The Greatest Bald Athletes of All-Time
From Michael Jordan to Matt Hasselbeck, here's a definitive look at the greatest bald athletes of all-time.
Image via Complex Original
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Throughout history, many athletes have become synonymous with their signature, lush heads of hair. Whether it was Allen Iverson and his cornrows, Dr. J and his afro, or Troy Polamalu and his shaggy mane, athletes across all sports and generations have used their hair to make a statement and differentiate themselves from their peers.
But not everybody is so lucky.
According to a recent study, 30 percent of men will be affected by baldness by age 30. This statistic means that, in any given professional sport, many players will begin suffering the indignity of having their hair loss exposed on national television on a regular basis.
There has been no greater example of this phenomenon in recent years than LeBron James, whose early-stage hair loss has made him the subject of memes for the last several years. James made headlines last week when he appeared to have sprung for some sort of hair plug treatment that restored his hairline to its previous lustrous levels.
While LeBron never accepted his fate and owned his baldness (thus excluding him from this list), many athletes have had successful careers despite a lack of locks. Here’s a look at the Greatest Bald Athletes of All-Time.
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15.Matt Hasselbeck
Team(s): Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts
Accolades: 3x Pro Bowl
It’s hard to remember a time when Matt Hasselbeck did have hair, but honestly you can’t really knock it given how long he has managed to stay in the NFL. After breaking in with the Packers as Brett Favre’s backup, his former coach in Green Bay Mike Holmgren traded for him in Seattle and brought him in compete with Trent Dilfer for the starting job. Hasselbeck emerged as a legitimate starter, and quickly established himself as one of the best passers in the league. Despite a few hiccups along the way (remember “We want the ball, and we're gonna score!”?), he’s enjoyed a solid pro career and is now cashing checks as Andrew Luck’s backup in Indianapolis.
14.Tim Howard
Team(s): New York/New Jersey Metrostars, Manchester United, Everton (club), USA (national team)
Accolades: 1x FA Cup champion, 1x English League Cup champion, 1x Community Shield winner, 1x MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, 1x Premier League Team of the Year, 1x U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Glove, 1x CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year
Tim Howard was a great goalkeeper long before his ridiculous performance against Belgium in the World Cup this summer, but now that he’s become a national celebrity he’s a true ambassador for bald athletes everywhere. After a stint in MLS, Howard joined Manchester United and was brilliant during his first season in goal. After losing his spot there and being loaned to Everton, he has become a fixture for the Toffees and has even captained the team on numerous occasions. Widely regarded as the greatest American goalkeeper of all-time, Howard even scored an improbable goal during the 2011-12 Premier League season.
13.Jason Kidd
Team(s): Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks
Accolades: 1x NBA champion, 10x NBA All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 1x All-NBA Second Team, 4x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 5x NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 1995 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year, 1995 NBA All-Rookie First Team
One of the most versatile players ever to take an NBA floor, Jason Kidd capably helped carry the torch for bald men in the post-Jordan NBA. He really came into his own in New Jersey, (unsurprisingly?) after he ditched his weird bleach-blonde semi-fro and instead opted for the Elmer Fudd/cue ball look. While it looks like Kidd actually could grow a full head of hair if he wanted to, his desire to go bald makes him a deserving member of this illustrious club.
12.Wayne Rooney
Team(s): Everton, Manchester United (club), England (national team)
Accolades: 235 career club goals, 41 career international goals, 1x UEFA Champions League title, 5x Premier League titles, 3x English League Cup titles, 5x Community Shield winner, 1x FIFA Club World Cup title
Poor Wayne Rooney. No man in English history was raked over the coals more in the tabloids for his rapidly-deteriorating hairline than the gifted attacker, who scored his first Premier League goal before he had even turned 17 years-old. It’s no surprise that the shame cast upon him for years and years finally broke him down, causing him to get some sort of transplant surgery during the summer of 2011, and again in the summer of 2013. “I was going bald at 25 why not,” he tweeted at the time. He had a point.
11.Kevin Garnett
Team(s): Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets
Accolades: 1x NBA Champion, 1x NBA MVP, 15x NBA All-Star, 4x All-NBA First Team, 3x All-NBA Second Team, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 1x NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 9x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 3x NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 1996 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
Pictures of Kevin Garnett with hair are very rare indeed, and honestly are a little jarring when you first lay eyes on them. So much of his mystique is the bald head, drenched in sweat, looking a little like something out of a nightmare. An intensely private man, if Garnett actually had lost his hair and were legitimately bald we wouldn’t even know. Rumors suggest that this all-time great power forward is indeed bald, but without KG’s confirmation we’ll simply have to continue guessing.
10.Albert Pujols
Team(s): St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels
Accolades: 2x World Series champion, 3x NL MVP, 9x MLB All-Star, 6x Silver Slugger Award, 2x Gold Glove Award, 2001 NL Rookie of the Year
As a rookie, Albert Pujols sported a head of hair that was about as normal as anybody’s. As he emerged into a superstar and piled up MVP trophies and All-Star appearances, however, his hair became the one thing he simply couldn’t control. Despite his baldness, Pujols has put together a Hall of Fame résumé at the plate, ranking in the top 10 all-time in slugging percentage and OPS, among other major statistics, and is also the active leader in many of the same categories.
9.Brian Urlacher
Team(s): Chicago Bears
Accolades: 8x Pro Bowl, 4x First Team All-Pro, 1x Second Team All-Pro, 1x NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Former Chicago Bears star Brian Urlacher wasted no time in becoming one of the best linebackers in the NFL, winning the Rookie of the Year award and establishing himself as a force up the middle for years to come. A rare combination of speed and agility despite his massive size, Urlacher helped the Bears emerge from mediocrity to become one of the NFL’s best defenses, culminating with their appearance in Super Bowl XLI against the Colts. As for his hair, Urlacher cleverly hid his baldness by shaving his head from a very early stage, making it difficult to know when he finally did make the transition from “receding hairline” to simply full-on “bald guy.”
8.Cal Ripken Jr.
Team(s): Baltimore Orioles
Accolades: Baseball Hall of Fame, 19x MLB All-Star, 1x World Series champion, 2x AL MVP, 2x Gold Glove Award, 8x Silver Slugger Award, Most consecutive games played in MLB history (2632)
Cal Ripken Jr.’s longevity has, in a weird way, obscured what a good player he was. Whenever you mention his name, the first thing people mention is his consecutive games streak. But let’s not forget that this guy also won a World Series and is part of a select group to win multiple MVP awards. And he did it all despite spending the majority of his career struggling with hair issues. Ripken’s ability to shine despite lacking basic head protection from the sun might just be his most magnificent accomplishment.
7.Terry Bradshaw
Team(s): Pittsburgh Steelers
Accolades: Pro Football Hall of Fame, 4x Super Bowl Champion, 2x Super Bowl MVP, 3x Pro Bowl, 1x First Team All-Pro, 1x NFL MVP
Terry Bradshaw rose to fame in a different time, when things like hair transplants and plugs were simply not an option. If you went bald, you basically just had to own it. And own it he did, winning four Super Bowls with his signature horseshoe hair style (with occasional combover) and cementing his legacy as one of the great clutch quarterbacks ever. In the pantheon of football players to own the bald/horseshoe hair look, Bradshaw stands alone.
6.Andre Agassi
Team(s): N/A
Accolades: International Tennis Hall of Fame, 60 career titles, 8 Grand Slam singles titles, 1996 Olympic Gold Medal
The arrival of Andre Agassi on the tennis scene with his bright colors and wild mullet shocked the establishment, but it was all smoke and mirrors. In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that his wild hair was indeed a wig to hide the fact that he was bald. It was likely no coincidence that Agassi’s decision to ditch the rug sparked his 1998 renaissance, where he rocketed from No. 110 to No. 1 in the world and went on to win five Major titles on top of the three he had already earned. Baldness = power.
5.Bobby Charlton
Team(s): Manchester United, Preston North End, Waterford United (club), England (national team)
Accolades: English Football Hall of Fame, 1x FIFA World Cup champion, 3x Football League First Division champion, 1x FA Cup winner, 4x Charity Shield winner, 1x European Cup winner, 1x FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, 1x Ballon d'Or, 1x FWA Footballer of the Year
There are combovers, and then there is whatever the hell is on top of English great Bobby Charlton’s head. Renowned in his home country for his role in leading England to the 1966 World Cup, Charlton was knighted in 1969 (while he was still playing!) and is widely held as one of the greatest midfielders ever to play the game. He also sported a look that it is safe to assume will never again be seen on an athletic field, ever. Now that we think of it, though, maybe if England decides to go back to this look they’ll finally win the World Cup again.
4.Zinedine Zidane
Team(s): Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid (club), France (national team)
Accolades: 1x Ligue 1 Player of the Year, 1x Serie A Footballer of the Year, 3x FIFA World Player of the Year, 1x UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, 1x World Cup champion, 1x World Cup runner-up, 1x UEFA European Football Championship, 2x Serie A titles, 1x La Liga titles, 1x UEFA Champions League title
Zinedine Zidane is one of the greatest soccer players of all time, period. The bald spot seemingly planted on his head from childbirth has become synonymous with his wizardry in the midfield and attacking punch getting forward making him look like some sort of renegade monk as he dazzled all over the field. His bald head also gave him a much cleaner surface with which to headbutt opponents, although really he only made use of that advantage one time.
3.Mark Messier
Team(s): Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks
Accolades: Hockey Hall of Fame, 15x NHL All-Star, 1x Conn Smythe Trophy winner, 2x Hart Trophy winner (MVP), 6x Stanley Cup champion
One of the most underrated hockey players of all-time, Mark Messier was bald before most of us were even born. Emerging alongside Wayne Gretzky with the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, Messier is the only player in NHL history to serve as captain of two different Stanley Cup-winning teams. He is practically a god in New York, where he led the Rangers to their first title in 54 years in 1994. A hard-nosed player who got in his fair share of scraps, Messier played a remarkable 25 NHL seasons and is No. 2 all-time in games played and career points.
2.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Team(s): Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers
Accolades: Basketball Hall of Famer, 6x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 6x NBA MVP, 19x NBA All-Star, 10x All-NBA First Team, 5x All-NBA Second Team, 5x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 6x NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 1970 NBA Rookie of the Year, 1970 NBA All-Rookie Team
It is impossible to know if Lew Alcindor changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sparked the hair loss that led to Kareem rocking the all-bald look. However, the link between the two events is irrefutable. While there were many interceding years between Alcindor becoming Abdul-Jabbar and the legendary center choosing to go totally bald on the court, we choose to believe that this simple act somehow impacted his hair follicles. The one thing it did not alter was his play on the court; Kareem was an All-Star every single healthy season of his career, and his skyhook remains as perhaps the most difficult shot to stop in NBA history.
1.Michael Jordan
Team(s): Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
Accolades: Basketball Hall of Fame, 5x NBA MVP, 6x NBA Champion, 6x NBA Finals MVP, 14x NBA All-Star, 10x All-NBA First Team, 1x All-NBA Second Team, 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 9x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 1985 NBA All-Rookie First Team, 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year
Many people will tell you there’s basically nothing Michael Jordan can’t do. Well, that’s not true. He can’t grow hair on top of his head. After playing in college and his first few years in the NBA with a normal head of hair, MJ started to lose his locks and decided to go bald rather than suffer the indignity of being mocked night in and night out. The look worked out pretty damn well for him, with his bald head becoming a fixture in American culture and actually making it considered cool for guys to go completely and utterly hairless. Even when MJ loses, he wins.