5 Famous Athletes Who Were Told to Quit and Didn’t

Have you ever been told that you wouldn’t be able to accomplish a goal? Did it stop you from trying? Rejection is a part of life, but the important thing is to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and keep trying.

That’s precisely what these famous athletes did. You won’t believe the list below. Some of the most astonishing sports players of all time were once told they wouldn’t make it. But look where they are today. They’re the ultimate form of motivation to keep going. No matter what.

1. Babe Ruth

Perhaps one of the most famous baseball players of all time, Babe Ruth, once held the record for having the most strikeouts. His total? 1,330, to be exact. Ruth had a hard upbringing, expected to make nothing of himself.

He was sent to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and orphanage, despite having parents. He was deemed “incorrigible.” However, it was there that he began his career in baseball, pulling himself up despite all odds. Ruth was one of the first five baseball players ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

2. Muhammad Ali

In boxing, there’s an age-old test that’s used to estimate the talent of the athletes. It’s known as the “tale of the tape.” It measures boxer’s physical attributes, believed to predict how good they’ll be in the ring. Ali failed the test in all categories, deemed not to have a future in the sport.

Ali’s success is primarily attributed to his careful study of his opponents. It’s said he often did ample research before entering a fight. His psychological power made up for what others considered shortcomings.

3. Dennis Rodman

Numerous basketball teams rejected an iconic NBA player of the 1990s, Rodman, before he finally got his start. He tried football as well but was dismissed from that sport too. Rodman was selected only in the second-round draft in 1986 and went on to become a household name.

4. Lionel Messi

Widely considered to be one of the best soccer plays in the entire world, Messi was cut from his Junior soccer team. The reason? He was told he was too short to play. Messi has a growth hormone deficiency that stunted his height, but it hasn’t stopped him from reaching soccer super-stardom.

5. Kurt Warner

Warner was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2017, but no one thought he would ever make it there. A former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Warner, was initially kicked out of training camp with the team in 1994. He ended up working at a supermarket making minimum wage before entering the Arena League, NFL Europe, and eventually making his way back to the NFL in America.

Were you surprised by any of the names on this list? We sure were. Some of the most well-regarded, well-respected, wildly successful athletes were initially deemed to be failures. They were told they would never make it.

In short, the moral of the story is never give up. If you want something bad enough, keep pushing. These athletes did and looked where they ended up.