Who is the Greatest Athlete of All-Time?

[1994]

LDP3 I was about to log on and say the same thing. Bo it seems to me at one time was the only NFL player to run 2 touchdowns from scrimmage for 80 plus yards (something like that). Was great at track and George Brett once said that anytime Bo went up to bat he would leave his bench seat to watch. Also Dave was second on my list, from Michigan State, I believe he was all conference in everything but waterboy. I havn't given it much thought but Bob Gibson was a real good Basketball Player also.

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Dave Winfield does get overlooked, that is true.

[UALRGrad]

Saul Smith  (tubby's son)

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Saul?

Please kill me now.

[lyon98]

Jim Thorpe - All-American football player in 1911 and 1912. Gold Medal in pentathlon and decathlon in same Olympics in 1912. Played professional basketball and football.

Jim Brown - In both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He's the only person to be in two different Halls as an athlete. And many people say he might have been the greatest lacrosse player ever.

Brown is certainly the greatest post WWII, but it is generally said the greatest played in the 30s. I don't remember his name but it is listed in most books on lacrosse. There were 8 changes made to ncaa lacrosse rules when Brown graduated to prevent any one from dominating the sport as he did.

Jackie Robinson, AA running back at UCLA, track, etc and he played good baseball. Brown was a capable basketball player. He might have added that to his sports activities as a freshman at Syrcause.

Thorpe is my choice.

Added: Obviously I wrote this before reading Bogarto's post about Brown playing basketball at Sycrause.

[LA HAWG]

Rick Sutcliff

[hogtheball]

Who else has played more than one pro sport.  I know Danny Ainge played baseball and basketball.  Bo Jackson, of course. Deion Sanders, don't forget his baseball career.  who else is there?

[whatsshakinbacon]

Who else has played more than one pro sport.  I know Danny Ainge played baseball and basketball.  Bo Jackson, of course. Deion Sanders, don't forget his baseball career.  who else is there?

Michael Jordan, Brian Jordan (no relation)

Others are out there.

Bacon out...

[hogtheball]

I wouldn't count MJ - he never played major league baseball.  There are TONS of athletes who played in the minors that played football or basketball.

So Far (2 sports in the Majors):   Danny Ainge, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Brian Jordan, ?

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Again, Roy Jones Jr. played a semi-pro basketball game then later that night defended
his title.

[hogtheball]

Did TOO TALL Jones ever box?  he did.  he went 6-0 in pro boxing career..

[hogtheball]

So Far (2 sports in the Majors):   Danny Ainge, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Brian Jordan, Ed "too tall" jones...

[hoggystyle78]

There's no doubt Jordan was a great Basketball player, but did you happen to see how he struggled in baseball?, not the greatest overall athlete out there. My two would have to be Jim Thorpe and Lance Armastrong, what he has done in the tour de France is nothing short of amazing, along the same lines as UCLAs run with Wooden as coach.

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Jordan is argueable unmatched in Basketball.

His baseball and golf hurt his chances though as being 'THE GREATEST"

[hogtheball]

http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_bio.html

Even contemporaneous superstars recognized the unparalleled position of Jordan. Magic Johnson said, "There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." Larry Bird, following a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, appraisal of the young player was: "God disguised as Michael Jordan.


Maybe he's not the "Greatest Athlete of All-Time", but I can't think of anyone else who comes close to EVERYTHING he meant to sports.

For their own time and place, I'd say Ali, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Jesse Owens meant just as much to sports as Jordan.  There are probably a few more. 

[lyon98]

Who else has played more than one pro sport.  I know Danny Ainge played baseball and basketball.  Bo Jackson, of course. Deion Sanders, don't forget his baseball career.  who else is there?

\
One of my neighbors played in three majors, pitched for a Chicago team, Sox, I believe. They Chicago basketball team and Chicago FB team. He also ran track in college.

[hogtheball]

Who else has played more than one pro sport.  I know Danny Ainge played baseball and basketball.  Bo Jackson, of course. Deion Sanders, don't forget his baseball career.  who else is there?

\
One of my neighbors played in three majors, pitched for a Chicago team, Sox, I believe. They Chicago basketball team and Chicago FB team. He also ran track in college.

Somebody played for the Sox, the Bulls, and the Bears?  Does he have a name?

[MF]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Lance Armstrong.

[twistitup]

Ross Rebagliati

[HogISH™]

me!!!

the best bar athelet in the history of the wold!!!

pool, darts, shuffle board, wagering (big time sport), mind games, the list goes on and on...

is drinking considered a sport? if so i excell at that also...

three o'clock, have to run... time to workout...

HogISH

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Yep...so far reasonable nominees have been (in no order)

Lance Amstrong
Bo Jackson
Michael Jordan
Babe Ruth
Jim Brown
Jim Thorpe
Bruce Jenner
Ali
Jesse Owens
Dave Winfield
Hank Aaron
Edwin Moses
Carl Lewis
Roy Jones Jr.
Nolan Ryan (Best Arm for sure)
Billie Jean King

...some others I've missed i'm afraid...just off top of my head.

[bdutt]

What about Jim Thorpe?

[HogInaStrangeLand]

check the list...

[MJ2]

matt jones

Totally agree on MJ.  Why did it take until the 2nd post for his name to come up?

[fineswine]

When Bo was in college, it was noted he ran a 4 flat 40 once.  My goodness, 222 lbs, and could fly.  NFL probowler  and  MVP of the MLB all-star game.  I think you can say that will NEVER happen again.  Dick Schapp said Bo was his choice as greatest athlete of all time.  An argument could certainly be made for Thorpe, but unfortunately you can't compare people from different generations with any real accuracy.  Certainly Thorpe was the greatest athlete of his era, maybe ever, who knows?  You can speculate forever, but no one will ever know.

[bdutt]

check the list...

D'oh!

[Lando Calrissian]

Derek Hood!

[pfrg999]

William "The Fridge" Perry, Nate Newton, Abdullah "The Butcher", Stanley Roberts,

[twistitup]

irvin, micheal irvin...

[clemensrules01]

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

im calling bull on this one. ruth dominated baseball more than gretzky dominated hockey.

[lyon98]

Who else has played more than one pro sport.  I know Danny Ainge played baseball and basketball.  Bo Jackson, of course. Deion Sanders, don't forget his baseball career.  who else is there?

\
One of my neighbors played in three majors, pitched for a Chicago team, Sox, I believe. They Chicago basketball team and Chicago FB team. He also ran track in college.

Somebody played for the Sox, the Bulls, and the Bears?  Does he have a name?

He didn't play for the Bears. At the end of WWII there were 3 FB teams in Chicago. Bears, Cardinals and one in the AA Conference with the Cleveland Browns, and whatever the rest were named. I don't believe the Bulls existed at the time. His name is Reynolds, played at mississippi state as a freshman at the beginning of WWII and at mississippi southern after the war. He was the first person elected to their Athletic Hall of Fame, when it was established.  As to the Cardinals, When Lamar McHan was drafted, they were still in Chicago.

[pfrg999]

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

im calling bull on this one. ruth dominated baseball more than gretzky dominated hockey.

They are Both similar... They dominated their respective sports much the same....  Ruth with HR's and Gretzky 50 goals in 35 games... 200 + pts in 4 different Season... He lead the League in Scoring more than he didn't....
Once Scored 378 goals in 85 Games  (he was 9 I think)

[EastexHawg]

Hank Aaron batted 4,000 more times to hit 41 more home runs than Babe Ruth.

If Ruth had batted as many times as Aaron and maintained his HR/AB ration HE WOULD HAVE HIT OVER 1,050 HOME RUNS...and we wouldn't be having conversations comparing Aaron, Bonds, or anyone else to Ruth.

Taking it a step further, if Ruth had batted 4,000 more times in his career (as Aaron did), he would have driven in 3,258 runs, scored 3,200 times, and in general put all career batting records (other than career batting average) out of reach of anyone.  He would have close to 1,000 RBI more than Aaron's current record, and 800 or so more runs than Rickey Henderson's record.

There are a few areas in which we don't have to "project" Ruth's numbers.  His career batting average is 37 points higher than Aaron's, .342 to .305.  His career slugging percentage (IMO by far the best single statistic by which to rate hitters) is .690...and unbelievable number that is still the record, despite the juiced balls and players and proliferation of home runs we've seen in the last decade.  His slugging percentage is also 135 points (24%) higher than Aaron's mark of .555.

As for whether or not Ruth could run...he also had 136 career triples compared to Aaron's 98.

Leo Durocher, who played on the Yankees with Ruth and Gehrig, managed Willie Mays, and managed against Aaron for almost his entire career, basically said there was no comparison between Ruth and Aaron as sluggers.  He said Ruth was by far the greatest star, the guy everyone came to see...even when he was taking batting practice...while Aaron was a great player who happened to play long enough and come to bat enough times to hit 41 more home runs.

Not taking anything away from Hank Aaron, who was a truly great player...but I don't think there is any comparison to Ruth.  In fact, I wouldn't even rate Aaron among the top five hitters in baseball history.  My rankings (excluding the juicers of today) would be:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Ted Williams
3. Lou Gehrig

I would also rate Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby (hit over .400 three times, including the all-time record of .424 in one season), and Stan Musial ahead of Aaron.

Personally, I don't even think Aaron was the best player of his era.  I'd take Willie Mays in his prime over Aaron in a heartbeat...and a young Mickey Mantle, too.

Mantle was (unless someone has broken his record recently) the fastest man ever clocked going from home plate to first base before he tore up his knee on a sprinkler head.  He also hit the longest home run ever measured.  That's not a bad combination of speed and power.

[ENHOG]

Dave Winfield was drafted in all three Professional Sports.

I would go with MJ.  Jordan  and Jones

[Adam Stokes]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  Greg Maddux and John Smoltz
  John Stockton and Karl Malone (gotta love the shorts)
 

[clemensrules01]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  Greg Maddux and John Smoltz
  John Stockton and Karl Malone (gotta love the shorts)
 

no michael jordan and scottie pippen? kobe and shaq? gherig and ruth? montana and rice? irvin and aikman? manning and harrison?

[Adam Stokes]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  Greg Maddux and John Smoltz
  John Stockton and Karl Malone (gotta love the shorts)
 

no michael jordan and scottie pippen? kobe and shaq? gherig and ruth? montana and rice? irvin and aikman? manning and harrison?

  I stuck to two per major sport in my era.

[clemensrules01]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  Greg Maddux and John Smoltz
  John Stockton and Karl Malone (gotta love the shorts)
 

no michael jordan and scottie pippen? kobe and shaq? gherig and ruth? montana and rice? irvin and aikman? manning and harrison?

  I stuck to two per major sport in my era.

stockton and malone over pippen and jordan?

[lyon98]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  

Howell to Hutson.

[PIGINAPOKE]

BUTTERBEAN

[RebelHawg]

Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, and Thorpe

[hogtheball]

  Greatest Duos,

  Steve Young and Jerry Rice
  Greg Maddux and John Smoltz
  John Stockton and Karl Malone (gotta love the shorts)
 

no michael jordan and scottie pippen? kobe and shaq? gherig and ruth? montana and rice? irvin and aikman? manning and harrison?

  I stuck to two per major sport in my era.

stockton and malone over pippen and jordan?

Stockton and Malone played together a lot longer than Jordan/Pippen.  Jordan/Stockton would have been awesome.  Jordan/Malone would have been incredible.  Pippen/Malone would have been great.  No need to slam either duo.

Marino/Clayton was a pretty good duo.

[ThisLittlePiggie]

Hank Aaron batted 4,000 more times to hit 41 more home runs than Babe Ruth.

If Ruth had batted as many times as Aaron and maintained his HR/AB ration HE WOULD HAVE HIT OVER 1,050 HOME RUNS...and we wouldn't be having conversations comparing Aaron, Bonds, or anyone else to Ruth.

Taking it a step further, if Ruth had batted 4,000 more times in his career (as Aaron did), he would have driven in 3,258 runs, scored 3,200 times, and in general put all career batting records (other than career batting average) out of reach of anyone.  He would have close to 1,000 RBI more than Aaron's current record, and 800 or so more runs than Rickey Henderson's record.

There are a few areas in which we don't have to "project" Ruth's numbers.  His career batting average is 37 points higher than Aaron's, .342 to .305.  His career slugging percentage (IMO by far the best single statistic by which to rate hitters) is .690...and unbelievable number that is still the record, despite the juiced balls and players and proliferation of home runs we've seen in the last decade.  His slugging percentage is also 135 points (24%) higher than Aaron's mark of .555.

As for whether or not Ruth could run...he also had 136 career triples compared to Aaron's 98.

Leo Durocher, who played on the Yankees with Ruth and Gehrig, managed Willie Mays, and managed against Aaron for almost his entire career, basically said there was no comparison between Ruth and Aaron as sluggers.  He said Ruth was by far the greatest star, the guy everyone came to see...even when he was taking batting practice...while Aaron was a great player who happened to play long enough and come to bat enough times to hit 41 more home runs.

Not taking anything away from Hank Aaron, who was a truly great player...but I don't think there is any comparison to Ruth.  In fact, I wouldn't even rate Aaron among the top five hitters in baseball history.  My rankings (excluding the juicers of today) would be:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Ted Williams
3. Lou Gehrig

I would also rate Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby (hit over .400 three times, including the all-time record of .424 in one season), and Stan Musial ahead of Aaron.

Personally, I don't even think Aaron was the best player of his era.  I'd take Willie Mays in his prime over Aaron in a heartbeat...and a young Mickey Mantle, too.

Mantle was (unless someone has broken his record recently) the fastest man ever clocked going from home plate to first base before he tore up his knee on a sprinkler head.  He also hit the longest home run ever measured.  That's not a bad combination of speed and power.

This right here pretty well iced the argument re: Ruth vs. Aaron. And to boot, Ruth was a fabulous pitcher. No contest.

[HogInaStrangeLand]

Hank Aaron batted 4,000 more times to hit 41 more home runs than Babe Ruth.

If Ruth had batted as many times as Aaron and maintained his HR/AB ration HE WOULD HAVE HIT OVER 1,050 HOME RUNS...and we wouldn't be having conversations comparing Aaron, Bonds, or anyone else to Ruth.

Taking it a step further, if Ruth had batted 4,000 more times in his career (as Aaron did), he would have driven in 3,258 runs, scored 3,200 times, and in general put all career batting records (other than career batting average) out of reach of anyone.  He would have close to 1,000 RBI more than Aaron's current record, and 800 or so more runs than Rickey Henderson's record.

There are a few areas in which we don't have to "project" Ruth's numbers.  His career batting average is 37 points higher than Aaron's, .342 to .305.  His career slugging percentage (IMO by far the best single statistic by which to rate hitters) is .690...and unbelievable number that is still the record, despite the juiced balls and players and proliferation of home runs we've seen in the last decade.  His slugging percentage is also 135 points (24%) higher than Aaron's mark of .555.

As for whether or not Ruth could run...he also had 136 career triples compared to Aaron's 98.

Leo Durocher, who played on the Yankees with Ruth and Gehrig, managed Willie Mays, and managed against Aaron for almost his entire career, basically said there was no comparison between Ruth and Aaron as sluggers.  He said Ruth was by far the greatest star, the guy everyone came to see...even when he was taking batting practice...while Aaron was a great player who happened to play long enough and come to bat enough times to hit 41 more home runs.

Not taking anything away from Hank Aaron, who was a truly great player...but I don't think there is any comparison to Ruth.  In fact, I wouldn't even rate Aaron among the top five hitters in baseball history.  My rankings (excluding the juicers of today) would be:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Ted Williams
3. Lou Gehrig

I would also rate Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby (hit over .400 three times, including the all-time record of .424 in one season), and Stan Musial ahead of Aaron.

Personally, I don't even think Aaron was the best player of his era.  I'd take Willie Mays in his prime over Aaron in a heartbeat...and a young Mickey Mantle, too.

Mantle was (unless someone has broken his record recently) the fastest man ever clocked going from home plate to first base before he tore up his knee on a sprinkler head.  He also hit the longest home run ever measured.  That's not a bad combination of speed and power.

This right here pretty well iced the argument re: Ruth vs. Aaron. And to boot, Ruth was a fabulous pitcher. No contest.

Hey geniuses you can't make an argument based on what didn't happen....sorry to burst your bubble....

Also, triples don't prove jack regarding running,

RUTH WAS SECOND WORST STEALING PERCENTAGE WITH A 200 ATTEMPT MINIMUM.....

Hello did you forget about the whole fielding aspect?

Furthermore, the pitchers of Aaron's era (60's and 70's) I contest, were much more effective than in the 20's...
Look at who Aaron had to face pitching.

Furthermore, the HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT was built to favor a left hand power hitter
(295 FT) TO THE right foul pole.  Gee, surprisingly Ruth bats left.

AGAIN try comparing what did happen as opposed to what didn't.
and if you want to continue to argue what didn't happen then lets go to Postseason play.

Aaron beats Ruth out easy in your fictitious world of multiple the numbers to even out the games...HR, RBI, Hits, SB, etc., etc. (again, minus the pitching...)

[Tater Salad]

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

im calling bull on this one. ruth dominated baseball more than gretzky dominated hockey.

Could be wrong, but Gretzky holds somewhere around 80 records in the NHL

[HogInaStrangeLand]

It's a yankees fan, it's like arguing with a brick wall.

[Table Rocker]

Sean McCurdy

[Tater Salad]

Kurt Rambis

[whatsshakinbacon]

William "The Refrigerator" Perry

Bacon out...

[Pioneer Fan]

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.

Ruth got a candy bar named after him, Aaron got the award for the all-around best player named after him...maybe there was a reason.  Ruth was like Ali, extraordinary but they get called 'The Greatest' because they had media circus's around them.

For all of those thinking Ali is the greatest, sorry but look at what kind of damage he sustained...he had something remarkable, but athletes don't take that kind of damage.  Rocky Marciano won, undefeated, he took the damage he had to to win, it didn't have lifetime results like Ali. 
Again, Roy Jones Jr. moved through 5 or 6 weight classes....he didn't even fight at his ideal body weight for the majority of his latter career. 
Sorry folks, Ali wasn't the greatest, extraordinary but not the greatest...ask Frazier.

Baby Ruth candy bars aren't named after Babe Ruth. I am pretty sure they're named for a president's daughter. And I really doubt there was even such a thing as a media circus in the 1920's.