| A | B |
|---|
| "Babe" Didrickson | The first female to sign an endorsement contract. |
| Max Muhleman | Founder of the leading sports marketing company in the U.S. with such clients as Anheiser Busch, Coca-Cola, Du-Pont, and professional sports clients. |
| Lucielle Ball | One of TV's first leading ladies to be the star of the show with the man in the supporting role. |
| Charlie Chaplin | This comedian developed a character that wore baggy pants, a tight coat, large shoes, and a derby hat and turned comedy into an art form with the beginning of slap-stick comedy. |
| Philip H. Knight | Founder of Blue Ribbon Sports, an athletic footwear company, which became Nike in 1972. |
| Walt Disney | Developed the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" and a California based national theme park that cost $17 million to build and drew 3.8 million visitors the first year. |
| Title IX | Gave both male and female athletes the same opportunities. |
| Stephen Spielberg | Used a a commercial tie-in with Reeses Pieces in a major motion picture movie. |
| Elvis Presley | A rock and roll pioneer that stirred up controversy with a performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. |
| Jackie Robinson | Broke the color barrier in baseball when he was offered a contract to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. |
| Jackie Joyner-Kersee | The first female to be names "The Sporting News man of the Year." |
| Michael Jordan | His basketball skills and charisma helped earn him many deals and sponsorships with such companies as Hanes, Nike, and Gatorade. |
| Muhammad Ali | Promoted himself as "I am the greatest." |
| NCAA | formed to officially govern collegiate athletics. |
| Babe Ruth | Baseball's first great slugger. Yankee stadium was often referred to as the house that he built. |
| The Beatles | Created the first concept album. |
| Vince McMahon | Coined the term "sports entertainment" and founder of WWE. |
| Bill France | Founded NASCAR |
