Largely considered cricket's greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973, in Bombay, India, to a middle-class family, the youngest of four children. His father was a writer and a professor, while his mother worked for a life insurance company.

Named after his family's favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman, Tendulkar wasn't a particularly gifted student, but he'd always shown himself to be a standout athlete. He was 11 years old when he was given his first cricket bat, and his talent in the sport was immediately apparent. At the age of 14, he scored 326 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. As his accomplishments grew, he became a sort of cult figure among Bombay schoolboys.

After high school, Tendulkar enrolled at Kirti College, where his father also taught. The fact that he decided to go to the school where his father worked came as no surprise. Tendulkar's family is very close, and years after he'd achieved stardom and cricket fame, he continued to live next door to his parents.