The greatest athletes in Pennsylvania history

Few states play as critical a role in American history—including the events surrounding the Fourth of July—as Pennsylvania. With Pennsylvania’s deep history, it is no surprise that its bench of historical athletes is deeper than nearly any other state. A ranking of the 25 greatest athletes from Pennsylvania will exclude more stars and Hall of Famers than it can include. If this list was limited only to NFL Hall of Famers, most would not make it. So this top 25 list will not include Randy White, Emlen Tunnell, Herb Adderley, Jason Taylor, Darrelle Revis, Curtis Martin, Jim Kelly, Matt Ryan, Ricky Watters, Tony Dorsett, Lenny Moore, Brandon Marshall, LeSean McCoy, Andre Reed, Mike Munchak, Mike Ditka, Leroy Kelly, Joe Namath, Fred Biletnikoff, George Blanda or Lynn Swann. Forget about up-and-comers like Micah Parsons.

You also won’t find star NBA guards like Kyle Lowry, Pete Maravich or Earl Monroe. Mike Mussina is a HOF pitcher, Bobby Wallace was a HOF shortstop, John…