Ted Williams and the Top 10 Rags to Riches Sports Stories Ever

Ted Williams is the best story in America right now. If not, it is surely the most uplifting. 

One man that had frittered away his talent on the abuse of recreation was given a second chance. It all came as a video of Williams was released to the Internet. It showed how special Williams was. He now has a multitude of job offers. He has taken to radio interviews and has even been on the Today show. 

But Ted Williams and his tale of fortune is not a singular event. There are a multitude of these stories in the sports world. Here are 10. 

10. Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban is an owner that is used to getting fined thousands of dollars, nightly, for his tirades on the sidelines. The amounts would have seemed inconceivable to Cuban as a boy. 

Mark Cuban always had a love for money. He once sold trash bags in order to buy the hot new basketball shoe. He later would have to collect and sell stamps just to get by with finances while attending school. 

That boy would later start and sell a software company for millions. He is now listed in Forbes as one of the richest people in the world. 

9. Rafer Johnson

Rafer was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family had to move to a much more impoverished section of town when he was one. 

The ghetto type of atmosphere worked wonders on Johnson's psyche. He would later say, "I don't care if I never see Texas again...There's nothing about it I like. If my family had stayed in Texas, I not only wouldn't have represented the United States in the Olympics, I wouldn't have even gone to college."

It is a good thing that he moved to California with his family. He later matriculated to The University of California and parlayed his track success there into representing his country at the Olympics. His most famous feat was winning gold at the 1960 games. 

8. Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey came from humble beginnings. The forward that smashed home the tying goal against England in the 2010 World Cup grew up in a small Texas town. 

Dempsey was raised in a trailer park just by the Mexican border. He would learn the game of soccer on dirt fields with Mexican children that had a flair for the game. Dempsey almost missed out on a soccer academy as the family struggled to make ends meet. 

Family and friends helped send him off and it has paid dividends. He is one of the best American soccer players currently and is a star player at Fulham F.C. in Europe. 

7. Mardy Gilyard

Mardy Gilyard was a prized asset of the Cincinnati Bearcats. That is until his scholarship was taken away. Defeated, he was all set to return home. His family refused to let him give up. 

Gilyard stayed in Cincinnati and worked four jobs just to make ends meet. Among them, he was a pizza delivery boy and a door-to-door knife salesman. The hard work outside the field convinced head coach Brian Kelly to let him back on the field. 

Gilyard went on to become one of the most prolific receivers in Bearcats history. He was later drafted by the St. Louis Rams where he plays today. 

6. Ted Williams

A Brooklyn born kid with a wide-eyed passion for radio grows to attend school to hone his craft. He then gets into drugs and alcohol. The story leads him to become homeless and panhandling on the side of the road in Columbus, Ohio. 

His sign said please help, I have a god given golden voice. A passerby with a camera takes footage of his voice and he becomes a national sensation. Ted Williams has gone from homeless to celebrity overnight. He has had a job offer to announce for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He has already done radio interviews. Williams has been on the Today show and the Early show. The latter interview can be seen here. 

5. Michael Oher

This story is so good that they made a movie about it entitled The Blind Side. The real tale of Michael Oher is not that far off. 

He was a young man born into an impoverished section of Memphis. His mother left him to fend for himself as she struggled with drug addiction. He bounced around foster homes until he came to settle with LeeAnn and Sean Tuohy. The couple later adopted Oher. 

Michael went on to become a fantastic offensive tackle at Mississippi before he was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. 

4. Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton had it all. Then he lost it to drugs and alcohol.

Hamilton was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 draft. He progressed like a star until 2001 when he was involved in a car accident. The pain medications he received for his injuries lead to alcohol and then to drugs.

He fell out of the game until 2004. The Devil Rays gave him a look over. He was later left off the 40-man roster and claimed by the Reds. After landing with the Rangers, Hamilton has become one of the best in baseball. He is living proof that you can turn your life around. 

3. Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao has come a long way. Arguably the best boxer in the world used to scrap for his food. Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines.

He lived in a dirt floor shack and had to help the family by selling bread in the streets. He would later find he had a gift for fighting and would brawl in a dingy gym—the same gym he was the janitor of. He parlayed this early boxing acumen into a professional career. 

Now Pac Man is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. Besides boxing, he is used to hobnobbing with celebrities as he does in this clip. 

2. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson's life has been filled with heartache and tough times. That includes his childhood. Tyson lived in the rough neighborhood of Brownsville. Tyson would constantly get in fights with older kids who made fun of his voice and lisp. 

He was also fond of petty thievery. Tyson was arrested 38 times by the time he was 13. He lost his mother when he was 16. Having no one to turn to, Cus D'Amato took him in as his own. D'Amato turned Tyson into one of the greatest heavyweights to ever fight. 

Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion when he defeated Trevor Berbick at the age of 20. His life since has been a tale of constant struggle and redemption.

1. Diego Maradona

The greatest rags to riches tale has to be that of Diego Maradona. The controversial soccer star's famous moment was a handball that went unseen by officials. The goal secured the World Cup for Argentina. 

But before he played on the international stage, Diego had to rise up from the poorest of settings. He was one of five children growing up in a shantytown outside of Buenos Aires. The family and Diego struggled constantly. But he always had football to make him happy. 

At the age of 10 he was spotted by a talent scout. He immediately joined Los Cebollitas , the lowest rung of Boca Juniors. He parlayed this early success into a masterful career. He is still heralded as one of the best to ever play the game.