# What is each sport's signature player? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 28, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791 "2015-11-28T02:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/41 "2015-11-29T21:10:57Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Oh, and horse racing = Secretariat. Actually for horse racing you would want a jockey. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/42 "2015-11-29T21:47:37Z")
So I asked my wife since she generally does not like watching sports and I thought she’d be a good test. 🙂 Here are her answers: Basketball: Michael Jordan Baseball: Nothing (she locked up) Hockey: Bobby Orr Boxing: Mike Tyson Golf: Tiger Woods Football: Doug Flutie\* Tennis: Martina Navratalova Soccer: Alexei Lalas followed quickly by Pele - Gonna have to talk to her about this one. This is the kind of thing that should be disclosed before marriage. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/43 "2015-11-29T21:50:27Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Actually for horse racing you would want a jockey. Not necessarily. However, Jockey = Willie Shoemaker. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/44 "2015-11-29T22:26:48Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > This is kind of like a Japanese guy saying that Hideo Nomo is emblematic of baseball, and he’s never heard of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, or Hank Aaron (in an alternate reality where Nomo won 3 Cy Young awards but was found to have been cheating his entire career after he retired.) Re: Armstrong, while I think he is a big, stinky, greasy skid-mark on the sports world, I have to admit he probably deserves partial credit for professional cycling becoming more well-known in the US during the decade he was active and winning. I don’t recall the Tour de France being viewable stateside even on cable before his rise in popularity/notoriety. And who knows how long it would have taken to get a big international cycling event like the Tour of California started without cycling’s popularity growth and exposure in that same time frame. I can understand why an average person in the US would first think of him if asked this question, and I would give that person a pass on not knowing Merckx. I would expect at least some Americans to think of Lemond, however (even if not “signature”). ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/45 "2015-11-29T23:11:04Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Actually for horse racing you would want a jockey. I don’t know about that. The title and OP of the thread say “what” not “who”. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/46 "2015-11-29T23:25:19Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Michael Schumacher for Formula One. I suspect some of his records will stand for a very long time, if not forever. > > Sorry, Superdude. Racer72 is correct with King Richard. > > Why can’t I quote or bold all of a sudden? I don’t watch racing, so I wasn’t aware than Nascar and stock-car racing were the same thing. I thought stock-car was more of the straightaway, funny car type. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/47 "2015-11-29T23:34:31Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Oh, and horse racing = Secretariat. That’s probably country dependent. In the UK, the Secretariat equivalent is Red Rum. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/48 "2015-11-29T23:36:37Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That’s probably country dependent. In the UK, the Secretariat equivalent is Red Rum. …and down-under it would be Phar Lap. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/49 "2015-11-30T00:04:55Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That’s probably country dependent. In the UK, the Secretariat equivalent is Red Rum. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FLjixsUEj5E/maxresdefault.jpg "The Shining (1980) - Redrum Scene (5/7) | Movieclips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLjixsUEj5E) :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/50 "2015-11-30T03:20:18Z")
Important to remember that the best players are not always the most iconic. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are far better golfers, but I’d say Arnold Palmer is STILL a greater golf icon than either ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/51 "2015-11-30T03:38:27Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Michael Schumacher for Formula One. I suspect some of his records will stand for a very long time, if not forever. I’d go with Senna, but it’s neck-and-neck with Schumacher. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/52 "2015-11-30T10:38:03Z")
I agree with most of the answers so far. So for a sport I didn’t see mentioned… Diving: Greg Louganis Thinking about football, that’s a tough one. Tom Brady is up there for sure, but the example upthread about mocking a friend for throwing a bad punch “Look at Muhammad Ali!” leads me in multiple directions. If I saw a buddy… Awkwardly try to “tackle” someone: Look out, it’s Mean Joe Green Try to throw something to a person and miss: Nice throw, Peyton Manning Try to catch something and fail: Time to retire, Jerry Rice ---
**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:** [November 30, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/53 "2015-11-30T17:46:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’d go with Senna, but it’s neck-and-neck with Schumacher. For what it’s worth, Schumacher [himself](https://vimeo.com/89217406) said it was Senna. I was a huge Senna fan and had to stop watching F1 for years after he died, but I would say Senna _would have been_ the greatest, but wasn’t. I’m not sure it was Schumacher either, though; he was lucky to race in an era where there just weren’t any great drivers for him to compete with (not least because Senna was dead). Some very good ones, yes, but Senna, Prost, Mansell and Piquet were all gone when Schumacher began dominating the sport. Still, Senna is the iconic figure of F1 because of his incredible success _and_ his death, and the shadow he still casts. For me, the greatest will always be Fangio. He had to compete with truly great opponents like Moss. Indycars/CART don’t really count. When F1 drivers can show up and win the title in their rookie seasons, and journeyman F1 drivers become multiple champions, it just shows that the drivers aren’t as good. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That’s probably country dependent. In the UK, the Secretariat equivalent is Red Rum. I would have said Shergar, though admittedly not so much for racing-related fame. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/54 "2015-11-30T18:01:44Z")
Baseball-Ruth Basketball-Jordan Football-Walter Payton Golf-Jack Non-American Football-Pele Tennis-Connors Hockey-Gretzky ---
**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:** [November 30, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/55 "2015-11-30T18:04:18Z")
… Walter Payton? Not even in Chicago. He’s not the best of all time at his position, and he’s not the most famous Bear. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/56 "2015-11-30T18:06:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > … Walter Payton? Not even in Chicago. He’s not the best of all time at his position, and he’s not the most famous Bear. Sorry, I meant William Perry. The initials confused me. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/57 "2015-11-30T18:12:35Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Sorry, I meant William Perry. The initials confused me. He’s even less well known. He was good at his position but he’s mostly looked on as a comic figure at this point. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/58 "2015-11-30T18:23:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > … Walter Payton? Not even in Chicago. He’s not the best of all time at his position, and he’s not the most famous Bear. I dunno. In Chicago, I’d guess Walter Payton would be the iconic Chicago Bear. I know it would be for me, good ol’ Number 34. But I was also 10 during Superbowl 20 and idolized the '85 Bears. The only other name that would come to mind for me is Dick Butkus. ETA: :smack: Oh, and I guess Ditka. I’ll still pick Payton, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/59 "2015-11-30T18:23:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’d go with Senna, but it’s neck-and-neck with Schumacher. I know nothing about Formula One. I know who Schumacher is, never heard of Senna. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791/60 "2015-11-30T18:44:54Z")
He’s been dead for 21 years (gosh, I can’t believe it’s been that long) so that shouldn’t be surprising. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-each-sports-signature-player/738791.md?page=4)