STRIKE THREE! BRAVO!

After they go to the locker room from a hard day’s play, they just might go and play some more behind a camera or on stage.

Many an athlete has gone from the playing field to the world of acting. Most are better athletes than they are actors. Here are some of the bigger names in the world of sports.

Chuck Connors:  Played 1^st base for the 1949 – 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers and basketball for the 1946 Boston Celtics. Starred in the TV Series The Rifleman and for 10 years was a big ratings number for the Neilson Ratings.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: won a record six NBA MVP awards while playing with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers during his 20-year career. While living in L.A., Abdul-Jabbar caught the acting bug, making his movie debut in 1978 in "Game of Death." He also appeared in "Airplane!" in 1980.

Jim Brown: Running back for the Cleveland Browns from 1957-65, Jim Brown ran for 12,312 yards and 126 touchdowns, and is considered one of the greatest running backs of all time. Three NFL MVP honors and nine Pro Bowl selections, Brown began his acting career in 1964 when he starred in "Rio Conchos." Other movie credits included: "The Dirty Dozen," "?tick?tick?tick," "100 Rifles," "Three the Hard Way," "Take a Hard Ride," "One Down, Two To Go," "Original Ganstas" and "On the Edge."

Sonja Henie: Norway's Sonja Henie, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in ladies' figure skating from 1928 to 1936, was also one of the highest-paid actresses to ever grace the silver screen. Henie appeared in "One in a Million," "Thin Ice," "Happy Landing," "My Lucky Star" and "Everything Happens at Night."

O.J. Simpson: Before he found himself in prison, O.J. was a much beloved actor. An Outstanding football player for USC and the Buffalo Bills, he parlayed his notoriety into an acting career.  While playing with the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, a five-time All-Pro selection, and the 1973 NFL MVP. Simpson had roles in the television mini-series "Roots," and motion pictures including "The Cassandra Crossing," "Capricorn One," "The Klansman," "The Towering Inferno," "Back To The Beach" and "The Naked Gun" trilogy.

That's all I wrotre, Folks!