The best father/son combos in sports history

Bobby Bonds had a solid MLB career. He even made three All-Star Games. Of course, Barry’s career went just a bit better. Say what you will about the PED stuff: The fact of the matter is that the younger Bonds holds both the record for the most home runs in a season and also the most career home runs. Like it or not, he is the home run king.

The elder Ken Griffey played for both the World Series-winning Big Red Machine and hung on long enough to end his career with the Mariners. At the same time, his son, known as “The Kid” to some, was just beginning his own Hall of Fame career. Junior Griffey ended up becoming the face of baseball, even getting his own video game series. Funnily enough, he’d end up playing with the Reds as well.

Both Fielders were big men who could mash. In fact, they are the only father-and-son duo in MLB history to both hit 50 home runs in a season. They also both spent time with the Detroit Tigers. Prince probably had a slightly better career, but unfortunately he suffered injuries in his early-30s that forced an early retirement.

Before Bob had two kids in the majors, he was a solid catcher with a particular skill for fielding. In fact, he won seven Gold Gloves in his career. Bret, who had quite the bat for a second baseman, also won four Gold Gloves. Aaron’s playing career wasn’t as impressive as the other two Boones, but he followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a manager, as he’s now helming the Yankees.

Despite an affinity for swinging at every pitch within the area code of the plate, Vladdie was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2018. It feels a little odd to call the younger Vlad “Junior,” because at 21 he already has the body of a designated hitter — but one that seems primed to mash a lot of home runs. The younger Guerrero was considered one of the best prospects in baseball when he debuted with the Blue Jays. Let’s see if he can live up to that before comparing him to his Hall of Fame father.

Speaking of the Blue Jays, they are also the team that Bo Bichette calls home. And we didn’t even get to the fact Craig Biggio’s son Cavan is also with Toronto! Dante once led the National League in homers, but that was at Coors Field in 1995, so there is a caveat on that. Bo, meanwhile, looks like one of the most promising youngsters in MLB. Bo has an older brother, Dante Jr., but he has yet to make it to the majors.

Dell was a fine shooter in his time. He won a Sixth Man of the Year and made 40 percent of his threes. His sons, though, just happen to be two of the best shooters ever. Steph does it with quality and quantity, of course. The elder Curry son has won two MVPs and basically reshaped the game of basketball. That being said, Seth made made 44.3 percent of his threes in his career. That’s the second best in NBA history.

Rick was, by all accounts, not the easiest player to get along with, but the man knew how to get it done on a basketball court. He was All-NBA six times and All-ABA four times in his Hall of Fame career. His sons weren’t as good as he was – Drew barely played in the NBA – but Jon and Brent have both gone on to have successful broadcasting careers.

Doc was a good player, but he will likely be remembered for his coaching career. That’s especially true due to the fact he won a ring with the Boston Celtics. Some have also said that he has been a little too dedicated to his son’s career at time, causing murmurs of nepotism. That being said, Austin was the 10th-overall pick in the NBA Draft of his own doing, and the Rockets didn't given him a job just to make Doc happy.

The elder Hardaway was known for a killer crossover, and he may be the best eligible NBA player not in the Hall of Fame. Hardaway Jr. doesn’t have the same crossover, but he’s a better three-point shooter than his dad ever was. His career got off to a slow start, but he’s turned himself into a starting-caliber guard in the NBA as he enters his prime.

Klay is one of the best three-point shooters ever. His only problem is that he is teammates with maybe the best shooter ever in Steph Curry. Not that Thompson is complaining, as being half of the Splash Brothers has already won him multiple NBA titles. Funnily enough, Mychal took so few threes in his career you could count them on your hands with fingers left over. But he did once average 20.8 points per game in a season.

Grant Hill’s career was a roller coaster. He won Rookie of the Year with the Pistons and became one of the league’s biggest stars. Then his career was derailed by injury. Late in his career, though, he was able to remake himself as a deft veteran contributor and actually played into his 40s. Calvin also won a Rookie of the Year Award but as an NFL running back. That’s right. We have a father and son combo here who didn’t play the same sport, though they both had success.

Admittedly, Joe Bryant is primarily known for two things: his delightful nickname, “Jellybean,” and being Kobe’s father. Nevertheless, he did play a few seasons in the NBA before continuing his career in Italy. Of course, his playing career is still overshadowed by that of his late son, who died unexpectedly in a helicopter crash. Before his untimely death, Kobe put together one of the best NBA careers ever for the Lakers.

Archie is arguably known better for his time at Ole Miss, but he did have a good NFL career as a quarterback, making two Pro Bowls. That being said, he finished with more interceptions than passing touchdowns. His sons had slightly better careers. Peyton is one of the best quarterbacks ever and has the record for the most passing touchdowns in a season. Eli’s career is more polarizing, but he did lead the Giants to two Super Bowl wins.

After a slow start to his career, McCaffrey exploded to have three seasons in a row with over 1,000 yards receiving with the Broncos, and he won two Super Bowls in Denver as well. His son Christian has a season with over 1,000 yards receiving, which is notable given that he’s a running back. In fact, some would say Christian is the best back in the NFL right now. Meanwhile, Dylan is in line to potentially be the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines this season.

You may know Howie Long as the guy on FOX’s football show. For an older audience, though, he’s a pass rusher who made eight Pro Bowls and is in the Hall of Fame. Chris was also a pass rusher, and he had two seasons with double-digit sacks in his career. Kyle, interestingly enough, decided to get out of the family business and became an offensive lineman instead, and quite a good one.

Matthews Jr. played 19 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL and he largely stayed healthy, making him quite the iron man. Of course, his brother, Bruce, played 19 seasons as an offensive lineman and barely missed a game, so it must be in the genes. Speaking of which, Matthews III has made six Pro Bowls and racked up a ton of sacks, though his career may be coming to a close. Casey wasn’t quite as good, but he was a starting linebacker for the Eagles for a minute.

Bobby Hull scored 610 goals in his NHL career and 303 more in the WHA, so he surely never figured he would see his son surpass him. Then Brett Hull came around. Brett scored 741 NHL goals, fourth most of all time. Sure, it’s not technically as many goals, but the WHA was basically a minor league level of hockey, and Brett played a lot of his career in a time when scoring was much more difficult.

It has to be daunting to play in the NHL when your dad was nicknamed “Mr. Hockey.” Howe was one of the NHL’s first stars, and in his long, long career he racked up over 800 NHL goals. Mark was no slouch, though. He started as a wing in the WHA, playing alongside his dad of course, but eventually he became a defenseman in the NHL. In fact, Mark was so good he too is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Unsurprisingly, Wayne Gretzky scored the most points in the NHL during the ‘80s. However, did you know that Peter Stastny had the second-most points in the decade? Well, you probably could have guessed given how this was written out. Peter is maybe one of the most-underrated players in the Hall of Fame. He started his career with the Nordiques, and then his son Paul got his start with the Avalanche, the team that the Nordiques became when they moved from Quebec to Colorado.

Big Keith is one of the best players in American history. He put up two 50-goal seasons in his career and finished with over 1,000 points. Matthew and Brady are making their own ways in the NHL now, though. Matthew was a sixth-overall pick and has had over 20 goals in each of the last three seasons. Brady was a fourth-overall pick and has had over 20 goals in both of his campaigns so far.

“The Intimidator,” aka Dale Sr., was maybe the best driver of his era. Then, sadly, he died during the 2001 Daytona 500. His great career, and tragic death, made things daunting for Dale Jr. following in his father’s footsteps. The younger Earnhardt carved out a great career as well, though, including winning two Daytona 500s after his father’s death.

We have a real family line here. Lee Petty was one of the founders of NASCAR and one of the first popular race car drivers in the world. His son Richard is nicknamed “The King,” which may tell you everything you need to know about his acumen on the race track. Richard’s son, Kyle, was not exactly “The Prince,” but he did win eight NASCAR events, including the 1987 Coca-Cola 600.

Put Mario Andretti in a car, any car, and he knew what to do. Case in point: He’s the only driver to ever win in the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the Formula One World Championship. That’s truly incredible. Michael couldn’t quite live up to that level of accomplishment, and he mostly stuck to American open-wheel track racing. Primarily, he participated in the old CART racing series, where he won 42 races.

They say you have to be crazy to be a goalkeeper, so what do you say about a father and son who both get in that line of work? Peter was the goalie of choice for Manchester United for 292 caps and is considered one of the best keepers to ever play in Europe, and he’s arguably the best player in Danish history, full stop. Now Kasper is making his dad proud. In addition to being the goalie of choice for Denmark, he’s started 330 games for Leicester City, including during their incredible run to win the Premier League.