List of Native American sportspeople

This is a list of American sportspeople of Native American ancestry.

American & Canadian football

Jim Thorpe played football, baseball and basketball professionally and won Olympic medals in athletics

• Bud Adams, Cherokee Nation, owner of the Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans
• Keenan Allen, Lumbee wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers
• Eli Ankou, Ojibwe Dokis First Nation defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills
• Sam Bradford, Cherokee Nation, quarterback, 2010 first overall draft pick and Offensive Rookie of the Year ^[1]
• Tyler Bray, Potawatomi, quarterback ^[2]
• Austin Corbett, Walker River Northern Paiute, ^[3] offensive guard, Super Bowl LVI champion with the Los Angeles Rams. ^[4]
• Dane Evans, Wichita, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, quarterback
• Al Hoptowit, Yakima, American football player, right tackle, 1943 NFL Champion.
• Levi Horn, Northern Cheyenne, offensive tackle ^{[5] [6]}
• Creed Humphrey, Potawatomi, Kansas City Chiefs, center, ^[7] a Super Bowl LVII champion. ^[8]
• Wahoo McDaniel, Choctaw-Chickasaw, played defensive back for different American Football League (AFL) teams between 1960 and 1968. 1960 AFL Champion. ^{[9] [10]} Later became a professional wrestler. ^[11]
• Bryce Petty, Chicksaw, ^[12] quarterback. ^[13]
• Teton Saltes, Oglala, professional football player signed by the New York Jets of the NFL (2021), offensive tackle ^[14] Later joined XFL team Arlington Renegades in 2023, ^[15] He is a 2023 XFL Champion. ^[16]
• Sonny Sixkiller, Cherokee, quarterback ^[17]
• Jakeb Sullivan, Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux, quarterback
• Lance Taylor, MOWA Choctaw, head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos and former running back
• Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox Nation, 1887–1953), Olympic Gold medalist and football and baseball player. Won titles as both a player and team executive of the Canton Bulldogs. ^{[18] [19]}
• James Winchester, Choctaw, ^[20] Kansas City Chiefs, long snapper, ^[2] a Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LVII champion ^{[21] [8]}

Oorang Indians players

Cherokee

• Nick Lassa
• Stan Powell
• Emmett McLemore
• Stillwell Saunooke

Chippewa

• Arrowhead
• Napoleon Barrel
• Leon Boutwell
• Ted Buffalo
• Xavier Downwind
• Gray Horse
• Joe Guyon
• Ted St. Germaine
• Baptiste Thunder

Mission

• Reggie Attache
• Pete Calac

Mohawk

• Bob Hill
• Joe Little Twig

Mohican

• Eagle Feather

Pomo

• Elmer Busch

Sac and Fox

• Bill Newashe
• Jack Thorpe
• Jim Thorpe

Winnebago

• Bill Winneshiek

Wyandotte

• Al Jolley

Athletics

• Frank Pierce, first Native American to represent the United States at the Olympics in 1904
• Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, Narragansett U.S. Olympian/marathon runner
• Wilson Charles, competed in the decathlon at the 1932 Olympics. ^[22]
• Robert Brevelle, Represented U.S. and placed 4th at the 1994 World Karate Championships, 3rd Place at US Karate Nationals, gold medalist and Louisiana State Champion TaeKwonDo 1992.
• Ashton Locklear, artistic gymnast of Lumbee tribe, 2014 world champion (team), 2 x 2014 Pan American Champion (team, uneven bars), 2 x 2016 Pacific Rim Champion (team, uneven bars)
• Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota 1964 gold medalist
• Jim Thorpe, gold medalist in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics ^[23]

Baseball

Chief Meyers (left) and Chief Bender during the 1911 World Series

• Jack Aker, Potawatomi, pitcher ^[24]
• Brandon Bailey, Chickasaw, pitcher for the Houston Astros ^[25]
• Mike Balenti, Cheyenne, shortstop ^[26]
• Dallas Beeler, Chickasaw, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs ^[25]
• Johnny Bench, Choctaw, Hall of Fame catcher with the Cincinnati Reds, two-time MVP
• Chief Bender, White Earth Ojibwe, Hall of Fame pitcher ^[27]
• Jim Bluejacket, Cherokee, pitcher ^[28]
• Lou Bruce, Mohawk, outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics ^[29]
• Dylan Bundy, Cherokee Nation, pitcher ^[30]
• Joba Chamberlain, Ho-Chunk, pitcher
• Virgil Cheeves, Cherokee, pitcher ^[31]
• Chief Chouneau, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, pitcher who appeared in one game for the Chicago White Sox ^[32]
• Lee Daney, Choctaw, pitcher ^[33]
• Jacoby Ellsbury, Navajo, All-Star outfielder, Gold Glove winner and two-time Word Series champion ^[34]
• Koda Glover, Cherokee-descent, pitcher for the Washington Nationals ^[35]
• Marco Gonzales, pitcher ^[36]
• Jon Gray, Cherokee Nation, pitcher ^[30]
• Ryan Helsley, Cherokee Nation, pitcher ^[37]
• Adrian Houser, Cherokee Nation, pitcher ^[38]
• Chief Johnson, Ho-Chunk, pitcher ^{[39] : 79}
• Frank Jude, Mille Lacs Ojibwe, Major League Baseball outfielder ^[40]
• Ike Kahdot, Potawatomi, third baseman for the Cleveland Indians ^{[39] : 167}
• Louis Leroy, Stockbridge–Munsee, Major League Baseball pitcher ^[41]
• Gene Locklear, Lumbee, outfielder ^[42]
• Kyle Lohse, Nomlaki, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Bobby Madritsch, Lakota, Major League Baseball pitcher ^[43]
• Paddy Mayes, Cherokee, outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies ^[44]
• Pryor McBee, Choctaw, pitcher who appeared in one game for the Chicago White Sox ^[45]
• Chief Meyers, Cahuilla, Major League Baseball catcher
• Euel Moore, Chickasaw, Major League Baseball pitcher ^[25]
• Robbie Ray, Cherokee-descent, pitcher ^[46]
• Allie Reynolds, Creek, six-time All-Star pitcher ^[47]
• Charlie Roy, White Earth Ojibwe, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies ^[48]
• Louis Sockalexis, Penobscot, Major League Baseball player
• Jim Thorpe, Sac and Fox Nation, Olympic Gold medalist and football and baseball player
• Ben Tincup, Cherokee, pitcher ^[28]
• Wyatt Toregas, Chickasaw, Major League Baseball catcher ^[25]
• John Vann, Cherokee, catcher ^{[39] : 315}
• Moses Yellow Horse, Pawnee, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates ^[28]

Ice hockey

Top to bottom: Ted Nolan, Brandon Nolan and Jordan Nolan

• Taffy Abel, Ojibwe, first United States–born Native American player to become an NHL regular, which he did with the New York Rangers beginning on November 16, 1926 ^{[49] [50] [51]}
• George Armstrong, Ojibway, former NHL player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, four-time Stanley Cup champion, seven-time All-Star, and Hockey Hall of Fame member
• Aaron Asham, Métis, former NHL player for the Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ethan Bear, Ochapowace Nation, NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks
• Craig Berube, Cree, former NHL player and Stanley Cup winning head coach of the St. Louis Blues
• Jonathan Cheechoo, Cree, former NHL player for the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators, one time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner
• Michael Ferland, Cree, NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks
• Theoren Fleury, Métis, former NHL player for the Calgary Flames and 1989 Stanley Cup champion
• Brady Keeper, Pimicikamak Cross Lake First Nation, NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks
• Dwight King, Métis, former NHL player for the Los Angeles Kings and two-time Stanley Cup champion
• Brigette Lacquette, Métis, player for Team Canada
• Jocelyne Larocque, Cote First Nation, player for Team Canada and 2014 Olympic gold medalist
• Jamie Leach, Ojibwe, former NHL player for the Pittsburgh Penguins and 1992 Stanley Cup champion
• Reggie Leach, Ojibwe, former NHL player for the Philadelphia Flyers, 1975 Stanley Cup champion, and father of Jamie Leach
• Cayden Lindstrom, Driftpile First Nation, prospect for the Montreal Canadiens
• Brandon Montour, Mohawk, NHL player for the Florida Panthers
• Brandon Nolan, Ojibwe and Maliseet, former NHL player for the Carolina Hurricanes
• Jordan Nolan, Ojibwe and Maliseet, AHL player, two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings
• Ted Nolan, Ojibwe, former NHL player for the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, former head coach of the Buffalo Sabres and Latvia men's national ice hockey team at the 2014 Olympics; father of Jordan and Brandon
• Gino Odjick, Algonquin Kitigan Zibi, former NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks
• T. J. Oshie, Ojibwe, NHL player for the Washington Capitals, Stanley Cup winner and member of the 2014 men's US Olympic hockey team
• Carey Price, Ulkatcho First Nation, NHL goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, Olympic Gold medalist for Canada and Vezina Trophy winner
• Wacey Rabbit, Blackfoot Confederacy, ECHL player
• Wade Redden, Métis, former NHL player for the Ottawa Senators
• Abby Roque, Wahnapitae First Nation, first indigenous person to play for the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team, making her Olympic debut in Beijing 2022
• Chris Simon, Ojibwe, former NHL player with several teams and 1996 Stanley Cup champion
• Sheldon Souray, Métis, former NHL player for the Montreal Canadiens
• Jordin Tootoo, Inuit, former NHL player for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Chicago Blackhawks
• Bryan Trottier, Cree, former NHL player for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins, seven-time Stanley Cup champion, nine-time All-Star, and Hockey Hall of Fame member
• Zach Whitecloud, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, NHL player for the Vegas Golden Knights and 2023 Stanley Cup champion

Basketball

• Ron Baker, Citizen Potawatomi EuroLeague player, formerly with the New York Knicks
• MarJon Beauchamp, La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks
• Ryneldi Becenti, Navajo Nation, first Native American to play in the WNBA, ^[52] first Native American woman to play professional basketball for a foreign nation ^[53]
• Joe Burton, first Native American to earn a scholarship to a Pac-10 conference ^[54]
• Sonny Dove, Wampanoag N.B.A. basketball player Detroit Pistons and New York Nets
• Angel Goodrich, (Cherokee) WNBA basketball player
• Kyrie Irving, American basketball player. ^[55]
• Bronson Koenig, Ho-Chunk, basketball player
• Shoni Schimmel, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, WNBA player
• Lindy Waters III (born July 28, 1997), Kiowa-American professional basketball player, Golden State Warriors(NBA).

Boxing

• Kali Reis, three times world middleweight champion ^[56]

Cycling

• Neilson Powless – first Native American to ride in the Tour de France, won the 2021 Clásica de San Sebastián

Golf

Notah Begay III in 2011

• Notah Begay III, Navajo, PGA Tour golfer
• Rod Curl, (Wintu), PGA Tour golfer
• Frank Dufina (Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians), professional golfer
• Rickie Fowler, Navajo, PGA Tour golfer
• Gabby Lemieux (Shoshone, Paiute), first Native American to play in the U.S. Women's Open in 2022 ^[57]

Ice skating

• Naomi Lang, first Native American woman to compete in the Winter Olympic Games in 2002 ^[58]

Soccer

• Chris Wondolowski, played as striker for San Jose Earthquakes and the United States national team, and is a member of the Kiowa tribe ^[59]
• Madison Hammond, Navajo and San Felipe Pueblo, ^[60] is the first Native American to play on the National Women's Soccer League after signing with the OL Reign in 2020 ^[61]
• Harry Manson

Table tennis

• Angelita Rosal, table tennis player and first woman inducted in the Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 ^[62]

Professional wrestling

• Gerald Brisco, Chickasaw Nation pro wrestler and WWE talent scout
• Jack Brisco, Chickasaw Nation pro wrestler, former NWA World Champion
• Chris Chavis, Lumbee professional wrestler
• Mickie James, Powhatan-descent professional wrestler
• Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel, Choctaw-Chickasaw professional wrestler, former five-time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion ^[63]
• Princess Victoria, professional wrestler,
• Nyla Rose, professional wrestler
• Fandango (wrestler), professional wrestler

References

1. "Rams QB Bradford picked as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year". NFL.com. February 4, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
2. Wells, Lizzie (January 5, 2020). "Are There Any Native American Football Players in the NFL?".
3. "Native athletes in the news: Austin Corbett (Walker River Paiute Tribe) and more". First Nation's Focus. May 16, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
4. "An Indigenous Super Bowl champion". Indian Country Times. February 13, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
5. "Chicago Bears Levi Horn Visits Spokane Tribe of Indians". Indian Country Today. July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
6. "BIE Director Keith Moore, Chicago Bears' Levi Horn and Nike N7 to Announce President's Active Lifestyle Award Challenge Winning School". United States Department of the Interior. May 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
7. Vishanoff, Rachel (February 10, 2023). "Q&A with Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey". Potawatomi.org. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
8. Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Indian Country Today (February 21, 2023). "Guest column: The irony of Kansas City winning Super Bowl LVII". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
9. Eskenazi, Gerald (April 25, 2002). "Wahoo McDaniel, 63, a Wrestler and a Folk Hero for Fans of the Early Jets". New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
10. "Wahoo McDaniel". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
11. "Wahoo McDaniel, 63; Football Player Became Popular Wrestler". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 20, 2002. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
12. "CHICKASAW.TV – Bryce Petty: Profiles of a Nation". chickasaw.tv.
13. Patra, Kevin (May 3, 2018). "New York Jets cut backup quarterback Bryce Petty". NFL.com.
14. "Teton Saltes signs deal with New York Jets". KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. May 2, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
15. "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. April 25, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
16. Chester, Jared (May 20, 2023). "Teton Saltes talks XFL Championship and his future". KRQE. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
17. Raley, Dan (March 17, 2020). "The Legend of Sonny Six: Where Did the Name Come From?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
18. "Canton Bulldogs". Sports Ecyclopedia. January 6, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
19. "Canton Bulldogs". Ohio History Central. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
20. Maxwell, Zach. "Running for Chiefs". Choctaw Nation . Retrieved December 13, 2020.
21. World, Eric Bailey Tulsa. "OU football: Family celebration after Super Bowl win exactly how James Winchester's father would have wanted it". Tulsa World.
22. "Wilson "Buster" Charles 1972 - Track/Baseball - Oneida". American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
23. "Jim Thorpe Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
24. "At Indian Museum, Plight of the Players". New York Times . Associated Press. August 16, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
25. Trezza, Joe (February 26, 2020). "Chickasaw heritage helps drive Orioles pitcher". MLB.com . Major League Baseball . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
26. "Charles Rath, Buffalo Entrepreneur". www.legendsofamerica.com. Legends of America. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
27. Brown, Curt (August 8, 2020). "White Earth to World Series: Charles Bender's bittersweet baseball story". Star Tribune . Retrieved June 15, 2025.
28. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (June 8, 2008). "The American Indians of America's Pastime". The New York Times . Retrieved August 28, 2024.
29. "Louis R. Bruce". University Archives and Records Center. University of Pennsylvania . Retrieved August 23, 2020.
30. Harding, Thomas (August 15, 2016). "Gray humbled by Cherokee Nation roots". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
31. "Bentley, Cheeves Sent to Newark by Giants". Brooklyn Eagle . May 21, 1927. p. 13. Retrieved June 16, 2025. Secretary Tierney verified the fact that the Cherokee chucker, Virgil Cheeves, had also been sold to Newark Bears, regarded now as a Giant farm.
32. Thornley, Stew (2006). Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 153. ISBN   978-0-87351-551-1 . Retrieved October 11, 2024.
33. Crawford, Grant D. (October 17, 2019). "Baseball exhibit touts Native American players". Tahlequah Daily Press . Retrieved March 18, 2024. Arthur Lee Daney, a Choctaw man from Tahlinia, played in only one game and pitched only one inning in 1928.
34. Edes, Gordon (March 11, 2007). "Ellsbury a rare talent". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
35. Kramer, Lindsay (July 6, 2016). "Syracuse Chiefs reliever Koda Glover could be a big name from a very small town". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
36. Torres Bujanda, Carlos. "Marco Gonzales: "Soy una mezcla de todo pero me defino como norteamericano"". Marca. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
37. Harwood, Rodney (February 10, 2016). "A Proud Cherokee Family with An Ace: St. Louis Cardinals' Pitcher Ryan Helsley". Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
38. Saxon, Mark (October 4, 2019). "Cardinals' Ryan Helsley, of Cherokee descent, expresses disappointment over Braves' use of Tomahawk Chop" . The Athletic. Retrieved October 7, 2019. Several current major leaguers have Cherokee heritage, including the Milwaukee Brewers' Adrian Houser, who was born in the Native American hospital in Helsley's hometown
39. King, C. Richard (March 10, 2015). Native Americans in Sports. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-46403-7 . Retrieved June 12, 2024.
40. Bohn, Terry. "Frank Jude". Society for American Basketball Research. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
41. Powers-Beck, Jeffrey P. (2004). The American Indian Integration of Baseball. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN   978-0-8032-3745-2 . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
42. Chass, Murray (August 22, 1976). "Locklear Is a Yankee With an Unusual Past and Future". New York Times . Retrieved October 11, 2024. Locklear is a fullblooded Lumbee Indian.
43. Caple, Jim (March 11, 2005). "Caple: Driven to succeed". ESPN.com . Retrieved February 25, 2025. Madritsch is 50 percent Lakota Sioux (on his mother's side).
44. "Tull Purchases Kahn's Stock in Ball Club". Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat. May 25, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved June 15, 2025. Adair Mayes, the fast Cherokee Indian outfielder, has been sold to Shreveport and will join the club at once.
45. "Notes of the Cubs and Sox". Chicago Tribune . May 22, 1926. p. 17. Retrieved June 20, 2023. Pryor Edward McBee, the left handed Indian pitcher, who joined the Sox recently after being unaccounted for all spring, is one-eighth Choctaw.
46. Bindell, Stan (June 21, 2016). "Native American Recognition Day sparks Diamondbacks player's interest in heritage". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
47. Smith, Claire (December 28, 1994). "Allie Reynolds, Star Pitcher For Yankees, Is Dead at 79". New York Times . Retrieved October 11, 2024. Albert Pierce Reynolds, who became known as Super Chief, was born in Bethany, Okla., the son of a minister whose mother was a Creek Indian.
48. Laliberte, David J. (2010). "Winning Indians and Other Contradictions: The Morris Indian School Baseball Team, 1898-1908". NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. 18 (2): 29–64. doi:10.1353/nin.0.0092. S2CID   153371444.
49. Hirschfelder & Molin 2012, p. 425. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHirschfelderMolin2012 (help)
50. Adams, Jim (February 3, 2022). "A Forgotten Olympic First: Taffy Abel, U.S. hockey's initial American Indian player, won a silver medal at the inaugural Winter Games almost a century ago". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
51. "The first Native American in the Winter Olympics hid his identity to stay safe". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
52. "Prominent American Indian Athletes:Ryneldi Becenti". Mesa Community College. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
53. Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette F. (2012). The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists. pg. 420. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810877108.
54. Rosenbaum, Cary (December 3, 2015). "Eight Native ballers you need to know better". Indian Country Today Media Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
55. Windhorst, Brian (August 22, 2018). "Kyrie Irving finds new name and new family on North Dakota reservation". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
56. "Kali Reis". WBAN. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
57. Johnson, Kevin (July 5, 2022). "Gabby Lemieux becomes first Native American to play in U.S. Women's Open • The Seminole Tribune".
58. "Lang, Tchernyshev realize their Olympic dream". Associated Press. January 12, 2002. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
59. "Infographic: Chris Wondolowski, Kiowa Soccer Star at the World Cup – ICTMN.com". Archived from the original on June 20, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
60. Cleveland, Parker (September 20, 2020). "Sunday Cup-o-American Soccer: News, artificial intelligence, and an important announcement". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
61. Evans, Jayda (October 17, 2020). "OL Reign's Madison Hammond is the NWSL's first Indigenous player. She wants to make sure she's not the last". The Seattle Times . Retrieved January 20, 2021.
62. Liverti, Rita M. (2004). "Angelitta ROSAL BENGTSSON" . In King, C. Richard (ed.). Native Americans in Sports. London: Routledge. p.  262. ISBN   0-76568-054-8.
63. "The Betrayal of Chief Wahoo McDaniel (Part One)".