Athletes Who Have Followed In Their Fathers' Footsteps

There is no better tribute than children who want to be like their fathers and tread in familiar footsteps. The following are athletes who are flourishing in the shadow of their Pops. Even though they are subjected to constant comparisons, these star players have earned their own identities--and are leaving behind footsteps of their own.

Los Angeles Lakers' star guard Kobe Bryant can look to his father, Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant, for advice on the trials of being a pro athlete. Perhaps Kobe's smooth transition from high school ball to dominating in the NBA and leading the Lakers to back-to-back world championships (the first in 12 years) was the result of Joe Bryant's 16 years experience as an NBA and Italian League player.

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When Kobe made the once-controversial decision to bypass college to go straight to the pros, it came as no surprise that his dad was a major supporter. "He's always been there for me," Kobe said in the New York Daily News. "We can talk about anything. I love him to death."

Kobe, who turns 23 on Aug 23, took his dad's advice to learn to be able to play all five positions. Overall this has developed the 6-foot-6 guard to be as versatile as he is.

As if inheriting a family business, San Francisco Giants home run slugger Barry Bonds grew up watching his superstar father, Bobby Bonds, and godfather, Willie Mays, play in the Major Leagues.

Bobby, who played for the Giants in 1968 until 1974, set standards of performance for his eldest son, and sure enough, Barry, 37, lives up to them in displaying his considerable talent. In 1990, Barry joined his father in the remarkable 30 home runs-30 stolen bases club. Barry's accomplishments snowballed from there. In addition to winning numerous Gold Glove Awards and MVP honors, Barry is on pace to break baseball's home run single-season record (70).

Ken Griffey, Jr. followed his dad's baseball lead as well. They've even played for the same teams too.

Ken Griffey, Sr. started his career as an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds and spent most of his 18-year playing career with the team even though he retired as a Seattle Mariner.

He's still in the game, however, serving as a coach for the Reds--the very same team on which his talented son now stars.

Last season, Ken Griffey Jr., 31, who won the American League Gold Glove for 10-straight seasons, ended his 11-season career with the Seattle Mariners and was traded to the Reds, his hometown team, where he'll probably retire (last year he signed a nine-year contract).

"I just said [to Seattle], `I want to go to Cincinnati.' I know the place, I grew up there," Ken Jr. told the Charleston Gazette. "I always wanted to wear the same uniform my dad wore."

Oakland Raiders Anthony Dorsett worked hard during his football career partially because of the inspiration he's gotten from his NFL Hall of Fame father, Tony Dorsett. The senior Dorsett, who as an agile running back led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title in the 1977 season, won the Heisman Trophy out of the University of Pittsburgh.

Anthony, 27, made a name for himself at the University of Pittsburgh also, wearing his father's No. 33 through most his career. In January of 2000, as a Tennessee Titan, Anthony and his father went into the NFL history books as the first father and son to start a Super Bowl.

Both Dorsetts were blessed with blazing speed, but Anthony uses his as a cornerback on the other side of the ball. "Maybe it would have been nice to have been a running back too in this league to kind of follow in my father's footsteps," Anthony said in the Sacramento Bee. "But it wouldn't make a difference because there are always going to be comparisons."

When the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Walter Payton, died two years ago at 45 from liver disease complications, his son, Jarrett, already was making a name for himself as a running back to carry on the name.

An athlete since he could walk, Jarrett, 20, led his high school's soccer squad to third place in Illinois state competition. But by his junior year, he joined the football team, and when he graduated, he was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Miami.

"I hear his voice in my head," Jarrett said about his competitive and caring father in People Magazine. "Every day when I go to practice, it's like he's around." Jarrett, who also wears his father's distinguished No. 34, looks this season (his second playing season) to carry on the "Sweetness" attitude.

Pro boxer Jacqui "Sister Smoke" Frazier-Lyde fought her eighth bout in June against Laila Ali and dedicated it to her former world heavyweight champion father, "Smokin Joe" Frazier. Frazier-Lyde, a 39-year-old mother of three, made her professional boxing debut in February of 2000 and hasn't stopped since. A practicing attorney based in Philadelphia, Frazier-Lyde doesn't feel the pressure of fighting under her father's prestigious name.

"I feel like I'm falling in the tradition of my family," Frazier-Lyde said, whose older brother, Marvis, also enjoyed a stint in boxing.