Frank Thomas

Taylor Notable Sports Figures
Springer, Steve. “Tagliabue Gives His Vote to Taylor for
Hall of Fame.” Los Angeles Times (January 30,
1999): 6.
Stanton, Barry. “Interview: Lawrence Taylor.” Sport
(November 1985): 17.
Washington Post (April 6, 1986).
Washington Post (January 8, 1987).
Washington Post (January 14, 1987).
Washington Post (January 21, 1987).
Washington Post (February 27, 1987).
Washington Post (March 23, 1987).
Zimmerman, Paul. “Don’t Cross This Line.” Sports Illustrated
(September 5, 1994): 50.
Zimmerman, Paul. “Terrific Tayloring.” Sports Illustrated
(September 17, 1990): 30-37.
Other
“Lawrence Taylor Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction
Ceremony.” http://www.bbwc.com/History/taylor-hof.
html/ (November 10, 2002).
Sachin Tendulkar
1973-
Indian cricket player
Sketch by Eric Lagergren
The “Super Natural,” the “Willow Prince,” “the King,”
and even “a god” are terms that have been used to describe
Indian cricket batsman Sachin Tendulkar, yet he
refers to himself as a normal person who is satisfied with
being counted among the best batsmen in the world. A
young prodigy, Tendulkar began playing cricket as a toddler
and at age sixteen was selected to play on India’s national
team. In 2001 he became the first batsman to score a
total of 10,000 runs in one-day cricket. He is an idol in his
native India, where he lives humbly even though his salary
and product endorsements have made him the world’s
wealthiest cricket player. Still at the top of his game in
2003, Tendulkar is sometimes compared to the great West
Indian cricketer Vivian Richards and to Australian cricket
legend Don Bradman,who died in 2001 at age 92.
Thirteen Coins
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973,
in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His father, Ramesh
Tendulkar, was a language professor; he died in 1999.
Sachin has two brothers and a sister. He began playing
cricket at age 2 1/2, with his nanny in the family’s backyard,
using a broomstick for a bat. As he grew, he began
playing street cricket with neighborhood children, and
1590
Sachin Tendulkar
after watching the World Cup on television at age ten, he
began to get serious about the game. Although lefthanded,
he learned to bat with his right hand as a youth.
Street rules required players to bat with their nonpreferred
hand to increase their chances of being eliminated.
After the family moved close to Shivaji Park in
Bombay, Sachin’s game began to improve. At ages
twelve and thirteen, he was practicing and playing
school matches a total of twelve hours a day on some
days. He once played fifty-four matches in a row. His
coach, Ramakant Acherkar, encouraged Sachin to play
his hardest by placing a rupee on top of one of his wicket
stumps and offering the money to anyone who got
Sachin out. If no one did, Sachin won the money. He
still treasures thirteen of the coins he won in that way.
At age thirteen, Sachin scored his first century (100
runs) at school, and the following year he was invited to
a net session with the Indian professional team. At age
fifteen, he and a friend set a world record of runs (664)
for his school, and at sixteen, Sachin was picked to play
his first Test match for India against Pakistan. His father
signed the papers for him, because Sachin was too
young. By age seventeen, Sachin had toured New
Zealand and England with the team. On the England tour
he scored a match-saving 119 points, which made him
the second youngest test century-maker ever. From there,
his career has become better each year. On March 31,
2001, he became the first batsman to score 10,000 runs
in one-day cricket, setting this record during a five-match