, 2003–2007, 2009)

*1–time Top 10 AL in total bases (1999)

*8–time Top 10 AL MVP (1997–2001, 2003–2009)

*5–time Top 10 AL hitters (1997, 1999–2000, 2003, 2009)

*6–time Top 10 AL in times on base (1997, 1999, 2005–2009)

Milestones[link]

Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit with an infield single on May 26, 2006, off Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone. Jeter hit his 400th career double on June 27, 2008. Jeter hit his 200th home run on July 12, 2008. Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium on September 14, 2008. He passed Gehrig on September 16, 2008. Jeter played in his 2,084th game on August 2, 2009, tying Babe Ruth for 4th in Yankees history. Jeter recorded his 2,673rd and 2,674th hits on August 16, 2009, tying and passing Luis Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop in Major League history. Jeter became the Yankees' all-time hits leader on September 11, 2009, surpassing Gehrig with his 2,722nd hit, a single to right field off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning. Jeter, along with Posada and Rivera, became the first teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 seasons on the same team as teammates in 2010. Jeter compiled his 3,000th hit (including the postseason) with a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros on June 12, 2010. The hit also tied him with Rickey Henderson as the all-time Yankees leader in leadoff home runs. Jeter stole his 327th base on May 28, 2011, breaking Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases. Jeter became the 28th member of the 3,000 hit club when he homered off David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays on July 9, 2011. He is the first player in Yankees history to achieve the feat. Jeter and Posada played their 1,660th game together on July 14, 2011, breaking the previous franchise record of 1,659 by Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri. Jeter played his 2,402nd game with the Yankees on August 29, 2011, breaking Mickey Mantle's record for most games played as a Yankee.

Personal life[link]

Jeter maintains a penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Trump World Tower and homes in Marlboro, New Jersey, Greenwood Lake, New York, and the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. Regarding his official residence, Jeter settled a tax dispute with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 2008. New York State alleged that Jeter should have paid state income tax from 2001 to 2003, as Jeter bought a Manhattan apartment in 2001; Jeter established his residence in Tampa, Florida, in 1994 and claimed that he was still a resident of Florida at the time, where there is no state income tax.

Jeter's personal life has been a frequent topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines since his rookie year in 1996. He had a well-publicized relationship with pop diva Mariah Carey from 1997 to 1998. Jeter has also dated former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, singer Joy Enriquez, actress Jordana Brewster, television personality Vanessa Minillo, actress Jessica Biel, and actress Minka Kelly.

In December 2002, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner criticized Jeter for staying out until 3 a.m. at a birthday party during the 2002 season, saying that his star shortstop "wasn't totally focused" and that "it didn't sit well" with him. The two mocked the incident in a May 2003 VISA commercial, similar to the manner in which Steinbrenner and former Yankees manager Billy Martin made light of their feud in a Miller Lite commercial during the 1970s.

Jeter is a close personal friend of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and served as best man at Posada's wedding. He has also renewed his close friendship with teammate Alex Rodriguez after a rift between them developed several years ago.

Appearances outside of baseball[link]

Philanthropy[link]

Jeter created the Turn 2 Foundation, a charitable organization, in 1996. The Foundation was established to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. The organization's name derives from the baseball double play (where "turning two" refers to making two outs on one play) and indicates the goal of the Foundation to give youths a place to "turn to" instead of drugs and alcohol.

During the 2009 season, Jeter and Mets star David Wright represented their foundations in a competition sponsored by Delta Air Lines; the player with the highest batting average received $100,000 for their foundation from Delta, while the runner-up's foundation received $50,000. Wright's group, the David Wright Foundation, focuses on multiple sclerosis.

Jeter also serves as an ambassador for Weplay, a website designed to encourage children to get involved in sports.

Endorsements[link]

Jeter has appeared in national ad campaigns for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, Discover Card, Florsheim, Gillette Fusion, VISA, Skippy, Ford, and XM Satellite Radio. He endorses a cologne named ''Driven'', designed in collaboration with and distributed by Avon. Jeter has his own Jumpman shoe.

In 2006, Jeter was the second-highest paid endorser in baseball, having earned $7 million in endorsements. He was ranked as the most marketable player in baseball according to the 2005 and 2010 Sports Business Surveys. A 2011 list by the marketing firm Nielsen ranked Jeter as the most marketable player in baseball, accounting for personal attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience, and influence.

Other appearances[link]

Jeter has appeared on television in ''Seinfeld'' and as a host on ''Saturday Night Live''. Jeter had cameo appearances in the comedy films ''Anger Management'' and ''The Other Guys''. Jeter's likeness was seen briefly on ''The Simpsons'' during the eighth episode of season 19, titled "Funeral for a Fiend", in which he was parodied as a guest star on ''Sesame Street''. Jeter was the subject of a 2005 segment on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes.

Video games have featured Jeter on their cover, including 2K Sports' ''MLB 2K5'', ''MLB 2K6'', and ''MLB 2K7'', Acclaim Entertainment's ''All-Star Baseball'' series of video games, and Gameloft's wireless phone baseball game, ''Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2008''. There is a wax figure of Jeter at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York, and a sculpture at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky.

See also[link]

List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles

List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs

List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in

List of Major League Baseball players with 300 stolen bases

List of Major League Baseball players with 4,000 total bases

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases

List of Major League Baseball hit records

List of Major League Baseball batting champions

List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions

References[link]

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links[link]

}}

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:New York Yankees players Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players Category:African American baseball players Category:American businesspeople Category:American League All-Stars Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Baseball players from New Jersey Category:Gold Glove Award winners Category:Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Category:Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Category:Major League Baseball shortstops Category:Major League Baseball World Series Most Valuable Player award winners Category:People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Category:People from Morris County, New Jersey Category:People from North Arlington, New Jersey Category:People from New York City Category:Gulf Coast Yankees players Category:Greensboro Hornets players Category:Tampa Yankees players Category:Albany-Colonie Yankees players Category:Columbus Clippers players Category:Trenton Thunder players

cs:Derek Jeter da:Derek Jeter de:Derek Jeter es:Derek Jeter fa:درک جیتر fr:Derek Jeter ko:데릭 지터 it:Derek Jeter he:דרק ג'יטר lv:Dereks Džīters nl:Derek Jeter ja:デレク・ジーター pl:Derek Jeter pt:Derek Jeter simple:Derek Jeter sv:Derek Jeter zh:德瑞克·基特

name	Bob Knight
sport	Basketball
birth date	October 25, 1940
birth place	Massillon, Ohio
championships	As a player: NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (1960)Regional Championships - Final Four (3) (1960, 1961, 1962)Big Ten Regular Season Championship (3) (1960, 1961, 1962) As a head coach: NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (3) (1976, 1981, 1987)Regional Championships - Final Four (5)(1973,1976,1981,1987,1992)Olympic Games(1984 Gold Medal)Big Ten Regular Season Championship (11)(1973,1974,1975,1976,1980,1981,1983,1987,1989,1991,1993)NIT Tournament Championship (1979)
Medaltemplates	}}

| medal_templates-expand = | awards = Henry Iba Award (2)(1975, 1989)Naismith College Coach of the Year (1987)Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2002)Big Ten Coach of the Year (8)1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball (2007) | current_record = | overall_record = 902–371 (.709) | Player = * | player_years = 1959–1962 | player_teams = Ohio State | player_positions = Point guard | coach = * | coach_years = 1962–19631963–19651965–19711971–200019842001–2008 | coach_teams = Cuyahoga Falls H.S. (asst.)Army (asst.)ArmyIndianaU.S. Men's Olympic TeamTexas Tech | CFBHOF_id = | BASKHOF_year = 1991 }} Robert Montgomery "Bob" Knight (born October 25, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach. Nicknamed "The General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, second all-time to his former player, Mike Krzyzewski. He is most well known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971–2000. He also coached briefly at Texas Tech (2001–2008) and at West Point (1965–1971).

While at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA men's Olympic team to a gold medal, becoming one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal.

Knight was one of college basketball's most successful and innovative coaches, having perfected and popularized the motion offense. He has also been praised for running clean programs (none of his teams was ever sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations) and graduating most of his players. However, Knight has also attracted controversy; he famously threw a chair across the court during a game, was once arrested for assault, and regularly displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press. Knight remains "the object of near fanatical devotion" from his former players and Indiana fans.

In 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a men's college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament. For the 2008–09 season, he joined ESPN as a part-time color commentator as well as continuing his studio analyst duties.

Playing career[link]

Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio and grew up in Orrville, Ohio. Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School. He continued under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State in 1958. He was a reserve forward on the Buckeyes' 1960 national championship team, which featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. In addition to lettering in basketball at Ohio State, it has been claimed that Knight also lettered in football and baseball; however, the official list of Ohio State football letter earners does not include Knight. Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962.

Coaching career[link]

Army[link]

After graduation in 1962, Knight coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year. Knight then enlisted in the U.S. Army and accepted an assistant coaching position at Army in 1963, where, two years later, he was named the head coach at the relatively young age of 24. In six seasons at West Point, Knight won 102 games, with his first as a head coach coming against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. One of his players was Mike Krzyzewski, who would later serve as his assistant before becoming a Hall of Fame head coach at Duke.

Indiana[link]

Coaching success[link]

In 1971 the Indiana University Hoosiers hired Knight as head coach. Because of his time spent coaching at Army and his disciplinarian nature, Knight earned the nickname "The General." During his 29 years as head coach at Indiana, the Hoosiers won 662 games, including 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing but 239, a remarkable .735 winning percentage. In 24 NCAA appearances at Indiana, Hoosier teams under Bob Knight won 42 of 63 games (.667), winning titles in 1975-76, 1980-81, and 1986-87, while finishing third in 1973 and 1992.

Indiana reached the 1973 Final Four, losing to UCLA. In two consecutive seasons, 1974-75 and 1975-76, Knight's teams were undefeated in the regular season and won 37-consecutive Big Ten games. The 1974-75 Hoosiers swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 points per game. However, in a 83-82 win against Purdue they lost consensus All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm. With May playing just 7 mins, the No. 1 Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 92-90 in the Mideast Regional. The following season, 1975–76, the Hoosiers went the entire season and 1976 NCAA tournament without a single loss, beating Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." Indiana remains the last school to go undefeated an entire season.

Indiana won the 1979 NIT championship. The 1979-80 Hoosiers won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following season, in 1980-81, star-guard Isiah Thomas and Knight's Hoosiers once again won a conference title and won the 1981 NCAA tournament, Knight's second national title. In 1982–1983, Knight's No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However with an injury to All-American Ted Kitchel mid-season, the Hoosiers prospects were grim. Knight asked for fan support to rally around the team, which ultimately won the Big Ten championship. Nevertheless in the tournament Kitchel's absence was felt and the team lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen.

Knight and his 1985-86 team were profiled in a best-selling book ''A Season on the Brink''. To write it Knight granted author John Feinstein almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life. Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules. The following season, in 1986-87, Knight won his third national championship against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA tournament. In the 1988–1989 season the Hoosiers again won a Big Ten championship.

From 1991-93, the Hoosiers posted 87 victories, the most by any Big Ten team in a three-year span, breaking the mark of 86 set by Coach Knight's Indiana teams of 1974-76. Teams from these three seasons spent all but two of the 53 poll weeks in the top 10, and 38 of them in the top 5. They captured two Big Ten crowns in 1990-91 and 1992-93, and during the 1991-92 season reached the Final Four. During the 1992-93 season, the 31-4 Hoosiers finished the season at the top of the AP Poll, but were defeated by Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Throughout the mid and late 1990's Knight continued to experience success with continual NCAA tournament appearances and strong conference play. However, 1993 would be Knight's last conference championship and 1994 would be his last trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Moreover, his portrayal in the media often brought as much controversy to the school as success.

Controversial dismissal[link]

On March 14, 2000, just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament, the CNN/SI network ran a piece on Knight in which former player Neil Reed claimed he was choked by Knight in a 1997 practice. Knight denied the claims in the story. However, less than a months later CNN Sports Illustrated aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 that appeared to show Knight placing his hand on the neck of Neil Reed.

|width=20%|align=right}} In response, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that spring he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Bob Knight's behavior. Later in the year, in September 2000, Indiana freshman Kent Harvey reportedly said, "Hey, Knight, what's up?" to Knight. According to Harvey, Knight then grabbed him by the arm and lectured him for not showing proper respect. Brand stated that this incident was only one of numerous complaints that occurred after the zero-tolerance policy had been placed on Knight. He asked Knight to resign on September 10. When Knight refused, Brand relieved him of his coaching duties effective immediately. Later that evening, a crowd of thousands of students swarmed Bloomington in protest, burning Brand in effigy.

Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he intentionally set up Knight. Kent Harvey's stepfather, Mark Shaw, was a former Bloomington-area radio talk show host and Knight critic. On September 13, Knight said goodbye to a crowd of some 6,000 supporters in Dunn Meadow at Indiana University. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Harvey and that they continue to support the basketball team. Knight's firing made national headlines including the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' and around the clock coverage on ESPN. It was also covered heavily on major news programs such as CBS News and CNN.

International[link]

In 1979 Knight guided the United States Pan American team to a gold medal in Puerto Rico. In 1984 Knight led the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the Olympic Games as coach of the Michael Jordan-led 1984 team (coaches do not receive medals in the Olympics).

Texas Tech[link]

After taking a season off following his dismissal from Indiana, all the while on the lookout for vacancies, Knight accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech, though his hiring was opposed by a group of faculty led by Walter Schaller. At the press conference introducing him, Knight quipped, "This is without question the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years."

Knight quickly improved the program, which had not been to an NCAA tournament since 1996. He led the Red Raiders to postseason appearances in each of his first four years at the school (three NCAA Championship tournaments and one NIT). After a rough 2006 season, the team improved in 2007, finishing 21–13 and again making it to the NCAA Championship tournament, where it lost to Boston College in the first round. The best performance by the Red Raiders under Knight came in 2005 when they advanced as far as the Sweet Sixteen. In both 2006 and 2007 under Knight, Texas Tech defeated two Top 10-ranked teams in consecutive weeks. During Knight's first six years at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders won 126 games, an average of 21 wins per season.

On February 4, 2008, Bob Knight retired as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. His son Pat Knight, the head coach designate since 2005, was immediately named as his successor. The younger Knight stated that, after many years of coaching, his father was exhausted and ready to retire. Just after achieving his 900th win, Knight handed the job over to Pat in the mid-season in part to allow him to get acquainted with coaching the team earlier, instead of having him wait until October, the start of the next season. Following retirement Knight continued living in Lubbock.

Coaching philosophy[link]

Bob Knight was an innovator of the motion offense, which he perfected and popularized. The system emphasizes post players setting screens and perimeter players passing the ball until a teammate becomes open for an uncontested jump shot or lay-up. This required players to be unselfish, disciplined, and effective in setting and using screens to get open. Knight's Army background and his focus on fundamentals, strict discipline, and precision earned him the nickname "General".

Knight's motion offense didn't take shape until his time at Indiana. Prior to that, at Army, he ran a "reverse action" that involved reversing the ball from one side of the floor to the other and screening along with it. According to Knight, it was a "West Coast offense" that Pete Newell used exclusively during his coaching career. After being exposed to the Princeton offense, Knight instilled more cutting with the offense he employed, which evolved into the motion offense that he ran for most of his career. Knight continued to develop the offense, instituting different cuts over the years and putting his players in different scenarios.

Knight was well known for the extreme preparation he put into each game and practice. He was often quoted as saying, "Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win." Often during practice, Knight would instruct his players to a certain spot on the floor and give them options of what to do based on how the defense might react. In contrast to set plays, Knight's offense was designed to react according to the defense.

The 3-point shot was adopted nationally in the NCAA in 1986, mid-way through Knight's coaching career. Although he initially opposed the rule change, it complimented his offense well by improving the spacing on the floor. Knight's offense also emphasized a two-count. Players in the post are expected to try and post in the paint for two seconds and if they don't receive the ball they go set a screen. Players with the ball are expected to hold the ball for two seconds to see where they are going to take it. Screens are supposed to be held for two seconds, as well.

On defense Knight was known for emphasizing tenacious "man-to-man" defense where defenders contest every pass and every shot, and to help teammates when needed. However, Knight has also incorporated a zone defense periodically after eschewing that defense for the first two decades of his coaching career.

Knight's coaching also included a firm emphasis on academics. All but four of his four-year players completed degrees, a ratio of nearly 98 percent. Nearly 80 percent of his players graduated compared to the national average of 42 percent for Division I schools.

Legacy[link]

Accomplishments[link]

Bob Knight's all time coaching record is 902-371. His 902 wins in NCAA Division I men's college basketball games is second all-time to his former player, Mike Krzyzewski. Knight achieved his 880th career win on January 1, 2007 and passed retired North Carolina coach Dean Smith for most career victories, a title he held until his win total was surpassed by Krzyzewski on November 15, 2011. Knight is the youngest coach to reach 200 (age 35), 300 (age 40) and 400 (age 44) wins. He was also among the youngest to reach other milestones of 500 (age 48) and 600 (age 52) wins. However, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith are both ahead of him in win differential (difference between wins and losses).

Texas Tech's participation in the 2007 NCAA Tournament gave Knight more NCAA Tournaments appearances than any other coach. He is the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, an Olympic Gold medal, and a Pan American Games Gold medal. Knight is also one of only three people, along with Dean Smith and Joe B. Hall, who had both played on and coached a winning NCAA championship basketball team.

Recognition[link]

Knight received a number of personal honors during and after his coaching career. He was named the National Coach of the Year four times (1975, 1976, 1987, 1989) and Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993). In 1975 he was a unanimous selection as National Coach of the Year, an honor he was accorded again in 1976 by Associated Press, United Press International, and Basketball Weekly. In 1987 he was the first person to be honored with the Naismith Coach of the Year Award. In 1989 he garnered National Coach of the Year honors by the AP, UPI, and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. On November 17, 2006, Knight was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The following year he was the recipient of the Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball. Knight was also inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2008) and the Indiana Hoosiers athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 2009). In August 2003, he was honored as the first inductee in The Vince Lombardi Titletown Legends.

Coaching tree[link]

A number of assistant coaches, players, and managers of Knight have gone on to be coaches. Among them are Hall of Fame Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, and NBA coaches Randy Wittman, Mike Woodson, Keith Smart, and Lawrence Frank.

Bob Knight in the media[link]

Books about Knight[link]

In 1986 author John Feinstein published ''A Season on the Brink'', which detailed the 1985-86 season of the Indiana Hoosiers. Granted almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life, the book quickly became a major best-seller and spawned a new genre, as a legion of imitators wrote works covering a single year of a sports franchise. In the book Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules.

Two years later author Joan Mellen penned the book ''Bob Knight: His Own Man'' (ISBN 0-380-70809-4), in part to rebut Feinstein's ''A Season on the Brink''. Mellen deals with seemingly all the causes celebres in Knight's career and presents the view that he is more sinned against than sinning.

A number of close associates and friends of Knight have also written books about him. Former player and current New Mexico head basketball coach Steve Alford wrote ''Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight'', published in 1990.

Knight's autobiography, written with longtime friend and sports journalist Bob Hammel, was titled ''Knight: My Story'' and published in 2003. Three years later Steve Delsohn and Mark Heisler wrote ''Bob Knight: An Unauthorized Biography''.

Film and television[link]

Knight has appeared or been featured in numerous films and television productions. In 1994 a feature film titled ''Blue Chips'' was about Pete Bell, a volatile but honest college basketball coach under pressure to win who decides to blatantly violate NCAA rules to field a competitive team after a sub-par season. It starred Nick Nolte as Bell and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal as Neon Bodeaux, a once-in-a-lifetime player Bell woos to his school with gifts and other perks. The coach's temper and wardrobe were modeled after Knight's, though at no time has Knight been known to illegally recruit. Knight himself appears in the movie and coaches against Nolte in the film's climactic game.

ESPN's first feature-length film was ''A Season on the Brink'', a 2002 TV adaptation from John Feinstein's book. In the movie Knight is played by veteran character actor Brian Dennehy. ESPN also featured Knight in a reality show titled ''Knight School'', which followed a handful of Texas Tech students as they competed for the right to join the basketball team as a non-scholarship player.

Knight made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2003 film ''Anger Management''. In 2008, Knight appeared in a commercial as part of Volkswagen's Das Auto series where Max, a 1964 black Beetle interviews famous people. When Knight talked about Volkswagen winning the best resale value award in 2008, Max replied, "At least one of us is winning a title this year." This prompted Knight to throw his chair off the stage and walk out saying, "I may not be retired."

Knight also made an appearance in a TV commercial for Guitar Hero: Metallica with fellow coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, and Roy Williams, in a parody of Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

In 2009, Knight produced 3 instructional coaching DVD libraries—on motion offense, man-to-man defense, and instilling mental toughness—with Championship Productions.

Family and charity[link]

Knight married Nancy Lou on April 17, 1963 and the two divorced in 1985. Together they had two sons, Tim and Pat. Pat played at Indiana from 1991-95 and is now head coach at Lamar. In 1988 Knight married Karen Vieth Edgar, a former Oklahoma high school basketball coach.

Knight has a high regard for education and has made generous donations to the schools he has been a part of, particularly libraries. At Indiana University Knight endowed two chairs, one in history and one in law. He also raised nearly $5 million for the Indiana University library system by championing a library fund to support the library's activities. The fund was ultimately named in his honor.

When Knight came to Texas Tech in 2001, he gave $10,000 to the library, the first gift to the Coach Knight Library Fund which has now collected over $300,000. On November 29, 2007, the Texas Tech library honored this with ''A Legacy of Giving: The Bob Knight Exhibit''.

Criticisms and controversies[link]

1970s[link]

It was reported (although years after the incident) that Knight choked and punched IU's longtime sports information director, Kit Klingelhoffer, in the 1970s, over a news release that upset the coach.

On December 7, 1974, Indiana and Kentucky met in the regular season in Bloomington with a 98-74 Indiana win. Near the end of the game, Bob Knight went to the Kentucky bench where the official was standing to complain about a call. Before he left, Knight hit Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall in the back of the head. UK's assistant coach Lynn Nance, a former FBI agent who was about 6 feet 5 inches, had to be restrained by Hall from hitting Knight. Hall later said, "It publicly humiliated me." Knight said the slap to the head was something he has done, "affectionately" to his own players for years. "But maybe someone would not like that," he said. "If Joe didn't like it, I offer an apology. I don't apologize for the intent." ... "Hall and I have been friends for a long time," Knight said. "If he wants to dissolve the friendship, that's up to him." Knight blamed the furor on Hall, noting in his inimitable style, "If it was meant to be malicious, I'd have blasted the fucker into the seats."

During the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Knight was accused of assaulting a police officer while coaching the US Basketball team before a practice session. He was later convicted in absentia to a six-month jail sentence, but extradition efforts by the Puerto Rican government were not successful.

1980s[link]

In February 1985, Knight threw a chair across the court to protest a referee's call during a game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers. Knight was suspended for one game and received two years' probation from the Big Ten Conference.

Women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments during an April 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Knight's comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers.

1990s[link]

In March 1992 prior to the NCAA regional finals, controversy erupted after Knight playfully mock whipped Indiana players Calbert Cheaney and Pat Graham during practice. The bullwhip had been given to Knight as a gift from his team. Several black leaders complained at the racial connotations of the act (Cheaney is black.)

Knight was shown berating an NCAA volunteer at a March 1995 post-game press conference following a 65–60 loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Boise, Idaho. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, informed the press that Knight would not be attending the press conference, when in reality, Knight was running a few minutes late and had planned on attending per NCAA rules. Knight was shown saying: "You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID [Sports Information Director], and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game."

Former IU player Neil Reed alleged that Knight had grabbed him by the neck in a choking manner during a 1997 practice. A videotape of the incident was shown on CNN.

2000s[link]

On February 19, 2000, Clarence Doninger, Knight's boss, alleged to have been physically threatened by the coach during a confrontation after a game.

An IU investigation inquired about an allegation in which Knight berated and physically intimidated a university secretary, once throwing a potted plant in anger, showering her with glass and debris. The University later asked the coach to issue an apology to the secretary.

It was alleged that Knight attacked assistant coach Ron Felling, throwing him out of a chair after overhearing him criticizing the basketball program in a phone conversation.

On September 8, 2000, IU freshman Kent Harvey told campus police Knight grabbed him roughly by the arm and berated him for speaking to the coach disrespectfully. Knight admitted putting his hand on the student's arm and lecturing him on civility, but denied that he was rough or raised his voice. The coach was fired from IU two days later.

Two days after Knight was fired from Indiana University, Jeremy Schaap of ESPN interviewed him and discussed his time at Indiana. Towards the end of the interview, Knight talked about his son, Patrick, who had also been dismissed by the university, wanting an opportunity to be a head coach. Schaap, thinking that Knight was finished, attempted to move on to another subject, but Knight insisted on continuing about his son. Schaap repeatedly tried to ask another question when Knight shifted the conversation to Schaap's style of interviewing, notably chastising him about interruptions. Knight then commented (referring to Schaap's father, Dick Schaap), "You've got a long way to go to be as good as your dad!" In March 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference. On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under the chin to get him to make eye contact. Although Knight didn't comment on the incident afterwards and as of yet hasn't done so, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince's chin and told him "Hold your head up and don't worry about mistakes. Just play the game." Prince commented, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself." On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas, accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home. Knight denied the allegations. An argument between the two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television.

On December 17, 2009, Knight insulted longtime rival Kentucky and its basketball coach John Calipari, saying "We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," he said. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky, who put two schools [UMass and Memphis on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

On April 18, 2011, video surfaced showing Knight responding to a question concerning John Calipari and the University of Kentucky men's basketball team by stating that in the previous season, Kentucky made an Elite Eight appearance the year before with "5 players who had not attended a single class that semester." These claims were later disproved by the University and the five players in question, including Patrick Patterson, who graduated in three years, and John Wall, who finished the semester in question with a 3.5 GPA. Knight later apologized for his comments stating that "My overall point is that 'one-and-dones' are not healthy for college basketball. I should not have made it personal to Kentucky and its players and I apologize."

Head coaching record [link]

(*) Indicates record/standing at timeof resignation from Texas Tech.

Source:

Source:

See also[link]

List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

List of NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coach

Notes[link]

References[link]

"The Archives". ''2004-05 Army Men's Basketball Media Guide''. Retrieved December 23, 2005.

"History". ''2005-06 Indiana Men's Basketball Media Guide''. Retrieved December 23, 2005.

"Texas Tech Record Book". ''2005-06 Red Raider Media Guide''. Retrieved December 23, 2005.

External links[link]

Bob Knight's Profile from Texas Tech Athletics

Bob Knight news archive from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Basketball players from Ohio Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Category:High school basketball coaches in the United States Category:Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches Category:National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Category:People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Category:People from Massillon, Ohio Category:People from Wayne County, Ohio Category:Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball coaches

de:Bobby Knight es:Bobby Knight fr:Bobby Knight it:Bob Knight fi:Bob Knight tr:Bob Knight

honorific-prefix	The Honourable, C.D.
name	Usain Bolt
nickname	Lightning Bolt
honorific-suffix	OJ
nationality	Jamaican
sport	Track and field
event	Sprints
club	Racers Track Club
birth date	August 21, 1986
birth place	Trelawny, Jamaica
residence	Kingston, Jamaica
height
weight
pb	100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009) 150 m: 14.35 WB (Manchester 2009) 200 m: 19.19 WR (Berlin 2009) 400 m: 45.28 (Kingston 2007)
medaltemplates	}}

}} The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. (; born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and (along with his teammates) the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, and is one of only seven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.

Bolt won a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist at the time (since surpassed by Jacko Gill. In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in less than 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s, breaking the previous world junior record held by Roy Martin by two-tenths of a second. He turned professional in 2004, and although he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he missed most of the next two seasons due to injuries. In 2007, he broke Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican record with a run of 19.75 s.

His 2008 season began with his first world record performance—a 100 m world record of 9.72 s—and culminated in world and Olympic records in both the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He ran 9.69 s for the 100 m and 19.30 s in the 200 m, and also set a 4×100 m relay record of 37.10 s with the Jamaican team. This made him the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. The following year he further lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships. This made him the first man to hold both the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.

His 2009 record breaking margin over 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements. His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt", and awards including the ''IAAF World Athlete of the Year'', ''Track & Field Athlete of the Year'', and ''Laureus Sportsman of the Year''.

Early years[link]

Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica, and grew up with his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadeeki, and his sister Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother, later saying, "When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports".

As a child, he attended Waldensia Primary and All-age School, and it was here that he first began to show his sprinting potential, running in the annual national primary-schools' meeting for his parish. By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance.

Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt continued to focus on other sports, but his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events. Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete, and Dwayne Barrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, including sprinter Michael Green. Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001, taking the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds. McNeil soon became his primary coach, and the two enjoyed a positive partnership, although McNeil was occasionally frustrated by Bolt's lack of dedication to his training and his predisposition to practical jokes.

Early competitions[link]

Performing for Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver as Bolt finished in 21.81 s.

He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to qualify for the finals, but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 s. Bolt still did not take athletics or himself too seriously, however, and he took his mischievousness to new heights by hiding in the back of a van when he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. He was detained by the police for his practical joke, and there was an outcry from the local community, which blamed coach McNeil for the incident. However, the controversy subsided, and both McNeil and Bolt went to the CARIFTA Games, where Bolt set championship records in the 200 m and 400 m with times of 21.12 s and 47.33 s, respectively. He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.

Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson recognised Bolt's talent and arranged for him to move to Kingston, along with Jermaine Gonzales, so he could train with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Rise to prominence[link]

The 2002 World Junior Championships before a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, gave Bolt a chance to prove his credentials on the world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to tall, and he physically stood out amongst his peers. He won the 200 m, in a time of 20.61 s, 0.03 seconds slower than his personal best of 20.58 s set in the 1st round. Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medalist ever. The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet. However, it turned out to be a revelatory experience for Bolt as he vowed never again to let himself be affected by pre-race nerves. As a member of the Jamaican sprint relay team, he also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres relay, running times of 39.15 s and 3:04.06 minutes respectively.

The flow of medals continued as he won four gold medals at the 2003 CARIFTA Games, and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games. He won another gold at the 2003 World Youth Championships. He set a new championship record in the 200 m with a time of 20.40 s, despite a 1.1 m/s head wind. Michael Johnson, the 200 m world-record holder, took note of Bolt's potential but worried that the young sprinter might be over-pressured, stating, "It's all about what he does three, four, five years down the line". Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.

Bolt turned his main focus to the 200 m and equalled Roy Martin's world junior record of 20.13 s at the Pan-American Junior Championships. This performance attracted interest from the press, and his times in the 200 m and 400 m led to him being touted as a possible successor to Johnson. Indeed, at sixteen years old, Bolt had reached times that Johnson did not register until he was twenty, and Bolt's 200 m time was superior to Maurice Greene's season's best that year.

In his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003, he broke both the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.30 s, respectively. Bolt's runs were a significant improvement upon the previous records, beating the 200 m best by more than half a second and the 400 m record by almost a second.

Bolt was growing more popular in his homeland. Howard Hamilton, who was given the task of Public Defender by the government, urged the JAAA to nurture him and prevent burnout, calling Bolt "the most phenomenal sprinter ever produced by this island". His popularity and the attractions of the capital city were beginning to be a burden to the young sprinter. Bolt was increasingly unfocused on his athletic career and preferred to eat fast food, play basketball, and party in Kingston's club scene. In the absence of a disciplined lifestyle, he became ever-more reliant on his natural ability to beat his competitors on the track.

As the reigning 200 m champion at both the World Youth and World Junior championships, Bolt hoped to take a clean sweep of the world 200 m championships in the Senior World Championships in Paris. Bolt beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials, but he was pragmatic about his chances and noted that, even if he did not make the final, he would consider setting a personal best a success. However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it ruined his training schedule. Realising he would not be in peak condition, the JAAA refused to let him participate in the finals on the grounds that he was too young and inexperienced. Bolt was dismayed at missing out on the opportunity, but focused on getting himself in shape to gain a place on the Jamaican Olympic team instead. Even though he missed the World Championships, Bolt was awarded the IAAF Rising Star Award for the 2003 season on the strength of his junior record-equalling run.

Professional athletics career[link]

Early Professional Career (2004 – 2007)[link]

Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. He became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s. For the second time in the role, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games. A hamstring injury in May ruined Bolt's chances of competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships, but he was still chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad. Bolt headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics with confidence and a new record on his side. However, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres with a disappointing time of 21.05 s. American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships on the strength of his performances, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica. Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's primitive track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.

The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude to athletics. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease the sprinter's unprofessional approach to the sport. Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more-seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers. The year began well, and in July he knocked more than a third of a second off the 200 m CAC Championship record with a run of 20.03 s, then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s. Misfortune awaited Bolt at the next major event, the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Bolt felt that both his work ethic and athleticism had much improved since the 2004 Olympics, and he saw the World Championships as a way to live up to expectations, stating, "I really want to make up for what happened in Athens. Hopefully, everything will fall into place". Bolt qualified with runs under 21 s, but he suffered an injury in the final, finishing in last place with a time of 26.27 s. Injuries were preventing him from completing a full professional athletics season, and the eighteen-year-old Bolt still had not proven his mettle in the major world-athletics competitions. Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset. His manager, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated the following week. Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006. Peart and Mills stated their intentions to push Bolt to do longer sprinting distances with the aim of making the 400 m event his primary event by 2007 or 2008. Bolt was less enthusiastic, and demanded that he feel comfortable in his sprinting. He suffered another hamstring injury in March 2006, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and he did not return to track events until May. After his recovery, Bolt was given new training exercises to improve flexibility, and the plans to move him up to the 400 m event were put on hold.

Upon his return to competition, the 200 m remained his primary event, and he beat Justin Gatlin's meet record in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Bolt had aspired to run under twenty seconds to claim a season's best but, despite the fact that bad weather had impaired his run, he was happy to end the meeting with just the victory. However, a sub-20-second finish was soon his, as he set a new personal best of 19.88 s at the 2006 Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, finishing behind Xavier Carter and Tyson Gay to earn a bronze medal. Bolt had focused his athletics aims, stating that 2006 was a year to gain experience. Also, he was more keen on competing over longer distances, setting his sights on running regularly in both 200 m and 400 m events within the next two years. Bolt claimed his first major world medal two months later at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He passed the finishing post with a time of 20.10 s, gaining a bronze medal in the process. The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece, yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal. Wallace Spearmon from the United States won gold with a championship record time of 19.87 s, beating Bolt's respectable time of 19.96 s. Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. The young Jamaican yearned to run in the 100 metres, but coach Mills diverted his attention, stating that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record. In the Jamaican Championships, he ran 19.75 s in the 200 m, breaking the 36-year-old Jamaican record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 s.

Mills complied with Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m, and he was entered to run the event at the 23rd Vardinoyiannia meeting in Rethymno, Crete. In his debut tournament run, he set a personal best of 10.03 s, winning the gold medal and feeding his enthusiasm for the event.

He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal. Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a headwind of 0.8 m/s but this paled in comparison with Tyson Gay's time of 19.76 s, which set a new championship record.

The Jamaican national record fell when Bolt partnered with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4×100 metres relay. However, their finish in 37.89 s was not enough to beat the Americans' time of 37.78 s. Bolt did not win any gold medals at the major tournaments in 2007, but Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved, pinpointing improvements in Bolt's balance at the turns over 200 m and an increase in his stride frequency, giving him more driving power on the track.

World-record breaker[link]

The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to run, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career. Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he entered to run in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, aided by a tail wind of 1.8 m/s, considerably improving upon his previous personal best of 10.03 s. This was the second-fastest legal performance in the history of the event; second only to compatriot Asafa Powell's 9.74 s record set the previous year in Rieti, Italy. Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, praising Bolt's form and technique especially. Michael Johnson, who was observing the race, said that he was shocked at how quickly he had improved over the 100 m distance. The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.

Mills' prediction came true before the end of the month when Bolt established a new 100 m world record on 31 May 2008. Pushed on by a tail wind of 1.7 m/s, Bolt ran 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix held in the Icahn Stadium in New York City, breaking Powell's record. The record time was even more remarkable in light of the fact that it was only his fifth senior run over the distance. Gay again finished second and commended Bolt's physical superiority, stating, "It looked like his knees were going past my face". Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.

In June 2008, Bolt responded to claims that he was a lazy athlete, saying that the comments were unjustified, and he trained hard to achieve his potential. However, he surmised that such comments stemmed from his lack of enthusiasm for the 400 metres event, and chose to not make the effort to train for distance running. Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in multiple events—first setting the world-leading time in Ostrava, then breaking the national record for the second time with a 19.67 s finish in Athens, Greece. Although Mills still preferred that Bolt focus on the longer distances, the acceptance of Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m worked for both sprinter and trainer. Bolt was more focused in practice, and a training schedule to boost his top speed and his stamina, in preparation for the Olympics, had improved both his 100 m and 200 m times. His confidence was building, and he was sure that he would perform well in the upcoming Olympics.

2008 Summer Olympics[link]

Bolt announced that he would double-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics, and the new 100 m world-record holder was the favourite to win both. Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying that he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him. Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.

In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s. This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s. Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied. Bolt's coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt's opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s. After scientific analysis of Bolt's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9.60 s time. Considering factors such as Bolt's position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55±0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.

Bolt stated that setting a record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games. Olympic medalist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time. IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful. Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his celebration by saying, "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy". Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, supported Bolt and said that his celebration was appropriate given the circumstances of his victory. Jamaican government minister Edmund Bartlett also defended Bolt's actions, stating, "We have to see it in the glory of their moment and give it to them. We have to allow the personality of youth to express itself".

Bolt then focused on attaining a gold medal in the 200 m event, aiming to emulate Carl Lewis' double win in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Michael Johnson felt that Bolt would easily win gold but believed that his own world record of 19.32 s set at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta would remain intact at the Olympics. Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times. He won his semifinal and progressed to the final as the favourite to win. Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten. The following day, at the final, he won Jamaica's fourth gold of the Games, setting a new world and Olympic record of 19.30 s. Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s headwind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 m and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first since the introduction of electronic timing. Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics. Unlike in the 100 m final, Bolt sprinted hard all the way to the finishing line in the 200 m race, even dipping his chest to improve his time. Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.

Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4x100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three. Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, Bolt broke another world and Olympic record, their 37.10 s finish breaking the previous record by three tenths of a second. Powell, who anchored the team to the finishing line, lamented the loss of his 100 m record to Bolt but showed no animosity towards his Jamaican rival, stating that he was delighted to help him set his third world record. Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of the Sichuan province of China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Bolt's record-setting runs caused commentators not only to praise his achievements but also to speculate about his potential to become one of the most successful sprinters ever. Critics hailed his Olympic success as a new beginning for a sport that had long suffered through high-profile drug scandals. The previous six years had seen the BALCO scandal, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin stripped of their 100 m world records, and Marion Jones returning three Olympic gold medals. All three sprinters were disqualified from athletics after drugs tests detected banned substances in their systems. Bolt's record-breaking performances caused suspicion among some commentators, including Victor Conte, and the lack of an independent Caribbean anti-doping federation raised more concerns. The accusations of drug use were vehemently rejected by Glen Mills (Bolt's coach) and Herb Elliott (the Jamaican athletics team doctor). Elliott, a member of the IAAF anti-doping commission, urged those concerned about the issue to "come down and see our programme, come down and see our testing, we have nothing to hide". Mills had been equally ardent that Bolt was a clean athlete, declaring to the ''Jamaica Gleaner'': "We will test any time, any day, any part of the body...[he] doesn't even like to take vitamins". Bolt stated that he had been tested four times prior to the Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. He also welcomed anti-doping authorities to test him to prove that he was clean, stating, "We work hard and we perform well and we know we're clean".

}}

After the Olympics[link]

The end of the 2008 athletics season saw Bolt compete in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s. Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date. Bolt admitted that he was not running at full strength, suffering from a cold, but he had concentrated on both winning the race and finishing the season in good health. At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s, equalling Xavier Carter's track record. However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender. Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s headwind. Yet the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history being recorded by either Bolt or Powell. On his return to Jamaica, Bolt was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics.

He was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year and won a Special Olympic Award for his performances. However, Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.

2009 Berlin World Championships[link]

Bolt started the season competing over 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston, and windy conditions gave him his first sub-10 second finish of the season in the 100 m in March. In late April Bolt suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games. Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m. Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively. This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury. Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s headwind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m, one hundredth off Gay's best time.

At the 2009 World Championships in August, Bolt eased through the 100 m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 seconds. The final was the first time Bolt and Gay had met in the season, and Bolt improved his world record with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing. Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous best mark, this was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100 m world record since the beginning of electronic timing.

Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, the Jamaican once again produced world record-breaking form in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds. He won the 200 m race by the biggest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event. Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed, and former Olympic champion Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there...I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast". Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146) and 200 m (0.133) were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics. However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4x100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.

On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that "one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable." The nearly three-ton segment will be delivered to Bolt's training camp in Jamaica.

Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height". At the end of the season he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.

2010: Diamond League and broken streak[link]

Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all-time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season. He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.

On his return from injury a month later, he asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds). Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition. This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay over 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.

2011 Daegu World Championships[link]

Considered the overwhelming favourite to win in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Bolt was eliminated from the final for a false start. Usain Bolt's countryman, Yohan Blake won in a season best of 9.92 seconds. In the 200m, Bolt cruised through to the final which he won in a time of 19.40s, the fastest time in history never to be a World Record. Bolt also won gold in 4x100 metres relay with team Jamaica setting a world record time of 37.04.

Personal life[link]

Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 m 200 m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt. The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he was not a sprinter he would be a fast bowler instead. As a child he was a supporter of the Pakistani cricket team and admired the bowling of Waqar Younis. He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle and Australian opener Matthew Hayden. During a charity cricket match Bolt clean-bowled Chris Gayle. Gayle was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing. Bolt also struck a six off Chris Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.

Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is a fan of Manchester United as well as Real Madrid. Bolt has also declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Following a race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice. Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League final in London, where he stated he'd like to play for them after he retires.

In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.

Sponsorships and advertising work[link]

After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm, the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue". During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them. His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.

In January 2012, Usain Bolt impersonated Richard Branson in a Ad Campaign for Virgin Media. The multi-million pound campaign was directed by Seth Gordon and features Virgin founder Branson to promote its superfast broadband service. In March 2012, he starred in an ad for Visa and the London 2012 olympics.

Book Deal[link]

In 2010, Bolt signed a lucrative publishing deal with HarperCollins for an autobiography, which was negotiated by Chris Nathaniel of NVA Management. This is scheduled for release in 2012. During a press conference in Paris on 15 July 2010, Bolt declined any comment on what would be contained within the book saying, "you can't really give away anything in your book ... should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy".

Recognition[link]

As a result of Bolt's successes in athletics, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2009 and 2010.

IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009

Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009

Statistics[link]

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Personal bests[link]

!Event	!Time (seconds)	!Venue	!Date	!Records	!Notes
100 metres	9.58	Berlin, Germany	16 August 2009
150 metres	14.35	Manchester, United Kingdom	17 May 2009	World best	He ran the last 100 m in 8.70, the fastest ever recorded time over a 100 m distance. This would equal an average speed of 41.38 km/h.
	19.19	Berlin, Germany	20 August 2009
300 metres	30.97	Ostrava, Czech Republic	27 May 2010		This is the second fastest time, behind Michael Johnson's 30.85.
400 metres	45.28		5 May 2007
	37.04	Daegu, South Korea			Shared with Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter.

Records[link]

Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres is the fastest ever legal time. Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.69 seconds (more precisely 9.683), the current Olympic record. Tyson Gay recorded a time of 9.68 s at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, but was aided with a tail wind of 4.1 m/s, exceeding the legal limit of 2.0 m/s set by the IAAF and nullifying its inclusion as a world record. Obadele Thompson's run of 9.69 s in 1996 is also not recognised as it was aided by a 5.0 m/s tail wind.

Bolt's personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a headwind of −0.3 m/s. He has also broken the Olympic record with a time of 19.30 s (more precisely 19.296 s)

The Jamaican relay team including Bolt, set the 4x100 metres world and Olympic records at the 2008 Olympics with a time of 37.10 seconds. This is the only run in the IAAF top ten performances which was not set by an American team.

Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, world youth record), 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record). He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.

Average speed[link]

From his record time of 9.58 s for the 100 m sprint Usain Bolt's average ground speed equates to: 37.58 km/h or 23.35 mph. However, once his reaction time of 0.15 s is subtracted, his time is closer to 9.43 s, making his average speed closer to 38.18 km/h or 23.72 mph.

Honours[link]

{| |- |rowspan=3|2002 |rowspan=3|World Junior Championships |rowspan=3|Kingston, Jamaica | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 m |20.61 |- | style="background:silver;"| 2nd |4×100 m relay |39.15 NJR |- | style="background:silver;"| 2nd |4×400 m relay |3:04.06 NJR |- |2003 |World Youth Championships |Sherbrooke, Canada | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 m |20.40 |- |rowspan=2|2003 |rowspan=2|Pan American Junior Championships |rowspan=2|Bridgetown, Barbados | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 m |20.13 WYB |- | style="background:silver;"| 2nd |4×100 m relay |39.40 |- |2004 |CARIFTA Games |Hamilton, Bermuda | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 m |19.93 WJR |- |2005 |Central American and Caribbean Championships |Nassau, Bahamas | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 m |20.03 |- |2006 |World Athletics Final |Stuttgart, Germany | style="background:#c96;"| 3rd |200 m |20.10 |- |2006 |IAAF World Cup |Athens, Greece | style="background:silver;"| 2nd |200 m |19.96 |- |2007 |World Championships |Osaka, Japan | style="background:silver;"| 2nd |200 metres |19.91 |- |2008 |Reebok Grand Prix |New York City, United States | style="background:gold;"| 1st |100 m |9.72 |- |rowspan=3|2008 |rowspan=3|Olympic Games |rowspan=3|Beijing, China | style="background:gold;"| 1st |100 metres |9.69 |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 metres |19.30 |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |4×100 metres relay |37.10 |- |rowspan=3|2009 |rowspan=3|World Championships |rowspan=3|Berlin, Germany | style="background:gold;"| 1st |100 metres |9.58 |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 metres |19.19 |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |4×100 metres relay |37.31 CR |- |rowspan=3|2011 |rowspan=3|World Championships |rowspan=3|Daegu, South Korea |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |200 metres |19.40 WL |- | style="background:gold;"| 1st |4×100 metres relay |37.04 |}

See also[link]

Athletics in Jamaica

Jamaica at the Olympics

List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games

Men's 100 metres world record progression

Men's 200 metres world record progression

References[link]

External links[link]

Usain Bolt timeline via ''The Daily Telegraph''

Lightning Strikes Twice – slideshow by ''The First Post''

Asafa Powell|title=Men's 100 metres World Record Holder|years=31 May 2008 – |after=Incumbent}} Michael Johnson|title=Men's 200 metres World Record Holder|years=20 August 2008 – |after=Incumbent}} Asafa Powell Christopher Gayle}} Christopher GayleIncumbent}} |- Asafa Powell}} |- Tyson Gay}} David Rudisha}} |- Tyson Gay David Rudisha}} David RudishaIncumbent}} |- Roger Federer}} Rafael Nadal}} |- |- |- Tyson Gay}} Tyson Gay}} |- Asafa Powell}} Tyson Gay}} Tyson Gay}} Yohan Blake}}

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Male sprinters Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Jamaican sprinters Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic athletes of Jamaica Category:Olympic gold medalists for Jamaica Category:People from Trelawny Parish Category:World record holders in athletics (track and field) Category:Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Category:Members of the Order of Jamaica

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