This list features 10 of the shortest pro athletes in the sports arena.

From Heini Adams to Tad Fujikawa there are some extremely talented atheletes on this list.

What do you think? Have we missed someone?

Nominate your favourite in the comment box.

10. HEINI ADAMS: 5’4 ½ “
Twenty-nine year old scrum half Heini Adams currently plays rugby for the Vodacom Blue Bulls of South Africa.

9. TYRONE CURTIS “MUGGSY” BOGUES: 5’3″
Retired NBA player Tyrone Curtis “Muggsy” Bogues boasts 6,858 points, 6,726 assists and 1,369 steals. During his career, “Muggsy” Bogues played for the Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors, retiring in 2001.

8. ROY “SHRIMP” WORTERS: 5’3″
NHL goaltender Roy “Shrimp” Worters, winner of Hart Memorial Trophy (1929) and the Vezina Trophy (1931), was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. Retiring in 1937, he’d played for the New York Americans, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets.

7. ALFRED PERCY “TICH” FREEMAN: 5’2”
A Kent leg spin bowler, “Tich” Freeman bowled 3,732 Test Cricket balls and 154,312 First Class Cricket balls from 1914 – 1936. After retiring he opened a chain of sports retail shops.

(In action)

(Seated right)

6. AMANDA COETZER: 5’2”
South African born tennis player Amanda Coetzer turned professional in 1988. Holding nine career titles, the highlight of her achievement was winning Tier 1 at Hilton Head in 1998. She retired in 2004 with a career record of 568–337 in singles and 269–219 in doubles.

5. TAD FUJIKAWA: 5’1”
Nineteen year old, Tadd Fujikawa is the youngest golfer ever to qualify for the US Open at the age of fifteen in 2006. He turned professional in 2007, gaining entry to the PGA tour by shooting 67 in the Open Qualifier (Sony Open in Hawaii). He became the youngest player to have made the PGA Tour cut in almost fifty years.

4. TIED FOR FOURTH PLACE IN FLYWEIGHT BOXING CLASS…
FRANKIE GENARO: 5’1”
Olympic gold medalist and flyweight champion Frankie Genaro (Frank DiGennara by birth), had 96 wins (19 by knock outs) during his career of 134 fights. A lifelong New Yorker, he died in 1966 at age sixty-five.

HUMBERTO “CHIQUITA” GONZALEZ: 5’1”
Winning 43 of 49 career fights, 31 by knock outs, Mexican born former world boxing champion “Chiquita” Gonzalez fought professionally from 1984 – 1995. Currently forty-three years old, he’s now a thriving businessman in Mexico City.

3. ÉLTON JOSÉ XAVIER GOMES: 5’0½”
Twenty-three year old Brazilian footballer/soccer player Élton José Xavier Gomes currently plays left midfield for Al Nasr.

2. JACK EMANUEL “SOAPY” SHAPIRO: 5’0½”
“Soapy Shapiro” played in one game as a blocking back for the Staten Island Stapletons in 1929, technically making him the shortest player ever in NFL history. In 1999 he was officially given that title by the Guinness Book of Records.

NFL RUNNER UP, CLAUDE “BUDDY” YOUNG: 5’4”
Though the distinction of shortest player in the history of the NFL technically goes to “Soapy” Shapiro, it’s often attributed to running back “Buddy” Young, also known as “The Bronze Bullet,” whose career spanned eight years, from 1947 – 1955. He played for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans and the Baltimore Colts.

1. EDDIE GAEDEL: 3’7”
In a publicity stunt devised by franchise owner Bill Veeck, Eddie Gaedel played in one major league game, making a single plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns on August 19th, 1951. He used a plastic bat and wore Bill DeWitt Jr’s jersey bearing the number “⅛” which can be seen on display in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.