Fans collect everything from cards to balls to game-worn uniforms, but the truly devout snag the house a sports god built.
by Paul Bibeau
When Redskins icon Sonny Jurgensen sold his family home of 37 years, buyer Dr. Patrick St. Pierre scored. Athletes’ cribs blur fantasy and reality; many pros are newly rich, and they quickly turn their domains into dream houses complete with extravagant flourishes and souped-up extras. Jurgensen’s house, with its massive fireplace, grand staircase, high ceilings, and beautiful location overlooking the Potomac River, was no exception. St. Pierre, a sports medicine specialist, wasn’t some fan looking to buy a souvenir, but meeting Sonny and seeing the Hall of Famer’s trophies was an undeniable thrill. The Jurgensens and St. Pierres soon became friends, and a year after the Jurgensens moved out, they asked to have their son’s wedding reception at the house.
A residence can rocket to stardom even if the athlete’s not a household name. Last year, Matt Geiger’s home hit the market for $19.9 million. Though Geiger had a decent career with the Philadelphia 76ers, his real legacy was building one of the largest houses in Tampa, Florida, with a 330,000-gallon pool, a cooking area designed by Outback Steakhouse, and 18 TV sets wired to a multi-player Xbox. With 28,000 square feet, the mansion’s opulence caught Hollywood’s eye; the pad starred as John Travolta’s gangster hideout in The Punisher.
Some homes are more infamous: The 12,400-square-foot Weston, Florida, complex where Jose Canseco lived through the late 1990s boasted two gargantuan buildings and an artificial lake, but was best known as the spot where sports stars allegedly talked steroids while their wives compared boob jobs. Canseco sold it for $3.5 million in 2000 only to get himself embroiled in other questionable real estate ventures.
The ultimate sports-star home may belong to “Nails.” In 2007, Lenny Dykstra, of ’86 Mets and ’93 Phillies fame, bought an $18.5 million, 12,700-square-foot Georgian estate on seven acres outside L.A. that boasts two guesthouses, a pool, a spa, a tennis court, and panoramic views of the Lake Sherwood valley. But perhaps its most impressive feature is its previous owner: Wayne Gretzky, who had the mansion built for his family by architect Richard Landry in 2004. Showing off the house to a reporter, Dykstra lapsed into sports fan mode, pointing out that the entertainment center’s control panel still has a hockey puck and Gretzky’s jersey number, 99, on its face. Dykstra recently put the mansion back on the market. The two-sports-legends-in-one estate can be yours for $24.9 million or, for L.A. athletes without long-term contracts, a lease of just $65,000 a month.
Three Legendary Homes on the Market
by Michael Slenske
Drew Bledsoe’s Stone Palace
WestLake, TX
When Bledsoe needed temporary digs during his brief tenure with the Cowboys, he moved into this roughly 5,500-square-foot home in Westlake’s very tony Vaquero community. The lot is small, but it holds a small pool, a fire pit, a garden, and a guesthouse, and comes full-service, from car washing to dinner delivery ($1,795,000, reduced from $1,995,000; eleanor.com).
Curt Schilling’s Massachusetts Manse
Medfield, MA
Eight mil ain’t chump change, but in exchange you’ll get an 11,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom colonial (originally built for Drew Bledsoe) that housed the arm that helped end the curse of the Bambino. “It’s a one-of-a-kind house,” says agent Eileen Strong O’Boy, rattling off such perks as a home gym, a pool, a tennis/basketball court, a batting cage, and a winter skating rink, all in a coveted town ($8,000,000; hammondre.com).
Hank Aaron’s Bermuda-Style Hideaway
West Palm Beach, FL
Baseball’s real home run king has put his 3,500-square-foot, one-level four-bedroom on the market. Befitting diamond royalty, it’s nestled so close to a prime green on the President Country Club’s new Robert Trent Jones Jr.–designed course that, jokes agent Donald Gorbach, “If I were putting I could grab a water from the fridge.” This Bermuda-style beauty is also close to the Palm Beach Sailing Club ($895,000; corcoran.com).
- Michael Slenske
This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Men’s Journal.
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