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 Mia
Hamm was the world’s most outstanding woman soccer player in the first years of the
21st century, attracting more attention to the game in the United States
than any player, male or female, ever had. During her spectacular career
she scored 158 goals in international competition, more than any other
player in history. A forward and midfielder for the U.S. Women’s National
Team, she was instrumental in the World Cup victories in 1991 and 1999
and Olympic Gold Medals in 1996 and 2004. She played in four World Cups
for the United States, in 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003, and three Olympic
Games, in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Of the 30 games the United States played
in those seven tournaments, she only missed two. Hamm played 275 full international
games between 1987 and 2004.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 2007 |
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Born:
March 17, 1972 |
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Position:
Forward |
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Int'l
Caps: 275 |
Int'l
Goals: 158 |
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At 15, Hamm became
the youngest person ever to be a member of the U.S. National Team, where
she spent 17 years. Her first game for the United States was against China
in Tianjin in August 1987. She made her first international goal in her 17th
game on July 25, 1990 vs. Norway. In 1991, at age 19, Hamm was the youngest
woman ever to win a World Cup. During the 1991 World Cup she started five
of six games and scored two goals. Her last game was against Mexico in Carson,
Calif., on December 8, 2004.
In
1989, Hamm entered the University of North Carolina, where she was nicknamed “Jordan,” after
fellow UNC alum and NBA star Michael Jordan, because of her dominance
of collegiate soccer. Hamm led the Tar Heels to four National Collegiate
Athletic Association championships. At the University of North Carolina,
Hamm was named All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the
Year three years in a row. She was also the recipient of the prestigious
Honda-Broderick Award as the nation's outstanding female collegiate athlete
for 1993-94. Hamm led the nation in scoring at the collegiate level in
1990, 1992, and 1993. She graduated with an all-time record for most
conference goals 103, assists 72, and total points 278.
Hamm was a founding member of the Women United Soccer Association where she
played three seasons for the Washington Freedom. She was WUSA champion and
All-Star with Washington in 2003. She played 49 WUSA regular-season games and
four WUSA playoff games.
Mia’s historic career has been honored on the national and international level.
Hamm was named FIFA’s Women’s World Player of the year twice (2001 and 2002)
and the U.S. Soccer Federation Female Athlete of the Year five years in a row
(1994-1998). In 2004, Hamm along with teammate Michelle Akers were placed on
FIFA’s list of the 125 greatest living soccer players. They were the only women
and only Americans named. Hamm has been recognized as more than an outstanding
athlete; she has become a popular culture idol. She was named in 1997 as one
of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful people as well as one of Esquire Magazine's "100
Best People in the World".
In 1997 Hamm created the Mia Hamm Foundation to raise funds for bone marrow
research inspired by her brother Garrett, who died in 1997 from complications
with aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease. She is also the author of a National
best seller titled Go for the Goal: A Champions Guide to Winning in Soccer
and Life.
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