Collin County Champions
Loren Murchison was born in Farmersville. He earned Olympic gold medals in the 4 x 100 meter relay race in both 1920 and 1924. He also broke many indoor running world records.
Murchison contracted spinal meningitis in 1925 which left him permanently paralyzed. He died in 1979 at the age of 80.
Clem Daniels was born in McKinney in 1937. He was an alumnus of the segregated Doty School in McKinney.
In his senior year, he captained the Prairie View A&M NAIA National Football Championship team in 1958. He went on to play for the AFL's Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers.
In 1965, Daniels helped organize a boycott of the AFL All-Star Game when black players were refused basic services in the host city of New Orleans. He was inducted into the Texas Football Hall of Fame in 1999. He died in 2019.
In his senior year, he captained the Prairie View A&M NAIA National Football Championship team in 1958. He went on to play for the AFL's Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers.
In 1965, Daniels helped organize a boycott of the AFL All-Star Game when black players were refused basic services in the host city of New Orleans. He was inducted into the Texas Football Hall of Fame in 1999. He died in 2019.
Anastasia “Nastia” Liukin was born in Moscow as the only child of two champion gymnasts. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the family emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Plano where they established a training gym.
She won 5 medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China. Liukin was only the third American to have won the Olympic All-Around Gymnastics gold medal.
Blake Coleman was born in Plano in 1991. He won consecutive Stanley Cup Championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. He was only the second Texas-born hockey player to win the Stanley Cup back-to-back. He has also played with the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames.
A third-generation Korean American from Allen, Kyler Murray played both football and baseball. He attended Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the University of Oklahoma (OU). He was selected ninth overall in the MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics, though he soon stepped away from baseball to focus on football.
As the starting quarterback, he won the Heisman Trophy while at OU in 2018. He joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the year. He was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021.
As the starting quarterback, he won the Heisman Trophy while at OU in 2018. He joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the year. He was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021.
Thomas Kite, Jr. was born in McKinney and attended the University of Texas on a golf scholarship. He was the PGA player of the Year in 1989 and won the U.S. Open in 1992. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
Carly Patterson grew up in Allen. In 2004, she won one gold and two silver medals in the Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. She was only the second American woman in history to earn a gold medal in gymnastics, and the first in an Olympic Games that were not boycotted by the Soviet Union. She retired from gymnastics in 2006 and was inducted to the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Jake Arrieta grew up in Plano. He played baseball for Weatherford Junior College, and for Texas Christian University (TCU) where he was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Arrieta represented the U.S. in the 2008 Olympics, helping them win the bronze medal. He played for the Chicago Cubs where he won the 2015 National League Cy Young Award and a Silver Slugger Award in 2016. He won the World Series with the Cubs in 2016. He also threw two no-hitters in 2015 and 2016.
Arrieta represented the U.S. in the 2008 Olympics, helping them win the bronze medal. He played for the Chicago Cubs where he won the 2015 National League Cy Young Award and a Silver Slugger Award in 2016. He won the World Series with the Cubs in 2016. He also threw two no-hitters in 2015 and 2016.
