Acting The Part

WITH 40 CREDITS, including a recurring role on the critically acclaimed HBO series Oz, Rick Fox is the most successful NBA player turned actor. Now Fox is portraying a basketball coach on Sin City Saints (a Yahoo Screen Web series), in which he costars with fellow NBA retiree Baron Davis. So, if Fox is the leading man among cagers, who are the top thespians from other sports?

NHL

Jim Brown

Browns Hall of Fame back has 53 credits, including everything from the classic movie The Dirty Dozen to the forgettable TV show T.J. Hooker.

Bonus Fact

Member of three Halls of Fame (NFL, college football, lacrosse).

MLB

Chuck Connors

Had a cup o' joe as a first baseman with the Dodgers and the Cubs before amassing 134 credits, the most famous being the title role in The Rifleman.

Bonus Fact

The 6'5" Connors also played for the Celtics from 1946 to '48.

CFB

Mark Harmon

Former UCLA quarterback counts leading roles in St. Elsewhere and NCIS among his 78 credits. His mother, Elyse Knox, was an actor, as is his wife, Pam Dawber.

Bonus Fact

His father, Tom, won the 1940 Heisman at Michigan.

NFL

Cam Neely

Bruins wing has nine credits, all minor roles, four of them in Farrelly brothers' movies (both Dumb and Dumber films; Me, Myself & Irene; and Stuck on You).

Bonus Fact

Good friend Michael J. Fox emceed his retirement ceremony in 1997.

SKATEBOARD

Jason Lee

After dropping out of high school, he spent seven years on the pro skater circuit before turning to acting, in which he has 56 credits, including the lead role in My Name Is Earl.

Bonus Fact

Skateboarded in the Sonic Youth video for "100%."

OLYMPICS

Johnny Weissmuller

A five-time gold-medal-winning swimmer, Weissmuller racked up 37 credits and became Hollywood's first speaking Tarzan.

Bonus Fact

A recording of the famous Tarzan yell, which he created, was played as he was lowered into his grave in 1984.

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

CBS analyst Charles Barkley said Kansas forward Cliff Alexander was playing "pretty good." Alexander has been out since February.

PHOTO

EVERETT COLLECTION (BROWN)

PHOTO

ABC/PHOTOFEST (CONNORS)

PHOTO

SONJA FLEMMING/CBS (HARMON)

PHOTO

CINEMABLEND.COM (NEELY)

PHOTO

NBC/PHOTOFEST (LEE)

PHOTO

MGM/PHOTOFEST (WEISSMULLER)

PHOTO

JOHN W. MCDONOUGH/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (BARKLEY)