7 Athletes Who Went Directly To Jail

It’s been a rough week for former NFL players on the judicial circuit. O.J. Simpson couldn’t beat a robbery and kidnapping charge and now faces life in prison. Former first-round bust running back Lawrence Phillips got slapped with a 10-year prison sentence following his own checkered career on the wrong side of the law. These sentences may come as a surprise to cynical fans who think there’s no way a famous athlete could end up in prison, but sports figures serving hard time isn’t exactly uncommon. Here are seven who did not pass go, did not collect their $200, and went directly to jail.

Craig MacTavish

As an NHL player, MacTavish was a solid center who enjoyed a long career that spanned from 1979 to 1997. He even won four Stanley Cups. However, he missed the entire 1984-85 season because he was incarcerated. MacTavish had been driving drunk on January 25, 1984, when he was in a wreck that killed a 26-year-old woman. MacTavish was found guilty of vehicular homicide and spent a year in jail before resuming his career. He’s currently the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.


. Rae Carruth

Perhaps the most infamous of all NFL players, Rae Carruth’s career as a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers actually got off to a promising start. During his rookie season in 1997, he caught 44 passes, including four touchdowns, and made the NFL’s all-rookie squad. In 1999, though, everything unraveled for him. His pregnant girlfriend was caught in a drive-by shooting. Despite four shots being fired in the car, she managed to call 911 and describe Carruth’s role in the assault. The receiver apparently blocked her car while a shooter in a separate car fired the shots. Carruth posted $3 million bail, but after his girlfriend died, he took off. He was eventually found in Tennessee, hiding in the trunk of a car with a huge pile of cash, some snacks, and a bottle to hold his urine. He’s currently serving no less than 18 years, 11 months in prison following a conviction for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.


Ugueth Urbina

Baseball fans remember Urbina as a solid right-handed reliever with a nice fastball/slider combo that helped the Florida Marlins win the World Series in 2003. Fans of Venezuelan jurisprudence remember Urbina as the man behind a horrific assault. Urbina was convicted of attempted murder in 2007 following an incident in which he allegedly attacked five workers on his Venezuelan farm with a machete and then tried to douse them in gasoline. Urbina maintains that he was asleep during the attack and that he is innocent. Nevertheless, he received convictions for attempted murder, illegal deprivation of liberty, and violating a Venezuelan law that prohibits taking justice into your own hands. He’s serving a 14-year prison term.


Mike Danton

Lowly players have been known to run afoul of the law, too. Take Mike Danton, a fairly low-level NHL center who played for the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues. Danton racked up 141 penalty minutes during the 2003-04 season, but off the ice he didn’t do his own dirty work. When he wanted his agent, David Frost, dead in 2004, he didn’t want to get his own hands dirty. Instead, he tried to hire a hitman to do the job for him. Unfortunately for Danton, his “hitman” was actually a police dispatcher. Danton pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and is currently serving a 90-month term in federal prison.


Denny McLain

Denny McLain’s career as a Major League pitcher was brilliant. He won two Cy Young awards, an American League MVP award, and a World Series ring during a career that ran from 1963 to 1972. He’s still mentioned on baseball broadcasts as the last man to win 30 games in a season. McLain wasn’t quite a masterful off the field, though. He had a penchant for gambling, which led him to make underworld connections and even run his own bookmaking operation. These troubles eventually led to the end of his baseball career, at which point McLain veered further afoul of the law. He worked for a Florida financial services company with rumored Mob ties, which led to a 1985 conviction for racketeering, extortion, and drug trafficking. He spent a couple of years in jail on that charge, and then bought a Michigan meat-processing plant in 1994. Two years later the plant went bankrupt, and McLain and his partner were charged with looting $12.5 million from the company’s pension fund. McLain spent six years in federal prison for the theft and was released in 2003.


Darryl Henley

Darryl Henley was enjoying a nice career as a starting cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams until 1995, when he was convicted for cocaine trafficking. He received a 20-year sentence for those charges, which quickly ended his NFL career. He made things worse for himself by then attempting to hire a hitman to murder his ex-girlfriend—a former Rams cheerleader and a witness in the trial—and the judge. His sentence then ballooned to 41 years, and he won’t be eligible for parole until he’s 65 years old. To his credit, Henley has realized the error of his ways and now runs a website and charity to try to help other athletes from falling victim to the same forces that brought him down.


Don King

Don King may be known for his trademark fright-wig hair and his inimitable diction, but before he became boxing’s most powerful promoter, he served time. In fact, he killed two different men before his rise to fame. The first case was judged justifiable homicide; King shot a man who had attempted to rob the illegal bookmaking joint he ran. The second killing, though, occurred when King beat to death an employee who owed him money. King was convicted of second-degree murder for this killing, but the charges were later reduced to manslaughter. He ended up spending around four years in jail for the killing.

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Greatest Sports Moments of All Time

Dwight Clark



Great Moment: The Catch

The Catch was the winning touchdown reception from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the January 10, 1982 NFC Championship American football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. The Catch is widely regarded as one of the most memorable events in NFL history. Montana threw a high pass to the back of the end zone. 49ers receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping grab with his fingertips from the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game.


Diego Maradona



Great Moment: Diego Maradona’s goals for Argentina against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup

AKA The Hand of God and the Goal of the Century. The Hand of God, one of the most controversial goals, was scored as the result of an illegal (but unpenalised) handball by Diego Maradona in the quarter-final match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup between England and Argentina. Five minutes later, Maradona scored another goal, the Goal of the Century, also known as “Greatest Goal in FIFA World Cup History”, was an award given for the greatest goal ever scored in a FIFA World Cup tournament. Maradona then began his 60-metre, 10-second dash towards the English goal, leaving behind five English outfield players (Hodge, Beardsley, Reid, Butcher and Fenwick) as well as goalkeeper Peter Shilton to make the score 2–0 to Argentina.


Rocky Marciano



Great Moment: Rocky Marciano Retires As Heavyweight Champ Undefeated at 49-0

was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1956. Marciano, with forty-three knockouts to his credit (87.8% knockout rate), remains the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire having won every fight in his professional career.


Kerri Strug



Great Moment: Kerri Strug’s one footed Vault

Was an gymnast for the 1996 Olympics, upon her first attempt Strug under-rotated the landing of her first attempt, causing her to fall and damage her ankle. Strug thus limped slightly to the end of the runway for her second attempt. She landed the vault briefly on both feet, almost instantly hopping onto only her good foot. Strug raised her arms after her vault, saluting the judges. She then needed assistance off the landing platform due to the injury. The completed vault received score of 9.712, which ended all doubt about whether the Americans would receive the gold.


Jackie Robinson



Great Moment: Jackie Robinson Signs a Major League Contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers

He was the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers ended approximately eighty years of baseball segregation. In the United States at this time, many white people believed that blacks and whites should be segregated or kept apart in many aspects of life, including sports.


Bob Beamon



Great Moment: Bob Beamon long jumps 29' 2 1/2 inches to shatter the world record by more than two feet

On October 18, 1968 at Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Beamon set a World record for the Long jump with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2½ in.). Destroying the last record by about 2 ft. Sports journalist Dick Schaap wrote a book about the leap, called The Perfect Jump. The record stood for 23 years until Mike Powell broke it by only 2 inches in 1991.


Lou Gehrig



Great Moment: Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech

A native of New York City, he played for the New York Yankees until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now commonly referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Over a 15-season span between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. On July 4, 1939, a dying man stood before over 60,000 people and told them he was the “luckiest man on the face of the earth” for being able to play in ballparks for 17 years, and recieve nothing but kindness and encouragement from his fans. Lou Gehrig became a symbol of what sports, and maybe life is all about. accepting your destiny, giving it your all, and enjoying every moment, good or ill.


Mark McGwire



Great Moment: Mark McGwire over Sammy Sosa, 70-66, for the new home-run crown

There was much media speculation as to where Maris’ HR record would be broken in 1998, and a debate as to who would break it, Ken Griffey, Jr. or McGwire. As the 1998 season progressed, it became clear that McGwire, Griffey, and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa were all on track to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. The race to break the record first became a media spectacle as the lead swung back and forth. On September 8, 1998 at 8:18 p.m. et, McGwire hit a pitch by the Chicago Cubs’ Steve Trachsel over the left field wall for his record-breaking 62nd home run, setting off huge celebrations at Busch Stadium. McGwire finished the 1998 season with 70 home runs, four ahead of Sosa’s 66.


Bobby Thompson



Great Moment: Bobby Thompson’s shot heard round the world

Thomson became a celebrity for hitting a game-winning home run in a playoff game, off of Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the 1951 National League pennant. The home run (nicknamed the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”) is perhaps the most famous in baseball history. The Dodgers and Giants split the first two games. This forced the decisive contest on October 3rd at the Polo Grounds. The Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Giants’ cause appeared lost. But Thomson’s homer turned what looked like a certain defeat into a 5-4 victory. The moment was immortalized by the famous call of Giants play-by-play announcer Russ Hodges who cried, “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”


Wilt Chamberlain



Great Moment: Wilt Chamberlain Scores 100 Points in a Single Game

Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games, took place between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962 at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. With 46 seconds left, Chamberlin had 98 pts. Chamberlain got free from the five Knicks, jumped high and stuffed the ball through the hoop for an alley-oop slam dunk to hit the century mark. The arena exploded in a frenzy. Over 200 spectators stormed the floor, wanting to touch the hero of the night. Some confusion remains about whether the game’s last 46 seconds were played. According to the NBA, play was halted and never resumed.


Cal-Stanford



Great Moment: Cal-Stanford Play

The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the University of California Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal on November 20, 1982. Given the circumstances and rivalry, the wild game that preceded it, the very unusual way in which The Play unfolded, and its lingering aftermath on players and fans, it is recognized as a highly memorable play in college football history and among the most memorable in American sports.


Jesse Owens



Great Moment: Jesse Owens Debunks Aryan Myth

Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany. He and other government officials had high hopes German athletes would dominate the games with victories. Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of “Aryan racial superiority” and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. Owens surprised many by winning four gold medals. one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4×100 meter relay team.


Michael Phelps



Great Moment: Michael Phelps wins 8 Gold Medals at the Olympics

In the 2008 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals, the record for the most medals won at a single olympics. With this record, he surpassed Mark Spitz, who had held the previous gold medal total with the seven. In the 2008 Olympics Michael Phelps set 7 new world records, only missing the 100 m Butterfly, where he beat Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds.


Michael Jordan



Great Moment: Michael Jordan’s Final Shot

Michael Jordan is often referred to as the best player to play the game. He is a 5 time NBA MVP and 6 time NBA finals MVP. Michael Jordan played his last game with the bulls
in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals at the Delta Center, the Chicago Bulls led the series 3-2, but trailed the game 86-85 with 10 seconds left. Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left. Jordan then released a shot that would be rebroadcast innumerable times in years to come. The perfect way to go out. We can all just pretend the wizards never really happened.


US Hockey Team



Great Moment: 1980 USA Hockey Team Defeats Soviet

Rag tag bunch of mostly teenaged amateurs, barely together a few months and playing a sport invented and perfected elsewhere, take on the most polished, professional and unbeatable team in the history of international hockey, and win it. In exhibitions that year, Soviet club teams had gone 5–3–1 against National Hockey League teams, and a year earlier the Soviet national team had defeated the NHL All-Stars 6–0 to win the Challenge Cup. The Soviet and American teams were natural rivals due to the decades-old Cold War. In the final seconds of the game the crowd began to count down the seconds left. Sportscaster Al Michaels, who was calling the game on ABC along with former Montreal Canadians goalie Ken Dryden, picked up on the countdown in his broadcast, and delivered his famous call “…Eleven seconds, you’ve got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk…five seconds left in the game…Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” US won the game 4-3. This victory was voted the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century by Sports Illustrated.

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Amazing Strongman Feats of the Past

For centuries strongmen have been entertaining crowds by their demonstrations of strength. Many strongmen relied on unique acts that would set them apart from other strongmen and usually claimed they were the only one in the world to perform such a feat. This list includes 10 of the most amazing and unique acts performed by the strongmen of yesteryear.

Thomas Topham
b.1702 – d.1749



Topham was born in London and was one of the most famous Strongmen of the 18th century possessing all around strength. Topham feats included bending thick pokers by striking them against his forearmand being able to lift 224 lbs. overhead easily with just his little fingers. His most famous act of strength occurred on May 28th 1741 when Topham lifted 3 barrels filled with water weighing 1386 lbs.

Interesting Fact: Topham’s feats are faithfully documented in Dr. John Theo Desagulaiers work called, “A course of Experimental Philosophy.”

Pierre Gasnier - French Hercules
b.1862 d.1923

Gasnier was born in France and was one of the first most influential of the old time circus strongmen and performed for Barnum and Bailey Circus. Gasnier could rip a deck of cards in half but his most famous feat was breaking a chain over his chest while expanding his ribcage.

Interesting Fact: Gasnier stood only 5’ 3 tall and weighed just 143.5lbs and was able to lift a dumbbell weighing 260 lbs over has head. A feat that many strongmen twice his size could not do.


Arthur Saxon - The Iron-Master
b. 1878 – d. 1921



Arthur Saxon was a strongman and circus performer from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. Saxon made his name famous by a lift called the “bent press”. This is a type of weight training exercise where a weight is brought from shoulder-level to overhead one-handed using the muscles of the back, legs, and arm with which he set a world record of 370 lbs. Eventually Saxons’s two brothers, Kurt and Hermann Henning joined the group as well, forming the “Saxon Trio,” The Trio performed with circuses all over Europe.

Interesting Fact: During his performances Saxon would claim the act could not be repeated even by the famous Muscleman Eugen Sandow (see # 3) and would open the stage for anyone who would want to attempt it. Unbeknownst to Saxon, in 1898, Sandow was in the audience and accepted the challenge. Initially, Sandow was unable to replicate the lift but then eventually was able to do it. Sandow took the Saxon Trio to court and won the case with the Judge ruling that he had handled the bell in exactly the same way as Saxon which debunked Saxon’s claim that Sandow failed the lift.


Angus MacAskill - Giant MacAskill
b. 1825 - d.1863



MacAskill was born on the Isle of Berneray in the Sound of Harris, Scotland and emigrated to Nova Scotia . MacAskill was known as the world’s largest “true” giant, (no growth abnormalities). By the time he was 20 he was 7 ft 4 in (223 cm), eventually reaching 7 ft 10 in (236 cm) and weighed 580 pounds. In 1849 he entered show business and went to work for P.T. Barnum’s circus appearing next to General Tom Thumb. MacAskill most famous feat was lifting a ship’s anchor weighing 2800 lb. to his chest . He also had the ability to carry barrels weighing over 300 lbs. apiece under each arm.

Interesting Fact: Queen Victoria heard stories about MacAskill’s great strength and invited him to appear before her to give a demonstration at Windsor Castle. She proclaimed him to be “the tallest, stoutest and strongest man to ever enter the palace”.Pierre Gasnier




Thomas Inch
b.1881 d.1963



Thomas Inch held the titles of Britain’s Strongest Youth and Britain’s Strongest Man. However Inch is best know for a dumbbell he created now called the “Inch dumbbell” The dumbbell weighed 172 lbs 9 ounces. To keep the dumbbell from bending it was made with extra thick handles which ended up making it very popular because it was so difficult to lift. In his day Thomas Inch was one of the few people that could lift the dumbbell and would offer 200 British Pounds to anyone who could.

Interesting Fact: At the age of 72 Thomas Inch could still lift his namesake dumbbell. Even today very few people can lift it.


Louis Cyr
b. 1863 - d. 1912



Louis Cyr was born in Quebec and weighed close to 18 pounds at birth. At the age of twelve Cyr was a lumberjack and stories of his amazing strength told by his coworkers are legendary. At the age of seventeen, Cyr stood five feet ten inches but weighed 230 pounds. His first public display of strength was in Boston during a strongest man competition when he stunned the crowd by lifting a horse clear off the ground. Cyr returned to Quebec in 1882 for a brief tour and performed many acts of strength. Strongmen feats are often exaggerated and Louis was no exception to this. However many of his feats were formally documented by witnesses including holding a platform of 18 men on his back. At the conclusion of his tour, Louis became a police officer in Montreal.

Interesting Fact: A district of Montreal is named Louis Cyr in his honor located in Saint-Henri, where he patrolled as a police officer. Also statues of Louis Cyr are located at Place des Hommes-Forts and the Musée de la Civilisation in Quebec City.


Eugen Sandow
b. 1867 d. 1925



Eugen Sandow is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Bodybuilding” Sandow was born in Prussia (now part of Germany) and began his career as a sideshow strongman. With the help of showman Florenz Ziegfeld, Sandow decided it wasn’t enough to simply demonstrate his strength, with acts similar to the one pictured above but to actually display his muscular physique as though it were a work of art. He soon made his “Muscle Displays” the main feature of his stage show. Sandow performed all over Europe and organized the first ever bodybuilding contest on in 1901. He called it the “Great Competition” and was held in the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK. Sandow judged the contest along with, Sir Charles Lawes, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The contest was a huge success and was a sell-out with hundreds of fans turned away.

Interesting Fact: When Sandow died in 1925 it was reported in the press that he died of a stroke shortly after pushing his car out of the mud. However his actual death was more likely caused by complications from syphilis. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Putney Vale Cemetery at the request of his wife.


Siegmund Breitbart
b1883 - d1925



Breitbart was born in Poland into an Orthodox Jewish family of blacksmiths. Facing continuing challenges from other strongmen and relentless anti-Semites, he was determined not to defame his people. This inspired him and made his astonishing acts of strength even more sensational. His feats included, bending iron bars around his arm in floral patterns, biting through iron chains or pulling them apart, and lifting a baby elephant while climbing a ladder. Unfortunately, while on his last tour of Europe, Siegmund was hammering a railroad spike with his bare hands through a 5 inch oak board that was resting on his knee. (like pictured above) The nail pierced his leg and as a result he contracted blood-poisoning. After 10 operations including the amputation of both legs Breitbart died eight weeks later.

Interesting Fact: Before the accident Breitbart planned to appear in Palestine and recreate the famous feats of Samson to gain world-wide attention for all Jews to join him in creating a Jewish homeland. Also, Breitbart’s life was fictionalized in Werner Herzog’s 2001 film Invincible.


John Holtum - Cannonball King
b.1845 d. 1919



John Holtum, was a strongman from Denmark who drew immense crowds in cities around the world by perfecting the cannonball catch. With Holtum on one side of the stage and a cannon on the other, an assistant would fire a fifty pound ball which Holtum caught with his gloved hands and chest. The feat required immense strength, steely nerves and lightning fast reflexes. Several skeptics questioned the legitimacy of his act but were convinced after Holtum brought them on stage for a demonstration. Holtum appeared before Royalty in Europe and was a great success in the U.S. as well.

Interesting Fact: Holtum’s initial attempt to catch the ball, resulted in his losing three fingers. Holtum offered 3000 francs to anyone who would perform a similar feat but no one ever took him up on his challenge.

Alexander Zass - The Iron Samson
b.1888 d.1962



Zass was born in Vilna, Poland, but lived his early years in Russia. Like many other strongmen of his era, Zass was motivated to develop his strength when he attended a circus and saw the feats done by the circus strongman. Zass started with bending green branches and twigs, climbing trees, and running with home made dumbbells and barbells. Later he trained under some of the great Russian professional strongmen. Zass developed tremendous strength that allowed him to carry a horse on his shoulders but his greatest talent was bending steel bars and breaking chains which were the center piece of his exhibitions.

Interesting Fact: In 1914, While serving in the Russian army during the First World War, Zass was wounded and taken prisoner by the Austrian forces. As a prisoner of war he continued to develop his strength with the use of isometrics by pulling on the bars and chains. Zass escaped from prison and never returned to his homeland.

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World's Most Extreme Bodybuilders

Gregg Valentino: World's Biggest Biceps

Gregg Valentino is one of the most controversial yet popular bodybuilding icons. He started bodybuilding at the age of 13. After over 23 years of training naturally Gregg decided to experiment with steroids. During this time his arms grew from an impressive 100% natural 21" to an in-human 28". But after years of steroids injections, his body finally fought back: his bicep "exploded," as the video below explains:


Markus Rühl: some of the biggest shoulders in history

Well known for his freakish size, german Markus Rühl is a former IFBB professional bodybuilder. He possesses some of the biggest shoulders in bodybuilding history, and is one of the strongest bodybuilders alive along with Johnnie O. Jackson and Ronnie Coleman.


Ronnie Coleman: eight straight wins as Mr. Olympia

Born May 13, 1964 in Bastrop, Louisiana, Coleman is a retired American professional bodybuilder who shares the record of eight straight wins as Mr. Olympia. He also holds the record for most wins as an IFBB professional with 26 wins. Coleman graduated Cum Laude from Grambling State University with a degree in accounting.


Arnold Schwarzenegger: youngest Mr. Universe at age 20, then won Mr. Olympia seven times

Before becoming a famous actor and a controversial politician, Schwarzenegger was considered to be one of the greatest and most influential names in the field of body building to this day. Schwarzenegger began weight-training at 15 and became the youngest Mr. Universe at age 20 and going on to win Mr. Olympia a total of seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, and has written several books and numerous articles on the sport.


Lou Ferrigno: the Incredible Hulk

Known for being long time bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the original Hulk on the TV show, Lou Ferrigno was also a deputy sheriff. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1969, Ferrigno won his first major titles, IFBB Mr. America and Mr. Universe, four years later. In 1974, he came in second on his first attempt at the Mr. Olympia competition. He then came third the following year, and his attempt to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger was the subject of the 1975 documentary Pumping Iron. Following this, Ferrigno left the competition circuit for many years, and went for his acting career.


Johnnie O. Jackson: notable powerlifter

As you can see, Johnnie O. Jackson may not be the biggest bodybuilder around, but the thickness and density of his muscles are mind blowing. They pop out and he isn't even flexing them. Just sitting relaxed. He won the 2006 Montreal Pro, 2001 NPC USA Championships, among others.

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