Famous musicians who abandoned promising sports careers

Sports and music don't often cross over well, but there are a surprising number of famous musicians who, if circumstances were different, could have ended up famous for a totally different reason! Let's take a look at some famous musicians who abandoned their promising sports careers.

Growing up on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, not only is Jack Johnson the son of a famous surfer but he's a serious surfer himself. In fact, he was so good that at just 17 he became the youngest invitee to make the finals of the prestigious Pipeline Masters in Hawaii. His surfing career got seriously derailed just one week later after he had a near-fatal wipeout on a coral reef.

Sure she can sing, dance and but did you know R’n’b star Ciara was an accomplished athlete in her high school years,? She won many medals in various events, including the Georgia State Championship in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the long jump. She also set several school records in these events, and her long jump record remained unbeaten for many years after she graduated, as reported by Blackpast. 

Freddie Mercury was destined for greatness it seems. If he hadn’t gone on to become one of the greatest frontmen of all time with Queen, there’s a good chance you would have seen him in the boxing world. During his schooling years he was amassing trophies in the sport before his mother forced him to give it up for his own safety. 

In fact, Mercury was great at all sports by all accounts. He was also notoriously great at ping pong too and had the prizes to show for it.

Probably not a surprise to anybody who has seen a live performance from P!nk. Back when she was known as Alecia Moore, P!nk trained as a competitive gymnast, between the ages of 4 and 12.

While he may best be known for his role as Iron Maiden’s (best) vocalist, Bruce Dickinson could have had a few different careers. In fact, he already does. In addition to being a commercial pilot and a commercial brewer, he is a renowned fencer and has made a bit of a name for himself fencing Olympic medallists.

Julio Iglesias, a renowned Spanish music icon, holds the record for the best-selling Latin artist of all time with over 200 million record sales. Interestingly, before his successful career in music, he played as a goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla in the Spanish Segunda División. 

However, in a similar fashion to Jack Johnson, his career was cut short by injury. An unfortunate car accident left him with compressed a nerve in his spine, paralyzed from the chest down and bedridden for two years.

Rapper J. Cole’s main love outside of music is basketball. He has played all his life, including at college level. And it seems like basketball is still a big part of the rapper’s life, having played three preliminary games for the Basketball Africa League’s Rwanda Patriots in 2021. In 2022, Cole joined the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s’ Scarborough Shooting Stars.

Lionel Richie was always good at sports and in particular tennis. In fact, he even earned himself a scholarship at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for his tennis prowess. He is humble about his own skill though, telling Naomi Campbell on her ‘No Filter With Naomi’ YouTube channel: “I was a tennis player, and I could play tennis when you could see the ball. Now, they have 100-mile-an-hour serves and they have 100-mile-an-hour forehand and backhand.”

Garth Brooks could have easily gone down another path it seems, as the country megastar had more than a few athletic propositions on the table in his youth. Not was he his high school’s star quarterback, but he was just as good with a bat in his hand in baseball season. On top of all that, the country megastar’s javelin skills earned him a college scholarship at Oklahoma State University.

Another one from the Iron Maiden camp, it’s fairly well-known at this point that bass player Steve Harris had other aspirations in his life. Harris is a lifelong West Ham United fan and even played for their youth team as a teenager, before setting it aside to focus on musical pursuits.

Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus seemingly talks as much about sports as he does music these days, so it should be no surprise he’s a playing history. As a teenager the indie rock legend (pictured far left with his band) played for Stockton’s Delta United Hurricanes and even went on a UK tour with the side in 1982, testing himself against some of the best youth players in the world. 

He ultimately settled on a career in music but is still a lifelong fan of the sport, and is a ride-or-die supporter of Hull City FC.

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow is no stranger to the world of sports. As well as being the former wife of one of the most successful cyclists of all time in Lance Armstrong, she was also a talented athlete herself. As well as being on the high school basketball and swimming, Crow was an all-state track star, medaling in the 75-meter low hurdles.

Snoop Dogg has always been a big football fan and his ties to the game run deep. Not only did he play as a wide receiver at high school and college levels, but he also continues to coach the game at a high school level. His son Cordell Broadus was also a UCLA star.

Before he joined The Faces and became a rock icon, it was Rod Stewart was fierce with the round ball. In his teenage years he had trials at Brentford FC, but wasn't picked up. He told Rolling Stone in 2004 that “his heart wasn’t in. I'd just fallen in love with music.” But he maintained a love for soccer – To this day he still kicks footballs into the crowd at concerts, and even has a full-scale pitch on his property.

Another soccer player who happens to have a full-scale pitch in his yard, if Robbie Williams could have done anything else with his life he’d likely be a pro soccer player. A fervent Port Vale fan and club stakeholder, he is also a co-founder and staple player in the Soccer Aid charity game and has held his own with some of the best-retired pros to packed stadiums. 

Before she made a name for herself as No Doubt’s charismatic frontwoman, Gwen Stefani competitively swam for her high school swimming team at Loara High School in Anaheim. The pool was her life during her teenage years and the young Stefani also worked as a lifeguard during this time, as reported by NBC. 

During his teenage years in San Diego, Wavves frontman Nathan Williams was a promising soccer player. In fact, he had a few college scholarships offered to him on the strength of his on-field performance. He ultimately turned these down as he felt he didn’t have the discipline to pursue it as a professional career and ultimately focused on making music.

Country music superstar, Faith Hill, was a talented athlete in high school, playing on the school's basketball and volleyball teams. Her biggest success (outside of her musical career, of course) was in athletics where she won several awards for her athletic accomplishments, including a Mississippi State Championship in the 100-meter hurdles, as reported by Sports Illustrated. 

As a teenager, Billy Joe was a successful boxer in the Long Island area. After picking up the sport to defend himself in the rough area, he decided to take it to competition level, where he won 22 out of 24 fights. However, he abruptly called quits on his boxing career after his 24th fight when he came away with a broken nose.

Bob Marley had a passion for both music and soccer, according to his children. During breaks from music performances, the king of reggae enjoyed playing soccer matches with the Wailers and was known as the midfield general and skipper. 

One Island Records UK distributor, Trevor Wyatt, even compared their playing ability to that of the Brazilian national team. If it wasn't for Marley's exceptional talent in music, he may have had a chance to play for Jamaica's national soccer team, also known as the "Reggae Boyz."

Unlike others on this list, Chelcee Grime didn't feel the need to choose between her athletic pursuits and musical endeavors and has been able to do both at the same time! The English singer-songwriter, who has penned hits for the likes of Dua Lipa and Kylie Minogue has played soccer for Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Tranmere Rovers, and Fulham, and currently plays for Merseyrail Ladies – all the while turning out hits for the charts!

Before Tina Turner had decided on her musical career, she was incredibly active in sports. A lifelong dance, she joined the basketball cheerleading squad at her high school, but soon found herself in sporting a jersey in the Carver High School women’s basketball team after showing her on court skills.

Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno was torn on his career choices in his youth and there’s every chance in another world that he is a famous soccer player. Pizzorno had a trial deal with Leicester City as a teenager before music took over his life, but by the looks of his goal on former England keeper David Seaman in the 2012 Soccer Aid event, he still had all the makings of a pro.