# Bakers Dozen **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173 "2010-08-04T17:56:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1797
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35924 "2015-07-09T01:41:10Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35925 "2015-07-09T01:52:19Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35926 "2015-07-09T02:47:42Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35927 "2015-07-09T03:00:55Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35928 "2015-07-09T03:21:29Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35929 "2015-07-09T03:45:59Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) 9. Jim Brown ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35930 "2015-07-09T08:46:13Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) 9. Jim Brown 10. Jerry Rice ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35931 "2015-07-09T13:18:21Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) 9. Jim Brown 10. Jerry Rice 11. Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35932 "2015-07-09T13:51:11Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) 9. Jim Brown 10. Jerry Rice 11. Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias 12. Bill Russell ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35933 "2015-07-09T13:53:24Z")
Athletes who, undeniably, were top of their respective sports (when they were playing). 1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) 2. Michael Jordan 3. Derek Jeter 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Muhammad Ali 6. John McEnroe 7. Alexander Karelin (Greco-Roman wrestling) 8. Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) 9. Jim Brown 10. Jerry Rice 11. Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias 12. Bill Russell 13. Tony Hawk Next: Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35934 "2015-07-09T14:02:09Z")
Next: Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman [Bill Buckner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Buckner). Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35935 "2015-07-09T14:53:22Z")
Next: Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman [Bill Buckner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Buckner). Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35936 "2015-07-09T15:22:41Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman [Bill Buckner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Buckner). Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: _ **Wide Right!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35937 "2015-07-09T15:37:40Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian > **[Eddie the Eagle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_the_eagle)** > > Michael David Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie the Eagle, is an English ski jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the Normal Hill and Large Hill events. He held the British ski jumping record from 1988 to 2001. He also took part in amateur speed skiing, running at 106.8 km/h (66.4 mph), and became a stunt jumping world record holder for jumping over 6 buses. > In 2016, he ... ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35938 "2015-07-09T16:03:09Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman [Bill Buckner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Buckner). Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: _ **Wide Right!** _ 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35939 "2015-07-09T16:04:14Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Jean Van de Velde, Golfer. Badly blew the lead at the '99 British Open on the final hole in tournament (had to shoot a double-bogey to win), lost in the playoff. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35940 "2015-07-09T16:07:51Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series 7. Jean Van de Velde, Golfer. Badly blew the lead at the '99 British Open on the final hole in tournament (had to shoot a double-bogey to win), lost in the playoff. 8. Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings - recovered a fumble and ran it into his own end zone ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35941 "2015-07-09T17:07:59Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series 7. Jean Van de Velde, Golfer. Badly blew the lead at the '99 British Open on the final hole in tournament (had to shoot a double-bogey to win), lost in the playoff. 8. Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings - recovered a fumble and ran it into his own end zone 9. Garo Yepremian, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VII. The Perfect Season at risk - mildly. But he lost the chance for the score to match the Dolphins’ record, 17-0. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35942 "2015-07-09T17:49:55Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series 7. Jean Van de Velde, Golfer. Badly blew the lead at the '99 British Open on the final hole in tournament (had to shoot a double-bogey to win), lost in the playoff. 8. Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings - recovered a fumble and ran it into his own end zone 9. Garo Yepremian, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VII. The Perfect Season at risk - mildly. But he lost the chance for the score to match the Dolphins’ record, 17-0. 10. Dick Stuart (a.k.a., “Dr. Strangeglove”), baseball. The polar opposite of Mario Mendoza, Stuart was a first baseman whose power-hitting abilities were more than offset by his legendary defensive ineptitude. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/35943 "2015-07-09T23:29:31Z")
Athletes Famous For Ineptitude, Failure, or Futility 1. Mario Mendoza. Namesake of baseball’s informal term for a player hitting below .200 2. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Made one fielding era that cost the Sox the 1986 World Series. 3. Vinko Bogataj: the ski jumper featured in “ABCs Wide World of Sports” as “the agony of defeat.” 4. Scott Norwood, Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV: Wide Right! 5. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, British ski-jump Olympian 6. Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series 7. Jean Van de Velde, Golfer. Badly blew the lead at the '99 British Open on the final hole in tournament (had to shoot a double-bogey to win), lost in the playoff. 8. Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings - recovered a fumble and ran it into his own end zone 9. Garo Yepremian, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VII. The Perfect Season at risk - mildly. But he lost the chance for the score to match the Dolphins’ record, 17-0. 10. Dick Stuart (a.k.a., “Dr. Strangeglove”), baseball. The polar opposite of Mario Mendoza, Stuart was a first baseman whose power-hitting abilities were more than offset by his legendary defensive ineptitude. 11. Steve Sax, 2nd Baseman for Dodgers. In 1983, he had a case of the throwing yips, making 30 errors, many of them on routine throws to first base. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173.md?page=1796) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173.md?page=1798)