St.Louis Rams
- Eric Dickerson
- Norm Van Brocklin
- Kurt Warner
- Merlin Olsen
- Isaac Bruce
- Tory Holt
- Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch
- Jackie Slater
- Deacon Jones
- Jack Youngblood
Calgary Flames:
1a. Al Macinnis
1b. Jarome Iginla
3-10 in no order:
Joe Nieuwendyk
Doug Gilmour
Joe Mullen
Mike Vernon
Miikka Kiprusoff
Lanny Macdonald
Gary Suter
Robin Regehr
HM: Hakan Loob (had a few very productive years in Calgary but then went back to Europe), Joel Otto (face-offs), Dion Phaneuf (the future)
Robin Regehr is a really underrated defenseman and has a few more years under his belt than Phaneuf, that was the last addition to my list.
I’m going to show my dilettantism. So it goes.
In no particular order:
- Stan the Man (great player, great guy.)
- Rogers Hornsby (damn that man could hit.)
- Bob Gibson (1968. Just wow.)
- Ozzie Smith (“Go crazy, folks!”)
- Lou Brock (for 938 steals and lifetime service.)
- Dizzy Dean (“It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it.”)
- Red Schoendienst (Seven decades of wearing the Birds on the Bat.)
- Joe Medwick (Gashouse spark; no one called him “Ducky” to his face.)
- Stan the Man (yes, he makes the list again. ‘Cause, he’s Stan Freakin’ Musial.)
- Albert Pujols (please, god, let him finish his career in St. Louis.)
I’ll just use zamboniracer’s and provide my critiques:
Cleveland Browns
Jim Brown RB
Otto Graham QB
Paul Warfield WR
Marion Motley RB
Len Ford DE
Bill Willis, G, DL
Mike McCormack T
Frank Gatski C
Ozzie Newsom TE
Gene Hickerson G
No complaints here, even though Leroy Kelly was a tough omission. It’s amazing that the Browns have never really had any big-time defensive players. Clay Matthews is the only Browns linebacker I can remember off the top of my head.
Cleveland Indians
Bob Feller P
Tris Speaker CF
Lou Boudreau SS
Manny Ramierez OF
Albert Belle OF
Kenny Lofton OF
Jim Thome 1b/3b
Omar Vizquel SS
Gaylord Perry P
Nap Lajoie 2b
I think I’d substitute Larry Doby for Manny. Manny’s last three seasons with the Indians were arguably his best individual seasons, but his postseason performance with the Indians was inconsistent. He sure didn’t do a damn thing in either World Series. Assuming he goes to the HOF I feel he’s likely going in wearing a Red Sox hat.
Cleveland Cavs
LeBron James F
Brad Daughtery C
Mark Price G
Hot Rod Williams F
Lenny Wilkens G
Zydrunas Illgauskus C
Ron Harper G
Austin Carr G
Larry Nance F
Craig Ehlo G-F
I’m desperately thinking of someone to replace Hot Rod Williams and not coming up with a clear alternative. Terrell Brandon? Carlos Boozer? World B. Free? I think Varejao is well on his way to making the list.
No Mark McGwire?
These lists are purely subjective. They include players I watched (mostly) and players I read about (If good enough. Or, just made interesting enough stories.)
Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt
- Steve Carlton
- Chase Utley
- Tug McGraw
- Ryan Howard
- Dick Allen
- Richie Ashburn
- Grover Cleveland Alexander
- Robin Roberts
- Garry Maddox
Philadelphia Eagles
- Randall Cunningham
- Ron Jawsorski
- Donovan McNabb
- Mike Quick
- Harold Carmichael
- Brian Dawkins
- Reggie White
- Bill Bergey
- Wilbert Montgomery
- Brian Westbrook
Philadelphia 76ers
- Moses Malone
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Dr. J
- Billy Cunningham
- Allen Iverson
- Andrew Toney
- Maurice Cheeks
- Hal Greer
- Bobby Jones
- Charles Barkley
Philadelphia Flyers
- Bobby Clarke
- Pelle Lindbergh
- Ron Hextall
- Rick Tocchet
- Bernie Parent
- Tim Kerr
- Eric Lindros
- Bill Barber
- John LeClair
- Rod Brind’Amour
10.Bob Froese
I guess a combination of the number of players on the teams, and the quality of the teams made it so that the Eagles choices were the easiest to come up with. I am sure I included a rotten player I remember as good, or didn’t include a top player. But, this is mostly off the top of my head, so that is ok.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Mean Joe Greene
- Jack Lambert
- Mel Blount
- Rod Woodson
- Jack Ham
- Jerome Bettis
- Hines Ward
- Dermontti Dawson
- Franco Harris
- Mike Webster
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Roberto Clemente
- Honus Wagner
- Pie Traynor
- Bill Mazeroski
- The Cobra- Dave Parker
- Barry Bonds
- Andy Van Slyke
- Willie Stargell
- Vernon Law
- Dick Groat
Pittsburgh Penguins
- Mario Lemieux
- Jaromir Jagr
- Jean Pronovost
- Paul Coffey
- Sidney Crosby
- Evgeni Malkin
- Sergei Gonchar
- Tom Barasso
- Larry Murphy
- Ronnie Francis
University of Pittsburgh Football
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Tony Dorsett
- Dan Marino
- Mark May
- Hugh Green
- Mike Ditka
- Joe Schmidt
- Curtis Martin
- Ironhead Heyward
- Jimbo Covert
University of Pittsburgh Basketball
- Charles Smith
- Jerome Lane
- Brandin Knight
- Don Hennon
- Carl Krauser
- Levance Fields
- Sam Young
- Vonteego Cummings
- Billy Knight
- Sean Miller
Steriods or no steriods, he doesn’t make my list. A couple of mind-boggling seasons, a couple of injury-plagued seasons. Even if I’d never heard of PEDs, his service with the team is too short for my list.
Fair enough. I’m working on a list for the A’s and I was debating if I should include him.
I wouldn’t put McGwire on a top ten list of great Cardinals, either. He had three amazing seasons there, but that’s a team with a LOT of great, great players in its history.
I still wouldn’t put Leroy Kelly on the list, but DT Jerry Sherk is another honorable mention.
You make a good argument, but I don’t think its fair to hold Manny wearing a Red Sox cap in the HOF against him as an Indian. Manny’s six straight years (1995-2000) with an OPS over.950 swayed me. Nothing against Doby of course, but Manny is a hitting machine. Ps Bob Lemon and Stan Coveleski were my honorable mentions.
World deserves to be on the list. I love Ehlo and Hot Rod, but you’re right, Free should be on instead of one of them.
Upon further review, I would substitute Lemon for Gaylord Perry.
New York Mets
- Tom Seaver (of course)
- Darryl Strawberry (more controversial)
- Mike Piazza
- Keith Hernandez
- Dwight Gooden
- David Wright
- Jose Reyes
- Jerry Koosman
- Cleon Jones
- Carlos Beltran
- John Franco
Buffalo Bills
- OJ Simpson
- Tom Sestak
- Joe DeLamielleure
- Steve Tasker
- Don Beebe
- Bruce Smith
- Phil Hansen
- Steve Christie
- Andre Reed
- Thurman Thomas
Yes, I know I didn’t put Jim Kelly on this list. I feel worse about leaving Billy Shaw off.
Buffalo Sabres
- Gilbert Perrault
- Rick Martin
- Rene Robert
- Lindy Ruff
- Dominik Hasek
- Craig Ramsey
- Dave Andreychuk
- Alexander Mogilny
- Maxin Afinogenov
- Pat LaFontaine
Arsenal:
- Dennis Bergkamp
- Thierry Henry
- Tony Adams
- David Seaman
- Charlie George
- Ian Wright
- Lee Dixon
- Patrick Vieira
- Liam Brady
- Ted Drake
The 10 Great Buccaneers, in no particular order:
Lee Roy Selmon: never saw him play, but he’s the only guy we’ve got in the Hall- at least, the only one who went in as a Buc
Doug Williams: didn’t do much as a Buc, but was around long enough to be among our greats as well as the Skins’
Derrick Brooks: sings Who’s our favorite play-er? MISTER DERRICK BROOKS!*
Warren Sapp: Defined the three-technique defensive tackle. Annoying? Sure. Great? Equally sure.
Warrick Dunn: #19 on the all-time rushing list. He’ll never make the Hall of Fame, which is sad because he’s a great player and the nicest professional athlete I’ve ever met by a mile.
Ricky Bell: Another surefire selection for the Hall of Very Good as a running back, and never quite lived up to his potential because of heart disease.
Vinny Testaverde: Another guy who didn’t do squat as a Buccaneer, but was on the team for a long time.
Ronde Barber: Not an ounce of flash in him, although he’s always had a nose for the endzone. Certainly the best tackler among all the cornerbacks of his era.
John Lynch: Warren Sapp defined a new kind of player; John Lynch was the swansong of an old kind. One of the best of the 225-lb. “in the box” facemask-breakers at safety, and certainly the last one to enter the Hall of Fame, if he makes it.
Tony Dungy: Yeah, he’s not a player (or at least wasn’t as a Buccaneer), and most of his career highlights happened after he was run out of town. Still, he took the ultimate doormat franchise and turned it into a perennial winner… and when the history books are written, Dungy, Dan Rooney and Denny Green will be remembered as the men who made it possible for black men to become NFL head coaches.
*FTR, my favorite Buccaneer is now-Lions safety/cornerback Dwight Smith. Brian Dawkins hits with Ed Reed hands and speed… just too inconsistent to be truly great.
Yes, I intentionally left Mike Alstott off the list. He’s overrated. Great guy, and occasionally a great ballcarrier, but usually just a liability.
Denver Broncos:
John Elway
Terrell Davis
Shannon Sharpe
Tom Jackson
Randy Gradishar
Louis Wright
Floyd Little
Gary Zimmerman
Steve Atwater
Karl Mecklenburg
Colorado Buffaloes Football:
Byron “Whizzer” White (How many college football programs have an alum who went on to be a Supreme Court justice?)
Kordell Stewart
Michael Westbrook
Alfred Williams
Rashaan Salaam
Joe Romig
Darian Hagan
Dick Anderson
Eric Bieniemy
Daniel Graham
Notre Dame Football:
Tim Brown
Ross Browner
George Gipp
Leon Hart
Paul Hornung
Rocket Ismail
Joe Montana
Alan Page
Brady Quinn
Tony Rice
Ten Clippers, Some of Whom Were Great
[ul]
[li]Bob McAdoo (from the Buffalo Braves years)[/li][li]Adrian Dantley (ditto)[/li][li]Ernie DiGregorio (ditto)[/li][li]Randy Smith (ditto)[/li][li]Derek Smith[/li][li]Norm Nixon[/li][li]Elton Brand[/li][li]Marques Johnson[/li][li]Lamar Odom[/li][li]“Shithead” Walton[/li][/ul]
Well, obviously the Leafs. These aren’t the greatest Leafs ever necessarily, but the one’s who I’ve watched and appreciated over 4 decades.
Wendel Clark
Doug Gilmour
Dave Keon
Lanny McDonald
Mike Palmateer
Borje Salming
Eddy Shack
Darryl Sittler
Mats Sundin
Ian Turnbull