Top Five Greatest Sportspeople

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I had to cogitate on this for a while, so here goes:
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1. The Don (Cricket) - Sir Donald Bradman would have been a very glad man if his average was just .06 more than 99.94! No one else will equal this feat in cricket, ever.
2. Roger Federer (Tennis) - He's still young (24), and the greatest players are already sweating over their records. Sampras was a great player, sure, but no-one can do to a ball on court what Federer does. Undefeated in 24 straight finals, which is testament not only to his talent but his sheer will to win.
3. Ian Botham (Cricket) - Not just for Headingley '81, he was also a legend for Somerset. Just a shame he was always falling out with Peter Roebuck, which limited how long he stayed.
4. Jonah Barrington (Squash) - won the British Open 6 times, his awesome fitness earned him the title "The Bionic Man". Also a really nice bloke.
5. Brian Clough (Football) - Was a promising young striker at Middlesbrough before injury ended his playing career in his twenties. Became Derby manager, and with Peter Taylor elevated an unfashionable club to a powerful force. Then went to Nottingham Forest and did the same job, times 10. They didn't just dominate domestic football, with a 42-match unbeaten run across 2 seasons, he brought Forest success in Europe. They didn't just win the European Cup (the biggest prize in club football) once, though - they retained it, which very few teams have ever done. This gives rise to my favourite stat in football - that Nottingham Forest have won the European Cup more times than Barcelona! Ol' big 'ead - as he used to call himself - was a legend, and you can't ever say that players like Roy Keane or Teddy Sheringham would have been as good as they were (or are!) without Clough's influence. Also, many of his proteges went on to become successful managers in their own right - Martin O'Neill being one who immediately springs to mind. The scale of his influence is betrayed by Forest's descent since his retirement, and recent death: Forest now languish in the 3rd tier of English football.

Well, there are obvious others I omitted, (like Pele or Ali) but they'd already been done. I've written too much anyway, and need some breakfast, so shall shamelessly post & run.

 

I'm not a big sports fan, but here goes:

1. Maradona: I remember watching the world championships in '86 and he's been the man ever since. Hands dow. By the way... who's Pele?
2. Alexander Karelin: Greco-Roman wrestling. This guy was undefeated for a decade, or something like that, and half of it without giving up a point.
3. Andre Agassi: Never watch tennis, except when he's playing.
4. Mike Jordan: He was at his peak when I was into Basketball.
5. I have to go with Morgoroth on the last one, Paavo Nurmi (... or maybe Matti Nykänen ).

 

I can only quote people I have seen - the first being a little before my time - but I've seen the videos

Mohammed Ali - quoted as the only person who could have "landed" anywhere on the planet and would have been recognised.
Lance Armstrong - Even without his battle against cancer his acheivements are legendary
Diego Maradonna - Its debatable wether or not he was a better player than Pele. But if I could put one player in my team - it would be him. Probably the greatest football player ever.
Carl Lewis - the finest athelete I have ever seen - especially considering he did it for so long over more than one field.
Michael Schumacher - absolutely indomitable, he may have had the car, for much of his career, but he made good opposition look ordinary. We haven't heard the last from this man.

 

I'm going to go for people whose contributions OFF the playing arena are equalled by their accomplishments thereon.

Babe Diedrichson Zaharis - She did more for the advancement of women in sport than any other individual, simply by making people realize that women could be accomplished athletes without being freaks.

Mia Hamm (representing the whole US Women's Soccer team) - if you want one reason why soccer is so incredibly popular with American kids these days, here she is. These women epitomized the TEAM aspect of soccer, and did it while having lives. And damn, Mia is bloody GORGEOUS to boot.

Lance Armstrong - everyone knows why.

Reggie White - sure, lots of pro athletes give their names and their money to charitable enterprises and say they're helping to improve the community. He gave HIMSELF, and actually DID SO.

5th place is a tie between Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, for all the reasons posted above. They, too, knew how to be stars in a TEAM environment. That's something that's sadly lacking in American pro sports these days.

 

1. Don Bradman (Cricket)

2. Jack Nicklaus (Golf) - he was to golf what Bradman was to cricket the consummate professional, dedicated to his sport and technique.
He won 18 majors and was second in a further 19; Tiger (Woods) may beat those records but it's Jack that will inspire him to that high.

3. Martina Navratilova (Tennis) - She won everything and deservedly so and in a time when there was more competition in women's tennis.

4. Herman George 'Babe' Ruth jr (Baseball) - Need I say more the greatest batter ever.

5. Pele (Football) - Simply the greatest

Honourable thoughts:
Rugby - Grant Fox, Martin Johnson, Barry John
Football - Sir Robert Charlton, Sir Robert Robson, Franz Beckenbauer, George Best, Paulo Maldini
NFL - Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice
Tennis - John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King
Cricket - Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Sir Geoffray Boycott

 

Diego Armando Maradona - Simply the best footballer ever, Argentina and Napoli would never reach the top without him.

Michael Jordan - Nothing needed to say about him.

Franz Beckenbauer - IIRC he is the only one who has won the WC as player and as a coach, plus one EC with the german national team and three european champions' cups with Bayern Munchen.

Drazen Petrovic - Perhaps the best european basketball player.

Larry Bird - White can jump .

 

You would never guess that I am a Canadian hockey fanatic from this all hockey player list.

1. Wayne Gretzky.

2. Vladislav Tretiak - IMHO the most superbly amazing goalie to ever play the sport.

3. Bobby Orr - revolutionized the way defence is played.

4. Gordie Howe - he had an incredibly long and productive career. #2 all time in goals scored and #3 in points, he had a professional career that lasted from 1946 up to 1980 (excluding his gimmicky one game comeback in 1997) including 22 consecutive NHL seasons with 20 or more goals followed by another five in the WHA. In his final professional season (back in the NHL), at the age of 52, he was still able to play in 80 games and managed 15 goals and 26 assists.

5. Maurice Richard - The first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season and 500 goals in a career. He was truly a legend in hockey mad Montreal. The book "The Hockey Sweater" (also made into a short cartoon) pretty much perfectly sums up how crazy the Montrealers were about him. In probably the most infamous incident in NHL history, there was a riot in Montreal after Richard was quite justifiably suspended for intentionally injuring an opponent and then punching one of the linesmen.

 

I'm not really sure I understand the question, Rutkowski. The list is in no particular order.

 

This is hard...

@Boc: Argentina WILL be on top again

Pete Sampras & Martina Navratilova...
Mario Lemieux.
Jack Nicklaus.
Valentino Rosi.
and of course: la mano de Dios, Diego
(the hand of God, Diego Maradona, who lost almost 60kg)

This isn't fair, it should be at least a top 10 list.

 

Although Maradona was a great player, I can't find it in my three-lion'd heart to put that lying, cheating, obese druggy in my list!!

 

Sad but true... (but he's not fat anymore, and he also is becoming a 'good healthy trusting' man)

 

Beckham is also a liar and a cheater, now all we have to do is wait until he starts smoking crack, then maybe he'll be on the same level as Diego.

 

Pray tell, why is Beckham a liar and a cheater?
You'll be telling me he#s over-rated next!

 

His wife told me Barmy.

 

Victoria Beckham can speak English? Or did you take her in your Dutch mouth?

 

1. Gretzky-He changed the face of the NHL. He holds 61 records, no athelete even comes close to that.

2. Mario Lemiex- He was always just one step behind Gretzky he was my childhood idol so of course I'm includeing him on the list.

3. Gordie Howe-Gretzky before Gretzky. But with a little attitude.

4. Bobby Orr- No defensemen will ever come close to what No.4 did. And in such a short career.

5. Maurice Richard-Just a class act.

Yeah, I'm Canadian, play hockey and it's the sport that I care the most about. I like football and I can respect others devotion to other sports and the legends of those games, but hokcey is what matters to me.

 

Hmm, rugby and cricket are the two main sports I care about. Maybe I should have had more than just one player from those sports in my top five, like our ice hockey fans here have.

 

I'm surprised that Jonah Lomu didn't make yours when I'm honest, HB. What about Chris Cairns or danny Vettori?

 

Hmm, well Barmy, honestly, Jonah Lomu was a bit of a phenomenon, but only for a handful of years and whilst he was exciting to watch, I’d question whether he would even be in the top 10 NZ rugby players of all time, let alone the top 5 sportsmen of all time.

Chris Cairns? Far too disappointing. Dan Vettori? He has a test bowling average of over 30. That’s not world class, even if he is playing quite well at the moment.

The only NZ cricketer I would have put on my list would have been Sir Richard Hadlee. Now HE was the man. Easily the most successful NZ cricketer by some distance and I think still the only person to be knighted for services to cricket whilst still playing.

To all of you who have chosen that Gordie Howe character, I am stunned to learn that he is (or was) actually a real person! I have always known him only as a picture that Bart Simpson cut out to use as his own in that episode where he sent love letters to Edna Krabappel. Now I finally know what he meant when he said “Strap your skates on Gordie, you’re going in!”

Every day, I learn something new on SP.