Okay, before you tell me how wrong I am...I know this is a very subjective list.  For example, I'm a big hockey guy.  Probably the guy who deserves to be on the this list, who has more points than any other North Dakotan who played in the NHL, didn't even make my cut. His name is Paul Gaustad from Fargo, who had over 200 points in the NHL.  To be honest, I've never heard of him, so therefore, he did not make my list.

The criteria I used to compile "The Most Famous Athletes To Go Pro In North Dakota" is the following.  First they had to spend the majority of their youth growing up in North Dakota.  Not necessarily born in North Dakota.  Second, they needed some longevity in the pro's.  Not just a cup of coffee kind of player.  Lastly, it helped if they made an impact playing sports in North Dakota either in high school or college.  I also tried to get a mixture of the four major pro sports, NFL, MLB, NBA & NHL.  I even included our most famous boxer from North Dakota, who went pro and had a tremendous career.

As I was researching the four major sports, I was very surprised that Bismarck has never had person make it to the show.  (MLB)  As somebody who played youth, legion & amateur baseball in North Dakota, (Grand Forks) I played against some very good Bismarck teams.  If my information is incorrect on that let me know.  Fargo has the most MLB players with 4.  Grand Forks is next with 3.  Bismarck has however produced NFL & NHL talent.  So without further ado here's my top 13 list.  Enjoy, and let me know who you think I left out and should've made it.

Most Famous Athletes To Go Pro In North Dakota

 

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