Puck Swami's Ranking of Most Famous DU Athletes in History

(Left) Penguins GM Craig Patrick at the NHL's Draft Lottery Board

1. Keith Magnuson (Hockey) - Two time Denver all-American defenseman who won two NCAA titles with Pioneers in 1968 and 69 and went on to long career with Chicago Blackhawks as both a player and coach. Best known of the 50+ NHL players to come out of Denver. Died in 2003 car crash.

2. Glenn Anderson (Hockey) - Played in 1979 for Denver and Canadian Olympic team and went on to a 500+point NHL career, mostly with the Edmonton Oilers glory teams of their Stanley Cup era in the 1980s.

3. Craig Patrick (Hockey) - Captain of an NCAA title team in 1969 with Denver, Patrick played in the NHL for many years, was the assistant coach of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Gold Medal US Hockey team, became AD at Denver, GM of the New York Rangers and is now president and GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

4. Dan Schatzeder (Baseball) - Former Pioneer pitching and hitting star turned journeyman pitcher for a number of MLB teams for 15 years, but won a World Series Ring with the Minnesota Twins (1987). Best known of Denver's six players to make it to major league baseball.

5. Vince Boryla (Basketball) - Was an All-American at Denver in 1949-50 and went on to become a US Olympic and NBA player, head coach and GM all with the New York Knicks, as well as an basketball executive with other teams. Best known of the 5 DU players to play in the NBA.

6. Kevin Dineen (Hockey) - Former Pioneer captain played 20+ years in the NHL, including all-star years with Hartford and Philadelphia. Retired in 2003.

7. Sam Etcheverry (Football) - Was a star QB for many years in the Canadian Football League from the 50s to the 70s and is a member of the CFL Hall of Fame. Brief NFL Stint with St. Louis Cardinals. Probably DU's best known football player.

8. Jerome Biffle (Track and Field) - DU's 1950 NCAA long jump champion who won 1952 Olympic Long Jump Gold Medal at Helsinki Olympics (24 feet, 10 inches). Died in 2002 after three decades coaching at Denver's East High School.

9. Peter McNab (Hockey) - Played long career with Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Now Broadcaster for Colorado Avalanche

10. Byron Beck (Basketball) - Shooter played 10 years for Denver Nuggets in both ABA and NBA. Had his number retired by the Nuggets.

Honorable Mentions:
DU Basketball: David Adkins is a former Pioneer basketball player now known as "Sinbad" -- a moderately famous comedian. Former DU coach Stan Albeck coached at DU and later with San Antonio, New Jersey and Chicago in the NBA. Current San Antonio coach Greg Popovich has a masters' degree from DU. Denver's NBA players include Byron Beck (Denver Nuggets), Vince Boryla (NY Knicks) Jimmy Darden (Denver Nuggets) Don Putnam (St. Louis Bombers) Winfred Jacobs (St. Louis Bombers) and Bob Warlick (Detroit Pistons, San Fran Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns). Misa Pavlickova played in WNBA (Utah Starzz and Phoenix Mercury) and for the Czech Republic in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

DU Baseball: Six DU players have made it to the big leagues. Henry Bostick (Philadelphia As), Ray Boggs (Boston Braves), Jack Tising (Pittsburgh Pirates) Steve Blateric (Cincinnati Reds, NY Yankees and California Angels), Craig Stimac (San Diego Padres) and Dan Schatzeder (Expos, Tigers, Giants, Phillies, Twins, Indians, Astros, Mets and Royals).

DU Hockey's NHLers: DU has produced about 50 NHLers including Keith Magnuson, Glenn Anderson, Craig Patrick, Kevin Dineen, Peter McNab, Bill Masterton, Bruce Affleck, Erik Andersson, Adam Berkhoel, Doug Berry, Ken Berry, Lyle Bradley, Matt Carle (Current), Cliff Korroll, Pete Lo Presti, Ron Grahame, Rich Preston, Marshall Johnston, Ed Beers, Rick Bragnalo, Mike Busniuk, Mike Christie, Antti Laaksonen (Current), Paul Comrie, Ed Cristofoli, Wade Dubielewicz, Dallas Gaume, Lex Hudson, Chris Kenady, George Konik, Mike Lampman, Jim Leavins, John MacMillan, Tom Martin, Dwight Mathiasen, Derek Mayer, Paul Messier, Gavin Morgan, Rob Palmer, Matt Pettinger (Current), Craig Redmond, Mark Rycroft (Current), Wayne Smith, Paul Stastny (Current), Vic Venasky, Bob Shires, Jim Wiste, Joe Noris, Tom Miller, George Morrison, Lynn Powis

DU's NFL players - Bob Balog (1949 - 1950 Pittsbugh Steelers), Greg Browning (1947 NY Giants), Fred Dreher (1938 Chicago Bears), Sam Etcheverry (1961 - 1962) (St. Louis Cardinals), Tom Fena (1937 Detroit Lions), Bob Gifford (1942 Brooklyn Dodgers), Bob Hazelhurst (1948 Boston Yanks), Ray Johnson (1937 - 1940) (Cleveland Rams, Chi Bears, Chi Cardinals), Mike Jurich (1941 - 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers), Don Stansauk (1950 - 1951 Green Bay Packers), Morgan Tiller (1941 - 1945) (Pittsburgh Steelers, Boston Yanks), John Woudenberg (1940 - 1949) (Pittsburgh Steelers, SF 49ers)

DU Soccer - Nat Borchers plays for the Colorado Rapids, and has appeared with the US National Team.

Administration - Lyman Bingham was the a star multisport athlete at DU from 1911-1915, and eventually become the first executive director of the US Olympic Committee in 1950.