40.3596° N, 82.2875° W

SPRINGFIELD

Most Famous People Born in Springfield, United States

Notable people
936
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1933
Most distinctive
Baseball 9.5×

There are several Springfields in this dataset and they blur together statistically, which is the point - the 9.5× Baseball over-index is small-town America's pre-television obsession crystallized, the era when every Midwestern Springfield fielded a semi-pro team and a few of those kids made the Cardinals or Reds. The 2.6× Lawyer ratio is the Lincoln-era Springfield, IL signal still echoing through the data.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Springfield during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 90 notable births.

What Springfield Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Springfield's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (124).

Springfield over-indexes on baseball9.5× the global rate.

Springfield under-produces football — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Politician124
  2. Baseball101
  3. Football72
  4. Actor59
  5. Lawyer43
  6. Basket38
  7. Music26
  8. Writer23
  1. Baseball1019.5×
  2. Basket383.2×
  3. Lawyer432.6×
  4. Novelist92.4×
  5. Screenwriter92.2×
  6. Music261.9×
  7. Officer101.6×
  1. Football720.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Springfield's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

16501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All936
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Showing 90 of 936 notable people

0004 ACTOR

Kurt Russell

Born 1951

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0006 ACTOR

Kathleen Turner

Born 1954

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0024 GOLF

Payne Stewart

1957 - 1999

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0033 POLITICIAN

Barbara Comstock

Born 1959

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0040 SCREENWRITER

Mike Scully

Born 1956

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0048 POLITICIAN

Billy Long

Born 1955

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0053 NOVELIST

Daniel Woodrell

Born 1953

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0061 POLITICIAN

Scott Peters (politician)

Born 1958

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0062 MUSIC

Carole Fredericks

1952 - 2001

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0077 FILM

Toni Kalem

Born 1956

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0083 NOVELIST

Dave Wolverton

Born 1957

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0091 BASKET

Butch Carter

Born 1958

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0097 POLITICIAN

Jim Douglas

Born 1951

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0106 WRITER

Cinda Williams Chima

Born 1952

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0121 SINGER

Phil Perry

Born 1952

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0129 PROGRAMMER

Warren Robinett

Born 1951

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0135 WRITER

Chirlane McCray

Born 1954

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0163 BASKET

Randy Ayers

Born 1956

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0165 WRITER

Frank Mentzer

Born 1950

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0166 ASTRONAUT

Janet L. Kavandi

Born 1959

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0175 SCREENWRITER

Brian Scully

Born 1953

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0218 PSYCHOLOGIST

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

1959 - 2013

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0226 JOURNALIST

Peter King (sportswriter)

Born 1957

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0233 PLAYER

Jeff Meckstroth

Born 1956

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0238 EQUESTRIAN

Will Simpson (equestrian)

Born 1959

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0240 MUSIC

Bruce Forman

Born 1956

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0243 ACTOR

Nina Blackwood

Born 1955

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0245 BISHOP

Kevin Vann

Born 1951

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0249 HOCKEY

Paul Fenton (ice hockey)

Born 1959

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0297 FOOTBALL

Steve Little (American football)

1956 - 1999

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0300 PLAYER

Chris Mayotte

Born 1957

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0309 POLITICIAN

Jennifer Brunner

Born 1957

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0311 POLITICIAN

Craig Campbell (politician)

Born 1952

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0336 EDITOR

David Yewdall

1950 - 2017

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0342 MUSIC

Tom Ardolino

1955 - 2012

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0366 POLITICIAN

Curtis Frazier

Born 1955

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0369 PHILOSOPHER

Paul B. Thompson (philosopher)

Born 1951

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0389 SPORT

Fred Hickman

Born 1956

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0391 WRITER

Doug Cushman

Born 1953

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0395 BUSINESS

Gail J. McGovern

Born 1952

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0408 POLITICIAN

Timothy Davlin

1957 - 2010

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0431 LAWYER

William Duane Benton

Born 1950

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0432 WRITER

William J. Rothwell

Born 1951

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0434 REPRESENTATIVE

Keith Fitzgerald

Born 1956

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0457 ACTOR

Frank Senger

1954 - 2016

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0462 BASEBALL

Will McEnaney

Born 1952

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0475 SCREENWRITER

Sanford Jay Frank

1954 - 2014

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0494 POLITICIAN

Tim Ayers

Born 1958

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0497 CARTOONIST

Artie Romero

Born 1951

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0503 FILM

Russell Smith (Produzent)

Born 1954

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0517 ARTIST

Sarah Seager

Born 1958

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0534 BASKET

John Grochowalski

Born 1952

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0538 FOOTBALL

Kevin Donley

Born 1951

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0540 LAWYER

Sue E. Myerscough

Born 1951

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0543 LAWYER

M. Douglas Harpool

Born 1956

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0553 LAWYER

David K. Colapinto

Born 1958

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0586 POLITICIAN

Catherine Cloutier

Born 1950

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0590 COMPOSER

Bill Zucker

1955 - 2016

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0603 WRITER

Rami M. Shapiro

Born 1951

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0613 POLITICIAN

Jon G. Burns

Born 1952

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0620 FOOTBALL

L. C. Cole

Born 1956

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0628 BASEBALL

Roger Erickson (baseball)

Born 1956

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0633 POLITICIAN

Rich Brauer

Born 1954

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0642 BASEBALL

Keith Drumright

1954 - 2010

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0645 FOOTBALL

Ron Ferrari

Born 1959

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0647 POLITICIAN

Thomas Petrolati

Born 1957

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0651 FOOTBALL

Rick Chamberlin

Born 1952

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0657 COMPOSER

Steven Schoenberg

Born 1952

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0658 EDITOR

Sheila Williams

Born 1956

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0660 BASEBALL

Dave Patterson

Born 1956

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0667 POLITICIAN

Larry Bomke

Born 1950

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0678 POLITICIAN

Linda McCulloch

Born 1954

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0685 STOCKBROKER

Byron Trott

Born 1958

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0697 BASEBALL

Bob Hegman

Born 1958

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0698 OFFICER

John W. Rosa

Born 1951

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0700 POLITICIAN

Jay Wasson

Born 1956

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0723 POLITICIAN

Mary McNally

Born 1955

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0727 MUSIC

Dennis Luxion

Born 1952

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0738 NOVELIST

Jack Henderson (author)

Born 1958

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0755 BASKET

Ron Bradley

Born 1951

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0757 BASEBALL

Bob Detherage

Born 1954

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0770 POLITICIAN

Lyndall Fraker

Born 1959

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0772 POLITICIAN

Chuck Gatschenberger

Born 1956

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0784 POLITICIAN

Jeffrey Justus

Born 1954

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0791 POLITICIAN

Dave Winters

Born 1952

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0818 POLITICIAN

Candy Ruff

1951 - 2016

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0853 SINGER

John Batdorf

Born 1952

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0855 ACADEMIC

Stanley Battle

Born 1951

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0892 POLITICIAN

Jose Tosado

Born 1953

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0915 POLITICIAN

Alice Emmons

Born 1955

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