Sports Birthdays for September 17 — Jimmie Johnson and More

Here are some of the people in the sports world celebrating birthdays on September 17:

Orlando Cepeda
Age: 75
Profession: Retired MLB Player
Best Known For: An 11-time All-Star first baseman, Orlando Cepeda played for the
San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals from 1958 to 1974. Named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1958, Cepeda also won the NL Most Valuable Player Award while with the Cardinals' World Series-winning team in 1967. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Phil Jackson
Age: 67
Profession: Retired NBA Player / NBA Coach
Best Known For: Phil Jackson was the head coach of teams that won 11 NBA titles, including six with the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998 and five with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and 2005 to 2011. Jackson also won two NBA titles as a player with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973.

John Franco
Age: 52
Profession: Retired MLB Player
Best Known For: A four-time All-Star, John Franco was a relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Houston Astros from 1984 to 2005. A two-time winner of the NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, Franco finished his career with 424 saves and pitched in an NL-record 1,119 career games.

Rasheed Wallace
Age: 38
Profession: Retired NBA Player
Best Known For: A four-time NBA All-Star center/power forward, Rasheed Wallace played for the Washington Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Wallace was on the Pistons' team that won the 2004 NBA championship. While in Detroit, Wallace also started an elaborate dance circle which the Pistons performed prior to the start of home games. Wallace is the NBA's all-time leader in player technical fouls with 304. Wallace played college basketball at North Carolina, where he was a second-team All-American.

Jimmie Johnson
Age: 37
Profession: NASCAR Driver
Best Known For: A five-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to win five consecutive championships, completing the feat from 2006 to 2010. Currently the driver of the No. 48 car, Johnson has won 58 Cup Series races since joining the circuit in 2001, including four Brickyard 400s and one Daytona 500. Johnson is a four-time Driver of the Year winner and was ranked first on Forbes.com's Most Influential Athletes list for 2011 and 2012.

Danny Haren
Age: 32
Profession: MLB Player
Best Known For: A three-time All-Star pitcher, Dan Haren plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Since making his major league debut in 2003, Haren has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Angels. He started the 2007 MLB All-Star Game while with the Athletics.