10 Athletes Who Have Appeared in Sitcoms

I recently watched an episode of Diff'rent Strokes on the cable channel BET. For me the series offers nostalgia, but my kids watch just to hear Arnold say his famous line, "What's you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

This particular episode was unusual in that it featured four famous athletes, each from a different sport. Former heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali, NFL lineman Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill, and NBA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all appeared in the show.

I then began to wonder how many sitcoms had featured so many famous athletes in certain episodes. The list was surprisingly large, so I came up with a list of my ten favorite sitcom episodes featuring athletes who appeared as themselves.

10. Patrick Ewing on Webster: The seven-foot Georgetown legend and former Knicks star was called in to provide parenting help for Ma'am and George.

9. Steve Sax on Square Pegs: The Dodger second baseman went to a Weemawee baseball game after hearing about some home run rockets launched by Johnny.

8. Kevin McHale on Cheers: In order to win a grudge basketball game, Sam hires the Celtics star as a substitute bartender.

7. Darryl Strawberry on The Simpsons: The Mets All-Star outfielder, along with other stars like Jose Canseco, Don Mattingly and Roger Clemens, was recruited to play in an episode called "Homer at the Bat." The best part is when Bart and Lisa chant the familiar "Dar-ryl! Dar-ryl!" at the amused Strawberry.

6. Reggie Jackson on The Jeffersons: George dropped Reggie's home run ball, prompting Weezie to enter the Angels locker room hoping that the star outfielder could cheer her husband. Weezie's timing couldn't have been worse (or better), for the Angels players were just stepping out of the shower in nothing but towels.

5. Bobby Riggs on The Odd Couple: The tennis great took Oscar to the cleaners during a card game, so he agreed to give the sportswriter a chance to win it all back with a game of ping pong. Another episode featured Rams defensive lineman Deacon Jones.

4. Keith Hernandez on Seinfeld: Jerry becomes jealous of Elaine when she starts going out with the Mets first baseman. Seinfeld, developing a sort of man crush, had been hoping to spend more time with him. Other episodes have featured Paul O' Neill, Danny Tartabull, and Derek Jeter.

3. Joe Namath on The Brady Bunch: Bobby wrote to Broadway Joe about his feigned fatal illness, so the Jets quarterback made a special trip to the Brady home. Several Dodgers, Don Drysdale and Wes Parker, also appeared in separate episodes of the show.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Full House: Danny, Joey, and Jesse play for DJ's team in a basketball contest in which the Hall of Fame center in the referee. Jabbar seems totally at ease in the episode, poking fun at Jesse's lack of talent on the court.

1. Terry Bradshaw on Married with Children: Al Bundy expected to be honored as Polk High's greatest football player, only to have the Steeler quarterback win that honor without ever having played for Polk. Other episodes featured Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Joe Namath and Bubba Smith.