America's Playground Legends
Of course, New York and California are not the only places where playground legends are born and created.
Chicago and Detroit have playground cultures that rival anything you'll see in the Big Apple and the streetball rivalry between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. is a fierce as it gets. No blood, no foul!
Other cities might not have the reputation of the NYC, but nearly every major city in the country has at least one player considered its "playground legend" or "the man."
MLB and the NFL also have their fair share of athletes with a bit of playground swagger.
Who reps the hardest in your city?
ATLANTA
Bernard "Tee" Tittle
Anthony Carter, Crim
Phillip "Hot Sauce" Champion
Mark "The Franchise" Strickland, McNair
Robert "50" Martin
BALTIMORE
Michael Lloyd, Dunbar
Allen "Skip" Wise, Dunbar
Andre "Silk" Poole, Patterson
CHICAGO
Billy "The Kid" Harris, Dunbar
Ronnie Fields, Farragut
Ben "Benji" Wilson, Simeon
Lamar "Rainman" Mundane aka "Money", Marshall
Eddie Hughes, Austin
Arthur Sivels, Phillips
Art Hicks
Isaiah "Tuss" Thomas, St. Joseph's
Mark "Drawers" Aguirre, Westinghouse
Ralph "Sky" Walker
Cazzie Russell, Carver
Marcus Liberty, Crane/M.L. King
Norm "Skip" Dillard, Westinghouse
Eddie "Piggy" Johnson, Westinghouse
Antoine "Flash" Howard
Ricky Green, Hirsch Metro
Art Weathersby, Wells/DuSable
Maurice "Bo" Ellis, Parker
Flynn "Electric Eye" Robinson, Elgin
Jamie Brandon, M.L. King
Richard Bradshaw
Kevin Porter, DuSable
Jerome "Hook" Freeman
Andre Wakefield, Crane
Paul McPherson, South Shore
Darrell Walker, Corliss
Efrem Winters, M.L. King
Bernard Randolph
DETROIT
Curtis "CJ" Jones, Northwestern
Antoine "The Judge" Joubert, Southwestern
Alvin "Bo" Dukes
George "Iceman" Gervin, M.L. King
Spencer Haywood, Pershing
Robert "Bubbles" Hawkins, Pershing
Bobby Joe Hill, Highland Park
Anderson Hunt, Southwestern
Reggie "Spook" Harding, Moore/Eastern
Cliff "Chain" Williams, Southwestern
David "Smokey" Gaines, Northeastern
Fred Smiley, Inkster
Lorenzo Orr, Pershing
Roy Marble, Beecher (Flint)
Anthony Pendleton, Northwestern (Flint)
Terry Furlow, Northern
Shawn Respert, Bishop Borgess
Eric Turner, Central (Flint)
Bobby "Showboat" Hall, Miller
Fred Cofield, Ypsilanti
Edgar Merchant, Northeastern
Roy Tarpley, Cooley
MEMPHIS
Jimmie "Snap" Hunter
Bobby "Bingo" Smith, Melrose
Keith Lee, West Memphis
Andre Turner, Mitchell
Johnny Neumann, Overton
Michael "Wild Thing" Wilson, Melrose
NEW JERSEY
Waliyy "Main Event" Dixon
John Shumate, Jefferson (Elizabeth)
Les "Pee Wee" Cason, East Rutherford (East Rutherford)
Willie "Hollywood" Glass, Atlantic City (Atlantic City)
Bill "Poodle" Willoughby, Morrow (Englewood)
PHILADELPHIA
Earl "The Pearl" Monroe aka "Black Jesus", Bartram
Wilt "Dipper" Chamberlain, Overbrook
Bryant "Sad Eye" Watson, Ben Franklin
Gene "Tinkerbell" Banks, West Philadelphia
Lewis "Black Magic" Lloyd, Overbrook
Guy Rodgers, Northeast
Lionel "L-Train" Simmons, Southern
Brian Shorter, Simon Gratz
Greg "Bo" Kimble, Dobbins Tech
Eric "Hank" Gathers, Dobbins Tech
Clarence "Eggy" Tillman, West Philadelphia
Rico Washington, Frankford/Ben Franklin
Jerome "Pooh" Allen, Episcopal Academy
Ray "Chink" Scott, West Philadelphia
Aaron "AO" Owens, Simon Gratz
Darin "Munchy" Mason, Mastbaum
Jim "Tee" Parham, Northeast
William "Sonny" Hill, Northeast
Shawn "Reds" Smith, Simon Gratz
Darryl "City Lights" Warrick, West Philadelphia
Darrell "Heat" Gates, Dobbins Tech
Doug Overton, Dobbins Tech
John Chaney, Ben Franklin
Cuttino "Cat" Mobley, Dougherty
Aaron McKie, Simon Gratz
Larry Stewart/Dobbins Tech
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson, Ben Franklin
PITTSBURGH
Bruce Atkins
Sam Clancy
TEXAS
Dwayne "Legend" Rogers, Francis Scott Key (Houston)
Lawrence "Doc" Castle (Houston)
LaBradford Smith (Bay City)
Charles "Tex" Harrison, Wheatley (Houston)
THE HEARTLAND
Richard Dumas, B.T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.)
Marques Haynes, B.T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.)
Ed Ratleff, East (Columbus, Ohio)
Rex "Boy King" Chapman, Apollo (Owensboro, Ky.)
Oscar "Big O" Robertson, Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis, Ind.)
"Wee" Willie Gardner, Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Bobby Joe Mason, Centralia (Centralia, Ill.)
THE SOUTH
James "Radar" Allen aka "Arkansas Red" (Florida)
Booker T. Washington (Alabama)
Willie Bland (Louisiana)
Harry Davis (Durham, N.C.)
Allen "The Answer" Iverson (Hampton, Va.)
Eric "Sleepy" Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.)
Kevin Magee (Magnolia, Miss.)
Louis "One and Only" Williams (Mississippi)
William Moody (Florida)
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Willie Jones, Dunbar
Curt "Trouble" Smith, Coolidge
Steve "Franchise" Francis, Montgomery Blair
Dave Bing, Spingarn
Greg "Killer Cross" Jones, Cardozo
Sleepy Harrison
Delonte "Nut" Taylor
Elgin Baylor, Phelps Vocational/Spingarn
Michael Graham, Spingarn
Earl "Pep" Tyson, Dunbar
Sherman Douglass, Spingarn
Lonnie "Prime Objective" Harrell
Michael "The Thrill" Gill, Dunbar
Ollie Johnson, Spingarn
"Mr. Exciting" Exree Hipp, Harker Prep
Johnny "Ace" Rhodes, Dunbar
NFL
Andre "Spiderman" Rison
Jim Brown
Tony Gonzalez
Willie McGinest
LaVarr Arrington
Reggie Rodgers
Donovan McNabb
Randy "The Freak" Moss
Junior Seau
Chris Claiborne
Terrell Owens
Deon Figures
MLB
Bob Gibson
"Big" Dave Winfield
Delino DeShields
Frank Robinson
Kenny Lofton
Frank Tanana
Eric "The Red" Davis
Darryl "Straw" Strawberry
Tony "The Tiger" Clark
Lee Smith
Reece "Goose" Tatum
Ferguson Jenkins
For additions or corrections, email senior editor Ronnie Flores at ronnie.flores@espn.com