The most athletic Republican twice earned a much grander title: World's Greatest Athlete. In the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, Bob Mathias won gold in the decathlon, one of only two Olympians ever to do so. (The other was Daley Thompson, who won in 1980 and 1984.) But Mathias' athletic dominance didn't end with the Olympics. After the 1952 Games, he returned to Stanford, where, as the football team's fullback, he led the Indians to the Rose Bowl.

Mathias ran for a California congressional seat in 1966 and defeated a 14-year incumbent. He held his seat for four terms until he was defeated in 1974 after the Watergate scandal.

This our list of the Top 10 Republicans, now see how it compares to our Top 10 Athletic Democrats.

Past RCS Top 10 Lists: