Happily ever after
There’s not a single sportsman out there who doesn’t dream of glory. Stephen Thirkill gives us nine sports stars for who the dream really did come true
1) Orville Moody Moody wins 1969 US Open golf after coming from nowhere
Moody won the 1969 US Open by one stroke for his only PGA Tour title. He entered the final round three adrift of leader MIller Barber, before the 14 year US Army veteran clinched the win. He did it the hard way after having advanced through both local and sectional qualifying in 1969, the last champion to do so.
2) Boris Becker Unknown wins Wimbledon 1985
The 17-year-old Boris Becker was a relative unknown going into the Wimbledon championship of 1985 and had only just claimed his first tournament win shortly beforehand, at Queen’s Club However, the German sensation went on to beat Kevin Curren in the final to become the youngest ever player to lift the trophy and the first non-seed. It was the first of six major titles for the German.
3) Goran Ivanisevic The Croat finally wins Wimbledon
Goran Ivanisevic was a familiar sight for the British tv viewer in the summer as we sat glued to our screens watching Wimbledon. He was one of the best grasscourt players of his era and he was expected to take his first Wimbledon crown in 1992 - but it didn’t go his way after defeat to Andre Agassi. Further final defeats followed both to Pete Sampras - in 1994 and 1998 as the Croat suffered heart-break again. But in 2001, against all the odds, Ivanisevic, then ranked 125 in the world, showed fairytales can happen when he became the lowest ranked man to win Wimbledon and the first ever wildcard.
4) John Daly Daly craims incredible 1991 US PGA Championship win
Finishing at 12-under, three shots better than second-placed Bruce Lietzke, John Daly incredibly claimed US PGA Championship glory in 1991 having only qualified for the tournament as the ninth alternate. The colourful American didn’t even have his own caddie and had driven halfway across the country the night before the opening round just to play. However, the then 25-year-old went on to shoot a final-day 71 to win the first of his two major titles against all odds.
5) Denmark win the Euros Danes take advantage of Yugoslavia DQ
Denmark won the unlikely winners of the 1992 European Championships. They were unlikely, not because they weren’t good enough, but because they only took park in the competition after Yugoslavia were thrown out because of the war going on in their nation. Back then just eight teams took park, with Denmark beating the unified Germany 2-0 in the final to win their first title
6) Muhammad Ali Ali comes back from ban to win ‘Rumble in the Jungle’
After serving a three-year ban and being stripped of his heavyweight boxing title for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali made history by regaining his belt in 1974 at the age of 32 by upsetting previously undefeated champion George Foreman in an epic fight in Zaire that became known as ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’. Ali cemented his status as ‘The Greatest’ by successfully implementing a bold and dangerous ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy, which essentially involved allowing Foreman to unload on him. When Foreman tired, Ali knocked him out in the eighth round, sparking scenes of pure pandemonium in the ring, outside it and all over the world.
7) Tyrone Mings From mortgage advisor to Premier League star.
After leaving school, Mings signed for nonleague side Yate Town for the 2011/12. But it didn’t go to plan and for Mings, who combined his career with jobs as a barman and mortgage advisor. In the summer of 2012, he even considered quitting football before eventually signing for his home town team Chippenham Town, And it proved to be a very wise move when Mings earned a move to the big leagues when he signed for Ipswich Town for the 2012/13. He hasn’t looked back since and has gone on to win two caps for England in 2019
8) Rob Cross From pub to world champion.
Few stars have enjoyed a rise so meteoric as Rob Cross, who won the darts World Championship - the biggest prize in the game on his debut, having turned professional just 11 months prior to the event. He didn’t just win it - he won it in style as he destroyed the legendary Phil Taylor with an unplayable 107.67 average. It’s safe to say ‘voltage’ won’t be needing his day job as an electrician any more.
9) Jamie Vardy From Steels to Premier League glory
In 2010 Jamie Vardy was plying his trade for around £30 a week at non-league Stocksbridge Steels - he couldn’t have imagined what would happen next. Vardy worked his way up the football ladder with FC Halifax and Fleetwood before a lifechanging move to Leicester. And it got even better with Vardy winning the Premier League just five seasons after his journey began. He earned his first England call-up in May 2015 and was part of the squad which went to Russia in 2018.