*Article was originally published on our publishing group’s site Sportsretriever.com
In America, a huge part of daily life includes sports. But what about those athletes with unique selling points that make them – literally – stand out without even trying? There are those who tower feet above their teammates. Or those who weigh the same as all of the other players put together. So just who are these people that stand out from the crowd?
Chuck Nevitt
You might need a stepladder to look Chuck Nevitt in the eyes as this giant stands at 7’5” tall. It is really no surprise that when it came to sports Chuck was a natural at one game in particular – basketball.
In a sport where height matters, Chuck was able to make slam dunks like there was no tomorrow. He remains as one of the tallest players in the history of the sport – missing out on the title by just a couple of inches.
Eric Esch
Competing in the heavyweight division of any sport usually requires you to be fairly large, and at 425lbs Eric certainly made sure he qualified for his boxing division.
Most fans of the sport know Eric by his nickname, Butterbean, that he earned when he was forced to eat the legume daily to lose weight; Eric was, in fact, too heavy to compete at the time. Butterbean is largely undefeated, and it’s not hard to see why – you would need a bulldozer to take this fighter down.
John Daly
Upon seeing 370lbs John for the first time, you may struggle to guess his sporting career (although the pants might give it away). Regardless of his heavier frame, John is actually a professional golfer.
In fact, John has had a very successful career over the years, but did earn the reputation of being a bad boy golfer from his wild antics, including throwing his clubs and golf balls into a pond halfway through a competition. Since the initial success of his career John has continued to compete (and win) golfing championships in recent years.
Musashimaru Koyo
It isn’t just strength Musashimaru has. Oh no, this sumo wrestler also stands at an incredible 6’3” with a weight of 518lbs. Over his career Musashimaru won a huge number of sumo wrestling competitions as well as coming away injury free almost every time – probably because no one was brave enough to take him on.
Even though he was a beast in the ring, in reality this wrestler is a complete softie – he’s actually surprisingly shy with new people, but don’t let that fool you as he isn’t a man to be challenged.
Stefan Struve
Over his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, Stefan has earned himself the nickname of the Skyscraper, and it isn’t hard to see why; Stefan is an astounding 7 feet tall. The man that resembles a building is currently the tallest UFC contestant to date, but it would be hard to find someone taller.
Stefan’s size doesn’t get in his way either as the fighter has won nearly 30 fights over the years with plenty more still to come. It seems as though nothing can bring Skyscraper down.
John Krahn
A high school football game is all good until someone unleashes the giants – in this case a 7 foot, 440lb giant! By 17 years old John had racked up some incredible statistics, but also managed to scare the daylights out of the opposing team during his time on the field.
Unsurprisingly, John didn’t have a tough time finding college scholarships, but has decided he wants to drop a few pounds before making his official debut for his new team at Lincoln University, Missouri.
Mark Eaton
Height does have its advantages, especially when you’re playing basketball and can tower over your opponents at a whopping 7’4”. Mark is one of the tallest NBA players in history who made his career playing as one of the defensive centers for the Utah Jazz.
It should be no surprise he was so good at protecting the hoop – Mark is less than 3 feet smaller than the backboard. During his heyday the legend was blocking an average of 3.4 balls a game.
Mamadou N’Diaye
By 18 years old Mamadou had already reached a whopping 7 and a half feet tall so it was only inevitable that he would fall into the world of basketball. In high school he towered over his classmates to land himself a college scholarship for the sport, but has struggled to secure a spot on a team since graduating.
Even though Mamadou can tough the rim of the basketball hoop with flat feet, it seems as though his talent is yet to shine through. Hopefully Mamadou can outgrow any obstacles in his way.
Paul Donald Wight
Most people won’t recognize the name until we reveal this is the true identity of the wrestling star better known as Big Show. At an incredibly 7 feet tall and weighing 383lbs, Big Show is one of the tallest WWE fighters in existence.
The wrestler has been involved in some of the greatest WWE fights of all time, but made his exit from the ring in September this year so he could undergo hip surgery. It is unclear whether he will be making his grand return, but we sure won’t be getting in his way if he does.
Hong-Man Choi
The Techno Goliath earned his name for a reason – he’s a gigantic 7’2” and weighs around 330lbs. He has used his great size to become one of Korea’s leading fighters, winning most of his kickboxing fights. Yeah, we don’t blame you for getting out the way either.
When he isn’t scaring the life out of any kickboxing components, Hong-Man finds himself dominating the MMA ring with his great size and power. Okay, we admit we’re pretty impressed.
Ivo Karlovic
At 6’11” Ivo is officially the world’s tallest professional tennis player. His bird’s eye view of the game means that he is able to unleash the incredible power he holds within, creating some of the fastest serves ever seen on the court.
It is normal for Ivo to hit a huge number of aces each game and regularly beats his own records, having scored over 12,000 throughout his whole career. However, it was his record breaking serve of 156 mph that took the whole crowd by surprise.
Dondre Harris
While many of these athletes grow into their frames, Dondre Harris still has a lot more growing to do. People in his town must’ve worried at what his mother was feeding him because at just 14 years old Dondre was already 7 foot tall and weighed 375lbs.
His high school football coach was the only one to believe in Dondre at the time. Everyone else rejected the youngster from their team, but his coach saw his potential and ran with it to create the next best superstar.
Zdeno Chara
Czechoslovakian Zdeno is currently captain for the Boston Bruin ice hockey team, but as if being on the ice wasn’t intimidating enough, add in some burly dudes waving hockey sticks, and a 6’9” player skating towards you at full speed and you can definitely count us out.
To date, Zdeno is the tallest of any player to ever officially play for the NHL, but it doesn’t come without its difficulties – Zdeno has to get special permission from the board to use a hockey stick 2 inches longer than the regulations allow.
Hafpor Julius Bjornsson
This Icelandic beast stands at a staggering 6’9” – wow. Hafpor rose to fame for being the strongest man in Europe, and one of the strongest men in the world. All his lifting got Hafpor the nickname Thor, but people may now recognize the strongman as Gregor Clegane, the mountainous character on Game of Thrones.
While on the show Hafpor plays a brutal character hungry for blood, in reality the 29 year old has a softer side as he enjoys spending time with his daughter and Pomeranian. This man seems like he really could move a mountain.
Danny Jones
Ah, the legend that is ‘The Tree Man’, and there is a good reason that Danny Jones from California earned his nickname. At a whopping 6’7” this fitness trainer has a height and physique that resembles a redwood!
In the summer of this year he shot to stardom when a Twitter user discovered his Instagram. Since then Danny has gained thousands more followers on Instagram as well as growing his personal training business. At 275lbs, Danny is not a man to be messed with.
Dekoda Watson
Linebacker Dekoda Watson is pretty massive, and is proving size doesn’t have to come at the price of agility and speed. During off-season in 2018 he did however fall off track for a bit, getting quite a bit bigger than his ideal 255 pounds.
But when he got injured he got his wake-up call and decided to go vegan to heal and boost his health and body in time for the next season. Now at 246 pounds, he is stronger than ever.
Rik Smits
There’s more to playing basketball than being tall – even if you do reach 7’4”. Rik was an incredible basketball player during his career; the sports star was nicknamed The Dunking Dutchman for his incredible skills on the court.
He towered over all his other teammates, as well as his opponents, meaning Rik always stood out of a crowd. Over his thirteen years of shooting hoops, he retired from the sport in 2000 due to health issues, but left behind a true legacy.
Andy Fordham
We’re not sure how much darts counts as a sport, but it does so here is another athlete for the list – Andy Fordham. He wasn’t overly tall at 6’2” but weighed a scale topping 445lbs.
This British darts player spent a lot of his time with darts in one hand and a drink in the other, but it all paid off as Andy was one of the top darts players during his heyday. However, his weight caused major health issues for the athlete who was eventually forced to lose around half his body weight.
Holley Mangold
This lady may weigh a staggering 415lbs, but she is pure muscle as Holley competes as a professional powerlifter. Not only that, but her long career meant that she was named as one of the strongest women in the world.
Holley took her sport to the Olympics in 2012, but didn’t do as well as everyone expected due to an unfortunate injury in her wrist. Since her Olympic time Holley has appeared on The Biggest Loser where she lost nearly 100lbs, but was booted from the show.
Gheorghe Muresan
Gheorghe isn’t only tall, he is the tallest NBA player ever, the tallest person in Europe, and the holder of many basketball records. At 7’7” tall, Gheorghe excelled on the court during the ‘90s and ‘00s where he wore the 77 jersey in reference to his height – clever.
The Romanian born basketball player now focuses his time on running the sports academy he founded, as well as coaching his two teenage sons in basketball – perhaps the future prodigies of the sport.
Maria Sharapova
At 6’2” this Russian tennis player towers over her opponents on the court. Maria moved to the States in 1994 where she has gone on to win a huge number of professional tournaments over the years, as well as earning herself a silver Olympic medal from her trip to London in 2012.
Maria has had a number of celebrity relationships, including Adam Levine, but has most recently got a marriage offer from an unexpected source – a fan in the crowd at one of her matches.
Gogea Mitu
After his birth in 1911, Gogea grew up to be the tallest man in Romania ever – quite the feat. Gogea was always tall for his age, and was even offered a role in a circus for his unusual height, but that all changed the day a successful boxer saw the young man and knew exactly what his true calling was: a life in the ring.
As the tallest ever boxer, he only managed two fights – both of which he won – but sadly passed away at 21 years old after being poisoned while receiving treatment for a cold.
Gursimran ‘Sim’ Bhullar
Born in Canada, Sim is one of the leading basketball players for the Taiwanese Dacin Tigers team. The 24 year old player stands at 7’5”, but doesn’t know where his or his equally tall brother’s height came from as neither of their parents are overly tall.
In NBA history Sim goes down as the sixth tallest player of all time, but is only two inches off taking the top spot. There is a lot of lacing involved for this athlete as he has to lace up his size 22 shoes before making his way out onto the court.
Dane De La Rosa
Baseball is a huge sport, but doesn’t often have huge players. However, that all changed when Dane landed his spot in Major League Baseball. At 6’7” he is one of the tallest baseball players who has managed to play for the likes of the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay rays, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
After a fruitful career, Dane decided to retire from the sport in 2015. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Dane could simply pass the ball around the pitch with his great height!
Peter Crouch
This superstar soccer player is one of the tallest and the best at his game. Peter stands at a momentous 6’7” who used his height to score the most goals by heading the ball in the history of the sport.
While he has become incredibly famous for his contributions to the sport, Peter also started the robot dancing celebration when he scored a goal. This soccer player continues to play for his team, Stoke City, where he entertains the crowd with his comical style of playing.
Hasheem Thabeet
Born in Tanzania, Hasheem is the 7’3” basketball player that moved to the U.S. as a teenager to pursue his dream. He didn’t have any idea on how to lay the sport until he was 15 years old, and even though he only knew a few words of English, this athlete was determined to make it work.
Throughout college Hasheem played for his team, but dropped out to pursue a career as an NBA star in 2009. Since then the basketball player has moved from team to team.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
While considered to be one of the successful stars in Hollywood today, Dwayne Johnson was previously known as a professional wrestler before he chose to pursue acting.
Johnson came from a long family lineage of wrestlers of Samoan descent and earned his ring name The Rock due to his frightening physique of menacing looks, as the athlete-turned actor stands at 6’5″ while weighing 260 lbs. He was awarded by the famous magazine Muscle & Fitness as Man of the Century.
Andre Roussimoff
It is only fitting that the 7’4” wrestler got the name The Giant during his career. In fact, Andre was such a giant that to prank his friends the wrestler would move their cars, and no, not by getting their keys; Andre would pick them up with his bare hands!
Moving him was impossible, especially when he fell unconscious in a hotel lobby – workers were forced to rope him off so no one accidentally fell over his dormant body. Perhaps someone had chopped down his beanstalk?
Erika Ervin
This 38 year old towers over the personal training world at 6’8”. Erika had initially wanted to pursue a career as an actress, but didn’t want to play the role of the “freak” so began to focus her time on becoming a personal trainer.
Here Erika wanted to spread a body positive message after years of teasing at school. However, this star is now more confident than ever, and has finally been able to make her acting dream come true. Her most famous role was as Amazon Eve in American Horror Story, with the character’s name sticking as a nickname.
Margo Dydek
This Polish basketball player made history when she was picked as the world’s tallest female basketball player. The 7’2” star was the hottest player for any team to get their hands on during the late ‘90s as Margo was excellent at blocking any opposing shots.
This was no surprise when she could block the hoop simply by standing in front of it. Tragically, in May 2011 the athlete passed away. She had been at her Australian home when she passed out, but never regained consciousness.
Shaquille O’Neal
Oh, the loveable giant that is Shaquille. This retired NBA star stands at 7’1” who weighed 325lbs during the peak of his career. Even though on the court he was a force to be reckoned with, it was off-court that we all fell in love with the basketball star.
His hilarious personality teamed with his quick quips have kept us entertained over the years. When he was still playing, Shaquille had one of the most powerful slam dunks of all time; he even once broke the backboard with his strength. Shaquille really is a lovable bear.
Sharran Alexander
This sumo wrestler dominated the ring for years as the only female sumo wrestler for Britain. To maintain her 6 foot tall, 448lb frame, Sharran has to consume over 5,000 calories a day – definitely need to stock up the fridge before she pays a visit then.
However, her sporting career was a complete accident. The mother of three had never taken part in sports throughout her life, but her children signed her up to a reality show searching for the next best British sumo wrestler. In 2013 Sharron was named as the heaviest sportswoman – what an achievement!
