But who are the county's best professional athletes? Who went on to have the greatest pay-for-play careers in Solano County history? With some help from Daily Republic sports editor Matt Miller (I ran my list by him and got feedback. Any choices you don't like are Matt's fault), here's the top 10 in reverse order.
Again, it's based on their professional careers and athletes get extra credit for living in the county longer.
10. Jeff Gordon. The NASCAR legend lived in Vallejo until his early teen years, when his family moved to Indiana. Had he stayed here longer, he'd be higher. Gordon is third on the all-time NASCAR victory list (No. 1 in the modern era) and he won four Winston Cup Series championships. Equally important is that he was one of the biggest reasons for the sport's boom in the 1990s. He's now the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.
9. Tug McGraw. He played 19 seasons in the major leagues as a charismatic reliever, most famously as the sparkplug of the 1973 New York Mets ("You Gotta Believe") and the 1980 World Series-winning Philadelphia Phillies. He's a graduate of St. Patrick's High School and attended Vallejo Junior College (now Solano Community College). He was also the father of country music legend Tim McGraw.
8. Dick Bass. Another Vallejo resident, Bass is one of the county's greatest-ever high school football players, scoring a state-record 37 touchdowns in leading the 1954 Vallejo High team to an undefeated record. He starred at the University of the Pacific and was the nation's leading rusher before being taken second in the NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Bass was a three-time Pro Bowler.
7. Dennis Alexio. When I came to Solano County as a sports writer in 1986, Alexio was the county's biggest sports star, a six-time heavyweight kickboxing world champion who won 16 championships. He attended Vacaville High School (under his given name, Dennis Dick), where he was a star in all sports. He gets bonus points for co-starring in the movie "Kickboxer" with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Unfortunately, he was convicted in 2017 of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He's eligible for parole next year.
6. George Martin. The longtime NFL star is an Armijo High graduate (along with his brother Doug, who also played in the NFL) who was part of the legendary 1986 New York Giants Super Bowl champs, where he named NFL Man of the Year, was a co-captain and recorded a safety in the Super Bowl with his sack of John Elway. A defensive lineman, he scored seven touchdowns and had 90 quarterback sacks over 14 seasons. After retirement, continued his successful life, including a 3,000-mile walk across the country to raise money for medical care for first responders after 9-11.
5. Jermaine Dye. A graduate of Wood High School in Vacaville, Dye played 14 seasons in the major leagues, was a two-time All-Star and was the most valuable player of the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox. He hit 325 home runs (44 in 2006) and drove in more than 1,000 runs in his career, playing for four teams.
4. Joey Chestnut. The greatest competitive eater of all time, with 55 world records and 17 titles in the famed Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City. He grew up in Vallejo but now lives in Indiana (are he and Jeff Gordon neighbors? It's possible!). A Wikipedia page listing his eating contest victories will either amaze you or disgust you.
3. Craig Breedlove. He didn't grow up in Solano County, but spent his final decades in relative seclusion in Rio Vista. Breedlove is a unique figure in American sports, an iconic figure whose pursuit of land speed records made him a regular on Wide World of Sports in the 1960s and inspired the Beach Boys to write a song about him. In Rio Vista, Breedlove continued to pursue land speed records until his death in 2023. His length of time in the county qualifies him here.
2. Natalie Coughlin. The 12-time Olympic medalist was named the nation's best swimmer three times and the world's best swimmer once. Born in Vallejo, she began swimming for the Vallejo Aquatics Club before attending Carondelet High School in Concord and starring at the University of California. In 2008, Coughlin was the first American woman to win six medals in one Olympics. She has appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" and "Chopped" and was in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in 2012.
1. CC Sabathia. A first-ballot inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Vallejo High School graduate (whose mother worked at Travis Air Force Base) is the county's greatest-ever pro athlete. A six-time All-Star, Sabathia won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, was on the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees and won 251 games – the 47th most in major league history and second among pitchers who debuted this century. At Vallejo High, Sabathia was the Monticello Empire League's best baseball and football player and was a first-round selection of the Cleveland Indians in 1998. The Yankees – his third team – announced this year that they have retired his No. 52 jersey and he will have a plaque in famed Monument Park.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
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