There are few relationships more special than the one between a father and son. If you’re lucky, your father becomes a guiding light that gives direction to your own. Some will take what they’ve learned and forge their own path, and some will follow a similar one. A select few will press their foot exactly into the fresh footsteps their father just left behind. An almost impossibly rarer few will do it at the highest level of professional sports.
The odds of becoming a professional football player if you played in high school are 1 in 4,233. To give you some perspective, the odds you’re dating a millionaire are 1 in 216. You can think for yourself about the odds that two generations of the same family end up as pro sportsmen.
Yet, despite the odds, it has happened more than few times. Below are some of our favorites:
The Griffey’s: Many American kids first taste of sports is playing catch in their backyard. When Ken Griffey Jr. was able to play catch, his dad already made his debut with the Cincinnati Reds. Senior was a three-time all-star and won two World Series but was bested by Junior’s thirteen all star appearances, ten straight Golden Glove awards, and induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. All amazing accolades but we’d guess they probably paled in comparison to when the duo became the first father and son to play on the same team at the same time. In one game they hit back-to-back home runs. Just imagine that. It was fitting when Jr. hit his 500th career home run on Father’s Day with his dad looking on in the stands. Now it’s Trey Griffey, Ken’s son, turn as he recently signed a reserve/future contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a wide receiver in the NFL.
The Andrettis: No family in auto racing can compare to the Andrettis. Mario, Michael, Jeff, John and Marco have all been professional race car drivers. Mario, the elder of the Andretti family, fathered Michael and Jeff. When they all raced together alongside Mario’s nephew, John; they became the first family to have four members racing at once. Mario’s Grandson Marco became the third generation to enter racing in 2006 and is currently still fighting for pole position.
The Sutters: Maybe not as well known as the the previous families, but equally impressive. The family from Viking, Alberta sent 6 brothers: Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and John, to the NHL in the late 1970s and early 80s. This first generation of Sutters had at least one brother playing in the NHL for 24 seasons. After aging out, four of the brothers have since gone on to become coaches and general managers. The second wave of Sutters saw Brandon (son of Brent), Brody (son of Duane), and Brett (Son of Darryl), all reach the NHL. Brandon still plays and serves alternate captain duties for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Mannings: The first family of football. Archie, the father, led the way putting in 13 years in the NFL with two Pro Bowl trips. Then along came Peyton. After an amazing career at Tennessee he was drafted #1 overall and went on to play 17 seasons in the the NFL. Not only did he notch four more seasons than his father, but he was named MVP an NFL record 5 times, named to the Pro Bowl 14 times (also a record), won two Super Bowls, holds the records for passing yards & touchdowns (both for a season and career) and is widely considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. We can't forget about Eli though. The youngest of the three Manning boys, Eli followed the well worn path and became the #1 selection in the 2004 draft and has gone on to win two Super Bowls with the NY Giants, winning MVP in both of them.
