Here are some of the people in the sports world celebrating birthdays on July 2:

Richard Petty
Age: 75
Profession: Retired NASCAR Driver
Best Known For: Known to many racing fans as ‘The King,’ Richard Petty is perhaps the greatest NASCAR driver in history. Petty won seven NASCAR championships during his 35-year racing career from 1958 to 1992. The seven tittles are a record Petty shares with the late Dale Earnhardt. In addition to the championships, Petty won a record 200 races and seven Daytona 500s. Petty was a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Jose Canseco
Age: 48
Profession: Retired MLB Player
Best Known For: A six-time All-Star, Jose Canseco hit 462 home runs during a major league career that lasted from 1985 to 2001. Canseco was part of the Oakland A’s team that went to three consecutive World Series from 1988 to 1990, winning in 1989. In 1988, Canseco became the first major league player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, as he was selected as the American League’s Most Valuable Player. While with Oakland, Canseco formed the so-called ‘Bash Brothers’ with fellow slugger Mark McGwire. In 2005, Canseco became the first high-profile player to admit using anabolic steroids in his book ‘Juiced,’ where he hinted that 85 percent of MLB players could be using performance enhancing drugs, including McGwire. Since his baseball career ended, Canseco has participated in several celebrity fights, and he was a contestant on ‘The Celebrity Apprentice.’

Eric Daze
Age: 37
Profession: Retired NHL Players
Best Known For: The Most Valuable Player of the 2002 NHL All-Star Game, Eric Daze was a productive wing for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1994 to 2006. Selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1996, Daze finished his career with 226 goals and 398 points.

Sam Hornish, Jr.
Age: 33
Profession: Race Car Driver
Best Known For: Sam Hornish Jr. is a versatile race car driver with experience in both NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and the Indy Car Series. Hornish Jr. currently drives for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Joe Thornton
Age: 33
Profession: NHL Player
Best Known For: A six-time All-Star, Joe Thornton is one of the most talented players in the NHL. Selected with the first overall pick of the 1997 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Thornton played for seven seasons with the team before being traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2005. Thornton won both the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading point-scorer and the Hart Memorial Trophy as its most valuable player in 2006. Thornton was also a part of the Canadian hockey team that won the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Johnny Weir
Age: 28
Profession: Olympic Figure Skater
Best Known For: Johnny Weir won the U.S. national figure skating championship for three consecutive years (2004-2006). Weir placed fifth and sixth in men’s figure skating in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, respectively. Formerly under constant scrutiny regarding his sexuality, Weir came out as gay in his book ‘Welcome to My World,’ published in early 2011.

Chad Henne
Age: 27
Profession: NFL Player
Best Known For: Formerly the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Chad Henne is now on the roster of the Jacksonville Jaguars. During an NFL playing career that spans from 2008 to the present, Henne has earned a quarterback rating of 75.7. While at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2007, Henne was a finalist for several college football awards.

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