The Greatest Athlete of All-time

[The Rube]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Just pick the best decathlete and be done with it.

Dan vs Dave?

Oh wait....

/old arse Nike reference......

[state of hockey]

Just pick the best decathlete and be done with it.

This.

[RaceBoarder]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Dan vs Dave?

Oh wait....

/old arse Nike reference......

That was actually pretty remarkable for the time... I mean, people had already picked out what the lead story of the sportsworld would be before it actually happened... And then they had to make news to fill the void when it never materialized.... Kinda like what happens today when Tiger Woods doesn't show up in a major

[SteveP]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Larionov should be in the hockey discussion IMHO.

No argument there, but these lists are so subjective. Can't understand Brett Hull over the likes of Rocket Richard, Howie Morenz and others of the older era of hockey.

[FreshFish]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Sometimes one wonders how "athletic" golf is, when you have these great "golden oldie" success stories like Greg Norman at the 2008 British Open, Tom Watson at the 2009 British Open (nearly 60 at the time?), and now Fred Couples in the 2nd-round lead at the Masters at age 52.

I think it is great that these guys can play so well for so long (Nicklaus was 46 when he won the 1986 Masters, no?), and I certainly don't mean to imply people in their 50s can't still perform very well athletically.


However, neither can I imagine someone in their 40s or 50s being competitive with people in their 20s and 30s, straight up, in most "athletic" competitions that involve speed, strength, endurance, relfexes, even precise hand-eye coordination.

[The Rube]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Sometimes one wonders how "athletic" golf is, when you have these great "golden oldie" success stories like Greg Norman at the 2008 British Open, Tom Watson at the 2009 British Open (nearly 60 at the time?), and now Fred Couples in the 2nd-round lead at the Masters at age 52.

I think it is great that these guys can play so well for so long (Nicklaus was 46 when he won the 1986 Masters, no?), and I certainly don't mean to imply people in their 50s can't still perform very well athletically.


However, neither can I imagine someone in their 40s or 50s being competitive with people in their 20s and 30s, straight up, in most "athletic" competitions that involve speed, strength, endurance, relfexes, even precise hand-eye coordination.

That's because golf is not a sport. It's a game, just like bowling.

No, I'm not trolling. I fully believe that. I'm not saying it's an EASY game (farrrrrrr from it). But it's still a game.

[Old Pio]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Actually, apart from the meaning of the word "great," this is a settled matter. The answer, of course, is George Herman Ruth. There has never been, nor with there ever be, an athletic figure of greater impact, fame and reputation than the Babe. He saved baseball after the Black Sox scandal and revolutionized it with his home runs (yes, the lively ball was part of it). There were times in his career when Ruth had more homers than whole teams. Very soon after arriving in New York, Babe broke the then career record for homers. For years afterward, until the day he retired, every Ruth homer was a major league record. He hit an astonishing 54 homers in his first year with the Yankees (1920) then came back the next year with 59, and probably the greatest season in baseball history. For cripes' sake, they built a stadium for him. Those old newsreels of him mincing around the bases don't convey his true greatness or athleticism. His lifetime BA was .342. He once stole home in a World Series game.

Plus, he had that great personality. Always willing to oblige the newsreels with some stunt or another. A big, fun loving kid, who adored being in the spot light, never took himself too seriously, and loved a good laugh, even if the laugh was at his expense. And that face. Somebody once said he looked like a well broken in catcher's mitt.

And let's not forget Ruth for a time was also the best left handed pitcher in baseball, with nearly 100 victories (94-45 2.28 ERA), and World Series pitching records it took Whitey Ford to break. Whenever someone gets close to Ruth's homer total, it's fair to ask two questions: How good is your curveball? And how many more dingers would he have had if he hadn't spent several seasons as a pitcher? Another 100? 150? Certainly more than 714.

As Bonds approched and then surpassed Ruth and Aaron we learned that because of his use of "the clear" his hat size and shoe size both increased. The only drug Henry and the Babe used was Budweiser. There is no place in the world you can go where Babe Ruth is not known and he hasn't played a game in about 75 years. The Curtis candy company, all these decades later, keeps up the pretense that their Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Grover Cleveland's daughter, or dog, or something. Yeah, right.

Ruth was truly a man ahead of his time. He ordered his mail answering service to discard any mail that didn't have money (or offers of money) in it or wasn't from a "broad." He installed his wife on a farm in upstate New York, while he occupied an 11-room suite in the Ansonia Hotel, and drove around in a monogrammed car. The guy was living way large. In the history of sport in America, it's doubtful any figure enjoyed life and lived life the way the Babe did. Joe Dugan got off the memorable line, he said "I don't room with Babe Ruth, I room with Babe Ruth's suitcase." Remember, no night games in those days, his evenings were always free!

On a syndicated TV series, Ted Williams once rated Ruth the greatest player who ever lived. That's good enough for me, since Ted was the greatest modern hitter. Sure the game has changed, set up men, closers, night games, conditioning, better gloves and all the rest. But just look at Ruth's career numbers (and don't lose sight of those years he spent on the mound) and he's easily number one. And that's quite apart from his unique star status. We didn't have Sports Center in those days, but how often do you suppose they'd lead their coverage with something he did? We have so much more sport these days than in Ruth's day, even so it's possible his reputation would be even bigger. I think the only modern figure who comes close to Ruth in the public's mind is Muhammad Ali. And Ali had way more media than newspapers, news reels and infant radio to get the word out.

Babe Ruth is the el numero uno towering figure of American sport. No one even comes close. Is he the greatest athlete? As I said in the opening, it depends in part on your definition of "athlete," and probably, "great." So if the question is altered just a bit to "greatest American sports icon, or legend or figure." then the Bambino is the man. Period.

[state of hockey]

That's because golf is not a sport. It's a game, just like bowling.

No, I'm not trolling. I fully believe that. I'm not saying it's an EASY game (farrrrrrr from it). But it's still a game.

I agree.

[manurespreader]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

As one wag said recently, " I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player"

[Old Pio]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

As one wag said recently, " I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player"

And in "My Favorite Year," Peter O'Toole said: "I'm not an actor. I'm a movie star." Ruth was far more athletic than those late newsreels reveal. He had that funny body: big barrel chest, little spindly legs. Remember what Ted Williams said: the hardest thing to do in all of sport is to hit a pitched ball.

[Slap Shot]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I probably averaged .325 as a baseball player (through American Legion ball), but rarely have I had a round in which I reached 6 greens in regulation.

btw - not necessarily intened has a serious counter to your Ruth argument just sayin.

[Old Pio]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I probably averaged .325 as a baseball player (through American Legion ball), but rarely have I had a round in which I reached 6 greens in regulation.

btw - not necessarily intened has a serious counter to your Ruth argument just sayin.

What was your ERA? Babe's was 2.28.

[Slap Shot]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

What was your ERA? Babe's was 2.28.

True story. In LL I never pitched but as we approached the playoffs (I was fortunately selected to represent our area for teams that compete for the LLWS) the coach of the team (not my regular season coach) liked the arm I demonstrated from the outfield and wanted to see if I could pitch. I had a wicked curve for a kid that age and as a result of my trying out was slated to pitch a game if we made it to the next round. Alas we lost and the only oppourtunity I had to pitch in Babe Ruth ball didn't merit another look (although goddamit I could hook that ball). Suffice it to say my career ERA is probably north of 10.

[Old Pio]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

True story. In LL I never pitched but as we approached the playoffs (I was fortunately selected to represent our area for teams that compete for the LLWS) the coach of the team (not my regular season coach) liked the arm I demonstrated from the outfield and wanted to see if I could pitch. I had a wicked curve for a kid that age and as a result of my trying out was slated to pitch a game if we made it to the next round. Alas we lost and the only oppourtunity I had to pitch in Babe Ruth ball didn't merit another look (although goddamit I could hook that ball). Suffice it to say my career ERA is probably north of 10.

I don't know why Danny Almonte just popped into my head, but he did. We spent about three days at work after that story broke concocting news "leads" like: "Danny Almonte's son is taking leave from the Navy to come home and testify that his dad is 12." You may not be old enough to recall that in the 70's, some father from Boulder conspired to fix the Soapbox derby. He installed an electro-magnet in his kid's car. The idea was when the metal gates holding the cars back at the top of the hill dropped, it would sling shot the car off the starting line. I don't recall all the details, but there was a battery system controlled by the driver. The kid had to vacate his "title."

Parents can screw up anything.

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I'd imagine making a save on a tipped Chara slap shot is up there in the difficulty category as well. As is the touch required to swish a shot from 3 point range, or throw a 50 yard pass down the sideline.