In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?... They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." Here, in alphabetical order, are five athletes among the many who have run the race in order to attain both crowns. They have triumphed in their given sports while still successfully striving to fulfill the Great Commission and complete God's work here on Earth.

HERSHISER, OREL

Known as "The Bulldog" for his tenacious style, Orel Hershiser was a recognized clubhouse leader who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cleveland Indians, the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets between 1983 and 2000. He pitched more than 3,000 career innings, won over 200 games, recorded more than 2,000 strikeouts and finished with a lifetime ERA of 3.48.

Though he led the National League in winning percentage in 1985, Hershiser's greatest season came in 1988. That season, he led the league in wins (23), innings (267), and complete games (15). Hershiser also broke a 20-year-old record by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings, and capped off his incredible on-field performance by taking home Cy Young, World Series MVP and Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" honors.

According to BaseballLibrary.com, "Hershiser attributed his devout adherence to religion as the motivating factor and source of strength during his playing years...He would often calm himself on the mound by singing Christian hymns." Hershiser was active with several charities throughout his career, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and is currently the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. "You don't have to be a wimp to be a Christian," he once said.

ROBINSON, DAVID

Despite winning the NBA's MVP award in 1995 and being named one of the 50 Greatest Players in league history in 1996, David Robinson considers 1991 to be perhaps the most important year in his life. That was the year he became a follower of Jesus Christ.

In a 1998 interview with Christianity Today, Robinson says that he was converted to the faith after speaking with a minister from Champions for Christ on June 8 of that year. "That day, Christ became a real person to me," he states in his parents' book. "I had never stopped to honor God for all he had done for me. That really hit me. I cried all afternoon. That very day, I was saved." Now, thanks to that incident and his spectacular basketball career, Robinson has become a powerful messenger of the faith, becoming a minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio following his retirement in 2003.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy who is known as "The Admiral", Robinson once scored 71 points in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to NBA Championships in 1995 and 2003, and in the latter year, he and teammate Tim Duncan were named Sports Illustrated "Sportsmen of the Year." He is one of an elite group of players to have scored more than 20,000 career points in the NBA, and finished his career averaging over 21 points and 10 rebounds per game.

SAYERS, GALE

Many of today's sports fans remember the amazing and graceful running style of Barry Sanders, but few were ever able to witness the elusiveness and agility that was Gale Sayers. Sayers befuddled defenses with his quickness and his ability to dodge tackles, and it was that ability that made him a member of the 75th Anniversary All-NFL Team. Sayers won Rookie of the Year Honors in 1965, set an NFL record by scoring six touchdowns in a game and leading the lead in scoring that year. In 1977, he became the youngest player ever elected into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Sayers, who is still the NFL's all-time career kickoff return leader, is currently the president of a computer firm that he and his wife established in 1984. He is also actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America, the Marklund Children Center, the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Better Boys Foundation, and the Cradle Adoption Agency. In 1998, he received the Apple Award for Distinguished Achievement in Education from Kansas University, and in 1999, he was named the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

His autobiography, "I Am Third," inspired the classic television movie "Brian's Song." The film discusses Sayers' heartfelt friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, who eventually is stricken with and succumbs to cancer. In the book, Sayers also discusses his strong faith and his philosophy towards life: "The Lord is first, my friends are second, and I am third." Sayers' talent on the field is surpassed only by his faith and the great works he has accomplished in the Chicago community.

WARNER, KURT

He had just won Super Bowl XXXIV. He had just been named the Most Valuable Player of the game. And with more than 130 million people watching on, Kurt Warner did what comes naturally to him - the thanked Jesus and stayed strong in his faith. "I believe that the Lord has a plan for each of us that's better that anything we can imagine," he states in a testimonial at the EadsHome Ministries website. "Whether I'm a Super Bowl Champion of a regular guy stocking groceries... sharing my faith and glorifying Jesus is the central focus of my time on this earth... I want to be a role model for Christ in everything that I do."

Warner's story certainly has been an extraordinary one. He played football at the University of Northern Iowa and tried out for the Green Bay Packers in 1994, but was cut in training camp. So he found a job stocking shelves at a grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Eventually, he signed with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League, and after some early struggles, he was named to the AFL's All-League Team in 1996 and 1997. We then went on to play in NFL Europe and was signed as a back-up quarterback with the St. Louis Rams in 1999. After the starting quarterback got injured, Warned stepped in and took over.

Warner was named league MVP that year. He took the Rams to the Super Bowl and threw for a record 414 yards in his team's victory over the Tennessee Titans. He missed some of the 2000 season due to a broken hand, but still teamed with quarterback Trent Green to throw for more than 5,232. Warner was named MVP again in 2002. Since then, he left the Rams for the New York Giants and is currently a member of the Arizona Cardinals. He is currently the NFL's all-time leader in passer rating and completion percentage - something that he says would not be possible without faith. "Success on any field starts with faith," Warner writes in his book, Keep Your Head Up, "Faith in yourself. Faith in teammates. Faith in coaches. And in my case, faith in God."

WHITE, REGGIE

When Reggie White died in December of 2004, there was some discussion of the 15 fantastic seasons he spent as a member of the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Carolina Panthers. There was some discussion of his 198 career sacks. There was some discussion of the fact that he was a two-time winner of the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award and a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. And there was some talk of how he revitalized the Packer franchise, helping to lead the club to a pair of Super Bowl titles. Yes, there was some, but not much, that isn't what the man known as the "Minister of Defense" will be remembered for.

Reggie White was a man of God first and a professional football player second. He was an ordained minister who once said that, while he never actively preached in the locker room, he tried to "live a certain way, and maybe that will have some kind of effect. I think God has allowed me to have an impact on a few people's lives." And how. He was the founder of the Urban Hope development ministry and the co-founder of Christian Athletes United for Spiritual Empowerment. He was a number of awards for his humanitarian service, including the Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award in 1992 and the Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award in 1996.

In an interview with Maxwell A. Quinn of TheGoal.com, Packer defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila called White a "man after God's heart. He used his platform to share the Gospel. It was an honor to meet him, and to know he experienced some of the same struggles I do." "He meant as much to us off the field as much as on it," added Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, in an interview conducted by ESPN news services shortly after White's passing. "His character, his integrity was everything any NFL player should aspire to be."

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