The Most Athletic 'Big Men' in History
Vince Wilfork is quick for a man of his, uh, heft, but is he the most athletic big man ever?
First, let's talk about what "big man" means here. It does not mean the center for a basketball team. No, it refers to an athlete who might otherwise be considered "overweight." Basically, no Cristiano Ronaldo six-packs allowed.
Still, the following 20 athletes are/were unbelievably athletic for their size. And athletic doesn't simply mean they won stuff in their respective sports. Pound-for-pound, these guys were more athletic than they "should've been." Think, a lineman with an insane jump off the line or big first baseman who can haul around the base paths. Big and fast—mobile, agile, hostile—that's pretty much it.
Remember, these athletes are/were big and athletic, so guys like Eddy Curry—who lost a step as they gained the weight—don't count.
Honorable Mention: Jared Lorenzen
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Jared Lorenzen was Eli Manning's backup when the New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008. He also weighs more than 300 pounds.
Truth be told, there's not a lot of information on this guy, since he only played two years in the NFL and his indoor team suspended operations in 2014.
Did you so those vines, though? Big guy can scramble!
Honorable Mention: Bartolo Colon
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Who knew Bartolo Colon was so athletic? OK, OK—this one is a joke, but did you see him run down that would-be base thief in June? What about in May when he gutted out an RBI double? Awesome.
LaQuan McGowan
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Listed at: 6'7", 410 pounds
LaQuan McGowan plays Baylor football, and he is listed at over 400 pounds. What position do you think he plays?
Spoiler: He plays tight end—or at least he does now. According to a profile by Max Olson of ESPN, McGowan, a former lineman, spent much of the offseason working on aerobic fitness. He also worked with a speed back for hand-eye coordination and even snuck in some yoga.
Time will tell on McGowan's future, but for now, he belongs on this list. Baylor strength coach Kaz Kazadi told Olson, "He's actually an extraordinary athlete. He really is. His only issue is, he's unique. And if you're unique, this a great place to be"
Glen 'Big Baby' Davis
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Listed at: 6'9", 289 pounds
Los Angeles Clippers forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis has played in the NBA for eight seasons. No one is claiming his athleticism is otherworldly, but his combination of size and mobility were part of what got him noticed in college. In fact, some even thought he could have a shot in the NFL, despite not having played competitive football since high school.
In 2007, one of Davis' former high school football coaches said, "For a very large man, he's incredibly nifty. He’s very agile on his feet," according to Thayer Evans of the New York Times.
Ndamukong Suh
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Listed at: 6'4", 307 pounds
Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh grew up in a soccer family, according to Stack magazine, which might have contributed to his athleticism.
After seeing Suh train in 2010, Olympic track and field athlete Michael Johnson told Stack, "I'd seen some tape and saw just how athletic Ndamukong is, but when he got here, I was really surprised with his lateral movement." Yes. Check out his pro agility test.
There are a lot of great defensive linemen in the NFL today, but not all possess Suh's unique combination of big-guyness and quickness. (J.J. Watt is no butterball.)
Prince Fielder
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Listed at: 5'11", 275 pounds
Prince Fielder looks like a first baseman who plays first base because he's too big to play anywhere else. However, it would be a mistake to reduce him to such a characterization.
Fielder is more athletic than people think. He can leg out an infield single, and he can even steal a base when he wants to.
He once told Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, "I could dunk a volleyball in high school. I didn't play football because I knew they were going to put me at a fat-guy position and I didn't want to do that. I am athletic."
CC Sabathia, Et Al.
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Big pitchers in MLB get a bad rep sometimes, but the good ones really deserve a shoutout. CC Sabathia, for instance, is listed at a hefty 6'7", 285 pounds (and really, it's more like 300). But an argument can (and should) be made that he is also an incredible athlete.
Fair enough—Sabathia isn't particularly mobile or agile, but his durability, especially throughout his early years, has been amazing. He has pitched 200 or more innings in eight of his 15 big league seasons, including 253 in 2008.
Leon White
8 of 20Listed at: 6'5", 450 pounds
Leon White, aka Big Van Vader, aka Vader, was big-time in professional wrestling, literally and figuratively. At 450 pounds, the fact that he could move around a ring at all was impressive, but he was also successful, becoming a WCW heavyweight champion. Vader is now semi-retired, but then again, he just did this at age 60.
Of Vader's early days, Ryan Murphy of WWE wrote, "The bruiser's power and agility were beginning to gain attention ('I could bench press 600 pounds and dropkick at the same time,' he said)."
Shaquille O'Neal
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Listed at: 7'1", 325 pounds
The type of mobility Shaquille O'Neal once demonstrated seems almost impossible given his sheer size. Particularly early in his career, Shaq displayed dogged effort in the paint, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots because of both his size and quickness.
One coach told Charley Rosen of ESPN, "When Shaq first came into the league back in 1992, he was built along the lines of a slightly bulkier David Robinson. …Strong and powerful, but still quick and kind of sleek."
O'Neal was always big, but as he got older and the needle on the scale moved upward, he lost some of that big-man athleticism. He told Hannah Karp of the Wall Street Journal in 2009, "It happens to the best of us."
Craig Heyward
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Listed at: 5'11", 260 pounds
Craig "Ironhead" Heyward was a massive NFL running back who used a combination of brute strength and quickness to elude his defenders. Just look at him go during this game in college.
After Heyward's death in 2006, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported his college coach, Foge Fazio, said, "He was an unbelievable football player. Even in the NFL, he would hurdle over guys and he weighed 265, 270 pounds."
Aaron Gibson
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Listed at: 6'6", 375 pounds
Aaron Gibson was the first 400-pound man in the NFL, according to Kent Babb of the Washington Post. And though his brief professional career was marred by injuries, the offensive lineman was an athletic marvel early on.
Gibson surpassed expectations at the 1999 combine—he ran a 5.35 40-yard dash and posted a 9'3" broad jump. His college strength coach, John Dettmann, said in 1999, "This is a guy who could be a world-class powerlifter. He's incredibly agile, and he can make the man across from him look like he's on roller skates," reported Tim Crothers of Sports Illustrated.
Jonathan Ogden
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Listed at: 6'9", 340 pounds
Left tackle Jonathan Ogden was the Baltimore Ravens' first-ever draft pick. From that first year in 1996, he went on to have a 12-year, Hall of Fame career with the franchise.
Ogden was listed at 340 pounds, but his 6'9" stature made him look leaner than some others on this list. Nonetheless, he was a big guy who could move. Baltimore teammate Ray Lewis told Kevin Byrne, Ravens SVP of public & community relations, "Jon was more physically impressive than any of my [college] teammates...So big, so skilled, and he could run."
Ogden's contributions were integral to the Ravens offense. He helped Jamal Lewis run for 2,000 yards in 2003, a feat that had only been accomplished four previous times.
Art Donovan
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Listed at: 6'2", 263 pounds
Art Donovan was an NFL defensive tackle from 1950-1961. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968 and died in 2013.
After his death, Douglas Martin of the New York Times wrote that Donovan was closer to 300 pounds, and though his nickname was "Fatso," he played his position with a "nimble brutality."
Tony Siragusa
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Listed at: 6'3", 330 pounds
Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa had a 12-year NFL career, mostly spent harassing opposing rushers with surprising agility. Siragusa was a former New Jersey state wrestling champion, which might explain a bit of that movement. Seriously, check out the footwork from the big man.
With perhaps one of the most hilarious yet spot-on quotes about Goose, his former teammate Jeff Mitchell said, "Goose looks like a Burger King attendant, but what's amazing is his quickness. He can really move and get inside the gaps," reported Wayne Coffey of the New York Daily News.
In December, 13 years after his NFL retirement, Siragusa nailed a 25-yard field goal before a Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants game. Still got it (kind of).
Pablo Sandoval
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Listed at: 5'11", 255 pounds
Pablo Sandoval has long been recognized as a skilled defender. According to a 2011 analysis by FanGraphs, he led all major league third basemen in three defensive metrics that year: rPM (runs plus minus saved), DRS (defensive runs saved) and RZR (revised zone rating). The reflexes on this 2014 catch against the Washington Nationals were just amazing.
Sandoval is having a tough go in his first year with the Boston Red Sox, and questions about his defense have come up. Still, his old bench coach Ron Wotus (of the San Francisco Giants) told Mark Simon of ESPN in 2014, "Pablo is someone who has always worked extremely hard on his defense and he pays a lot of attention to detail. He's very athletic for his body type. He's always had the skills."
Vince Wilfork
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Listed at: 6'2", 325 pounds
New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork is a big boy, but he boasts surprising athleticism for someone considered "obese" on the BMI scale.
In fact, Wilfork once said many people are surprised to learn he is able to dunk a basketball, according to Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk. And Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in 2012, "He's in good condition. He's running sprints back and forth across the field working on his conditioning," according to Jeff Howe of NESN.
This 2011 interception isn't exactly typical for Wilfork, but man, look at him run.
Jerome Bettis
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Listed at: 5'11", 252 pounds
NFL running backs are usually meatier guys, but Jerome Bettis was a particularly big boy for his position. It was his size, plus a surprising quickness, that helped Bettis become a dominant rusher. He made six Pro Bowls and racked up more than 1,000 yards rushing in eight of his 13 NFL seasons.
After Bettis' recent election to the Hall of Fame, former NFL linebacker Derrick Brooks praised the Bus' athleticism. Brooks said, "His combination of speed and size, dating back to his days at Notre Dame (sets him apart)," according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
Charles Barkley
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Listed at: 6'6", 252 pounds
Charles Barkley has been putting up with fat jokes since his college days. And though his weight fluctuated at times (he weighed 300 pounds at Auburn), he was still one of the most athletic power forwards of his era.
Barkley led the NBA in rebounding in 1986-87, the shortest player ever to do so. (They didn't call him the Round Mound of Rebound for nothing.)
Former Auburn teammate Mark Cahill told Jesse Washington of ESPN, "...speed, strength, agility and quickness, I firmly believe Charles Barkley was a better athlete than Bo Jackson because he did it at 300. Bo was a strong 225."
Willie Roaf
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Listed at: 6'5", 320 pounds
Willie Roaf had a Hall of Fame NFL career, mostly as a left tackle, from 1993-2005. He also had that "freakishly athletic" quality about him, especially impressive for someone of his size.
According to Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune, Roaf ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds as a junior in college. He played basketball in his youth and even received several scholarship offers to play in college.
Instead he chose football, and it worked out well for him. One of his former coaches, Jim Mora told the Associated Press (via the Columbia Daily Tribune), "All offensive linemen are big, strong guys. But Willie was an athlete. This guy had the feet and the quickness and the lateral movement. That's what made him special."
William Perry
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Listed at: 6'2", 335 pounds
William "Refrigerator" Perry was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears for most of his 10-year NFL career and won a Super Bowl with the 1985-86 team. He scored a touchdown, too.
Those who came into contact with Perry always marveled at his incredible athleticism. He could do a 360-dunk and run with incredible speed, according to Tom Friend of ESPN. In fact, he was the sixth-fastest player on his high school team.
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