I can’t view it, but if Maradona against 6 Belgians from the (I think) 1986 World Cup isn’t there, it’s a bad list. Here’s a link if anyone doesn’t know of it.
It is woefully bad - way too much sentimental American bollox. Curt Schillings bloody sock FFS. Although to be fair it is crowned with some sentimental UK bollox which I agree is just not a great photo, period. Don’t think I’ve ever even seen it before in fact.
A superb and iconic photo from football is the one of Bill Shankly talking to Jock Stein in a back corridor of Anfield. I’ve never seen a high resolution one on the net, but you can see a small one here
It should be " The Greatest Sports stories". As standalone photos, most are pretty poor. Only a few tell the story without a word. The Ali photo is a great example.
Pretty bad. Many of them are iconic to the USA only.
The black power salute, Ali over Liston, Jesse Owens and Maradona I’d include in a world list. I’m open to offers on others that have real world-wide appeal.
Ali over Liston is impossible to beat in my opinion. But this photoof the two captains congratulating each other after the 1963 New South Wales Rugby League final comes pretty close. They made a bronze replica of it the comopetition trophy twenty years later.
Sure there are some good ones, but there are also some pretty mediocre ones that have no business on a list like this - that one of Cuban looks like it was taken with a phone.
I guess it’s naturally US-centric, but 28 out of 30 seems a bit much. Still, it’s one person’s opinion, and he’s entitled to his selections.
In the cricket-playing nations the first ever tied test (and as yet there have still only been two) produced this iconic image. The test was Australia versus West Indies at Brisbane in 1960.
Too many baseball shots and not one showing my favorite: the outfielder who got doused by a glass of soda/water by a fan above him while reaching to make the catch.
My favorite boxing shot is still marciano delivering onto walcott.
A bicycle kick by Pele would have tied with Maradona’s 6:1.
That was the first thing I thought of, too. I remember an interview with the photographer and he mentioned how you can see other photographers on the far side of the ring. All they got was a picture of Ali’s back. It takes a fair amount of luck to be in the right place at the right time.
…another cricket one that I thought of was the shot of Chappell underarm bowling: but on googling the image I was thinking of was just a screengrab! Here is a better, but less often seenimage from that day.
Of course I’ve got to share one of mine for comparison. Ories vs MSP Club game down at the Polo Ground: not a very iconic image but the thread needs some rugby!
I don’t know where it would place across all sports, but personally my favorite sports photo is this iconic photo of John Riggins dragging Don McNeal in Super Bowl XVII.
One thing that strikes me about most of these photos is how few of them actually show sports action - I mean, if you think of Michael Jordan, do you think of him hugging Scottie Pippen or do you think of something like this?
Yeah, that list stinks. Several of these are more suited to clips (JT Snow with the bat boy, Miracle on Ice and Buckner) and can’t be fully captured with a still shot. Also how the hell does Mark Cuban taking a wizz while holding the NBA trophy even come close to being included?
I agree with the others, as my first thought was Ali standing over Liston which was rightfully included.
Willie Mays and the Black Panther salute are also good ones.
One not on the list is Jordan sinking the game winner against the Jazz.
I’ve kept the Sports Illustrated fold out shot which shows remarkable clarity. The thing about it, which you can’t really see off a computer monitor, is the look of anguish on most of the crowd. In that the moment that the ball is in the air, you can see most of the Utah crowd bracing themselves in anticipated horror and thinking, “Damn. The one thing we didn’t want to happen –Jordan taking an uncontested shot at the buzzer- just happened. And we all know what’s coming next.”
That was exactly the picture I thought would be on the list for Michael Jordan. The one they ended up using? Not so much. THIS picture of Jordan you’ve posted here is as iconic an NBA image you will ever see…His Airness taking off from the free throw line en route to a thundering dunk. Damn, now I miss that era of the NBA. Its almost unwatchable to me now.
Ories vs MSP Club game down at the Polo Ground: not a very iconic image but the thread needs some rugby!
