Brian Wilson and the Rest of the Best: Wildest Facial Hair in Sports

Throughout sports history there have been some beards and 'staches that are nothing short of epic (just ask the gnomes that call Brian Wilson's beard home).

Some of these come with a lot of work, and others come from absolutely no work. But they all grow from the faces of quite a list of characters.

Anyway, from playoff beards to handlebars, tidy to all-over-the-place, here are some of the best and wildest the sports world has to offer.

14. Dustin McGowan

To start off we have Dustin McGowan and his modern day mutton chops.

McGowan struggled in his four years with the Blue Jays and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2008.

However his chops refuse to quit.

13. Phil Jackson

Back in his Knicks days, Phil Jackson had quite a 'stache (no drug pun intended).

Now, Phil did adopt the "Colonel Sanders" look for a while during his coaching career, but nothing beats getting fouled by a hippie with a mustache.

12. Mike Commodore

Red Wings defenseman Mike Commodore had one of the wackiest beard/hair combinations in all of sports. 

11. Eric Thames

Soul-patch-tastic Eric Thames is just a rookie for the Blue Jays.

But his always stylized facial hair is already an All-Star in my book.

10. Thurman Munson

This late-great Yankee captain was best known for two things, his grit and his mustache.

The hair above his lip is iconic among Yankees fans, as is shown here.

9. David Ortiz

David Ortiz seems to never have a single hair out of place.

As a Yankees fan, I am not too fond of Ortiz as a player, but boy do I respect his razor skills.

8. James Harden

James Harden has the best beard in the NBA, period. I call it the BD 2.0 (BD for Baron Davis).

Harden has taken the bum-beard to whole new level.

7. Ozzie Smith

Ozzie Smith had some classy late '70s style.

6. Walt "Clyde" Frazier

Clyde's sideburns alone averaged seven points in the '69-'70 season.

But these days Clyde is just focused on "putting the gray away."

5. Ronny Turiaf

Ronny apparently started growing his beard out as part of a bet with his father.

I think Ronny's winning.

4. Rollie Fingers

The handlebar of all handlebars.

3. Kimbo Slice

Moving away from MMA and into boxing, Kimbo Slice has maintained the best bald-head/big-beard combo out there. 

Also, his first official boxing match is scheduled for next Saturday against James Wade.

And in Kimbo's own words, "This is a career move. I love fighting. I like to knock people the f*** out."

2. Brett Keisel

This Steelers DE just wants some financial security after his football career.

So he's training to become Santa.

There's money in that, right?

1. Brian Wilson

Who else but the Sea Captain could be at No. 1?

Wilson may have started growing out his beard as some weird kind of protest when he was told that his cleats were too bright to wear in games. But no one's really sure.

Whatever Wilson's reasons were, the beard has (according to this commercial—literally) taken on a life of its own. 

Wilson is a character and a true talent, and his beard is phenomenal.