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Who is the Greatest Athlete of All-Time?

Started by clemensrules01, February 14, 2006, 09:27:32 pm

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clemensrules01

any sport.  mine would have to be michael jordan. with babe ruth second. i think jim thorpe is third with muhammad ali at fourth. jim brown fifth. i guess thats my list.

jkstock04

To me a great athlete is someone who can play more than one sport....to me Jordan will go down as the all time best basketball player...but athlete??  Bo Jackson is the first to come to my mind...he was a badass in both football and baseball.
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three

Jim Thorpe.  Not remembered as a great athlete today because no one saw him play.  Go look at old footage and you'll see, the man was truly a god among men in his prime.
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WichitaStateRazorback

Karl Malone...Jim Thorpe...Michael Jordan...Roy Jones Jr

GrizzledHogFan

Quote from: jkstock04 on February 14, 2006, 09:35:07 pm
To me a great athlete is someone who can play more than one sport....to me Jordan will go down as the all time best basketball player...but athlete??  Bo Jackson is the first to come to my mind...he was a badass in both football and baseball.

I agree.  Bo Jackson would top my list.
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jrw11475

Well it surely isn't Clemens.  I can't believe they allow that avitar taintnuttin.

kuhog

Jim Thorpe was the best all around athlete. Another great athlete was Wilt Chamberlin. He participated in multiple sports while in college, and excelled in everything he did.

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jkstock04

How bout Deon Sanders??  I think he could be ranked up there too...
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clemensrules01

Quote from: jrw11475 on February 14, 2006, 09:39:53 pm
Well it surely isn't Clemens.  I can't believe they allow that avitar taintnuttin.
im not a fan of roger. i have the name for a different reason.

wonz11

Bo Jackson has got to be up there.  He was one of my heroes when I was a kid. 

I dont think it being a homer at all to say that Matt Jones is one of the greatest athletes ever.  I have never even heard of a human being with such a massive range of athletic abilty as Matt has. 

Of course you have to throw in Jim Thorpe.

As far as single sports competitors go I think you look at guys with a complete set of tools for their games.  Basketball is easily Jordan.  He could do it all.  The most complete five tool baseball player I have ever seen is Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime.  I think A-Rod is right up there as well and even though I cant stand him Bonds is high too although you could raise questions with his arm.  You also have to put Willie Mays up there.  Ruth was great, but I have no clue about his arm, Dimaggio had everthing but great power.  Mantle had it all, but never used it like he could have.  There are others as well worth argument.

Football is too specialized to not pick guys of different positions.

bigt54

I agree, Jim Thorpe doesn't get his due credit.  I have been to Canton, and you could not go through the hall of Fame without getting a great respect for him.

Bo Jackson, if he would have not gotten hurt we would be in the conversation of the best RB ever and one of the best baseball players ever. 
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johnny cash

I would vote for BO Jackson, I still remember him running over the Boz.  Micheal Jordan has to be up there too, just leave out his baseball career.  A athlete who I think should be mentioned is Lance Armstrong for all that he has done.  Carl Lewis is another.  Matt Jones has the ability to be graet in the NFL I just dont think Byron is the guy to get him there.

Josef


HogInaStrangeLand

Too general a question...
a few come to mind.

Roy Jones Jr. - the guy played in a full professional basketball game then that night went and defended his title, he was champion at how many weight clasifications? 5? 6?
His MO always changed with the competition.  Winning in every round (1-12), judges cards, body KO, TKO, Head KO, other person threw in the towel, doctor called it, etc.

Jim Thorpe on the list.
Bruce Jenner deserves mention.
Billie Jean King probably deserves a mention.

There are a number of martial artists that are just too unknown to get enough credit.
Tony Jaa and Jet Li are freaks of nature, if you aren't familiar with them go track down some raw footage, uneditted stuff.


PiggoBitttys

Hey, you can't knock Jordan for baseball. Minor league baseball ain't pewee. It ain't the easiest thing to do. Not saying he was great or anything, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. My vote is for Michael.

Pioneer Fan

I think the best baseball player and one of the greatest athletes of all time was Babe Ruth. He was actually a pitcher at the beginning of his career and a damn good one. He hit more home runs than entire teams and the only "performance enhancing" substances he put into his body were hot dogs and beer. He caroused with wild women until all hours and lived the high life. A guy who could do what he done while living like he did had to be an incredible athlete.
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Tater Salad

Wayne Gretzky. No one has ever dominated a sport like he did.

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CiriusPorker

Pele for Brazilian Soccer would be number 1 for me.
Michael Jorday would be second.
Hank Aaron would be third.


WichitaStateRazorback

I can't decide between Yinka Dare and Manute Bol...they were just amazing.

HogInaStrangeLand

Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

Tater Salad

Quote from: BigNasty56187 on February 15, 2006, 12:01:25 am
I can't decide between Yinka Dare and Manute Bol...they were just amazing.

Dont forget Larry Satchell

hogtheball

Carl Lewis - won 9 gold medals in various events over 4 olympics (would have been more if not for the boycott).  He went undefeated in the long jump for an entire decade!  Not Mr. personality, but probably the most athletically gifted person ever.
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Quote from: HogInaStrangeLand on February 15, 2006, 12:02:23 am
Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

...the thing that i believe makes him better than ruth was that ruth played when players were relatively undeveloped as athletes and dominated scrubs.  by the time hank came around, the game had evolved significantly, became more competitive and required a higher amount of skill, and he dominated in these conditions.

HogInaStrangeLand

Agreed.  He did it all in an era of high quality players.


Table Rocker

Bo.......also, didn't deion run like a 4.2 or under 40 in college? i heard that somewhere

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Quote from: CiriusPorker on February 15, 2006, 12:11:28 am
Quote from: HogInaStrangeLand on February 15, 2006, 12:02:23 am
Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

...the thing that i believe makes him better than ruth was that ruth played when players were relatively undeveloped as athletes and dominated scrubs.  by the time hank came around, the game had evolved significantly, became more competitive and required a higher amount of skill, and he dominated in these conditions.

Did you ever see Ruth? He didn't have a chiseled body that would give him any advantage, he was simply better than everyone else. Maybe saying that Ruth was a superlative athlete is incorrect, but IMO he is the best baseball player. I bet if you look it up you would be amazed how many times Ruth was walked. Just think how many homeruns he would have if he wasn't pitched around so often. I also find it interesting that it took until the 70's for anyone to break his mark. Surely over decades some great athletes were playing baseball.
I have an inferiority complex, but not a good one.

Ugly Uncle

Quote from: CiriusPorker on February 15, 2006, 12:11:28 am
Quote from: HogInaStrangeLand on February 15, 2006, 12:02:23 am
Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

...the thing that i believe makes him better than ruth was that ruth played when players were relatively undeveloped as athletes and dominated scrubs.  by the time hank came around, the game had evolved significantly, became more competitive and required a higher amount of skill, and he dominated in these conditions.

Totally disagree.

The Babe changed baseball.  He one year had more homeruns than two other major league players combined.  In another year, he had more homeruns than any other team but one...if memory serves me correctly.  He was so far ahead of his time.  Hank had monster years at the plate.  You can say that Hank was a better fielder...that COULD be true.  However, I have heard many baseball analyst say that Babe would have been a HOF pitcher had he not been moved to the outfield for his bat.  Check his pitching stats...they were great.  You can only say that about one guy in each sport...one that changed his game.  Gretzky (sp?) in hockey.  Babe in Baseball.  I believe it was Dr. J in basketball (remember I am talking about changing the game...), although Jordan perfected it and did Dr. J better than Dr. J.  In Football, it was Johnny Unitas (sp?).  Now, obviously, this is all my own opinion.  To say any of those was the greatest of all time....I don't know.  I really believe it had to be Jordan or Ali.  Both of those guys were true athletes and the greatest.
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CiriusPorker

Quote from: Pioneer Fan on February 15, 2006, 12:30:31 am
Quote from: CiriusPorker on February 15, 2006, 12:11:28 am
Quote from: HogInaStrangeLand on February 15, 2006, 12:02:23 am
Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

...the thing that i believe makes him better than ruth was that ruth played when players were relatively undeveloped as athletes and dominated scrubs.  by the time hank came around, the game had evolved significantly, became more competitive and required a higher amount of skill, and he dominated in these conditions.

Did you ever see Ruth? He didn't have a chiseled body that would give him any advantage, he was simply better than everyone else. Maybe saying that Ruth was a superlative athlete is incorrect, but IMO he is the best baseball player. I bet if you look it up you would be amazed how many times Ruth was walked. Just think how many homeruns he would have if he wasn't pitched around so often. I also find it interesting that it took until the 70's for anyone to break his mark. Surely over decades some great athletes were playing baseball.

Interesting points, but I still feel that Aaron was better.  I think the greater improvements by athletes overall in baseball have been in pitching.  Even now, the "good" hitting percentages are significantly lower than 30 years prior.  As the pitching improved, hitting homeruns became increasingly more difficult.  Strength, though a major factor, lost a little clout as a variable when pitching speeds became faster.  Better hand-eye coordination was required to be able to use that strength.... 

you might think this is a shot in the dark, but it makes sense to me.

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Pioneer Fan

I think Babe Ruth hit his homeruns during a time when only one baseball was used. Have you ever tried to hit a "mush" ball? If this is true, that factor alone would result in numerous more homeruns for him when compared to baseball in the 70's or today.
I have an inferiority complex, but not a good one.

Richard_white

Quote from: Pioneer Fan on February 15, 2006, 12:40:53 am
I think Babe Ruth hit his homeruns during a time when only one baseball was used. Have you ever tried to hit a "mush" ball? If this is true, that factor alone would result in numerous more homeruns for him when compared to baseball in the 70's or today.

Or today using the "juice"

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Quote from: razorbacks4life27 on February 15, 2006, 12:37:56 am
Spub Webb..man could he dunk for being 2 foot tall

WPS

I had that poster of him in my room.  That was the greatest dunk contest ever. 

In a game, I once saw him in the air put his hand on an opponents head as he proceeded to dunk over everyone in the lane.  Amazing. 
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Richard_white

Quote from: notshavintilnuttgo on February 15, 2006, 12:43:21 am
Quote from: razorbacks4life27 on February 15, 2006, 12:37:56 am
Spub Webb..man could he dunk for being 2 foot tall

WPS

I had the poster of him dunking over ewing. I still have that poster somewhere in the attic

I had that poster of him in my room.  That was the greatest dunk contest ever. 

In a game, I once saw him in the air put his hand on an opponents head as he proceeded to dunk over everyone in the lane.  Amazing. 

Pioneer Fan

Quote from: CiriusPorker on February 15, 2006, 12:36:42 am
Quote from: Pioneer Fan on February 15, 2006, 12:30:31 am
Quote from: CiriusPorker on February 15, 2006, 12:11:28 am
Quote from: HogInaStrangeLand on February 15, 2006, 12:02:23 am
Applaud for Aaron....(he gets overlooked so much in baseball....)

...the thing that i believe makes him better than ruth was that ruth played when players were relatively undeveloped as athletes and dominated scrubs.  by the time hank came around, the game had evolved significantly, became more competitive and required a higher amount of skill, and he dominated in these conditions.

Did you ever see Ruth? He didn't have a chiseled body that would give him any advantage, he was simply better than everyone else. Maybe saying that Ruth was a superlative athlete is incorrect, but IMO he is the best baseball player. I bet if you look it up you would be amazed how many times Ruth was walked. Just think how many homeruns he would have if he wasn't pitched around so often. I also find it interesting that it took until the 70's for anyone to break his mark. Surely over decades some great athletes were playing baseball.

Interesting points, but I still feel that Aaron was better.  I think the greater improvements by athletes overall in baseball have been in pitching.  Even now, the "good" hitting percentages are significantly lower than 30 years prior.  As the pitching improved, hitting homeruns became increasingly more difficult.  Strength, though a major factor, lost a little clout as a variable when pitching speeds became faster.  Better hand-eye coordination was required to be able to use that strength.... 

you might think this is a shot in the dark, but it makes sense to me.

Those points make sense to me, but your point on pitching can be made even better if you take into account the way middle relievers and closers are used today. If Bonds wasn't juiced, he doesn't even come close Aaron's or Ruth's numbers. It is hard to hit homeruns if a manager brings a "situational" pitcher in to face one batter and then brings in a closer that only pitches one inning a night. Still, Ruth's numbers dwarf what anyone else can claim. We can discuss the quality of athletes in certain eras in every sport, not just baseball.
I have an inferiority complex, but not a good one.

lechon

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QuoteI can't decide between Yinka Dare and Manute Bol...they were just amazing.

Yinka Dare..............1st person EVER to get 1 assist after 6 complete seasons....1st EVER!!!
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Hawgin84

It is very hard to say who would be the greatest, because there have been many that are deserving of the title. Most every athlete listed in this thread could have an argument made in their case. There are many professional athletes that could have been two and three sport athletes had it been feasible. There are quite a few players over the years that could have chosen to play another sport professionally over the one they did. They simply chose the one they thought they could have most success, longevity, enjoyment or for whatever reason. That said, I will add one name to the list.

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