IMO boxing has to be the most demanding of all sports, so I’m going with The Greatest, Ali. I’m betting that will be ESPN’s call too.
Magnus ver Magnusson
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Slope/3301/magnus/
Formerly unknown as “Melanie”
Just to muddy/muddle the waters a little. . .
All we can consider is how they performed in their time.
Babe Ruth was second to none in his era, but weren’t the Yankees for the most part already head-and-shoulders about the rest of baseball?
Mark McGuire (I know he’s not in the running, but bear with me) hit 70 runs in a season, but with MLB as watered down as it is with a lot of minor league talent as the result of expansions, is that as credible as Roger Maris’ 61 in a season against ostensibly stiffer competition?
Did the Babe have that kind competition when he hit 60?
Fran Tarkenten had almost 50,000 yards passing in an era that did not pass a lot. (In one Super Bowl, Terry Bradshaw threw 11 passes, I think.)
So, I think we can only evaluate how they performed in their own era, not how they might have performed against one another.
That is why my vote is for Ali. I maintain that no one else faced the same level of competition for as long as Ali did–and he still won.
BTW, back in the '70’s Bud Greenspan did a multi-part documentary called “The Olympiad,” and in one of them he profiled (his opinion of) the five greatest Olympic athletes in history.
I can’t remember them all, but I think Jesse Owens was one. The other two that I definitely remember are Fanny Blankers-Koen (sp?) and Al Oerter.
Al Oerter deserves a special mention. In the four Olympic Games from 1956 thru 1968 he entered the discus throw or shot put (again, memory fails–it was a long time ago).
He was not the favorite in any.
He one a gold medal in each.
Plus, you have to consider that Maris did not have the benefit of performance-enhancing drugs like Andro.
“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument” - William McAdoo
Sports Illustrated did a study a few years ago that showed that boxing is the most demanding of all sports. Ali was the best in an era when the competative level was at an all time high.
Plus, he was the only boxer who could punch while backing up. That, coupled with his amazing speed, reflexes, and ability to switch gears, makes him the greatest athlete of all time.
Bar none.
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I vote for Jim Thorp as Athlete of the Century. He excelled in several sports and played semi-professional football at a time when the athletes lacked the equipment, sponsors and trainers/medical assistance we have today.
However, I think Jesse Owen had the greatest sociopolitical impact of any athlete in this century.
I think Pele probably qualifies as the most popular.
I think Babe Ruth changed his sport more than any other athlete.
The Coyote gnaws …
but he does not swallow.
Deion Sanders, but I’m tempted to say Jordan. Still, Deion was dominant in two professional sports at a major league level, playing in both a world series and a superbowl (actually, two, and for the winning teams, but I digress)
Now, if the question is shifted to “who do I want at CB,” sure, I’ll pick a Rod Woodson in his prime, but that’s not the question.
Jordan, obviously, was the most dominant basketball player, and a scratch golfer. That’s not going to threaten Jack Nicklaus, sure, but it’s better than anyone you know. Really, as much fun as it is to PH his baseball, even being a mediocre AA player is quite an accomplishment; I’d estimate that’s equivalent to starting for a winning collegiate program.
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Bill Clinton
His ability to jump thru his ass to obfuscate issues and circumvent trouble are unsurpassed.
[[Deion Sanders, but I’m tempted to say Jordan. Still, Deion was dominant in two professional sports at a major league level, playing in both a world series and a superbowl (actually, two, and for the winning teams, but I digress)]] Incr.Cr.HipsterDufuz
Deion was not dominant in baseball. Jim Brown, though, was dominant in football and lacrosse.
My choices would be:
Babe Ruth
Muhammad Ali
Jim Brown
Jim Thorpe
Michael Jordan
Bill Russell
I’d have to vote for Muhammad Ali also.
I think the label, “King of the World” should suffice.
I read somewhere that his was the most recognized face in the world. Second was Michael Jordan.
There’s always another beer.
<< [[Deion Sanders, but I’m tempted to say Jordan. Still, Deion was dominant in two professional sports at a major league level, playing in both a world series and a superbowl (actually, two, and for the winning teams, but I digress)]] Incr.Cr.HipsterDufuz
Deion was not dominant in baseball. >>
Ummm…He’s not Willie Mays, no, but he was an above average fielder, judging his fielding percentage and range against league averages, with an acceptable BA from a strong defensive player, and sometimes he stole a lot of bases.
<< Jim Brown, though, was dominant in football and lacrosse. >>
Pretty good actor, too. Uh…I’m not sure Lacrosse is…Hmmm.
In terms of sheer athletic ability; running, catching, throwing, kinesthesia, explosiveness, and not things like heart, guts, social impact, etc. who else is dominant in one major league sport, and above average in another?
<< My choices would be:
Babe Ruth
Muhammad Ali
Jim Brown
Jim Thorpe
Michael Jordan
Bill Russell >>
I’m not really going to argue with any of this, except to say we might be answering different questions.
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Didn’t Ruth have trouble running around the bases after he smacked one out of the park?
In his later years Ruth may have had trouble running, but in his prime he was considered an excellent baserunner. Prior to moving to the outfield he was also an outstanding pitcher for the Red Sox.
I nominate Wilt Chamberlain. He was a great basketball player, won two NBA titles and still holds numerous records that even Jordan didn’t come close to breaking, was a track star at the U. of Kansas, and was an excellent beach volleyball player after his retirement from basketball. Plus those 10,000 women… 
Yeah, Wilt belongs in the mix, too.
I think one has to look a bit beyond raw athletic prowess per se (i.e., running fast, jumping high, etc.), since then almost all of the great athletes would be decathaloners and other track and field guys. I look to the dominance in their areas of sport and to their overall impact as well.
Satan wrote:
That should be “who is”. “Is” is a reflexive verb, you know.
Thank you, Tracer.
Now reflex this!!
Yer pal,
Satan
First, though Babe Ruth was chunky and slow in his last few years as a player, he was very fast in his youth- in fact, he stole home plate ten times in his career!
Now… in my opinion, the greatest “athlete” of all time is pretty meaningless. I mean, are you trying to judge “pure” athleticism, completely apart from accomplishments in any particular sport? If so, why?
For the sake of argument, we could say that “athleticism” involves four basic categories: strength, speed, agility and endurance. I SUPPOSE you could come up with some kind of formula that gives an athlete points on a scale of 1 to 100 in each of those categories. For the heck of it, some objective scientific observer might give Carl Lewis 100 for speed, 100 for agility, 60 for strength and 70 for endurance… while Michael Jordan might get 75 for speed, 90 for agility, 80 for strength, and 90 for endurance… and Dan O’Brien or Daley Thompson might get 85 in all four categories… But really, would such numbers tell us anything useful?
A decathlete is, when you get right down to it, a guy who’s pretty good at a lot of events, but great at none of them. Dan O’Brien is fast and agile, but not as fast or agile as Carl Lewis. He’s strong, but not as strong as Randy Barnes. He’s got endurance, but not as much as Lance Armstrong.
Well, is there a consensus that the “world’s greatest athlete” has to be somebody who’s pretty good at a lot of sports? Is Danny Ainge a better athlete than Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr.? After all, Ainge played both baseball and basketball professionally. True, he didn’t play basketball nearly as well as Jordan, and he didn’t play baseball nearly as well as Griffey, but so what? If “pure” athleticism is the key, shouldn’t Ainge’s mediocrity in both sports be set aside?
For that matter, I guess a guyt who plays guitar, bass, drums AND piano poorly is a better “pure” musician than Itzakh Perlman (who “only” plays the violin).
Well, I’m more impressed by excellence in any field of endeavor than by “pretty good” performance in a wide range of endeavors. So, my list of the greatest athletes ever would include the guys who were so good, they either COMPLETELY dominated their sports for long periods of time, re-wrote the record books, or changed the nature of the game. In alphabetical order…
Margaret Court
Steffi Graf
Wayne Gretzky
Michael Jordan
Sandy Koufax
Rod Laver
Carl Lewis
Joe Louis
Joe Montana
Jack Nicklaus
Bobby Orr
Jerry Rice
Bill Russell
Babe Ruth
Bart Starr
Lawrence Taylor
Am I leaving out worthy candidates? Of course. But so what? NO list is going to be comprehensive.
Woohoo! You made my day, astorian!
D. Sanders had a lifetime average of .264. Averaging his part time play over the equivalent of three full seasons, he averaged 42 stolen bases (no real challenge to Brock or Henderson). His arm was poor, his power almost non-existent. As a receiver in the NFL, he has 1 touchdown.
Dan O’Brien is known for what other sports, exactly?
Jim Thorpe" Decathalon champion, winning by 700 points in the same Olympics where he won the Pentathalon (his score was 7–the next scores were 21, 29, 29, 30, etc.) He also competed in the long jump and high jump in the same Olympics, with a 4th and a 7th. As a collegiate, he beat ENTIRE TEAMS IN TRACK AND FIELD BY HIMSELF! Think about that one for a bit.
He played major league baseball for seven seasons, although he wasn’t exceptionally good. He did end with a .327 average in his last year.
He was a two-time All-American in football, a three time pro world champion in football, a coach, and the first president of what is now the NFL.
He won a national ballroom dancing contest. He excelled in lacrosse and swimming, and was considered a good athlete in: gymnastics, golf, hockey, boxing, basketball, tennis, archery, and handball.
He did all of this in the face of racism and with Avery Brundage and others stripping and keeping his Olympic medals from him. He was professional football’s first drawing card, America’s first great (and popular) minority athlete, and the best all-around athlete that the evidence has shown us.
Only Babe D-Z is in a similar class, winning the AU female athlete of the year award 6 times (and for such differing sports as softball, basketball, track and field, and golf).
Just gotta say it: OJ Simpson.