Spring Training is just getting underway by the time the Winter Olympics wrap up, so baseball isn't far off. But even in the dead of winter, there are glimmers of baseball here and there. Katie Uhlaender, a four-time Olympian in the headfirst sliding sport of skeleton, is the daughter of the late Ted Uhlaender, who played in the Majors for eight seasons in the '60s and '70s, mostly for the Minnesota Twins. Katie just barely missed the podium in 2014, and finished in 13th place this time around.
I don't have a card of her father, but I'm sure many of the vintage collectors have him in their late-'60s stacks. However, the story doesn't end there.
1993 Topps Gold #270 Frank Viola |
So why Frank Viola, also once a Twin, but pictured here as a Boston Red Sock? He, too, has an Olympian in the family. His daughter Brittany competed in the 2012 London Summer Olympics in the sport of diving. She finished a respectable 15th in the 10-meter platform event, and NBC gave us plenty of shots of her dad and family in the stands while she was competing.
I had thought that may have been during 2016's Games in Rio, but apparently this post has been kicking around in my head for over half a decade.
It's great to see these athletic traditions carry on, regardless of the sport. And while Katie and Brittany may not have a career's worth of trading cards to their names, their achievements and sports(wo)manship continue to inspire the next generation of athletes.
Your overall sports knowledge always amazes me. Great tie in to Topps Gold!
ReplyDeleteI was so bummed that Katie Uhlaneder didnt medal at these games, or in Sochi. Didn't know about Brittany Viola- I must have missed that somehow. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteI'll always picture Viola as a Twin, but I gotta admit that photo Topps used is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteIn the other direction, Michael Conforto's mother, Tracie Ruiz, won two gold medals in synchronized swimming in the 1984 summer games.
ReplyDeleteCool, I didn't know that!
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