Ironslave's top 10 greatest athletes ever

[Ironslave]

Sorry guys, some the next few would definitely need a write up, which I don't have time to do right now. It will be done soon!

 

[Ironslave]

bump... I did a write up for Babe Ruth. I have more free time these days so I'll start this up again.

 

[Ironslave]

Babe (Didriksen) Zaharias was in all likelihood, the best female athlete of all time. She'd eventually become one of the most dominant athletes in an individual sport (golf), but also excelled at pretty much everything she did. She was an All-American in Basketball and track and field, and would win two gold medals in the 1932 Olympics in the 800m hurdles and javelin. The same Olympics, she would also tie for the gold medal in the high jump (but was awarded the silver medal on a judges decision).

All of these feats are indeed impressive, however she would eventually be known as arguably the greatest woman golfer of all time. Despite first picking up golf at the age of 24, she would soon dominate as both an amateur and professional. As an amateur, she won the United States Women's Amateur Golf Championships in 1946 and 1946, as well as the 1947 British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship (becoming the first American to win this). She would complete her impressive amateur career by winning three LPGA major championships by winning the Western Open in 1940, 1945-46 (all as an amateur), and a whopping 17 straight amateur victories!

Formally turning pro in 1947, she would eventually win four straight world championships from 48-51. Yet, her arguably most impressive feat was winning all three LPGA majors in the same calender year in 1950. By the end of her career, she had 41 amateur wins, 41 LPGA wins, and a total of 10 LPGA majors.

Like many others on this list, her achievements made a huge impact in society. One sports writer said "It would be much better if she and her ilk stayed at home, got themselves prettied up and waited for the phone to ring", reflecting a common view of the idealistic woman at the time. Yet, she would become the first real dominant woman athlete and would pave the way for eventual social acceptance of womens sports.

She would eventually become the Associated Press' female athlete of both the half century and century, as well as Sports Illustrated and ESPN's greatest womans athlete of all time.

 

[JS316]

Interesting read IS. Never heard of her but she definately belongs on the list. I don't think we'll see anyone so versed at so many sports ever. Especially at that level.

 

[Ironslave]

Interesting read IS. Never heard of her but she definately belongs on the list. I don't think we'll see anyone so versed at so many sports ever. Especially at that level.

Au contraire

 

[JS316]

Au contraire

Oh ok... this gives a bit of a clue of who is to come... perhaps a guy with the initials JT?

I would also like to add to my list of guesses a guy called Wayne. (Along with Jack,Roger and Jesse. Got 1 point already with Babe.)

 

[Ironslave]

Oh ok... this gives a bit of a clue of who is to come... perhaps a guy with the initials JT?

If you want to define the greatest athlete of all time as someone who was able to dominate multiple sports, Jim Thorpe would be inarguably #1 on your list. In college, Thorpe dominated pretty much every sport he could, earning letters in 11 (!!) sports at the university of Carlisle, even winning the 1912 inter-collegiate ballroom dancing championship. He would eventually become most known for track and field, but his favorite sport was football. He was a third team all-american in football before "casually" leaving to play minor league professional baseball for two years.

After two years of baseball, he returned to college for 2 more years to play football, and was named all American both years. If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned which position he played, it's because he pretty much played them all, as he was his team's running back, defensive back, place kicker, and punter. His most famous feat in college football while pretty much leading Carlisle to an 18-15 victory over Harvard, where he scored ALL his team's points (4 field goals and a touchdown). The next year, Carlisle won the National Championship.

It seems that everything he had done to this point would be close enough to put him on this list, but it gets better. In 1912, Thorpe went to the Olympics where he dominated and won a gold medal in the pentathalon (long jump, javelin, 200M dash, 1500M run, and discus), winning each individual event, except a third place in the javelin (not to make an excuse for him not winning the javelin, but he did only try it for the first time the year of the Olympics).

He wasn't finished the 1912 Olympics yet, he won another gold medal in the decathalon, where the winner still can make claim to being the best all around athlete in the world. The events were 100 m run, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 m run, discus, 110 M hurdles, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 m run; he placed in the top 4 of each event and dominated the competition.

Next up, Thorpe decided to go fully professional in baseball, basketball and football. He played sparingly in the MLB with the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves, where he didn't make much of an impact until his last season in 1919 where he batted .327.

As a professional football player, Thorpe was still one of the best. He signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915, and led them to a championship in 1916, 1917, and 1919 in the American Professional Football Association (which would become part of the NFL in 1920). As if he wasn't already legendary enough, he was the first ever Commissioner of the NFL in 1920, while he was still a player.

It's almost unthinkable that someone could not only play, but dominate almost every sport imaginable the way Thorpe did. He didn't dominate just because the talent pool was much weaker back then, his numbers in all his sports are still mind boggling.

-He could run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds flat
-run the 220 yard dash in 21.8 seconds
-the 440 yard dash in 51.8 seconds,
-the 880 yard run in 1:57
- the mile in 4:35
-the 120-yard high hurdles in 15 seconds
- the 220-yard low hurdles in 24 seconds
-long jump 23 ft 6 in
-high-jump 6 ft 5 in.
-pole vault 11 feet
-shotput 47 ft 9 in
-throw the javelin 163 feet
-throw the discus 136 feet.

Absolutely unreal. If Thorpe were still alive today (without considering how much better he could have been with modern training) and produced these numbers, he would still be the best all around athlete in the world.

 

[Pickle]

nice picks ironslave. please continue good sir.

 

[lifterdead]

Nice pics. It's taken me awhile to read through all of them in this thread, but, I have ask....


Why no Ed Coan??????????

That is, if you include weightlifters/powerlifters, he's gotta be up there.

 

[jornT]

Why don't people understand that their pet athletes are only good in one sport, and in case of Ed Coan, not such a big sport anyway.

 

[lifterdead]

Why don't people understand that their pet athletes are only good in one sport, and in case of Ed Coan, not such a big sport anyway.

I'm gonna call BS on this one.
So, according to you, and athlete isn't great if....

1) They don't participate in a "big sport,"
and
2) they're only good in that one sport,


is kinda of laughable, isn't it?
So we should get rid of Joe Montana Mohammed Ali because they only played one sport?

Opps, no, according to your logic, that's ok, because they play "big sports..."








(I like the concept of Ed Coan as my "pet" athlete, btw.)

 

[Zigurd]

Great list so far !!

 

[jornT]

I'm gonna call BS on this one.

Disagree with me is still gay.

So, according to you, and athlete isn't great if....

1) They don't participate in a "big sport,"
and
2) they're only good in that one sport,

That's what you make of it studzianowski.

1) You can be a great athlete if you compete in a small sport. But, it's a lot harder to dominate in a popular sport like soccer, than it is in a small sport. That's why bigger sports are worth more 'point' for alltime awsonmeness. If someone Deadlifted 2000 lbs tommorow, and totally dominated the small sport of PL, that would be really awsome. But being a little bit better than everyone else in a small sport is not the same as being a little bit better than everyone else where you have 10 times the amount of people to beat.

2) It's hard enough to dominate one sport, if you have to own multiple (and look at some of the lists ironslave wrote) you don't have a chance to practice it endless hours. If you still can compete with guys who specialize in it, and own them, you're fucking awsome.

 

[lifterdead]

Disagree with me is still gay.

I'm free this saturday night. How about some drinks and a massage?

1) You can be a great athlete if you compete in a small sport. But, it's a lot harder to dominate in a popular sport like soccer, than it is in a small sport. That's why bigger sports are worth more 'point' for alltime awsonmeness. If someone Deadlifted 2000 lbs tommorow, and totally dominated the small sport of PL, that would be really awsome. But being a little bit better than everyone else in a small sport is not the same as being a little bit better than everyone else where you have 10 times the amount of people to beat.

Ah, but this just shows how little you understand about powerlifting, and Ed Coan, for that matter. But that's quite alright, I don't blame you for your ignorance. Allow me to enlighten you.

For example:

When Ed Coan posted his 2,402 pound total weigh 219 pounds, the next best total by a 242 pound lifter was 2,105.

Ed's total was 14.5% better than the rest of the world. In ANY sport, that's almost unprecedented. That's like a major league player batting .460. Michael Johnson would have to run a 16.67 second 200 meter dash to equate Ed's performance. Or imagine a a high jumper breaking the 8-foot world record with a 9+ effort.

He's deadlift record of 900 pounds at 219 was made in 1991, and still no one's come close to it.

When he totaled 2,403 in 1998, it was the highest total ever, regardless of bodyweight, beating out people outweighing him by hundreds of pounds.

He's more or less dominated every class he competed in for the last 25 years....


And you think that a "small" group of people have been trying to break his records?

oh boy.....



And how many people on Ironslaves list competed in only one sport? Go back and read the list again. There's quite a few.

 

[Ironslave]

Not saying Coan isn't impressive... but I do agree with Jorn, it is easier to dominate powerlifting, than it is a sport which is more mainstream with a lot more participants. A huge part of my criteria also is the social impact they had, to which I'd argue that Coan had probably none.

 

[Ironslave]

I like debate, but I cleaned up the bitching a bit.

Write up for #3 coming soon.

 

[high_five]

Great choices so far IS. Can't wait to see the top three.

 

[lifterdead]

I like debate, but I cleaned up the bitching a bit.

Write up for #3 coming soon.

Sorry I got so carried away! Sometimes, I just can't stop myself.






Looking forward to number 3#....

 

[Ironslave]

The greatest hockey player of all time, and probably the most dominant athlete in a team sport that's ever lived, no list of greatest athletes could be complete without the "Great One".

Ever since growing up a child prodigy, Wayne Gretzky dominated in a team sport like we've never seen before. While he received plenty of attention in and around Ontario, it was not until the age of 16 when he first garnered international recognition playing for Canada at the World Junior Championships, a tournament for the best players in the world aged 20 and younger. Even making the team as a 16 year old is absolutely insane (something that only 4 other Canadians have done since the late 70's), yet Gretzky dominated it, scoring 17 points in 6 games, and being named to the tournament all star team, and named best forward.

He made his pro debut as a 17 year old in the now defunct WHA, but was sold to the Edmonton Oilers the next year and as an 18 year old, he had cemented himself as the best player in the world. Despite being 18, he tied for the league lead in scoring, and won the Hart trophy as the league MVP, his first of 8 MVP's in a row (!!), and 9 overall. In his second year, he won the scoring title outright, his first of 7 in a row (10 overall).

By his third NHL season, Gretzky was ready to being his assault on the record books. Scoring 50 goals in the NHL is considered a major milestone, and at the time, the fastest player to do it was Mike Bossy, who did it in 50 games. That year, Gretzky scored 50 goals in 39 games (almost 25% less games), and finished the year with 92 goals overall (breaking the current record of 76). Both of which are still records, and seeing as the NHL leader in goals this year scored 65, they will almost certainly never be broken.

By the next year, Gretzky would cement his legacy as an all time great, leading his team to the Stanley Cup finals in a losing effort, however the following year marked the beginning of the Edmonton Oil dynasty, considered by many to be the greatest hockey team ever assembled, and winning 5 Stanley cups in 7 years. He'd soon be named the Associated Press' athlete of the decade for the 80's.

Now that his career is over, Gretzky's stats are probably the most impressive ever for a single athlete in a team sport. He leads the NHL in most ever points, as his 2857 points are almost double tthe next closest player to him, former teammate Mark Messier (who has 1887, yet played in 269 more games than Wayne did). His 1,963 career assists alone are more than the next closest person in points! He also leads the NHL in both playoff goals, and (122) (next closest is 109 in 28 more games), assists (260) (next closest is 186, in 28 more games). Overall, as of now he owns 60 official NHL records, and several unofficial ones.

Again, as far as social impact, Gretzky rocked the world. In the most shocking trade ever in professional sports history, Edmonton traded Wayne Gretzky to the LA Kings. The move was a major one for the NHL who was looking to expand and capitalize on the bigger American markets, and Wayne was the player who the NHL could use as it's poster boy.
To put the trade in perspective, imagine Michael Jordan (who didn't dominate his sport like Gretzky did) being traded at the end of his 3rd straight title with the Chicago Bulls, instead of temporarily retiring. Now, throw in the fact that hockey is pretty much the only sport that Canadians care about, and Wayne was basically Canada's favorite son, you can imagine the impact the trade had in Edmonton and the sports world at the time. Hockey isn't nearly as popular in America as football or basketball, but with many young players from America starting to star at the NHL level, it's certainly reasonable to think that they are products of the Gretzky era.

When he retired, in probably the ultimate honor given to an athlete in a team sport, Gretzky's number 99 was not only retired by his former teams Edmonton and Los Angeles, but the entire NHL retired Wayne's number 99, making it the only number in a major sport never to be worn again.

 

[lifterdead]

Nice write up. My Canadian friends will love it.

When he retired, in probably the ultimate honor given to an athlete in a team sport, Gretzky's number 99 was not only retired by his former teams Edmonton and Los Angeles, but the entire NHL retired Wayne's number 99, making it the only number in a major sport never to be worn again.

Wow. Did not know that.