| Mia Hamm was born Mariel Margaret Hamm in 1972, | | | | Hall of Fame in 2008. |
| and who could have foretold that she would go on | | | | Mia Hamm spent her early years on Air Force bases |
| to become one of the most famous soccer players | | | | with her parents Bill and Stephanie Hamm, and five |
| in the world? She played for many years on the U.S. | | | | siblings. She started organized sports at a very early |
| team, as a forward, and she has scored more goals | | | | age, and she joined the U.S. women's national team |
| in her international career than ANY player, male or | | | | at the age of 15, the youngest ever to play for |
| female, in history. | | | | them. |
| Mia Hamm is a household name in the United States, | | | | She attended UNC Chapel Hill, helping the Tarheels to |
| as well as in the countries whose teams she has | | | | four NCAA championships. In fact, the team lost only |
| helped the U.S. to beat in international competition. | | | | ONE game that she played in during her career there! |
| She is an asset to the U.S. team and a role model for | | | | In 1991, when the U.S. womens national team won |
| the next generation of female athletes here in the | | | | the FIFA Womens World Cup for the first time ever, |
| States. She received scholarships that in days not | | | | Hamm became the youngest American Woman to |
| long ago were given only to men, and she got the | | | | win a World Cup championship, at 19 years of age. |
| training she needed to become an elite athlete. | | | | In 1997, Hamm founded the Mia Hamm Foundation, |
| Hamm was named the women's FIFA Player of the | | | | which is dedicated to bone marrow research, as well |
| Year the first two times that award was ever given | | | | as to helping womens' sports teams make progress. |
| out, in 2001 and 2002, and she is listed as one of | | | | In 1999, Hamm broke the all-time international football |
| FIFA's 125 all time best living players, a list that was | | | | soccer goal record, when she scored her 158th goal |
| compiled by Pele! | | | | in a game in Orlando Florida, against Brazil. The same |
| Mia retired from soccer in 2004, and played her last | | | | year, Nike named the largest building at their |
| game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour, which | | | | corporate offices after Hamm, and that year she |
| commemorated the U.S. Women's National team's | | | | again led the U.S. to the Championship at the |
| Olympic victory in 2004. 2007 was her first year of | | | | Womens FIFA World Cup. |
| eligibility for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and she | | | | In 2004, she announced that she would retire after |
| was selected to be inducted by 137 out of 141 votes | | | | the Athens Olympics, to settle down and start a |
| cast. Womens Professional Soccer, a league that was | | | | family with her husband, baseball great Nomar |
| started just in 2009, features her silhouette in its | | | | Garciaparra. |
| logo. Hamm was also inducted into the Texas Sports | | | | |