When I say athlete, I mean athletic freaks, so take off Tom Brady because anyone who runs a 5.0 forty doesn’t count as an athlete in this sense of the word. The requirements for this list are simple. You must have been born or raised in the Bay Area (so no Jerry Rice is not on here):
Barry Bonds*** San Mateo, California
He was 6’2 225 pounds of pulsing muscle; Barry was a beast. I’m sure we all know why there is an asterisk forever to be next to his name but he’s still the greatest home-run threat of all time. Despite his superhuman strength and multiple records broken he still has not been admitted in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Aaron Gordon San Jose, California
The youngest on this list at the age of 20, but that just attests to how phenomenal he has been during his athletic career. As a sophomore, he led Mitty to its first state title and as a junior he was chosen as Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year. Maybe he was introducing himself to the world at the NBA Dunk Contest, but not to the Bay. Pretty much everyone here knew he was capable as he was taking California basketball by storm. The 4th overall pick in a few years, we could be saying he’s the best product the Bay ever had.
Marshawn Lynch Oakland, California
What’s a list without Beast Mode? To be honest he could easily have topped this list if he kept pursuing football, but you have to respect Marshawn ending things on his own terms. Ignore the five pro bowls and the super bowl championship. Marshawn's accolades don’t nearly attribute to how crazy insane of an athlete he was. At 5-11 215 he could run a 4.4 forty and bench 225 20 times. An extremely versatile athlete he ranked as the number 2 running back in the nation coming up short to the great Adrian Peterson.
Brandi Chastain San Jose, California
This woman is an absolute beast. She started her collegiate career with the California Golden Bears but transferred to Santa Clara Broncos. She led the Broncos to two Final Four appearances after having reconstructive surgery on both of her knees - a remarkable feat. She went onto playing to the U.S nation team and won MVP with the Japan team. A true atonement of what a true athlete is, is how quickly they can recover and the impact they make afterward.
Kristi Yamaguchi Hayward, California
Not enough publicity is given to Kristi Yamaguchi who is a 1992 Olympic Champion, a 2-time world champion and a U.S national champion in figure skating. At 4ft 11, her prowess among the skating ring was absolutely magical. Through her career she has always found herself in front of the camera by participating on "Stars on Ice," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "D2: The Mighty Ducks." She is one of the most decorated athletes of all time.
O.J Simpson San Francisco, California
The nicest things haven’t really been said about Juice in the past years, which take away from all of his athletic achievements. While most of his life will always have a dark shadow over it, here’s some light on his athletic achievements. Admitted into both the College and Professional Hall of Fame, he was the perfect combination of power speed and athleticism.
