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 70 of 936 notable people

0016 SINGER

Linda Perry

Born 1965

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0020 ACTOR

Paige Turco

Born 1965

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0029 COMPOSER

Tony MacAlpine

Born 1960

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0045 SINGER

Tom Keifer

Born 1961

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0051 COMPOSER

Tommy Tallarico

Born 1968

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0055 POLITICIAN

Cheri Bustos

Born 1961

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0060 SCREENWRITER

Jeff Ross

Born 1965

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0076 PLAYER

Tim Mayotte

Born 1960

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0080 FILM

Aaron Schneider

Born 1965

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0092 BASKET

Vinny Del Negro

Born 1966

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0095 ARTIST

James Kochalka

Born 1967

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0105 COSTUME DESIGNER

Ruth E. Carter

Born 1960

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0115 FILM

Brent Huff

Born 1961

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0172 BASKET

J. J. Anderson

Born 1960

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0176 BASEBALL

Kevin Seitzer

Born 1962

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0178 WRITER

Lynn Vincent

Born 1962

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0181 BASKET

Kevin Gamble

Born 1965

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0190 PHYSICIST

Ed Lu

Born 1963

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0191 BASKET

Ed Horton

Born 1967

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0192 ACTOR

Michael Shapiro (actor)

Born 1966

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0210 HOCKEY

Bob Kudelski

Born 1964

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0231 ACTOR

Mariann Mayberry

1965 - 2017

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0248 POLITICIAN

Sheila Simon

Born 1961

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0258 PHOTOGRAPHER

Julie Blackmon

Born 1966

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0261 GYMNAST

Marcia Frederick

Born 1963

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0263 BASEBALL

Jeff Fassero

Born 1963

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0305 NOVELIST

Robert Girardi

Born 1961

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0314 COMPOSER

David Shea

Born 1965

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0340 SAILOR

Sarah Glaser

Born 1961

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0350 ACTOR

David Starzyk

Born 1961

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0357 DRIVER

Tony Roper (racing driver)

1964 - 2000

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0370 PRODUCER

Ian Eskelin

Born 1969

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0392 FOOTBALL

John Kidd (American football)

Born 1961

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0403 BASEBALL

Dick Schofield

Born 1962

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0430 ACTOR

Marsha Dietlein Bennett

Born 1965

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0437 FOOTBALL

Ted Eck

Born 1966

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0472 HOCKEY

Rick Bennett

Born 1967

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0478 BASEBALL

Mike Trombley

Born 1967

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0496 BASEBALL

Rick White (baseball)

Born 1968

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0502 LAWYER

Randolph Moss

Born 1961

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0516 POLITICIAN

Chris Widener

Born 1963

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0527 FOOTBALL

Chuck Bresnahan

Born 1960

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0535 LAWYER

Mark G. Mastroianni

Born 1964

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0544 POLITICIAN

Kyle Koehler

Born 1961

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0570 POLITICIAN

Joseph Wagner (Massachusetts politician)

Born 1960

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0580 POLITICIAN

Kevin DeWine

Born 1967

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0585 BASEBALL

Mark Bailey (baseball)

Born 1961

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0587 POLITICIAN

Domenic Sarno

Born 1963

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0592 HOCKEY

Bill McCreary Jr.

Born 1960

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0596 ACADEMIC

Shawn Brixey

Born 1961

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0599 DRIVER

Donnie Beechler

Born 1961

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0600 MUSIC

Richard Brunelle

1964 - 2019

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0602 FOOTBALL

Victor Heflin

Born 1960

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0631 BASEBALL

Tim Hulett

Born 1960

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0652 NOVELIST

Laura Bynum

Born 1968

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0661 MILITAR

John A. Chapman

1965 - 2002

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0674 PRELATE

Talbert W. Swan II

Born 1965

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0687 TELEVISION

John Forslund

Born 1962

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0692 POLITICIAN

Johnny Ellis

Born 1960

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0704 FOOTBALL

Skip Roderick

Born 1966

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0717 POLITICIAN

Ross McGregor

Born 1965

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0730 POLITICIAN

Jim Langfelder

Born 1960

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0786 DRIVER

Tim Wilkerson

Born 1960

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0793 SINGER

Glen Carroll

Born 1960

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0830 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Chip Rives

Born 1964

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0831 BASKET

Rand Chappell

Born 1963

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0838 POLITICIAN

Mark Carron

Born 1962

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0839 NASCAR

James Ince

Born 1969

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0858 POLITICIAN

Harry R. Ramey Jr.

Born 1962

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0928 ADMIRAL

Keith A. Taylor

Born 1961

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