Ironslave's top 10 greatest athletes ever

[Line]

I don't think you really even needed to include a write up for Jordan, IS.

My guesses for your list:
Babe Ruth
Jack Nicklaus
Jesse Owens

(was gonna put Pele)

Ruth was pretty much a demigod amongst men and Owens is one that was on the back of my mind as well.

As a hardcore golfer I'll add that Tiger Woods is already the greatest golfer that has ever played the game and I'm willing to debate that with anyone. I could care less that he hasn't broken the Holy Grail of golf records: Jack's 18 Majors. Some things cannot be measured by statistics alone and the impact of Woods' success on the game, excluding popularity even, is immeasurable. Some say that Jordan made all of his teammates better, Woods made the entire sport better.

 

[Ironslave]

I don't think you really even needed to include a write up for Jordan, IS.

haha yeah true, it was pretty easy to do though. With MJ at #7, it's going to start to get interesting from here on it.

 

[Paulie]

I few we might see later on:

Jerry Rice?
Tiger Woods?
Michael Johnson?

 

[Pickle]

michael jordan at number 7?

ur list is getting interesting. if you slip up with one of the next 6 ill cry.

is there any swimmers on ur list?

 

[Ironslave]

michael jordan at number 7?

ur list is getting interesting. if you slip up with one of the next 6 ill cry.

is there any swimmers on ur list?

haha slip up? What would you consider to be a slip up? lol.

Nope, no swimmers on the list (and if there were, Phelps would be listed above Thorpe )

 

[skid9832004]

pele
M J
Tiger Woods

I know to little about football = baseball to name the greatest player and pele is the greatest of all time because his record of goals to games ratio will never be beaten ever in the history of man (ask any soccer player and they will agree)

 

[Beefcake]

Do you think that maybe Brett Favre will make the list? God I hope not, I hate that guy.

 

[Paulie]

Brett Favre

 

[Mygeeto]

Nice thread IS. Nice choices and write ups..

I have to agree with Pickle on Don Bradman, but I know alot of people wont have heard of him. Sir Dons Stats double those of the 2nd best cricketer ever.

My guesses for your list:
Babe Ruth
Jack Nicklaus
Jesse Owens

(was gonna put Pele)

 

[JS316]

You heard of him?

 

[Mygeeto]

yeah. he's a runner.

 

[JS316]

yeah. he's a runner.

Was.

4 gold's in about an hour or something. A great achievement...probably not good enough for this list though

 

[Minchinator]

Rickey Henderson, Bo Jackson, Hershel Walker, Jim Brown, Bill Kazmier, Michael Jordan, Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Dion Sanders, Sandy Koufax. No particular order, all just great athletes.

 

[Line]

Rickey Henderson, Bo Jackson, Hershel Walker, Jim Brown, Bill Kazmier, Michael Jordan, Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Dion Sanders, Sandy Koufax. No particular order, all just great athletes.

Great athletes but, with little exception, nowhere near the 10 greatest of all time. Especially if you're naming baseball players like Koufax and Henderson. To a point I can see where you're coming from with Rickey, Bo, and Deion since they're multiple sport athletes but I'm not sure how that will take. Jackson was a hell of a Tecmo Superbowl player though.

 

[Minchinator]

Tecmo Superbowl is perhaps the greatest damn football game ever! Bo Jackson was a stud in that game, I wish I still had it to play. An argument over the greatest of all time could go on forever, those are 10 that I find amazing.

 

[Line]

Tecmo Superbowl is perhaps the greatest damn football game ever! Bo Jackson was a stud in that game, I wish I still had it to play. An argument over the greatest of all time could go on forever, those are 10 that I find amazing.

 

[Mygeeto]

Was.

4 gold's in about an hour or something. A great achievement...probably not good enough for this list though

not bad for a days work

 

[Beefcake]

not bad for a days work

Not as bad as deflowering 1634 concubines in a single fortnight.

 

[Pickle]

^ Bump. who is number 6?

 

[Ironslave]

Sorry, I'm pressed for time lately so I don't have the write up, but here's number 6.

Line mentioned earlier in the thread that Babe Ruth was a demigod amongst men during his time, not only is this true, to some extent, he still is. Baseball is known as "America's game", and Ruth will forever be the game's icon.

Yankee stadium, one of the most famous sports arena's anywhere in the world, is known as the "House that Ruth built." This isn't entirely accurate, as literally, this could be called "the house they built for Ruth". Previously, they shared a stadium with the New York (now San Francisco) Giants, who threatened to evict them. At the time, baseball stadiums could hold around 30,000 people. When the Yankees built their stadium, the first game reportedly held around 74,000 people, with a reported 25,000 or so turned away. Babe was the reason why they were able to hold that many people, he also christened the building hitting it's first home run, and leading the team to a World Series championship in its first year. The Yankees are easily among the top handful of most storied franchises of all time, and this was all started with Babe Ruth. He also helped spark the baseball movement in Japan, as in 1934 he participated in an all-star tour there. A decade later, Japanese soldiers seeking the ultimate insult for American troops would sometimes shout, "To hell with Babe Ruth!"

Besides his charisma and ability to draw a crowd, Ruth was one hell of an all around player. He started off his career as a pitcher, and he was one of the best. His career record of 89-46 is indeed an impressive winning percentage, as was his 2.28 ERA. More importantly, he lead the Red Sox to 3 World Series wins in his 4 years with them as a pitcher. When he was traded to the Yankees, he emerged as arguably the greatest hitter of all time. He changed the way baseball was played, paving the way for high scoring and power hitting. He was the first player to hit 30, 40, 50, and 60 home runs in a single season. From 1918-31, he led the AL in slugging percentage every year except 1925. From 1918-31, a 14 year span, he led the league in home runs 12 times, finishing second and third the other two seasons respectively. He only won 1 MVP, however this was due to a rule that at the time, baseball players were not allowed to win it more than once until 1930. Some of his all time records include:

* 3rd on all-time home run list with 714
* 10 on all-time batting average list with .342
* 2nd on all-time RBI list with 2,217
* 1st on all-time slugging % with 0.690
* 2nd on all-time on-base % list with .474
* 1st on all-time OPS with 1.164
* 4th on all-time runs list with 2,174
* 6th on all-time total bases list with 5,793
* 3rd on all-time bases on balls list with 2,062
* 7 World Series Championships.


Going back to the aura Babe still has to this day, look no further than the movie "The Sandlot." In the film, a ghost of Babe Ruth appears in the middle of the night and says the memorable quote: "Hero's get remembered, but legends never die."

... no wonder so many people say the ghost of Babe Ruth still lives.