The List: Top 10 Cool Dudes of New York Sports

They loved the nightlife. They loved to boogie. They loved the ladies. They dressed with style. They had Fu Manchus. They had muttonchops. They were cooler than Fonzie. They were cooler than Coolio. They were cooler than LL Cool J. They were cooler than a pack of Kools. Here are the top 10 hippest, coolest New York sports dudes of the past 40 years.

10. Mike Piazza: The former catcher brought his mullet from LA to New York and turned the Mets into winners. Along the way he dated (and married) Playboy playmates, played the drums and appeared on Baywatch. He was California cool (even though he’s from Pennsylvania) and had the mustache to prove it.

9. Derek Jeter: The Yankees shortstop is going through Hollywood actresses like David Wells going through a bag of White Castle burgers. He may be bland, cool in a boy band type of way and make really annoying commercials, but chicks love him.

8. Rod Gilbert: He was a French-Canadian playboy out on the prowl in Manhattan. The Rangers right-winger scored 406 goals and was the Joe Namath of hockey. He was savoir faire on a pair of skates.

7. Reggie Jackson: He drove Rolls-Royces. He had a candy bar named after him. The word ‘superstar’ was invented for him. He stood at home plate and watched his home runs clear the fence. He was the straw that stirred the drink. He contemplated the magnitude of being Reggie Jackson. He loved to ta

lk. About himself. He was a cool cat among cool cats of the ’70s.

6. Keith Hernandez: Being one of the greatest fielding first basemen in the history of baseball is just a footnote. He dated Cheryl Tiegs. He dated Elaine Benes. First basemen around the league all started smoking just to be like him. He’s Keith Hernandez. Hey, his mustache alone could make this list.

5. Earl Monroe: Earl the Pearl was poetry in motion on the basketball court. He turned the game of basketball into a Charlie Parker song. He faked opposing players out of their jocks and c

ould out-cool anybody in a cool contest. They didn’t call him Black Jesus for nothing.

4. Lee Mazzilli: The Mets center fielder was Chachi, The Fonz, Tony Danza and Sly Stallone rolled into one. He was the Italian Stallion from Brooklyn. Every girl in the Tri-State area had his poster on her wall. He wore the tightest uniform in the major leagues and was thrilling the 8,000 fans that were cramming into Shea in the late ’70s with his basket catches. Aaaayyyy…

3. Julius Erving: Dr. J won two championships in his three years with the New York Nets. He wasn’t just the star of the ABA; he was the ABA. The slam dunk contest was invented jus

t for him. He had the coolest Afro. He had the coolest nickname. He was just stone cold cool.

2. Walt Frazier: Clyde was the coolest dresser on the planet. In his own words he was stylin’ and profilin’. The word ‘smooth’ doesn’t do him justice―you’d have to throw a lot more ‘o’s’ in that adjective to accurately describe him. On the court, he’d transfix opposing players with his muttonchops, steal the ball and swoop in for an easy layup. He was too suave and cool to dunk.

1. Joe Namath: The guarantee. The Fu Manchu. The pantyhose. The fur coats. The women. Broadway Joe wins the coolest dude in New York award. He had his own TV show (The Joe Namath Show), he owned his own club (Bachelors III), he starred in movies (C.C. and Company), he guest-hosted The Tonight Show, he appeared on The Simpsons and The Brady Bunch. He was cool before cool was cool.