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Hometown Heroes: The Most Popular Athletes in Each State Revealed!

We all have those people we remember from our hometowns that made it big. From Muhammad Ali to Michael Jordan, many of the greatest athletes of all time call America…

Football fans
Photo By Matushchak Anton/Shutterstock

We all have those people we remember from our hometowns that made it big. From Muhammad Ali to Michael Jordan, many of the greatest athletes of all time call America home. But have you ever wondered which sporting star is more revered in each US state?

A new study by TopUSCasinos.com uncovers the top sporting star in each state to reveal which athlete steals the show the most back home. To reveal each US state’s most celebrated sporting hero, TopUSCasinos first collected data for each of the fifty states’ most successful and prodigious athletes from Bleacher Report. From here, TopUSCasinos analyzed each athlete’s respective Wikipedia page to assess visits during a twelve-month period between March 2020-March 2021. The athlete for each state with the most page views during this period is considered their area’s leading hometown hero.

With nearly 60% of states ranking a basketball or football icon as their top hometown hero. It’s by no surprise that basketball’s Michael Jordan takes the crown as North Carolina’s state superstar. (Go Hornets!)  But, it’s not only basketball and Football that are celebrated. By, turning our attention to the ring, one of the sport’s most celebrated athletes, Muhammad Ali, is comfortably the greatest to ever come out of Kentucky. Heading westward Tiger Woods’ golfing heroics have cemented him as California’s leading sportsman, while tennis’ Andre Agassi is top in Nevada.

Discover your state’s hometown hero below:

StateTop AthleteSport
AlabamaCharles BarkleyBasketball
AlaskaCurt SchillingBaseball
ArizonaBilly GrahamWrestling
ArkansasScottie PippenBasketball
CaliforniaTiger WoodsGolf
ColoradoVincent JacksonFootball
ConnecticutFloyd LittleFootball
DelawareRandy WhiteFootball
FloridaRoy Jones Jr.Boxing
GeorgiaJackie RobinsonBaseball
HawaiiB.J. PennMMA
IdahoJake PlummerFootball
IllinoisDwyane WadeBasketball
IndianaLarry BirdBasketball
IowaKurt WarnerFootball
KansasBarry SandersFootball
KentuckyMuhammad AliBoxing
LouisanaPeyton ManningFootball
MaineEdmund "RIP" BlackFootball
MarylandBabe RuthBaseball
MassachusettsPatrick EwingBasketball
MichiganMagic JohnsonBasketball
MinnesotaKevin GarnettBasketball
MississippiBrett FavreFootball
MissouriJayson TatumBasketball
MontanaPhil JacksonBasketball
NebraskaGale SayersFootball
NevadaAndre AgassiTennis
New HampshireCarlton FiskBaseball
New JerseyRick BarryBasketball
New YorkAlex RodriguezBaseball
North CarolinaMichael JordanBasketball
North DakotaRoger MarisBaseball
OhioJack NicklausGolf
OklahomaJim ThorpeDecathlon, Pentathlon
OregonDanny AingeBasketball
PennsylvaniaWilt ChamberlainBasketball
Rhode IslandVinny PazienzaBoxing
South CarolinaJoe FrazierBoxing
South DakotaBilly MillsLong Distance Running
TennesseeReggie WhiteFootball
TexasLance ArmstrongRoad Cycling
UtahJim McmahonFootball
VermontJohn LeclairIce Hockey
VirginiaAllen IversonBasketball
WashingtonJohn ElwayFootball
West VirginiaJerry WestBasketball
WisconsinKareem Abdul-JabbarBasketball
WyomingJames JohnsonBasketball
Alexis Zarycki is your average girl with the hopes of leaving an everlasting impact on the world. Follow her on Instagram @official_lexpaige