A Brief History
On November 23, 1948, one of major league baseball’s greatest hitters and onetime highest paid player in the National League died penniless, and no one, not even his own son, would claim the body. Hack Wilson played for the Giants, Cubs, Dodgers and Phillies, but his heyday was with the Cubs. We told Wilson’s story in our article “Onetime Highest Paid Player in National League Dies Penniless” and today we discuss 5 such stellar professional or famous athletes that lost their fortunes and ended up in financial straits.
Digging Deeper
Evander Holyfield, Heavyweight and Cruiserweight Boxing Champion.
Holyfield, Holy Smokes! You could plug in the name of many, many prominent boxers onto a list of sportsmen that lost most or all of their considerable winnings. Holyfield was one of the great heavyweight and cruiserweight boxers and earned an estimated $500 million+ over his career (which is even more than this author has earned…). In spite of such spectacular money making ability, Evander also proved to be rather adept at losing money as well, and in 2008 his $10 million mansion went on the auction block after being foreclosed. By 2012 the former King of the World was reported to be “flat broke and bankrupt.” Holyfield first won the Cruiserweight title in 1986, and then added the Heavyweight crown in 1989. Some of the great boxers he defeated include a virtual who’s who of the best of his era, including George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, and Mike Tyson. Bonus Boxer: Joe Louis, considered by many as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, won purses totaling about $4.6 million, but only received about $800,000 of that, the rest being skimmed off by his managers, trainers and various shysters. Louis, a generous guy but not savvy about money, managed to go through whatever he made and also ran afoul of the IRS, owing a considerable amount in back taxes. Incredibly, Frank Lucas, a well known mobster once paid a $50,000 tax bill for Louis! Louis also derived income from numerous endorsements, appearances, and business ventures, but his generosity and financial fumbling plagued him his entire life, an all too common story among boxers. Not as bad as former Heavyweight champ Leon Spinks, said to be working as a janitor.
Lenny Dykstra, Baseball All Star.
While not a Hall of Famer, Dykstra is just one of many Major League baseball players that threw away a decent income and went broke. A 3 time All Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner, Dykstra played in the majors from 1985 to 1996, compiling a fine lifetime batting average of .285. Dykstra retired from baseball at the age of 35, too young to sit back and do nothing, so he engaged in various business ventures, most of which did not go so well. In 2008 he started a charter flight company and ironically also started a magazine devoted to providing financial advice to athletes! He probably should have read his own articles, because by 2009 it was apparent Dykstra was in severe financial distress. Despite a reported net worth in 2008 of $58 million, in 2009 Lenny was forced to file for bankruptcy, with records showing assets of only $50,000 against liabilities as high as $50 million. The one time baseball All Star was now living out of his car and in hotel lobbies! Could things get worse? Yes, they could! Dykstra was charged with all sorts of theft and fraud in 2011, eventually pleading guilty to reduced charges in 2012 and receiving a 3 year prison sentence, of which he served 6.5 months. Other criminal troubles included charges of indecent exposure and in 2018 he ramped up the crimes all the way to an indictment for drug possession and making terroristic threats!
Warren Sapp, Pro Football Hall of Famer.
From 1995 to 2007 Sapp was a force to be reckoned with on the NFL football field, a 7 time Pro Bowler and a Superbowl Champion (2002 season). He played defensive tackle with serious speed and strength (6 feet 2 inches and 300 pounds), including an NFL second best of all time for defensive tackles 96.5 career quarterback sacks. Not surprisingly, he coasted into the Hall of Fame on his first time eligible in 2013. He followed his stellar football playing career with a job as a television analyst, but by 2010 his financial woes were becoming public due to legal actions against him. A bank judgement for nearly a million dollars and charges of Sapp owing almost $900,000 in back alimony and child support were followed by a declaration of bankruptcy in 2012. His college championship and Superbowl Championship rings had already been sold to raise money, an indication of how far he had fallen. (Of course, he also owed tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes and the like.) His liabilities of $6.7 million eclipsed his assets of $6.45 million and his mansion was auctioned off before 2012 was over.
Johnny Unitas, NFL Legendary Quarterback.
When Johnny U retired, he was considered the greatest quarterback in NFL history and his accomplishments and records are impressive. With 3 NFL Championships and a Superbowl title to his name, Unitas also was a 3 time MVP and 10 time Pro Bowler. His record for 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass lasting an amazing 52 years, and he retired as the all time leading passer for yards gained, the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 40,000 career yards. He also once held the NFL record for 32 touchdown passes in a single season, the first ever quarterback to toss 30 or more scoring passes in a season. (Remember, seasons were 12 games long and then 14 games while he played.) Failed business ventures and a body broken down by years of football injuries combined to cause this Hall of Fame superstar to file for bankruptcy in 1991, over $3 million in the hole. His failing health hindered his efforts to recover financially, and his family fought over his memorabilia when he died in 2002 at the age of 69.
Dorothy Hamill, Olympic Gold Medal Figure Skater.
Hamill won the public imagination as well as the Olympic Gold Medal in 1976, and her signature short haircut became a fashion rage. Shampoo endorsements followed and she became a professional skater, notably with the Ice Capades. Alas, her major financial blunder was buying the Ice Capades franchise for herself in 1993, but its popularity was already in serious decline, even though an Associated Press study found her to be tied with Mary Lou Retton (gymnast) as the most popular athlete in the United States (ahead of Michael Jordan!). By 1995 she had to sell the skating show and file for bankruptcy herself. Not surprisingly, Hamill reportedly has suffered from depression.
Question for students (and subscribers): Who do you think is the biggest riches to rags athlete? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas. Three Rivers Press, 2007.
Dykstra, Lenny. House of Nails: A Memoir of Life on the Edge. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017.
Hamill, Dorothy and Deborah Amelon. A Skating Life: My Story. Hyperion, 2007.
Holyfield, Evander. Becoming Holyfield: A Fighter’s Journey. Atria Books, 2008.
Sapp, Warren and David Fisher. Sapp Attack: My Story. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012.
The featured image in this article, a 1933 Goudey baseball card of Hank Wilson of the Brooklyn Dodgers #211, is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1924 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed. Unless its author has been dead for the required period, it is copyrighted in the countries or areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada (50 pma), Mainland China (50 pma, not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 pma), Mexico (100 pma), Switzerland (70 pma), and other countries with individual treaties. See Commons:Hirtle chart for further explanation. This image or file was extracted from a baseball card produced by the Goudey Gum Company. According to The University of Pennsylvania‘s Catalog of Copyright Entries, and supported by this article, copyrights belonging to the Goudey Gum Company were not renewed within the required period for filing. Thus, all baseball cards printed by Goudey have lapsed into the public domain and are free for use.