Mia Hamm

Personal information
Full name	Mariel Margaret Hamm
Date of birth	(1972-03-17) March 17, 1972 (age 40)
Place of birth	Selma, Alabama, United States
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1993	North Carolina Tar Heels	100	(103)
2001–2003	Washington Freedom	49	(25)
National team‡
1987–2004	United States	275	(158)
Honours Competitor for USA Women's football (soccer) Competitor for the USA Olympic Games Gold Atlanta 1996 Team competition Gold Athens 2004 Team competition Silver Sydney 2000 Team competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 28, 2007. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 29, 2007

Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born on March 17, 1972, in Selma, Alabama) is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, in the history of U.S. soccer (158).^[1] She is the second most capped female player in soccer history behind Kristine Lilly, appearing in 275 international matches throughout her career.

Hamm was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon called Hamm, "Perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years."^[2]

She retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the U.S. women's national team's victory in the 2004 Olympics. In 2007, her first year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Women's Professional Soccer, a professional soccer league that launched in 2009, features Hamm's silhouette in its logo.^[3]

Hamm was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2006 ^[4] and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on March 11, 2008.^[5]

Mia Hamm clashes with Germany 1998.

She is the author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life. She appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.

Hamm takes a corner kick.

Early years[link]

Hamm was born with a club foot and had to wear corrective shoes as a toddler.^[6] Hamm spent her childhood on Air Force bases with her parents, Bill and Stephanie Hamm, and her five siblings. The family moved many times and resided in several places including San Antonio, Texas, and Italy.^[7] Hamm played organized sports from a very young age, and at age fifteen she joined the U.S. women's national team, becoming the youngest ever to play for them.^[8] She played for Notre Dame Catholic High School, Wichita Falls, Texas, as a freshman and a sophomore. Hamm then attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia for one year, and helped the Lake Braddock soccer team win the 1989 state championships.^[9] Mia Hamm's brother played sports, inspiring her to do so as well.

She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped the Tar Heels to four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's championships in five years (she sat out the season of 1991 to concentrate on the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China). North Carolina only lost one game in the ninety five she played on the team.^[9] She was an All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for her last three years. She also won ACC Female Athlete of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

Women's national team[link]

In 1991, when the women's national team won the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, Hamm became the youngest American woman to win a World Cup championship at the age of nineteen.

She was also a member of the American National college team that played in the 1993 Summer Universiade and lost to China, obtaining the silver medal. She was the leading scorer with six goals. She graduated from college with the all-time records for her conference in goals with 103, assists with 72, and total points with 278.

On May 22, 1999, Hamm broke the all-time international goal record with her 108th goal in a game against Brazil in Orlando, Florida.

Hamm in pregame workout.

In 1999, Nike named the largest building on their corporate campus after Hamm, and that same year she and the rest of the women on the national team became world champions again by winning the FIFA Women's World Cup. The final match surpassed the Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with over 90,000 filling the Rose Bowl.

Hamm was named the 1997 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.^[9]

On May 14, 2004, she announced her retirement effective after the 2004 Athens Olympics, expressing an interest in starting a family with her husband, Nomar Garciaparra.^[10][11]

In March 2004, Hamm and former U.S. teammate Michelle Akers were the only two women, and the only two Americans, named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for that organization's 100th anniversary.Other accolades include being elected Soccer USA's female athlete of the year five years in a row (1994-1998), MVP of the Women's Cup in 1995 and the winner of three ESPY awards, including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year.

In a friendly game against Australia on July 21, 2004, Hamm scored her 151st international goal; she has long held the record in that category for any player, male or female. This match also marked her 259th international appearance; only her teammate Kristine Lilly has played in more internationals.

She helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was also chosen by her fellow U.S. Olympians to carry the American flag at the Athens Closing Ceremonies. After the Olympics, Hamm and her teammates went on a "farewell tour" of the United States, which finished on December 8, 2004 against Mexico at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In the game, which the U.S. won 5–0, Hamm assisted on two of the goals. Hamm is one of three longtime national team members who announced their retirements from international play at the end of the tour; the others are longtime captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett (Fawcett did not play due to back surgery after the Olympics). Hamm retired with 158 international goals at age thirty-two.

Club[link]

For the majority of Hamm's career, there was no fully professional women's soccer league in the United States. As a result, she played only three seasons of club soccer. In 2001 she signed for the Washington Freedom in the newly established Women's United Soccer Association. The league suspended operations indefinitely in September 2003, but Hamm finished her short club career as a champion when the Freedom won the Founders Cup in that final season.

Personal life[link]

Her adoptive brother, Garrett Hamm, died on April 16, 1997 of complications from aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease. Hamm established the Mia Hamm Foundation in part to support patients and their families who benefit from bone marrow transplants.

Hamm was first married to her college sweetheart Christian Corry, a United States Marine Corps CH-53E helicopter pilot; they divorced in 2001.^[12][13]

Hamm married then-Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra on November 22, 2003, in Goleta, California in a private ceremony, attended by three hundred guests. On March 27, 2007, Hamm gave birth to twin girls, Grace Isabella and Ava Caroline. Though born five weeks early, each girl weighed over 5 pounds (2.3 kg) at birth.^[14] Twins run in both Hamm's and Garciaparra's families.^[15]

Coaching and other work[link]

Hamm is a global ambassador for FC Barcelona. She also hosts an annual celebrity soccer game in Los Angeles to support her foundation which raises funds for families needing marrow and cord blood transplants.^[16]

Championships[link]

See also[link]

• List of association women football players with 100 or more international goals

References[link]

Notes

Sources

• Mia Hamm: High Heels and Football at the International Olympic Committee website

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mia Hamm

• Mia Hamm's U.S. Olympic Team bio, with photos, video
• Mia Hamm Foundation
• Mia Hamm at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Mia Hamm in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

United States squads v t e United States squad – 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (1st Title) 1 Harvey 2 Heinrichs (c.) 3 Higgins 4 Werden 5 Henry 6 Chastain 7 Bates 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Biefield 15 Gebauer 16 Belkin 17 Allmann 18 Maslin-Kammerdeiner Coach: Dorrance v t e United States squad – 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry 2 Staples 3 Manthei 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Keller 7 Rafanelli 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Lalor 18 Webber 19 Cromwell 20 Harvey Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 1996 Summer Olympics (Women's Soccer) - Gold Medal 1 Scurry 2 Harvey 3 Parlow 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Wilson 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Gabarra 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Cromwell 18 Staples Bryan 20 Webber Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (2nd Title) 1 Scurry 2 Fair 3 Pearce 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Whalen 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Parlow 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Fotopoulos 18 Webber 19 Ducar 20 Sobrero Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry 2 Bivens 3 Pearce 4 Reddick 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Boxx 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Wagner 11 Foudy 12 Parlow 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Sobrero 16 Milbrett 17 Slaton 18 Mullinix 19 Hucles 20 Wambach Coach: Heinrichs

Julie Foudy

Personal information
Full name	Julie Maurine Foudy
Date of birth	(1971-01-23) January 23, 1971 (age 41)
Place of birth	San Diego, California, United States
Playing position	midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
	San Diego Spirit	173
National team
1987–2004	United States	271	(45)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Olympic medal record
Women's football
Competitor for the  United States
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Team competition
Gold	2004 Athens	Team competition
Silver	2000 Sydney	Team competition

Julie Maurine Foudy (born 23 January 1971) was a midfielder for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 through 2004, finishing with 271 caps. She served as the team's co-captain from 1991–2000 and the Captain from 2000 through her retirement in 2004. She is currently the primary color commentator for women's soccer telecasts on ESPN.

Soccer career[link]

Foudy played in four Women's World Cups, winning two FIFA Women's World Cups—in 1991 and 1999. She also played in three Summer Olympic Games, winning an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996, Silver in 2000, and Gold again in 2004. Her retirement after the 2004 Olympic Games, alongside fellow soccer legends Mia Hamm and Joy Fawcett (and the unanticipated retirement of Brandi Chastain following the change of USWNT coaches), marked the end of what the media labeled the "golden era" of US women's soccer.^[1] Foudy also held the captain's position for her WUSA team, the San Diego Spirit. The WUSA suspended operations in September 2003; Foudy is the official player's representative to the ongoing efforts to resurrect the league. She has been selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame for the class of 2007 alongside former teammate Mia Hamm. Foudy and Hamm's induction is the first all-female class of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Sports broadcaster[link]

Foudy has served as an in-studio analyst for ABC, ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008, and has provided on-air commentary and analysis during United States Women's National Team matches since then. She has also coanchored ABC and ESPN telecasts of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2007 season of Major League Soccer, including the MLS Cup. She appeared as a pundit for the ESPN coverage of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship finals, together with Andy Gray and Tommy Smyth. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, she did puff pieces on South Africa for ESPN. Foudy is also a reporter for ESPN's investigative program, Outside the Lines. She served as a sportsdesk reporter for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[2] She also fills in for Dana Jacobson on ESPN First Take. Since late-2010, Foudy has been paired with Ian Darke on ESPN's primary broadcast team for women's soccer telecasts, as was the case for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[3]

Personal and political activism[link]

Foudy graduated from Stanford University in 1994. She was accepted into Stanford Medical School in 1996, deferred for two years, and ultimately decided not to pursue a career in medicine.

Foudy is an advocate for women's rights and children's rights. She served as the President of the Women's Sports Foundation. Additionally, Foudy received the FIFA Fair Play Award for her well documented trip abroad to examine the working conditions of her then-sponsor, Reebok's factories.

In 2002, she was named by United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige to the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, a panel charged with reviewing the effects and implementation of the landmark 1972 Title IX legislation. Foudy took strong exception to the commission's final report; ultimately, though, her advocacy on the issue and the sharply-worded dissenting Minority Report by Foudy and fellow commissioner Donna de Varona are generally conceded to have halted the implementation of the commission's recommendations.

In 2006, Julie Foudy and her husband Ian Sawyers launched The Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy. The week-long Academy is for girls ages 12–18 and weaves together sports and leadership. The Academy has received national and international attention for creating leaders both on and off the field.

Foudy gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Isabel Ann, on 1 January 2007. Her second child, a son named Declan, was born in December 2008.

She appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Julie Foudy Soccer Camps Official site
• Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy Official site
• Julie Foudy's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Text of Julie Foudy's letter to Title IX Commission
• Julie Foudy ESPN Bio

United States squads v t e United States squad – 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (1st Title) 1 Harvey 2 Heinrichs (c.) 3 Higgins 4 Werden 5 Henry 6 Chastain 7 Bates 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Biefield 15 Gebauer 16 Belkin 17 Allmann 18 Maslin-Kammerdeiner Coach: Dorrance v t e United States squad – 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry 2 Staples 3 Manthei 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Keller 7 Rafanelli 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Lalor 18 Webber 19 Cromwell 20 Harvey Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 1996 Summer Olympics (Women's Soccer) - Gold Medal 1 Scurry 2 Harvey 3 Parlow 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Wilson 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Gabarra 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Cromwell 18 Staples Bryan 20 Webber Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (2nd Title) 1 Scurry 2 Fair 3 Pearce 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Whalen 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Parlow 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Fotopoulos 18 Webber 19 Ducar 20 Sobrero Coach: DiCicco v t e United States squad – 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry 2 Bivens 3 Pearce 4 Reddick 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Boxx 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Wagner 11 Foudy 12 Parlow 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Sobrero 16 Milbrett 17 Slaton 18 Mullinix 19 Hucles 20 Wambach Coach: Heinrichs