The Most Famous Father and Son Duos In Sport

Every so often something very special happens in the world of sports when the son of a famous sporting man enters into the sporting industry in an effort to emulate the success of their father. This is not something that happens very often at all and when it does it can be incredibly special. These young men are only affected by the success of there fathers in a positive way and some of them even go on to surpass their father’s success, despite the weight of the pressure on their shoulders. Let’s take a look then at some of the greatest father/son duos which sport has witnessed.
The Elways
Jack Elway was a college quarterback with an incredible amount of potential and was tipped by many to make it up to the flashing lights of the NFL. Unfortunately his career was cut short though injury and he instead went on to become one of the most widely respected college coaches of all time. Son John Elway would live up to and beyond his father’s expectation and throughout his 16 year career with the Denver Broncos won two back-to-back Super Bowls as quarterback, winning MVP in the first. After his career the Hall of Famer would become general manager of the Broncos, leading them to a third Super Bowl success with him involved.
The Mannings
The Mannings are widely regarded as the royal family of the NFL and it all started with father Archie who lit up the NFL after leading a college career which would see thousands turn up just to watch him. When sons Eli and Peyton came along, the pair would take up their father’s legacy and raise the bar to the next level. Both played as quarterback and both have won 2 Super Bowl rings each, Peyton Manning is widely considered as the greatest quarterback to have ever lived and between the pair they have smashed both franchise and league records.
Bobby and Barry Bonds
Having a father who is considered a great is tough to live up to, unless your name is Barry Bonds that is. Father Bobby led a 21 year career which saw him win 3 Golden Gloves awards, appear in 3 All-Star games and rack up stats of 331 homers and 461 stolen bases. Barry would take his father’s legacy up to a level that few thought he could and is widely regarded as the best player of all time. Barry finished his illustrious career with a record 762 home runs and 514 stolen bases. The pair would appear together in the 1990-91 season for Seattle and not content with individual records, the two became the very first father and son duo to hit back-to-back home runs. One thing is for sure, if Barry Bonds’ son ever thought about taking up the game, the standards have been set pretty darn high.