Subj: Smartypants
In your opinion, who is the smartest guy in the history of sports?
That depends a lot on whom you ask. Reggie Jackson once claimed he had an IQ of 160, thereby putting him on par with Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking. However, his assertion prompted more ridicule than respect and led fellow Yankee Mickey Rivers to quip, "Reggie's got an IQ of 160? Out of what - a thousand?"
One undeniably smart athlete was Pat McInally, a Pro Bowl punter from Harvard who remains the only football player to ever record a perfect score on the NFL’s vaunted Wonderlic Test. Unlike most of his peers, McInally wasn’t fazed at all by the dreaded quiz. "It really did seem like an easy test at the time,” he recalls. “One of the reasons I did so well is because I didn't think it mattered. So I think I didn't feel any pressure at all. It was more of a lark, and that's when you do your best. If I took it 100 times I'd probably never do that again."
McInally displayed his smarts once again during the final year of his career in 1986 when he developed Starting Lineup, a sports-themed collection of action figures that went onto generate millions of dollars in sales.
As brilliant as McInally and Jackson may be, they both pale in comparison to New York Knicks center Jerome James. After all, the lumbering pivot man was smart enough to trick the Knicks into rewarding him with a five-year, $30 million contract despite the fact he has the get up and go of a punch drunk sloth. James started 20 games over a three year span and never averaged more than 3 points and 2 rebounds per game for the Knickerbockers. Now that’s using your noggin!
