Sports Heroes Who Were Immigrants

Sports Heroes Who Were Immigrants

Sports Heroes Who Were Immigrants
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.32

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		greatly, refugee, immigrate, homeland, draft, shortly, successful, dunk, championship, marriage, locked, popularity, fans, citizen, member, battle
	content words:		United States, Notre Dame, Knute Rockne, Mario Andretti, After World War II, Formula One, Wayne Gretzky, Great One, Stanley Cups, Edmonton Oilers

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Sports Heroes Who Were Immigrants
By Jane Runyon

¹     Do you know any people who have moved to the United States from another country? You might be surprised. You might know more immigrants than you think you do. Many famous Americans started their lives in another country. Let's take a look at some of the sports heroes who have come to the United States from somewhere else.

²     When people talk about the history of Notre Dame football, the name Knute Rockne is almost always mentioned. In his native Norway, his name was pronounced Kah-noot. Americans called him Noot. Knute was born in Voss, Norway, in 1888. When he was a child, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois. He studied chemistry at Notre Dame. When he was offered a chance to coach his college's football team, he dropped his studies in chemistry. Knute coached Notre Dame football from 1918 to 1930. His winning percentage was 88%. That was a record in those days. His teams won 105 games, lost 12, and tied 5. They were declared national champions 6 times and had 5 undefeated seasons. His great coaching career was cut short when he lost his life in a plane crash in 1931.

³     Auto racing brags of the accomplishments of the famous Andretti family. Mario Andretti and his twin brother, Aldo, were born in Montona d'Istria, Italy, in 1940. After World War II, the area in which the family lived was claimed by Yugoslavia. The Andretti family fled their homeland in 1948. They lived in a refugee camp for three years before they were able to immigrate to the United States. They made their new home in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Mario became a citizen of the United States in 1964. During his long, successful career he won four IndyCar titles and a Formula One championship. Right now he is the only driver to win an Indy 500 race, a Daytona 500 race, and a Formula One race.

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