Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm

Born: March 17, 1972
Age: 52
Please login to contact Mia Hamm...
Email:
Password:
Don't have an account yet?  Join FanPal.com Today!
Biography

Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm-Garciaparra (born March 17, 1972) is a retired American professional soccer player and two time olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup winner. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm held the record for international goals, more than any other player, male or female, in the history of soccer, until 2013 when fellow American Abby Wambach scored her 159th goal to break the record. Hamm is also the third most capped female player in soccer history behind Kristine Lilly and Christie Rampone, appearing in 275 international matches. She also holds the national team record for most career assists with 144.

Hamm was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé) being one of two women, accompanied by teammate Michelle Akers. She was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame as well as the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and the World Football Hall of Fame.

Mia Hamm is the author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life and appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon called Hamm, "Perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years."

Read more...

Early life

Born in Selma, Alabama on March 17, 1972 to parents Bill and Stephanie Hamm, Mariel Margaret Hamm, nicknamed Mia, was the fourth of six children. Born with a club foot, she wore corrective shoes as a toddler. Hamm spent her childhood on United States Air Force bases with her parents and siblings. The family moved many times and resided in several places including San Antonio, Texas, and Italy. Florence, Italy is where Hamm was first introduced to soccer. Soon her whole family became very involved in the sport.

Hamm played sports beginning at a very young age. While in junior high school, she excelled as a football player on the boys' team. As a high school freshman and sophomore, she played soccer for Notre Dame Catholic High School in Wichita Falls, Texas. As a new player in 1987, and the youngest by over a year, she often started as a forward but never scored a goal. Hamm then attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia for one year, and helped the Lake Braddock soccer team win the 1989 state championships. Hamm's brother played sports, inspiring her to do so as well.

Playing career

College

Hamm attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped the Tar Heels win four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's championships in five years (she sat out the season of 1991 to concentrate on the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China). North Carolina only lost one game in the ninety five she played on the team. She was an All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) player of the year for her last three years. She also won ACC Female Athlete of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

Hamm was also a member of the American National college team that played in the 1993 Summer Universiade and lost to China, obtaining the silver medal. She was the leading scorer with six goals. She graduated from college with the ACC records for goals with 103, assists with 72, and total points with 278.

International

Women's national team, 1987-2004

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup

Hamm joined the United States women's national soccer team at the age of 15, becoming the youngest ever to play on the national team. In 1991, she was named to the roster for the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in China under North Carolina coach, Anson Dorrance. At 19 years old, she was the youngest player on the team. During the team's first match of the tournament, 14,000 people were in attendance as Hamm scored the game-winning goal in the 62nd-minute leading the U.S. to a 3-2 win over Sweden. The U.S. faced Brazil during their second group stage match on November 19. The U.S. won 5-0 with goals scored by Carin Jennings, Michelle Akers, Hamm, and two by April Heinrichs. The U.S. squad finished first in Group B after a third win against Japan on November 21 and advanced to knockout stage of the tournament. During the quarterfinal match against Chinese Taipei, the U.S. easily defeated their opponents 7-0. After defeating Germany 5-2 during the semifinal, the U.S. faced Norway in the final. In front of 63,000 spectators, the U.S. clinched the first World Cup championship title after a 2-1 win.

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup

During the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden, Hamm made her second World Cup appearance for the United States at age 23 - this time led by head coach Tony DiCicco. During the team's first match of the tournament on June 6, she scored the team's third goal in the 51st minute in what resulted as a 3-3 draw against China PR. The U.S. faced Denmark during its second group stage match. Goals from Kristine Lilly and Tiffeny Milbrett led to a 2-0 win for the U.S. Hamm played goalkeeper for a few minutes after the goalkeeper, Briana Scurry, received a red card and was removed from the match. After defeating Australia 4-1 on June, 10, the U.S. advanced to the knock-out stage and defeated Japan 4-0 in the quarter-final. The U.S. was defeated by eventual champion Norway 1-0 in the semifinals and captured third place after defeating China PR 2-0 on June 17. Hamm scored the U.S.' second goal of the match in the 55th minute.

1996 Olympics

Hamm was a key part of the U.S. team for the first women's Olympic soccer tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Hamm scored one goal in five games as the host Americans won the gold medal. She was injured in the final moments of the gold-medal match, a 2-1 win over China, a game witnessed by a record crowd of more than 76,000 fans.

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

Hamm again played for the U.S. National Team in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by the United States. She scored two goals. Hamm also connected on a penalty kick as the U.S. defeated China in a shootout in the final match. That match surpassed the Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with more than 90,000 people filling the Rose Bowl.

2004 Olympics

Hamm helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was also chosen by her fellow U.S. Olympians to carry the American flag at the Athens Closing Ceremonies. After the Olympics, Hamm and her teammates went on a "farewell tour" of the United States, which ended on December 8, 2004 against Mexico at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In the game, which the U.S. won 5-0, Hamm assisted on two of the goals. Hamm is one of three longtime national team members who announced their retirements from international play at the end of the tour; the others are longtime captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett (Fawcett did not play due to back surgery after the Olympics). Hamm retired at age 32 with a record 158 international goals.

Upon her retirement, Hamm's #9 jersey was inherited by midfielder Heather O'Reilly.

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

Hamm competed as a member of the United States national soccer team in four World Cup tournaments: China 1991, Sweden 1995, United States 1999 and United States 2003; and three Olympics tournaments: Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. All together, she played in 38 matches and scored 13 goals at seven global tournaments. With her teammates, Hamm finished third at two World Cup tournaments in 1995 and 2003, second at the 2000 Olympics, and first at the four other international tournaments.

Key (expand for notes on “world cup and olympic goals”)
Location Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred
Lineup Start - played entire match
on minute (off player) - substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time

off minute (on player) - substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time
(c) - captain

Min The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score The match score after the goal was scored.
Result The final score.

W - match was won
L - match was lost to opponent
D - match was drawn
(W) - penalty-shoot-out was won after a drawn match
(L) - penalty-shoot-out was lost after a drawn match

aet The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
Orange background color - Olympic women's football tournament
Blue background color - FIFA women's world cup final tournament
Goal Match
Date
Location Opponent Lineup Min Score Result Competition
China 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
1
1
1991-11-17 Panyu Sweden Start 62 3-0

3-2 W

Group stage
2
2
1991-11-19 Panyu Brazil Start 63 5-0

5-0 W

Group stage
3
1991-11-21 Foshan Japan {{{4}}}.

on 41' (off Jennings)

3-0 W

Group stage
4
1991-11-24 Foshan Chinese Taipei Start

7-0 W

Quarter-final
5
1991-11-27 Guangzhou Germany Start

5-2 W

Semifinal
6
1991-11-30 Guangzhou Norway Start

2-1 W

Final
Sweden 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
3
7
1995-06-06 Gavle China PR Start 51 3-1

3-3 D

Group stage
8
1995-06-08 Gavle Denmark Start

2-0 W

Group stage
9
1995-06-10 Helsingborg Australia Start

4-1 W

Group stage
10
1995-06-13 Gavle Japan {{{4}}}.

off 61' (on Keller)

4-0 W

Quarter-final
11
1995-06-15 Vasteras Norway Start

0-1 L

Semifinal
4
12
1995-06-17 Gavle China PR Start 55 2-0

2-0 W

Third place match
Atlanta 1996 Olympic Women's Football Tournament
5
13
1996-07-21 Orlando Denmark {{{4}}}.

off 75' (on Gabarra)

41 2-0

3-0 W

Group stage
14
1996-07-23 Orlando Sweden {{{4}}}.

off 85' (on Gabarra)

2-1 W

Group stage
15
1996-07-28 Athens Norway Start

2-1 aet W

Semifinal
16
1996-08-01 Athens China PR {{{4}}}.

off 89' (on Gabarra)

2-1 W

Gold medal match
USA 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup
6
17
1999-06-19 E Rutherford Denmark {{{4}}}.

off 88' (on Fair)

17 1-0

3-0 W

Group stage
7
18
1999-06-24 Chicago Nigeria {{{4}}}.

off 57' (on MacMillan)

20 2-1

7-1 W

Group stage
19
1999-06-27 Boston Korea DPR {{{4}}}.

off 85' (on Milbrett)

3-0 W

Group stage
20
1999-07-01 Washington Germany Start

3-2 W

Quarter-final
21
1999-07-04 San Francisco Brazil {{{4}}}.

off 85' (on Fair)

2-0 W

Semifinal
22
1999-07-10 Los Angeles China PR Start

0-0 (pso 5-4) (W)

Final
Sydney 2000 Olympic Women's Football Tournament
8
23
2000-09-14 Melbourne Norway {{{4}}}.

off 70' (on Parlow)

24 2-0

2-0 W

Group stage
24
2000-09-17 Melbourne China PR Start

1-1 D

Group stage
25
2000-09-20 Melbourne Nigeria {{{4}}}.

off 70' (on Parlow)

3-1 W

Group stage
9
26
2000-09-24 Canberra Brazil {{{4}}}.

off 79' (on Parlow)

60 1-0

1-0 W

Group stage
27
2000-09-28 Sydney Norway Start

2-3 aet L

Gold medal match
USA 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
28
2003-09-21 Washington Sweden Start

3-1 W

Group stage
10
29
2003-09-25 Philadelphia Nigeria Start 6 pk 1-0

5-0 W

Group stage
11
12 2-0
30
2003-10-01 Foxborough Norway Start

1-0 W

Quarter-final
31
2003-10-05 Portland Germany Start

0-3 L

Semifinal
32
2003-10-11 Carson Canada Start

3-1 W

Third place match
Athens 2004 Olympic Women's Football Tournament
12
33
2004-08-11 Heraklion Greece Start 82 3-0

3-0 W

Group stage
13
34
2004-08-14 Thessaloniki Brazil Start 58 1-0

2-0 W

Group stage
35
2004-08-17 Thessaloniki Australia {{{4}}}.

off 67' (on Tarpley)

1-1 D

Group stage
36
2004-08-20 Thessaloniki Japan Start

2-1 W

Quarter-final
37
2004-08-23 Heraklion Germany Start

2-1 aet W

Semifinal
38
2004-08-26 Piraeus Brazil Start

2-1 aet W

Gold medal match

Club

Washington Freedom, 2001-03

For the majority of Hamm's career, there was no fully professional women's soccer league in the United States. As a result, she played in only three seasons of professional soccer. In 2001, she was a founding player in the newly established Women's United Soccer Association, the first professional soccer league for women in the United States, and played for the Washington Freedom.

During the league's inaugural match between the Freedom and Bay Area CyberRays in front of 34,148 fans at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Hamm was granted a controversial penalty kick that her teammate Pretinha took and scored the first goal in the league. The Freedom won 1-0. In addition to the in-stadium attendance being greater than any MLS game that weekend, the Turner Network Television (TNT) broadcast reached 393,087 households: more than two MLS games broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2.

The league suspended operations indefinitely in September 2003, but Hamm finished her short club career as a champion when the Freedom won the Founders Cup in that final season.

Retirement

On May 14, 2004, Hamm announced her retirement effective after the 2004 Athens Olympics, expressing an interest in starting a family with her husband, Nomar Garciaparra. She retired from the sport in 2004, after playing her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the U.S. women's national team's victory in the 2004 Olympics.

Honors and awards

Hamm was named the 1997 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation. On May 22, 1999, she broke the all-time international goal record with her 108th goal in a game against Brazil in Orlando, Florida. In June of the same year, Nike named the largest building on their corporate campus after Hamm. In December 2000, Hamm was named one of the top three female soccer players of the twentieth century in the FIFA Female Player of the Century Award, finishing behind only Sun Wen, and compatriot Michelle Akers.

In March 2004, Hamm and former U.S. teammate Michelle Akers were the only two women and Americans named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for the organization's 100th anniversary. Other accolades include being elected U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year five years in a row from 1994 to 1998, and winning three ESPY awards including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year.

During a friendly game against Australia on July 21, 2004, Hamm scored her 151st international goal setting the record for most international goals scored by any player in the world, male or female. She held the world record until Abby Wambach scored her 159th goal on June 20, 2013. The Australia match also marked Hamm's 259th international appearance; only two of her teammates, Kristine Lilly and Christie Rampone, have played in more international games.

In 2006, Hamm was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame followed by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on March 11, 2008. In 2007, during her first year of eligibility, Hamm was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2008, an image of her silhouette was used in the logo for the second professional women's soccer league in the U.S.: Women's Professional Soccer

In 2013, Hamm became the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame located in Pachuca, Mexico.

In 2014, Hamm was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25; she was also the recipient of the Golden Foot Legends Award.

Championships

Year Team Championship/Medal
1989 UNC NCAA National Champion
1990 UNC NCAA National Champion
1991 USA women's national team FIFA World Cup Champion
1992 UNC NCAA National Champion
1993 UNC NCAA National Champion
1995 USA women's national team FIFA World Cup Third Place
1996 USA women's national team Olympic Gold
1999 USA women's national team FIFA World Cup Champion
2000 USA women's national team Olympic Silver
2003 Washington Freedom WUSA Founder's Cup Champion
2003 USA women's national team FIFA World Cup Third Place
2004 USA women's national team Olympic Gold

Style of play

Regarded as one of the greatest female footballers of all time, and by many as the best ever, Hamm was an athletic, dynamic, and technically gifted player, renowned for her speed, skill, footwork, stamina, and ability on the ball, as well as her consistency. An excellent, agile dribbler, she was highly regarded for her control, as well as her grace, pace, and elegance in possession. A prolfic goalscorer, she was known for her powerful and accurate striking ability, although she was also a creative and hard-working forward, and a team player, who was equally capable of assisting many goals for her team-mates, due to her accurate passing, and was also willing to aid her team-mates defensively when possession was lost. Due to her many attributes, she was capable of playing in any offensive position.

Personal life

Hamm was first married to her college sweetheart Christian Corry, a United States Marine Corps CH-53E helicopter pilot; they divorced in 2001 after being married six years. She married then-Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra on November 22, 2003, in Goleta, California in a ceremony attended by a few hundred guests. On March 27, 2007, Hamm gave birth to twin girls, Grace Isabella and Ava Caroline. Though born five weeks early, each girl weighed over 5 pounds (2.3 kg) at birth. The couple had a son, named Garrett Anthony, in January 2012.

Her adopted brother, Garrett Hamm, died on April 16, 1997 of complications from aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease. Hamm established the Mia Hamm Foundation in part to support patients and their families who benefit from bone marrow transplants. Some of Hamm's hobbies outside of soccer include cooking, golf, and watching college basketball.

Endorsements

Hamm has been called the most marketable female athlete of her generation. During her time as an international soccer player, she signed endorsement deals with Gatorade, Nike, Dreyer's Ice Cream, Pepsi, Nabisco, Fleet Bank, Earthgrains, Powerbar, and Mattel.

Philanthropy

Main article: Mia Hamm Foundation

In 1999, Hamm founded The Mia Hamm Foundation following the death of her brother Garrett in 1997 from complications of aplastic anemia. The non-profit organization is dedicated to promoting awareness of and raising funds for families in need of a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. The organization encourages people to register in the national bone marrow registry and provides funds to UNC Health Care and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. It also focuses on creating opportunities to empower women through sport. Hamm hosts an annual celebrity soccer game in Los Angeles to support the foundation.

Other work

Hamm is a global ambassador for FC Barcelona. She is the author of the national bestseller Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life and juvenile fiction book Winners Never Quit and appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.

In 2012, after Pia Sundhage's departure as head coach of the United States women's national soccer team, Hamm joined Danielle Slaton and Sunil Gulati as a member of the search committee for Sundhage's successor.

Los Angeles Football Club, 2017

In October 2014, it was announced that Hamm was a co-owner of the future Major League Soccer team located in Los Angeles.

A.S. Roma

Also in October 2014, Hamm joined the Board of Directors of Italian club A.S. Roma, owned by American investors.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]

Report a problem
Contact Mia Hamm at FanPal 2024

Terms Privacy Join Contact
Contact Any Star FanPal • 2024