# Best Multi-Sport Athletes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 25, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045 "2008-02-25T04:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/1 "2008-02-25T04:16:54Z")
If we’ve discussed this topic, I can’t find it… Looking at the records of [Babe Didrikson Zaharias](http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/babe_zaharias.htm) and [Lottie Dod](http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=89), two questions come to mind: 1. Have there been any male athletes at the same level of Zaharias and Dod? 2. Are there other female athletes at their level I’ve missed? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/2 "2008-02-25T04:22:35Z")
Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, Deion Sanders. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/3 "2008-02-25T04:35:42Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Jim Thorpe [/QUOTE] I had a bad feeling I was missing someone obvious. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/4 "2008-02-25T05:43:33Z")
Jackie Robinson is another good example of this. He was a 4 sport athlete at UCLA (track, basketball, baseball, and football), and played baseball and football professionally. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/5 "2008-02-25T06:36:50Z")
Jim Brown was multi-sport? Enlighten, please. Who was the original Wheaties guy? Bob something-or-other? Definitely a multi-sport guy, did the Olympics at pole vault? I **so** know I’m going to earn one of these :smack: when somebody posts it. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/6 "2008-02-25T06:39:27Z")
[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] Jim Brown was multi-sport? Enlighten, please. [/QUOTE] [http://www.lacrosse.org/museum/halloffame/view\_profile.php?prof\_id=35](http://www.lacrosse.org/museum/halloffame/view_profile.php?prof_id=35) Thought to be one of the best Lacrosse players ever. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/7 "2008-02-25T06:52:08Z")
[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] Jim Brown was multi-sport? Enlighten, please. Who was the original Wheaties guy? Bob something-or-other? Definitely a multi-sport guy, did the Olympics at pole vault? I **so** know I’m going to earn one of these :smack: when somebody posts it. [/QUOTE] Bob Mathias, two-time olympic gold medalist. Tremendous athlete. I don’t think you’ve wholly earned that smack, though. That’s not a really memorable name. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/8 "2008-02-25T06:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] Who was the original Wheaties guy? Bob something-or-other? Definitely a multi-sport guy, did the Olympics at pole vault? [/QUOTE] Bob Richards. He ran for president in the wingnut party, later in life. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/9 "2008-02-25T07:29:20Z")
Perhaps Canada’s most multi-talented athlete was [Lionel Conacher](http://www.histori.ca/sports/conach.html). [Dave Winfield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Winfield) was so good at both baseball and basketball that he could have made a pro career in either. [Tom Glavine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Glavine) was drafted by both the baseball Atlanta Braves and the hockey Los Angeles Kings. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/10 "2008-02-25T07:30:33Z")
How about Willie Gault? Most folks know he was a sprinter world record holder in the 4 x 100m relay, also 110m hurdles) and a wide reviever in the NFL (Super Bowl ring with the Bears) , but can you name his other sport? He was on the American Olympic bobsled team ---
**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:** [February 25, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/11 "2008-02-25T13:33:32Z")
**Charlie Ward**. Won the Heisman, followed it with an NBA career. Was also recruited as a pitching prospect by the NYY and TBJ. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/12 "2008-02-25T13:39:18Z")
Bob Gibson excelled at basketball and baseball. From [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Gibson): > [@the always-reliable Wikipedia](#): > > Despite a childhood filled with health problems, including rickets, asthma, pneumonia, and a heart murmur, he was active in sports as a youth particularly baseball and basketball. After a standout career in baseball and basketball at Tech High in Omaha, Gibson won a basketball scholarship to Creighton University. > > In 1957, Gibson received a $3,000.00 bonus to sign with the Cardinals. He delayed his start with the organization for a year, playing with the Harlem Globetrotters, earning the nickname “Bullet” Bob Gibson […] Although one of the star players on the team–Gibson was famous for backhanded dunks–he resigned from the Globetrotters to play baseball because he could not stand the clowning. In 1958 he spent a year at the [Cardinals’] triple-A farm club in Omaha. He graduated to the major leagues in 1959 and had the first of nine 200-strikeout seasons in 1962. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/13 "2008-02-25T15:08:28Z")
Probably the greatest all round sportsman in history was CB Fry of England. He played cricket for England and when he retired had the second best batting average in history for anyone scoring over 10,000 runs. He played soccer for England. He would have played rugby union for England but for injury, however he played for the Barbarians, the most famous invitational side in the game. At Oxford he was proficient in many sports including cricket, soccer, Rugby Union, boxing, golf, swimming, tennis, javelin, badminton and sculling. No-one else has ever earned 3 “blues” in a year for representing at 3 sports. Fry achieved it 4 times. Although he hadn’t been trained he equalled the world long jump record with a jump of 23’ 6½” (7.17m) in 1893. At the first international trackmeet he won the 100m and the long jump and was considered the favourite to win both at the 1896 and 1900 Olympics. Howewver he was on tour with the England cricket team and did not attend. However his talents were not just confined to the sports field. C.B. also stood as Liberal candidate for Parliament in Brighton; he was a director of a training ship, a journalist and writer, a deputy and speechwriter for the Indian delegation at the League of Nations. He was most famously offered the vacant throne of Albania but chose not to become their king. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/14 "2008-02-25T15:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] Probably the greatest all round sportsman in history was CB Fry of England. He played cricket for England and when he retired had the second best batting average in history for anyone scoring over 10,000 runs. He played soccer for England. He would have played rugby union for England but for injury, however he played for the Barbarians, the most famous invitational side in the game. At Oxford he was proficient in many sports including cricket, soccer, Rugby Union, boxing, golf, swimming, tennis, javelin, badminton and sculling. No-one else has ever earned 3 “blues” in a year for representing at 3 sports. Fry achieved it 4 times. Although he hadn’t been trained he equalled the world long jump record with a jump of 23’ 6½” (7.17m) in 1893. At the first international trackmeet he won the 100m and the long jump and was considered the favourite to win both at the 1896 and 1900 Olympics. Howewver he was on tour with the England cricket team and did not attend. However his talents were not just confined to the sports field. C.B. also stood as Liberal candidate for Parliament in Brighton; he was a director of a training ship, a journalist and writer, a deputy and speechwriter for the Indian delegation at the League of Nations. He was most famously offered the vacant throne of Albania but chose not to become their king. [/QUOTE] Well, fuck me. How is it that having grown up in England I’d never heard of this bloke? According to Wiki, he also liked to run naked down Brighton Beach. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/15 "2008-02-25T15:34:16Z")
Joe Montana graduated from my high school. Ask the old timers in the Mon Valley, and they’ll insist that he was a far better basketball player than a football player in high school. There are facts backing this - he led Ringgold to a basketball championship, but spent his first two years as a football player as a backup. He nearly went to college on a basketball scholarship. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/16 "2008-02-25T15:41:31Z")
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed] [Dave Winfield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Winfield) was so good at both baseball and basketball that he could have made a pro career in either. [/QUOTE] Dave Winfield was drafted by four pro teams, including the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/17 "2008-02-25T15:53:45Z")
[Herschel Walker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Walker): Heisman Trophy winner, track star and Olympic bobsledder. [Danny Ainge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Ainge): played major league baseball (though not all that well) and had a long NBA career. [Dick Groat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Groat#Basketball): 2-time All-American and UPI player of the year as a basketball star at Duke, and held (for a time) the NCAA record for career points. Spent one season with the Pistons in the NBA before his basketball career was cut short by military service. As a baseball player, he was NL MVP, NL batting champion, and 5-time All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/18 "2008-02-25T16:09:12Z")
Forgot one: [Brian Jordan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jordan): Defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons from 1989-91. Led all NFL cornerbacks in tackles in 1990. Lengthy baseball career as an outfielder, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves, including one All-Star appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/19 "2008-02-25T16:28:09Z")
A lot of the guys named are sprinters/football players or even football/baseball players, which for the most part require the same skill sets (power and speed), although hitting a baseball takes a special skill. I think harder is to be proficient in a power sport and a finesse one. Hale Irwin was an All-Conference football player at Colorado and went on to become one of the ten or fifteen greatest golfers of all time. I want to hear about a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler who is a champion curler or darter. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045/20 "2008-02-25T16:40:40Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane] A lot of the guys named are sprinters/football players or even football/baseball players, which for the most part require the same skill sets (power and speed), although hitting a baseball takes a special skill. I think harder is to be proficient in a power sport and a finesse one. Hale Irwin was an All-Conference football player at Colorado and went on to become one of the ten or fifteen greatest golfers of all time. I want to hear about a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler who is a champion curler or darter. [/QUOTE] [Mike Peluso](http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/news/story?page=f_ath_Peluso_NHL) is a minor league hockey player in the Blackhawks system, and a pro fisherman. (He is not to be confused with his older cousin, also named Mike Peluso, who played several seasons in the NHL). Not a champion at either level, but still kind of a wide difference between the two sports. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-multi-sport-athletes/439045.md?page=2)