Top 8 All-Time Valentine's Day-Related Sports Figures

Valentine’s Day is a unique holiday, one that creates an inordinate amount of pressure on celebrants. Pressure to opine and wear emotions on one’s sleeve. Pressure to overcome anxiety. Pressure to outdo one’s counterpart. Pressure to perform.

In some ways, Valentine’s Day is a bit like competing in an athletic event—be it a team sport or an individual competition. There is some outside influence that burdens us in a way. Amid potential scrutiny and letdown, athletes step up with palms sweating and heart racing to carry out that duty to their beloved teammates, coach or sport they have cherished so dearly for years.

The intensity that has become synonymous with Valentine’s Day is a somewhat recent development. Men feel the onus of buying flowers and candies. Women feel pressure to be adored and wanted. Singles feel pressure not to be single.

Valentine’s used to be a more joyous celebration. But now the level of pressure that surrounds this holiday is similar to an athlete performing with the game on the line.

When everything goes right on Valentine’s Day, there is euphoria amongst loved ones, just like the euphoria when a player or athlete achieves competitive greatness under extreme duress.

In honor of a holiday that evokes stressful situations, here’s a look at eight Valentine’s Day-related sports figures who have achieved so much love and adoration for their successes in athletics.

Ron Darling

A dearly loved starting pitcher for three different teams, Ron Darling treasured his 13-year Major League Baseball career. But in particular, Darling was a cherished favorite of the New York Mets team that went on to win the 1986 World Series.

He compiled a 136-116 overall record, with a 3.87 ERA and 1,590 strikeouts. In 1985, he was selected to the National League All-Star team at age 23.

His best year was likely that championship season in ’86, when he posted career bests in ERA (2.81) and strikeouts (184) to go with his 15-6 record during the regular season. Then, in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Darling started three games, going 1-1 with a 1.53 ERA.

He was the darling of New York for five more seasons, before finishing his career with the Montreal Expos and finally with the Oakland Athletics, retiring in 1995. Currently, he is a color analyst for TBS’ baseball broadcasts.

Kevin Love

You have to love a 6'10" NBA center who can rebound, score inside, pass and shoot three-pointers like they are layups.

Currently a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the fourth-year pro Kevin Love has unexpectedly developed into quite a superstar in a league chock-full of obvious ones. Though the NBA has evolved into a quick-scoring guard-oriented league, he is certainly among the more lovable big men in the game.

Last season, Love took the NBA by storm, scoring 20.2 points per game, while leading the league in rebounds with a 15.2 average. He also led the league in double-doubles (64), posted a 30-30 game (31 points, 31 rebounds) and shot 41.7 percent from three-point land. As a result, Love earned the league’s Most Improved Player Award.

Basketball fans love his tenacious, old-school style of play. And Timberwolves fans love that the team signed him to remain in Minnesota for four more years.

Cecil Hart

At the heart of Valentine’s Day is the ability to express one’s love and devotion to another. As a representation of those lofty, strong feelings, we use the symbol of a heart.

The NHL embraced a similar concept by naming the league’s most valuable player award the Hart Memorial Trophy. The award is named after Dr. David Hart, the father of former Montreal Canadians head coach Cecil Hart. Cecil Hart led the team in two separate stints, first from 1926-1932, then from 1936-1939.

The award for the league’s most valuable player has been in existence since 1924, when it was simply known as the Hart Trophy. In 1960, the honor renamed the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Though Cecil Hart had a relatively brief tenure as the Habs’ coach, in his nine seasons, he compiled a .590 winning percentage, winning two Stanley Cups (1930, 1931) along the way. Coincidentally, six times the Hart Trophy was awarded to a Montreal Canadian while he was head coach. Hart was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

It’s always interesting to understand the tradition of where the names for the NHL awards come from. Obviously, Hart was a staple of the Canadian community for a long while. And he impacted the game of hockey in a short amount of time. But it’s appropriate that the Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the lifeblood and best player of the league each year.

Drew Bledsoe

Though his name does not exactly evoke thoughts of Valentine’s Day, former NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe was in fact born on February 14th. The No. 1 pick in 1993 by the New England Patriots, Bledsoe played 14 seasons with three different teams, earning two All-Pro selections, four Pro Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl title.

With his cannon of an arm and gaudy passing numbers, Bledsoe was a bit romanticized. But he had some mediocre career stats: 57.2 completion percentage, 206 interceptions and a 77.1 quarterback rating. Still, he was a gunslinger who tallied 251 touchdowns and six straight seasons (1994-1999) with over 3.500 yards passing.

For nine seasons (eight as a starter), Bledsoe and the Patriots went steady. It was a tough realization that the adored Bledsoe was to be replaced by a hotter, younger, more cherubic Tom Brady.

Sometimes Valentine’s Day is cruel like that.

Bobby Valentine

What would Valentine’s Day be without Bobby Valentine? It’s his day! Right?

Bobby V is most famous for his career as a baseball manager, but he did play a little ball during the 1970s. As a utility middle infielder and outfielder for five different teams in 10 seasons, Valentine batted .260 with 12 home runs and 157 runs batted in. His best year was probably 1972, when he played in a career-best 119 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .274 with 107 hits and 42 runs scored.

Valentine earned his first managerial gig in 1985, leading the Texas Rangers, at age 35. He posted a .490 winning percentage in eight seasons with the Rangers but never made the playoffs. He found modest success with the New York Mets (1996-2002), guiding his 2000 Wild Card team to the World Series, where they lost to the cross-town rival Yankees.

Interestingly, however, Valentine’s biggest triumphs as manager have come in Japan. On two different occasions, Valentine managed the Chiba Lotte Marines (1995 and 2004-2009). In 2005, he guided the Marines to the Japan Series title. His team also beat the Korea’s championship team in the Asia Series. Valentine was an instant fan favorite, though he was eventually fired following the 2009 season.

Now, Valentine is the manager of the Boston Red Sox, who signed him the past offseason to take over for the departed Terry Francona. Boston’s epic collapse last season called for a serious organizational upheaval. Will "Sawx" fans fall in love with Valentine? Can Valentine return the team to glory?

Time will tell. But if the Red Sox are able to win a World Series title soon, that will be Bobby Valentine’s day.

Pete Rose

When we think of Valentine’s Day, we can’t forget long-stemmed roses. There is obviously a natural aesthetic in the wild rose. However, sometimes we forget how powerfully dangerous they can be, with the sharpness of their thorns.

Symbolic of that combination of beauty and prickliness is the great baseball legend, Pete Rose. The all-time hits king was certainly lovely to watch—on the basepaths, in the field and at the plate. He holds MLB records for most hits, games played and at-bats in a career. The 17-time All-Star won three National League batting titles, three World Series titles and on National League MVP Award.

However, as fragrant as his on-field performance was, Rose had an incredibly bristly demeanor. Often he competed aggressively, pricking opponents who stood in his way. Additionally, his barbed and overconfident personality contributed to his gambling on baseball games as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He was banned from baseball in 1989 and thus ineligible for election into the Hall of Fame.

A classic example of a blossomed athletic career that withered away after the aroma was gone, Pete Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Red Grange

Violets are blue; roses are red…

The Galloping Ghost…

Enough said.

Harold “Red” Grange was likely football’s first great running back and one of the sport’s earliest stars. He gained national fame during his three-year college career at the University of Illinois. Grange was named an All-American each season and graced the cover of Time magazine in 1925.

Grange went on to become a coveted professional recruit, signing with the Chicago Bears that same year. He suited up in the NFL in eight different seasons, playing both sides of the ball (as most did back then) with tremendous success.

Though statistics were not officially kept back then, he was named All-Pro twice (1930, 1931). He also led the league in touchdowns in 1932. In 1932 and 1933, the Bears won back-to-back NFL championships, and Grange played a huge role in securing both wins.

His No. 77 was retired by both the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. Grange was also a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He was chosen as a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team, and in 2008, he was named by ESPN as the best college football player of all time.

Babe Ruth

Honey. Dear. Sweetie. Pumpkin. Sweetheart.

All popular terms of endearment, and ones that will be in full usage on Valentine’s Day. Lovers and loved ones exchange these titles of affection toward one another, a symbol of their feelings toward their favorite people.

But the term of endearment that elicits the most adoration is Babe. And that is why one of baseball’s greatest players, Babe Ruth, tops this list.

The Babe was arguably the first superstar athlete in America. His prowess as a pitcher and later as the Sultan of Swat earned him heaps of attention, fame and popularity in the world’s largest media market, New York City. Ruth rewrote the record books, turning baseball from an ordinary pastime into an exciting home-run-hitting form of entertainment.

As baseball’s first slugger, Ruth dominated, setting MLB single-season home run records four different times. His 60 home runs in a season and 714 for a career were longstanding high marks, revered for decades.

Ruth was equally successful as an individual and as a teammate. As part of the vaunted Yankees, Ruth won seven World Series titles. New York was the best team, and he was the indeed the best player of that era.

When his career ended in 1935, he finished with countless records, and he still ranks in the top 10 in numerous categories, including home runs, runs batted in, runs scored and slugging percentage.

In the more than 75 seasons since his final game, Ruth is still considered one of the greatest players in baseball history. What he achieved, and more importantly what he did to change the game, cement him as one of the most adored and loved players of any generation.

You gotta love the Babe.

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