FlagDUDE08
Banned
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Put Billie Jean King in there for tennis, too.
Put Billie Jean King in there for tennis, too.
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The Greatest Athlete of All-time
- Thread starter bigblue_dl
- Start date
jmh
win or lose, we booze
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Seriously though: I love Keith Hernandez, but he doesn't really belong on this list.
If you're going to include athletes who are pretty good for a rube in addition to athletes who might legitimately be the greatest of all time, I would like to reiterate my nomination of Hoven in the category of forklift driving.John Mayasich
Seriously though: I love Keith Hernandez, but he doesn't really belong on this list.
bigblue_dl
Armed
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
"He was the Wayne Gretzky of his time. And today if he were playing pro hockey, he would simply be a bigger, stronger, back-checking Gretzky.
If you're going to include athletes who are pretty good for a rube in addition to athletes who might legitimately be the greatest of all time, I would like to reiterate my nomination of Hoven in the category of forklift driving.
"He was the Wayne Gretzky of his time. And today if he were playing pro hockey, he would simply be a bigger, stronger, back-checking Gretzky.
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
I also suggest for US-centric sports like baseball, football, men's pro basketball, you have an upper limit of the number of athletes, maybe even have a playoff for those sports before you fill out your 128.
I appreciate the amount of work you've undertaken, and at the same time it appears that all of us are far too US-centric, and most of us are also weighting our choices "too much" toward modern times.
Of course, a simpler approach would be to narrow the thread title, to be the greatest US athletes of the 20th and 21st century......
Finally, how about announcing a cut-off date, say before the puck drops next week for the first game of the Frozen Four?
I also suggest for US-centric sports like baseball, football, men's pro basketball, you have an upper limit of the number of athletes, maybe even have a playoff for those sports before you fill out your 128.
I appreciate the amount of work you've undertaken, and at the same time it appears that all of us are far too US-centric, and most of us are also weighting our choices "too much" toward modern times.
Of course, a simpler approach would be to narrow the thread title, to be the greatest US athletes of the 20th and 21st century......
Finally, how about announcing a cut-off date, say before the puck drops next week for the first game of the Frozen Four?
bigblue_dl
Armed
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
I'm at 110 right now. I don't think it is a problem for it to be US centric, we're (mostly) all in the US, I want to keep it as mostly names we know and recognize. It wouldn't be as much fun if we have a bunch of X Cricket player from India vs. Y Rugby player from Australia matchups. I want a few representatives from those sports, the best of the best, and the rest to be generally household names in the US, mostly to make it interesting for us.
edit: think of it like the bouncyball tournament. The ACC and the Big East get a bunch of teams (major US sports), but the top schools from the mid-majors get their shot also (Cricket, Swimming, Wrestling, Auto Racing, etc.)
The cutoff date is when I get to 128
I'm at 110 right now. I don't think it is a problem for it to be US centric, we're (mostly) all in the US, I want to keep it as mostly names we know and recognize. It wouldn't be as much fun if we have a bunch of X Cricket player from India vs. Y Rugby player from Australia matchups. I want a few representatives from those sports, the best of the best, and the rest to be generally household names in the US, mostly to make it interesting for us.
edit: think of it like the bouncyball tournament. The ACC and the Big East get a bunch of teams (major US sports), but the top schools from the mid-majors get their shot also (Cricket, Swimming, Wrestling, Auto Racing, etc.)
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bigblue_dl
Armed
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
I found a great list online and added some more, including some big ones I missed:
Joe DiMaggio
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Red Grange
Johnny Unitas
Wilma Rudolph
Eric Heiden
Bobby Jones
Rocky Marciano
AJ Foyt
Oscar Robertson
There are more on that list, but that brought me up to 120, which is where I wanted to get before taking suggestions
I found a great list online and added some more, including some big ones I missed:
Joe DiMaggio
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Red Grange
Johnny Unitas
Wilma Rudolph
Eric Heiden
Bobby Jones
Rocky Marciano
AJ Foyt
Oscar Robertson
There are more on that list, but that brought me up to 120, which is where I wanted to get before taking suggestions
P
Priceless
Guest
jmh
win or lose, we booze
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Seriously though - why didn't more of those guys from the 1960 Olympic team get a shot in the NHL? I know the league was basically all Canadian players at that point (I picked the 1963-64 Rangers at random, and not a single player on that team was from outside Canada), but the talent pool couldn't have been so deep that the gold medal didn't catch anyone's eye at all. And yet, Tom Williams was the only guy from the team to have an NHL career of any consequence. USA goalie Jack McCartan, who was one of the stars of the tournament, had an undistinguished cup of coffee with the Rangers in 1960-61 and then bounced around the minors for 15 year, much like Mayasich did.
Well, if one guy from the Iron Range says something extremely positive about another guy from the same town in the Iron Range, we should definitely take it at face value and ignore the possibility that there might be any hometown bias or exaggeration going on.
Seriously though - why didn't more of those guys from the 1960 Olympic team get a shot in the NHL? I know the league was basically all Canadian players at that point (I picked the 1963-64 Rangers at random, and not a single player on that team was from outside Canada), but the talent pool couldn't have been so deep that the gold medal didn't catch anyone's eye at all. And yet, Tom Williams was the only guy from the team to have an NHL career of any consequence. USA goalie Jack McCartan, who was one of the stars of the tournament, had an undistinguished cup of coffee with the Rangers in 1960-61 and then bounced around the minors for 15 year, much like Mayasich did.
P
Priceless
Guest
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Seriously? Eating is a sport?
How about Doyle Brunson for Texas Hold 'Em poker then?
Seriously? Eating is a sport?
How about Doyle Brunson for Texas Hold 'Em poker then?
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
OK then, I'll narrow my suggestions down considerably from that list I added earlier only to include Bob Mathias (seriously, two decathlon gold medals!), Diana Taurasi, Edwin Moses, and Al Oerter as you added Sanderson and Graf already.
There are more on that list, but that brought me up to 120, which is where I wanted to get before taking suggestions
OK then, I'll narrow my suggestions down considerably from that list I added earlier only to include Bob Mathias (seriously, two decathlon gold medals!), Diana Taurasi, Edwin Moses, and Al Oerter as you added Sanderson and Graf already.
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Brett Hull but not Bobby Hull? Or did I miss an era requirement?
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?
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
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
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
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FlagDUDE08
Banned
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
We can take Brett Hull out; he isn't good unless his foot is in the crease.
We can take Brett Hull out; he isn't good unless his foot is in the crease.
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
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.Not Keith Hernandez
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
Shouldn't baseball's ironman Cal Ripken Jr. get some props on this list?
Shouldn't baseball's ironman Cal Ripken Jr. get some props on this list?
brookyone
Deport Right Wing Nuts
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
If there's ever a campaign to expand the list:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ysXMUxBML4g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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.
If there's ever a campaign to expand the list:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ysXMUxBML4g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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.
state of hockey
He fixes the cable?
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
That last picture isn't her. That's Alison Waite.
That last picture isn't her. That's Alison Waite.
Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time
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.
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.