The Greatest Athlete of All-time

[aygwm2]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I don't know if he's the greatest of all time, but ever since I saw him compete in 1977 at the Division III NCAAs at little Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, I have thought that the great track star Edwin Moses was quite the example of the scholar-athlete-olympian-citizen. Edwin Moses

For track and field, please add Edwin Moses

Thank you FreshFish: Edwin Moses

[Old Pio]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I want to post the list so far, because I have a feeling that I'm missing some obvious ones, and also that I might have included some that don't belong. (its hard to find that line) (also, some might complain that I included some of the young guys that are still playing, I've tossed it back and forth in my head whether I should or not. I feel like there are better players of the past, but also want to have some of the recent guys to have as a measuring stick)

Hockey:
Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier
Bobby Orr
Mario Lemieux
Gordie Howe
Brett Hull
Patrick Roy
John Mayasich
Sid Crosby
Steve Yzerman
Martin Brodeur
Alex Ovechkin
Marcel Dionne
Hobey Baker

Basketball:
Michael Jordan
Wilt Chamberlain
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Magic Johnson
Bill Russell
Kobe Bryant
Karl Malone
Moses Malone
Larry Bird
LeBron James
Shaquille O'Neal

Brett Hull but not Bobby Hull? Or did I miss an era requirement?

[jen]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Baseball:
Babe Ruth
Sandy Koufax
Ted Williams
Walter Johnson
Cy Young
Barry Bonds
Jackie Robinson
Ty Cobb
Hank Aaron
Mickey Mantle
Lou Gehrig
Josh Gibson
Stan Musial
Pete Rose
Roger Clemens
Dave Winfield (because of his excellence at several sports)
Pedro Martinez
Jimmy Foxx
Alex Rodriguez
Nolan Ryan
Willie Mays
Ricky Henderson

Not sure how many baseball players you want, but...

Roberto Clemente
Honus Wagner
Christy Mathewson

Jimmie Foxx seems random.

Also, including Josh Gibson opens a can of worms, so either don't do it, or include Satchel Paige too. Buck Leonard. Cool Papa Bell. Hard to draw a line there. Reliable stats and info are very hard to find for anyone who didn't spend the majority of their career in MLB.

Not Keith Hernandez

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Brett Hull but not Bobby Hull? Or did I miss an era requirement?

We can take Brett Hull out; he isn't good unless his foot is in the crease.

[burgie12]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

I don't think Hernandez is good enough, but if others agree that he should be there, I'll add him. I just think there are others in baseball that I've left off that I'd put ahead of Hernandez.

Seriously though: I love Keith Hernandez, but he doesn't really belong on this list.

Not Keith Hernandez

Alright alright. So, the suggestion was partly my Mets bias and partly the fact that they had to change the rules of the game to stop him from being so effective on pick-offs. I didn't actually believe he was a top-flight pick.

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Shouldn't baseball's ironman Cal Ripken Jr. get some props on this list?

[brookyone]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

If there's ever a campaign to expand the list:



All those I could think of have been mentioned. Just want to plug the athlete I consider the best of those I've actually seen in action. I looked for a video clip of the play but couldn't find one...just this written account of a play Bo Jackson made:

On June 5, 1989, Jackson ran down a long line-drive deep to left field on a hit-and-run play against the Seattle Mariners. With speedy Harold Reynolds running from first base on the play, Scott Bradley's hit would have been deep enough to score him against most outfielders. But Jackson, from the warning track, turned flat footed and fired a strike to catcher Bob Boone, who tagged the sliding Reynolds out. Jackson's throw reached Boone on the fly. Interviewed for the "Bo Jackson" episode of ESPN Classic's SportsCentury, Reynolds admitted that he thought there was no way anyone would throw him out on such a deep drive into the gap in left-center, and was shocked to see his teammate telling him to slide as he rounded third base.

I've saw the throw many times on video way back when. It was the greatest throw I've ever personally seen. It looked more like a line drive off a bat than ball thrown by a human.

[huskyfan]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Shaun White for sure. if Secretariat is in so should Man O War.

Rocky Marciano??
John Elway??? but no Bart Starr or Joe Montana?

hockey needs Terry Sawchuk and Bobby Hull!

[state of hockey]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

That last picture isn't her. That's Alison Waite.

[SteveP]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Does Lindsey Vonn belong on this list? She is pretty much the most successful downhill skier ever.

Not even close to being the most successful. Annemarie Moser-Proll and Marc Giradelli have more overall World Cup and discipline World Cup championships than Vonn.

[state of hockey]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

But Lindsey Vonn is really attractive and single. That has to count for something.

[aygwm2]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

If there's ever a campaign to expand the list:



All those I could think of have been mentioned. Just want to plug the athlete I consider the best of those I've actually seen in action. I looked for a video clip of the play but couldn't find one...just this written account of a play Bo Jackson made:



I've saw the throw many times on video way back when. It was the greatest throw I've ever personally seen. It looked more like a line drive off a bat than ball thrown by a human.

She's got my vote!

[The Rube]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Seriously? Eating is a sport?

How about Doyle Brunson for Texas Hold 'Em poker then?

Stu Ungar for poker, too.

He is one of only two people to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event three times (Johnny Moss also has three WSOP titles but his first was obtained by a vote of the players, not by winning a tournament). He is also the only person to win Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker three times, the world's second most prestigious poker title during its time.

[UMDbulldogs#1]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

The late Toni Sailer and Jean Claude Killy come quickly to mind when you mention Alpine skiiers.

Killy was the first to come to mind. Stenmark and Giradelli too. Hermann Maier also popped in there, but he had technology available to him that Killy didn't. I reluctantly put Vonn in that same group. She's an amazing skier and one hell of an athlete, but she also has technology that previous generations didn't. Plake is the best free skier in any era and the late Shane McConkey was one of the few in Plake's league as far as ability IMO.

[UMDbulldogs#1]

Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

Brett Hull but not Bobby Hull? Or did I miss an era requirement?

I agree. Bobby Hull is the greatest left wing ever. Ever.