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The tale may well have been told in Atlanta, at the 1996 Olympic Games.
But a significant portion of the story of America’s dominance there was written in Memphis. Thirty years later — as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday — the four athletes who returned home with gold medals that summer headline the Bluff City’s relatively prominent place within the landscape of sports in our country.
Penny Hardaway, Cindy Parlow Cone, Nikki McCray-Penson and Rochelle Stevens are forever linked by the glory achieved in that stretch of several weeks in July and August in 1996. Together, Memphians won more Olympic gold than all but 13 of the 197 countries represented in Atlanta.
Since then, they have further embedded themselves within the fabric of American sports. As part of USA TODAY's celebration of America's 250th anniversary, here’s how they’ve done it, along with a look at some other Memphians who have earned their own spotlight on sports’ national stage.
Inarguably, the most globally identifiable sports figure from Memphis, Penny Hardaway, 54, became a household name domestically for his basketball exploits in his own backyard.
Following Hardaway's senior season at Treadwell High School, Marty Blake, worked in the NBA for more than 50 years and is considered “the godfather of scouting,” prophesied greatness for Hardaway.
“I have been looking, without success, for 10 years for the next Magic (Johnson), and I believe sincerely that Hardaway is the player most likely to follow in Johnson’s footsteps,” Blake said in 1990.
After two decorated seasons of competition at the University of Memphis, Hardaway was the third overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. He was an instant superstar with the Orlando Magic. By the time he put the Team USA uniform to represent his country, Hardaway’s profile had already skyrocketed into the realm of pop culture zeitgeist, thanks to a Nike endorsement deal, a co-starring role in a major Hollywood motion picture (“Blue Chips”) and name-drops peppered into chart-topping songs.
To this day, even though his playing career was cut short by injuries, Hardaway, heading into his ninth season as head coach of his alma mater, remains a seminal presence in the basketball world.
Born in Memphis, Cindy Parlow blossomed into a bona fide soccer superstar at Germantown High School.
So much so that it prompted this prescient missive from former Commercial Appeal reporter Zack McMillin in 1995: “ . . . She’s one of the best women’s soccer players in America, and her impact should be felt for years to come on the national soccer scene.”
Less than a year later — amid a collegiate career at North Carolina that made her a four-time All-American and three-time national champion — Parlow became a gold medalist in Atlanta.
In 1999, Parlow cemented her legacy as a player when she helped lead the United States to a World Cup. On what was widely revered as the greatest women’s soccer team of all time — which included 12 future Hall of Famers such as Parlow, Brandi Chastain and Mia Hamm — Parlow scored two goals and assisted on two more in six matches.
Parlow, 48, has furthered her universal impact in recent years. She became U.S. Soccer’s first female president in 2020, one of only 10 FIFA members led by a woman.
Thomas Klingenberg, Parlow’s former Germantown coach: “She was one of those athletes where you could just tell one day she was going to accomplish everything she wanted.”
Track was Nikki McCray-Penson's first love. The former Collierville High School star took up basketball only to keep in shape.
Then things changed.
“In the beginning, basketball was just basketball. I never thought it would take me this far,” she said after Team USA captured gold at the 1996 Olympics.
Scoring 3,594 points in high school, winning 122 out of 133 games in college (while playing for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee) and becoming a two-time gold medalist will do that for you.
McCray, one of two Lady Vols to win SEC Player of the Year honors twice (Chamique Holdsclaw is the other), averaged 9.4 points and 3.5 rebounds on the Olympic team that included the likes of Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes.
“She lifts us,” Leslie said in June 1996.
At a time in history when women’s basketball lagged far behind the popularity of men’s basketball, McCray could sense a shift on the horizon.
“I think America has really come to like this team,” she said. “We want to be the best basketball team in history, and right now we’re on a roll.”
McCray, who died in 2023 at the age of 51 following a breast cancer diagnosis, was a three-time WNBA All-Star. She later went into coaching and served as head coach at Old Dominion (where she took home Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in 2020) and Mississippi State.
But even when her national exposure was at its peak, McCray’s mind was never far from her hometown.
“It’s a great honor to win medals for the country of Memphis,” she said with a grin in 1996.
A Melrose High School graduate, Rochelle Stevens became a prominent fixture on the track and field scene early.
She was a TSSAA state champion, a national high school All-American and an AAU Junior Olympics national champion — all before she enrolled at Morgan State University, where she became an 11-time All-American and an NCAA champion in the 400 meters.
But Stevens solidified her place within the American sports lexicon in 1996. Four years after she and her 4x400 relay team won silver in Barcelona, she was back for redemption in Atlanta.
Stevens ran the leadoff leg ahead of teammates Maicel Malone, Kim Graham and Jearl Miles. They combined for a winning time of 3:20.91, the first of eight consecutive gold medals for the United States in the women’s 4x400.
“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” she told The Commercial Appeal on Aug. 4, 1996.
The Super Bowl is one of those events — like the World Cup, Olympics and Tour de France — that transcends borders.
Other Memphians and players with Bluff City ties have Super Bowl rings. The late Barry Wilburn, who was a star at Melrose, had two interceptions in Washington's Super Bowl 22 win. Former Tigers kicker Jake Elliott helped the Philadelphia Eagles win two Lombardi Trophies.
But only one has a Super Bowl MVP credit to his name. Kenneth Walker III, who played at Arlington High, powered the Seattle Seahawks to a win over the New England Patriots in February. He rushed for 135 yards — the most by a player in the Super Bowl in 28 years.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected], follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: From Parlow to Penny, how Memphis has left its mark on sports in America
Continue reading...
But a significant portion of the story of America’s dominance there was written in Memphis. Thirty years later — as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday — the four athletes who returned home with gold medals that summer headline the Bluff City’s relatively prominent place within the landscape of sports in our country.
Penny Hardaway, Cindy Parlow Cone, Nikki McCray-Penson and Rochelle Stevens are forever linked by the glory achieved in that stretch of several weeks in July and August in 1996. Together, Memphians won more Olympic gold than all but 13 of the 197 countries represented in Atlanta.
Since then, they have further embedded themselves within the fabric of American sports. As part of USA TODAY's celebration of America's 250th anniversary, here’s how they’ve done it, along with a look at some other Memphians who have earned their own spotlight on sports’ national stage.
Penny Hardaway
Inarguably, the most globally identifiable sports figure from Memphis, Penny Hardaway, 54, became a household name domestically for his basketball exploits in his own backyard.
Following Hardaway's senior season at Treadwell High School, Marty Blake, worked in the NBA for more than 50 years and is considered “the godfather of scouting,” prophesied greatness for Hardaway.
“I have been looking, without success, for 10 years for the next Magic (Johnson), and I believe sincerely that Hardaway is the player most likely to follow in Johnson’s footsteps,” Blake said in 1990.
After two decorated seasons of competition at the University of Memphis, Hardaway was the third overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. He was an instant superstar with the Orlando Magic. By the time he put the Team USA uniform to represent his country, Hardaway’s profile had already skyrocketed into the realm of pop culture zeitgeist, thanks to a Nike endorsement deal, a co-starring role in a major Hollywood motion picture (“Blue Chips”) and name-drops peppered into chart-topping songs.
To this day, even though his playing career was cut short by injuries, Hardaway, heading into his ninth season as head coach of his alma mater, remains a seminal presence in the basketball world.
Cindy Parlow Cone
Born in Memphis, Cindy Parlow blossomed into a bona fide soccer superstar at Germantown High School.
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So much so that it prompted this prescient missive from former Commercial Appeal reporter Zack McMillin in 1995: “ . . . She’s one of the best women’s soccer players in America, and her impact should be felt for years to come on the national soccer scene.”
Less than a year later — amid a collegiate career at North Carolina that made her a four-time All-American and three-time national champion — Parlow became a gold medalist in Atlanta.
In 1999, Parlow cemented her legacy as a player when she helped lead the United States to a World Cup. On what was widely revered as the greatest women’s soccer team of all time — which included 12 future Hall of Famers such as Parlow, Brandi Chastain and Mia Hamm — Parlow scored two goals and assisted on two more in six matches.
Parlow, 48, has furthered her universal impact in recent years. She became U.S. Soccer’s first female president in 2020, one of only 10 FIFA members led by a woman.
Thomas Klingenberg, Parlow’s former Germantown coach: “She was one of those athletes where you could just tell one day she was going to accomplish everything she wanted.”
Nikki McCray-Penson
Track was Nikki McCray-Penson's first love. The former Collierville High School star took up basketball only to keep in shape.
Then things changed.
“In the beginning, basketball was just basketball. I never thought it would take me this far,” she said after Team USA captured gold at the 1996 Olympics.
You must be registered for see images attach
Scoring 3,594 points in high school, winning 122 out of 133 games in college (while playing for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee) and becoming a two-time gold medalist will do that for you.
McCray, one of two Lady Vols to win SEC Player of the Year honors twice (Chamique Holdsclaw is the other), averaged 9.4 points and 3.5 rebounds on the Olympic team that included the likes of Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes.
“She lifts us,” Leslie said in June 1996.
At a time in history when women’s basketball lagged far behind the popularity of men’s basketball, McCray could sense a shift on the horizon.
“I think America has really come to like this team,” she said. “We want to be the best basketball team in history, and right now we’re on a roll.”
McCray, who died in 2023 at the age of 51 following a breast cancer diagnosis, was a three-time WNBA All-Star. She later went into coaching and served as head coach at Old Dominion (where she took home Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in 2020) and Mississippi State.
But even when her national exposure was at its peak, McCray’s mind was never far from her hometown.
“It’s a great honor to win medals for the country of Memphis,” she said with a grin in 1996.
Rochelle Stevens
A Melrose High School graduate, Rochelle Stevens became a prominent fixture on the track and field scene early.
You must be registered for see images attach
She was a TSSAA state champion, a national high school All-American and an AAU Junior Olympics national champion — all before she enrolled at Morgan State University, where she became an 11-time All-American and an NCAA champion in the 400 meters.
But Stevens solidified her place within the American sports lexicon in 1996. Four years after she and her 4x400 relay team won silver in Barcelona, she was back for redemption in Atlanta.
Stevens ran the leadoff leg ahead of teammates Maicel Malone, Kim Graham and Jearl Miles. They combined for a winning time of 3:20.91, the first of eight consecutive gold medals for the United States in the women’s 4x400.
“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” she told The Commercial Appeal on Aug. 4, 1996.
Kenneth Walker III
The Super Bowl is one of those events — like the World Cup, Olympics and Tour de France — that transcends borders.
Other Memphians and players with Bluff City ties have Super Bowl rings. The late Barry Wilburn, who was a star at Melrose, had two interceptions in Washington's Super Bowl 22 win. Former Tigers kicker Jake Elliott helped the Philadelphia Eagles win two Lombardi Trophies.
But only one has a Super Bowl MVP credit to his name. Kenneth Walker III, who played at Arlington High, powered the Seattle Seahawks to a win over the New England Patriots in February. He rushed for 135 yards — the most by a player in the Super Bowl in 28 years.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected], follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: From Parlow to Penny, how Memphis has left its mark on sports in America
Continue reading...
