The 15 Most Unforgettable Hair Styles In Sports

14. Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow was probably one of the more famous college quarterbacks to come into the NFL and be a mediocre player for a couple of years, then becoming an ESPN broadcaster in a heartbeat (and then trying his luck at minor league baseball). Back when Tebowmania first took the NFL by storm, with Tebow wearing Denver Broncos orange, he was subjected to a truly heinous haircut. As is common tradition in pro sports, the veterans decided to initiate Tebow into the league, cutting his hair as if it was ripped out by some kind of weed whacker in an emergency situation. In Tebow’s case, this look left him with a huge doughnut around his head, a big bald spot in the middle, and just enough hair in the front to spike it nicely. The best part is it all connects to his goatee.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tim-tebows-wild-nfl-ride-a-brief-pictorial-history/ Via cbssports.com

13. Al Iafrate

Before NHL players had composite sticks that were designed to shoot pucks extra hard, there was Al Iafrate. Iafrate had the hardest shot ever recorded for a player in his era. He accomplished the feat at the 1993 All-Star Game in Montreal, shooting the puck an incredible 105.2 MPH. What’s even more impressive is his hairdo. It almost looks like what Tim Tebow was subjected to with the Broncos, except that Iafrate’s do was all courtesy of father time. He was definitely business in the front, party in the back, the same way most hockey players wore mullets back in the day. The difference is that Iafrate had a huge bald spot in the middle, thus making it look like he indeed went to two different barbers and asked for two different haircuts.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-capitals/not-naming-former-cap-al-iafrate-list-best-sports-mullets-shame Via csnmidatlantic.com

 12. Wayne Gretzky

The greatest player of all-time was a true ambassador for the game of hockey. He also was an ambassador for all the great haircuts that were popular in the game from the late 70s all the way to the mid-90s. The Great One had the mullet, but he also had the wavy haired shampoo commercial look in the early 90s. He then moved to a shorter haircut late in his career, and these days Gretzky keeps a relatively tamed hairstyle. He was no doubt the greatest player to ever put on skates and the most famous hockey name in history, so it only makes sense that Gretzky’s hair would match whatever the flavor of the decade happened to be at the time.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/photos/2015/03/31/top-20-mullets-sports-history Via SI.com

 11. Kerry Fraser

Before NHL referees wore helmets because it was mandatory, Kerry Fraser wore one because it was cool. Of course we’re not actually talking about a real helmet here, we’re talking about the man’s hair. How he was always able to part his hair so perfectly diagonally is beyond comprehension. He would always slick it back just beautifully, making people wonder if he ever rolled out of bed in the morning with a hair out of place. It’s a good thing Fraser was so meticulous about his hair, because a hairstyle can get pushed around in a sport where the official is often charged with the task of helping his linesmen break up fights. Perhaps the aerodynamics of Fraser’s hair is what allowed him to skate around the ice so swiftly.

http://www.theobserver.ca/2014/05/24/famous-sarnia-referee-announced-as-years-first-inductee Via theobserver.ca

 10. Pat Riley

Competing in the helmet hair category is NBA legend Pat Riley. He definitely looks like what the devil would look like if he decided to come to Earth in the human form. Riley is one of those coaches/executives that teams call on when they’re on the verge of winning NBA titles. He’s the kind of guy that really puts teams over the top, so it would make sense that his hairstyle matches his class and talent. Riley’s look signifies a commitment to perfection, the type of perfection he probably expects from his players on the court. It also signifies a commitment to a heck of a lot of hair gel. Either way, it’s obvious Riley’s had his hairdo down pat since his younger years. Pun intended.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-heat/heat-blog/sfl-miami-heat-ask-ira-pat-riley-s070816-story.html Via sun-sentinel.com

 9. Andrew Bynum

“You know you have too much time when…” That’s the best way to describe the evolution of Bynum’s hair. Few people in basketball saw these styles coming, which made them all the more wacky. Bynum pretty much rocked the standard small-to-medium sized afro for most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Once he moved on to Philadelphia (and Cleveland and Indiana), he frequently went from afro, to braids, to some sort of straight haired type afro look that’s tough to put into words. Sometimes he would sport multiple styles in the same hairdo. It was just unfathomable. Even the most well-trained hairdresser in the world would have a tough time explaining why it’s a good look. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste. Needless to say, that in between rehabbing from knee injuries, Bynum clearly had lots of time to explore different hairstyles.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/2/19/4005430/andrew-bynum-hair-photo Via SBNation

 8. Mark Davis

The late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis was, for a long time, known for being an owner with a short fuse, and in general one of the not-so-good owners in sports history. His son is striving to break that trend, including moving the team to Las Vegas. And if he isn’t, he’s trying to distract us from anything to do with his personality by making us focus on his hair. Mark Davis has the Lloyd Christmas look from the movie Dumb and Dumber down perfectly. Hopefully Mark can help return the Raiders to former glory, despite his less than glorious haircut.

http://libertycitys.com/raiders-owner-mark-davis-eats-at-p-f-changs-every-day-has-a-2003-nokia-is-the-greatest-man-in-the-world/ Via libertycitys.com

7. Carlos Valderrama

Even if you’re one of those guys that knows very little about soccer (like the author of this list), you probably recognized this guy before you even knew his name. Carlos Valderrama’s afro is so awesome that if you put him in a hot tub time machine and forced him to go back to the 70s, nobody would know that he was actually from the future. These days, his afro is a bit smaller than it used to be, which you would expect as gets a bit older, but back in the glory days of the 80s and 90s, that hair was so big it may have needed its own security guard. It’s funny to see Velderrama run up and down the field because you’d think his hair would weigh him down a little bit.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/9499849190641223/ Via Pinterest

 6. Alexi Lalas

This guy looked like a Game Of Thrones character long before the hit HBO series took the world by storm. His long, flowing, ginger  hair would often be held down by one of those cool elastic bands that soccer players often wear, but sometimes he’d cut it a bit shorter and just let it breathe. To go along with the party on top, Lalas had the facial hair to match. There really is nothing like having the ability to grow a spectacular beard, something that’s so rare for many of us. You have to wonder if the trait is truly a matter of genetics. Lalas looked like he could spend all of his free time just sitting back in a rocking chair and stroking that beard like some sort of oracle or wise man. His hair was truly original and one of the best ‘dos in sports.

https://twitter.com/alexi_lalas_god Via Twitter

 5. Troy Polamalu

Polamalu’s hair has been famous for pretty much as long as the man himself. While he probably did rock short hair once upon a time, Polamalu’s locks make using a pillow to go to bed at night redundant. He basically looks like a football player version of the Lion King. His hair is definitely the poofiest in NFL history and we’re pretty sure that thing requires its own personal assistant. Unlike the other crazy hair on this list, Polamalu’s look is actually worth some money. He snaggged a pretty sweet endorsement deal with Head & Shoulders shampoo because of his hair. Clearly the agent who thought of the endorsement deal was a genius. Safe to say that Polamalu’s hair is a signature look if there ever was one for an athlete.

 4. Domata Peko

A defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos (and formally a member of the Bengals), Domata Peko’s hair is truly a rare breed. The cool thing about it is that his facial hair matches the hair on his head exactly in both look and style, making people wonder if the whole set comes in one piece. He can’t necessarily match the Pro Bowl play of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu , but Peko could certainly match him in a ‘Coolest Hair in the NFL’ contest. You have to wonder if Peko has ever considered hiring Polamalu’s agent and getting himself some of that sweet Head & Shoulders money as well. He could totally do it, but maybe having the two players in the same hair commercial would be a bad idea, especially since the two were division rivals for so long.

http://www.cincyjungle.com/week-two-2013-steelers-bengals/2013/9/17/4740408/defensive-tackle-domata-peko-rules-the-world-at-fullback Via cincyjungle.com

 3. Andre Agassi

Let’s put another mullet on the board, shall we? In his own memoir titled Open, Agassi Reveals all kinds of things to his fans regarding his personal life, including details about his relationship with Brooke Shields, his drug use, and the fact that the wacky hair he had in the early 90s was partly a wig. That last part is somewhat surprising and yet, somewhat not surprising, especially in retrospect. Agassi got his groove back when he parted ways with Shields and his hair. He was one of the most electrifying players in the game when he had his David Bowie-hair going, but his best years easily came when he was bald. With facial hair included, Agassi looked like some sort of new age rock star with a Jesus Christ twist.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/photos/2015/03/31/top-20-mullets-sports-history Via SI.com

 2.  Hulk Hogan

If there is one name that is synonymous with professional wrestling, it’s Hulk Hogan. Everything about him was a walking trademark. His muscle-bound poses, his bandanna, his overuse of the word ‘brother’, the way he tore off his t-shirt, and of course, his long, flowing golden locks. The hair on the top of Hogan’s hair left the world over 30 years ago, but luckily for him, the long hair around the sides have stuck it through the good times and the bad and are still going today. Hogan is easily the most famous wrestler of all-time and his signature hairstyle helps to ensure that he will always be remembered. Like his career inside the ring, his hair is absolutely legendary.

http://411wrestling.com/wrestling/hulk-hogan-terry-bollea-should-wwe-separate-the-two/ Via 411Wrestling.com

 1. Dennis Rodman

How could a guy who once wore a blonde wig and a wedding dress for promotional stunts not be on this list? The funny part is the blonde wig is probably the least memorable look that Rodman sported throughout his career. He was always considered a bad boy in the NBA, frequently getting fined or suspended for his actions, but always maintaining the craziest hair do in the league. He definitely found a new use for spray paint, that’s for sure. At least, it looked like he was using spray paint? Who really knows for sure? Some of Rodman’s hair colors (mixed together in multiple different patterns, mind you) include red, black, blond, green, purple, royal blue, yellow, and pink. That’s a list of eight different colors, which means we’re probably missing about ten other ones. Rodman had the craziest hair in NBA history and probably even all of sports history.

Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport