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Chicago is home to arguably the greatest, most marketable, recognizable and popular athlete in the world, namely Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan also known as 'Air Jordan' or 'His 'Airness' was a former professional basketball player in the NBA alongside a short stint with minor league baseball club the Chicago White Sox. He is a local hero to the city of Chicago and a universal symbol for the epitome of the perfect athlete, he is considered by many - if not all as the greatest professional basketball player of all time.

Professional Sports Teams in Chicago, Illinois

There are several professional sports teams in Chicago who compete in national sports such as basketball, baseball and is the home of Canadian - originated sport Ice Hockey.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Popular teams in the city of Chicago include Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox, who have a combined record of five World Series Championships, 23 Pennants and 10 division titles amongst them.

The Chicago Cubs are most famous for being the team which Dominican Republic player and home run king Sammy Sosa. The Chicago White Sox have a long list of Hall of Famers, which includes Pitchers Ed Walsh, Ted Lyon, red Faber and Hoyt Wilhelm, Catcher Ray Schalk, Second Baser Eddie Collins, amongst many others including managers.

National Hockey League (NHL)

The local team for ice hockey are the Chicago Blackhawks, they have won three Stanley Cup Championships, one Conference Cup and 13 Divisional Championships.

Glenn Hall was a popular player for the team, also known as Mr. Goalie he barely missed a game in his professional career and helped lift the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup Championship in 1961. He is also one of the first goalie's to effectively use the butterfly style.

National Basketball Association (NBA)

The Chicago Bulls, arguably the most popular team in town is the former team of American Basketball great Michael Jordan. They were the team of the 1990's, having done a three-peat on two different occasions 1991-93 and 1996-1998 with the finals MVP on all six occasions being none other than Michael Jordan.

An Individual who has won 10 NBA scoring titles, six Finals MVP's, three - time All Star Game MVP, he was named to the All-NBA first team on 10 different occasions, the NBA- All Defensive Team on nine different occasions amongst a heap of other awards which include two Summer Olympics Games gold medals and the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984.

College Sports Teams in Chicago, Illinois

Along with the successful group of professional sports teams that are based in the Chicago are, there are also a group of prominent College sports teams in the city or loosely outside its borders.

NCAA Division I Sports Teams based in the Chicago Area

There are seven different NCAA Division I sports teams, who are based in the Chicago area, these are the following teams:

DePaul Blue Demons

The DePaul Blue Demons are the team which represent the DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. They are strong in the area of basketball, which gained national prominence in the 1978-1979 season when coach Ray Meyer lead them to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. The Allstate Arena has been home to the team since 1980.

Loyola Ramblers

The Loyola University, Chicago is home to 11 varsity teams - all of them who compete in the NCAA Division I of their respective sports. Teams include both men's and women's. Sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and volleyball.

Chicago State Cougars

Sports teams which represent the Chicago State University are nicknamed as the Cougars, they compete in the NCAA Division I and formerly competed in the NCAA Division II, along with being a past member of the Mid - Continent Conference but withdrew in 1996, after being a member for 12 years to claim independent status.

UIC Flames

The University of Illinois at Chicago's sports teams are named the flames in a tribute to the Great Chicago fire, which took place a couple of blocks east from the campus. Their mascot is Sparky D. Dragon. Predominantly focusing on basketball, soccer and baseball have emerged as recent success stories.

Division I - Bowl Subdivision

This is the list of remaining college sports teams that play in the surrounding area of Chicago, namely Northern Illinois.

Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are the name given to any team which represents the Northwestern University in Illinois. All of the schools teams compete in the NCAA Division I. It is a founder of the Big Ten Conference, while simultaneously being the only private university in that group. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat.

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Northern Illinois University sports teams also known as the Huskies, experienced a change in success in the 1990's and early 2000's. They gained most success in football while attending the bowl games in 2004. Currently the NIU Huskies compete in the Mid - American Conference.

Valparaiso Crusaders

Valparaiso has 18 teams who compete in the NCAA Division I, any team which represents the university are known as the Crusaders. Except for football, all of the university's teams competes in the Horizon League. The football team is a part of the Pioneer Football League.

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini, more commonly known as The Illini are what athletes who represent the University of Illinois are called. The University consists of 11 men's teams and 10 women's varsity teams.

The university consists of multiple athletic facilities including the Memorial Stadium for it's football games, the Assembly Hall for the men's basketball, and lastly the Atkins tennis courts for both men's and women's tennis. The university has a strong history of winning, having accumulated 25 national championships, despite only winning two since 1958.

Famous Sports Sights in Illinois

This is a list of famous sporting arenas, statues and general sports related memorial sights in the area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Michael Jordan Statue

Deep into 1993, Bulls Chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf passed on orders to Vice President Steve Schwanwald to perform a search for a sculptor who would be able to sculpt a statue of the greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan. In January, 1994 Schwanwald found his tandem of sculptors who were to design and create a statue dedicated to the famous Chicago Bulls player. The husband - wife tandem of Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Illinois were the lucky two to be assigned this specific task. On November 1, 1994 in a ceremony dedicated to Michael Jordan alongside the retiring of his famous # 23, Larry King, Mr. Reinsdorf and Jordan himself unveiled the statue to a national audience.

United Center

The United Center broke ground in April 1992, and was opened for business on the 18, August 1994. It was a joint plan by Chicago's Hockey team owner Bill Wirts and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf to construct the new arena for both of their sports teams. United Airlines pays an estimate of $ 1.8 million per annum for the name of the arena, a contract which runs through until 2014. The arena has also been home to multiple World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) events, concerts, NCAA basketball games and more. It sits 20,500 for hockey, 21,711 for basketball and a maximum of 23,00 for concerts. The famous Michael Jordan statue is outside the arena. Tours are available to view the retired jersey's of local sporting hero's.

U.S. Cellular Field

The U.S. Cellular Field is home to one of two Chicago MLB teams, namely the Chicago White Sox. It has a capacity of 40,615 people. It was formerly known as the Comiskey Park after Charles Comiskey, under who's guidance it was built and subsequently named after the 1939 Hall of Fame inductee. Attractions in the stadium include the fan deck, the miller lite bullpen park, rain room, Pontiac fundamentals deck, majestic custom t-shirt shop, sculptures of famous Chicago White Sox players and much, much more.