Earley Bird Catches the Worm

My fellow Ballymote-man Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan's relatively brief tenure as Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff has come to an end but the Connacht mafia remains in power in Óglaigh na hÉireann (official branch) with the appointment of former Roscommon GAA star Dermot Earley (or Major General Dermot Earley to you and me) as his replacement. Typical, the Irish army goes for the glamour candidate. I'm sure that Maj Gen Earley will be well up to the job though, but I wonder are there any other former sports stars in history that have had the opportunity to run an army? Answers on a post-card, please... I just hope that Dermot doesn't lose the run of himself and set out to exact revenge for the 1980 All-Ireland final.