Greatest Facial Hair in Sports History

By Grant Suneson Updated Jan 11, 6:35PM EST · Published Aug 30, 12:49PM EDT

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Greatest Facial Hair in Sports History — © Scott Halleran / Getty Images

As long as professional sports have been around, there have been interesting and entertaining players. In team sports, individualism can often be stifled, especially when it comes to fashion. Players must all wear the same uniform, so there is not much room for expression — except with hair.

Players often have sported interesting hairstyles, but these are typically obscured by hats, helmets, or headbands. Facial hair, however, is usually visible, so some athletes have decided over the years to grow some very interesting beards and mustaches.

Just like the rest of the world, facial hair fashions in sports come and go. Lots of old-timey baseball players from the 19th century like Will White and Old Hoss Radbourn had thick handlebar mustaches. Many athletes from the 1970s had sideburns, while those from the ’80s had Magnum, P.I.-style mustaches. More recently, long, thick beards seem to be in vogue. For instance, players like James Harden and Brian Wilson have adopted the mountain man look as their signature style.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed photos of professional athletes to determine the 50 players with the greatest facial hair in sports history.

Click here to see the greatest facial hair in sports history.

Baseball players have an disproportionately high number of spots on this list for a few reasons. Chiefly, professional baseball has been around longer than basketball, hockey, or football, so there is a deeper history of players.

Football players aren’t as renowned for wild facial hair, possibly because mustaches and beards are obscured by face masks and chin straps, but players like Eric Weddle and Ryan Fitzpatrick still make the list with huge bushy beards.

Hockey players also make up much of the list, as they tend to take the hair on their heads and faces very seriously. Hockey is also responsible for one of the great facial hair traditions in sports — the playoff beard. It is believed that the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s started the tradition of NHL players refusing to shave while playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just about every hockey player now participates in this tradition, with varying levels of success. Some hockey players like Brent Burns keep long beards year-round, while others like Sidney Crosby can never get much facial hair to grow.

This list is by no means comprehensive. There have been more than 19,000 professional baseball players alone, and some pro athletes with exciting facial hair are bound to slip through the cracks or just not quite make the cut for the top 50. Players are listed alphabetically.

The teams listed for each player are in many cases not an exhaustive list of every franchise that he has played for. The teams listed in each player profile were determined by either how much time he spent on those teams compared to others, or where the player had his best statistical years. The player’s career was determined by the year in which he made his debut and the year in which he played his final game. Both team and career information came from the Sports Reference family of websites.

1. Antonio Garay
> League: NFL
> Teams known for: Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers
> Career: 2003-2012

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2. Baron Davis
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers
> Career: 1999-2012

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3. Brent Burns
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks
> Career: 2003-present

4. Brett Keisel
> League: NFL
> Teams known for: Pittsburgh Steelers
> Career: 2002-2014

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5. Brian Wilson
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers
> Career: 1956-1969

6. Bruce Sutter
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves
> Career: 1976-1988

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7. Bryce Harper
> League: MLB
> Team: Washington Nationals
> Career: 2012-present

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8. Cal Clutterbuck
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders
> Career: 2007-present

9. Carlos Boozer
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls
> Career: 2002-2015

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10. Charlie Blackmon
> League: MLB
> Team: Colorado Rockies
> Career: 2011-present

11. Chris Anderson
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers
> Career: 2001-2017

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12. Dallas Keuchel
> League: MLB
> Team: Houston Astros
> Career: 2012-present

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13. Drew Gooden
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards
> Career: 2002-2016

14. Eddie Murray
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians
> Career: 1977-1997

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15. Enes Kanter
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks
> Career: 2011-present

16. Eric Weddle
> League: NFL
> Teams known for: San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens
> Career: 2007-present

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17. George Parros
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens
> Career: 2005-2014

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18. Goose Gossage
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres
> Career: 1972-1994

19. Ian Cole
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets
> Career: 2010-present

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20. James Harden
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets
> Career: 2009-present

21. Jared Allen
> League: NFL
> Teams known for: Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers
> Career: 2004-2015

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22. Jason Kelce
> League: NFL
> Team: Philadelphia Eagles
> Career: 2011-present

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23. Jayson Werth
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals
> Career: 2002-2017

24. Jeff Bagwell
> League: MLB
> Team: Houston Astros
> Career: 1991-2005

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25. Joe Greene
> League: NFL
> Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
> Career: 1969-1981

26. Joe Thornton
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks
> Career: 1997-present

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27. John Axford
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics
> Career: 2009-present

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28. Jonas Valanciunas
> League: NBA
> Team: Toronto Raptors
> Career: 2012-present

29. Justin Turner
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers
> Career: 2009-present

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30. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers
> Career: 1969-1989

31. Keith Hernandez
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians
> Career: 1974-1990

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32. Kevin Quackenbush
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds
> Career: 2014-present

33. Lanny McDonald
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, Calgary Flames
> Career: 1973-1989

34. LeBron James
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers
> Career: 2003-present

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35. Michael Cage
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers
> Career: 1984-2000

36. Mike Commodore
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils
> Career: 2000-2012

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37. Mike Gminski
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets
> Career: 1980-1994

38. Mike Napoli
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox
> Career: 2006-present

39. Nikola Mirotic
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans
> Career: 2014-present

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40. Old Hoss Radbourn
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Providence Grays, Boston Beaneaters
> Career: 1881-1891

41. Phil Kessel
> League: NHL
> Teams known for: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins
> Career: 2006-present

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42. Quincy Acy
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets
> Career: 2012-present

43. Robin Yount
> League: MLB
> Team: Milwaukee Brewers
> Career: 1974-1993

44. Rollie Fingers
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers
> Career: 1968-1985

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45. Ryan Fitzpatrick
> League: NFL
> Teams known for: Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, New York Jets
> Career: 2005-present

46. Steven Adams
> League: NBA
> Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
> Career: 2013-present

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47. Travis Frederick
> League: NFL
> Team: Dallas Cowboys
> Career: 2013-present

49. Will White
> League: MLB
> Teams known for: Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Stockings
> Career: 1877-1886

49. Will White
> League: MLB
> Team: Cincinnati Reds
> Career: 1877-1886

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50. Wilt Chamberlain
> League: NBA
> Teams known for: Philadelphia Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers
> Career: 1959-1973

About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.