Willie Mays

If ever there was a baseball player who could make an impossible catch look like a casual stroll through the park, it was Willie Mays. His over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series is practically a religious artifact for sports fans, though decidedly not a Jewish one. Mays played with an infectious joy, hitting 660 home runs and snagging 12 Gold Gloves, cementing his place in the pantheon of athletic gods. So, while his last name might sound like a distant cousin of "Meyer" or "Moishe," the genetic lineage unfortunately veers off sharply into Baptist territory. Which, let's be honest, is about as un-Jew-ish as it gets. Still, you can't argue with a five-tool player who could hit for power, hit for average, run, field, and throw. That’s kvell-worthy, even if you have to stretch your imagination further than Mays stretched for a fly ball to make him a Member of the Tribe. His athletic prowess alone is enough to make any sports fan kvell, regardless of their background. Just not, you know, in that way.