The stretch of lower Broadway in New York City that’s known as the Canyon of Heroes has seen celebrations for dignitaries, aviators and even a pianist. And, in the more than a century that the city has thus feted the famous, it’s also seen its share of the best athletes in the world. The tradition started with the 1924 U.S. Olympic team, upon their return from the games in Paris—and it continues on Friday with a parade for the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team. Here’s a look at some of those who came before.
British Open champion Bobby Jones is welcomed to New York on July 2, 1930.Bettmann/CorbisAmerican swimmer Gertrude Ederle, the first female to swim across the English Channel, is crowned 'Queen of the Waves' in New York City on Sept. 8, 1926. The month before, she had been honored with a ticker-tape parade.Topical Press Agency/Getty ImagesAmerican athlete and Olympic gold medal winner Jesse Owens waves at fans during a ticker tape parade in honor of the U.S. athletes who competed in the Berlin Olympic Games, in New York, on Sept. 3, 1936.Transcendental Graphics/Getty ImagesBaseball's Connie Mack stands up in a car to acknowledge the cheers of New Yorkers lining lower Broadway, New York City, on Aug. 19, 1949. APAlvin Dark and Willie Mays of the National League champion New York Giants, with a young fan (Kevin Currey, 4) during a parade on Sept. 27, 1954,Sam Goldstein—Bettmann/CorbisAlthea Gibson, tennis great, waves to the crowd on July 11, 1957.NY Daily News/Getty ImagesCarol Heiss, Olympic ice skating champion, receives a parade on Mar. 9, 1960.Bettmann/CorbisWilliam Ebner, Gregory Klee, and Daniel Yaccarino, members of the Little League World Championship team, Staten Island's Mid-Island All-Stars, during a parade on Sept. 3, 1964.Bettmann/CorbisThe New York Yankees ride in a ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan on Oct. 19, 1978, after winning the World Series.Ron Frehm—APPitcher Ron Darling at the New York Mets' parade on Oct. 28, 1986, after the team won the World Series.Mel Finkelstein—NY Daily News/Getty ImagesAdam Graves (far left) and Captain Mark Messier (sunglasses) with Ranger teammates during a ticker-tape parade in honor of their Stanley Cup win, on June 17, 1994. Brian Leetch holds the cup,Keith Torrie—NY Daily News/Getty ImagesThe Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa, between flags from the United States and the Dominican Republic, during a parade in his honor on Oct. 17, 1998, after he tied the single-season home-run record.Mitch Jacobson—APMayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, with Michael Strahan and Eli Manning of the New York Giants, during the Super Bowl XLII victory parade in New York City on Feb. 5, 2008.Al Bello—Getty Images
