Greatest Athlete Ever

[DMN in the House]

Simple question, who is the greatest athlete of all time?

Me, I'm going to go with Dan Gable. Greatest wrestler of all time, a HS, College, and Olympic career with only one loss, won an Olympic gold medal in 1972 without having a point scored on him. Gable is also the greatest wrestling coach in history, with 15 National Titles in 21 years at Iowa. Wrestling is easily the toughest sport both mentally and physically, and Dan Gable is the greatest wrestler of all time.

Who's yours?

[naiwf]

Jim Thorpe for men - Thorpe wowed the sporting world by winning gold medals in the pentathlon AND the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Later that year, against opponents like the fabled Army football team, he scored 25 touchdowns for the Carlisle Indian School. Then Thorpe played six years of professional baseball as an outfielder for the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Braves. In 1916 his football team, the Canton Bulldogs, won their first of three unofficial national championships, and Thorpe served as the first president of what is now the National Football League. Of mixed European and Native American background, Thorpe was a popular hero; his life story was dramatized in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe, All-American, starring Burt Lancaster. Although he never got rich because of it, Thorpe is considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

Babe Zaharias for women - Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias was voted the outstanding woman athlete of the century in a 1950 Associated Press poll. Though she gained her greatest professional fame as a golfer, she rivalled Jim Thorpe in her remarkable ability to excel at nearly any sport. She began as a basketball All-American, then won two track and field golds at the 1932 Olympics. Next she turned professional and began touring the country, exhibiting her prowess in track, swimming, tennis, baseball, and even billiards. In 1935 Zaharias took up golf and excelled at that, too, winning 82 tournaments in a 20-year career. She was only 42 when she died of cancer in 1956.

Credit for the profiles: Who2.com :thumbs-up:

Credit for the ideas: me

Edited June 30, 2004 by naiwf

[sahyder1]

Men: Muhammad Ali

Women: I'm gonna go with someone in my lifetime on this one Steffi Graf (atleast for now). Although Babe is definitely a great choice.

[Guest StreetzHopin]

Michael Jordan was simply amazing but then again so was James Brown....

[gunnar hendershow]

Jim Thorpe and Dan Gable are in a tie for me.

Alexander Kerrelin's another great wrestler. Almost on par with Gable.

Edited June 30, 2004 by damshow

[punky]

I'd have to say the best ATHLETE has to be Jim Thorpe. He succeeded in many different professional sports.

[MDK]

My pic is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pelé. Quite frankly the best player to ever grace a football pitch and part of arguably the best international team of all time, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad.

The most famous footballer of his generation, Pelé joined the Santos Football Club in 1956 and stayed with the club through his retirement in 1974, helping the team to nine championships in 18 years. Pelé played on four Brazilian World Cup teams, including the country's three World Cup wins in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The 1958 final was perhaps his most famous match, with Pelé scoring two goals in Brazil's 4-2 win over Sweden. Pelé became more famous in America in 1975, when he came out of retirement to play for the New York Cosmos of the infant North American Soccer League. Pelé retired again in 1977 after leading the Cosmos to the NASL championship. His 1977 autobiography was titled My Life and the Beautiful Game

- Credit: Who2.com

Also, he managed call a 48 hour cease-fire in Lagoz during Nigeria's civil war because he was playing an friendly match. Cool, huh?

[Clawson]

My greatest player is Doug Gilmour. For a guy his height he could sure play the body and score in a sport usually dominated by big men.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

More than likely George Best.

When people mention football, everyone jumps at saying how amazing Pele is. Yes there right to say that, but if you ask me Best was easily as good as him. If you watch this guy play you will know how good he is. I never believed it until I actually see it. He would just stand there and wave at defenders to come and tackle him, then just go passed them with pure ease. The guy had good speed, great skill and a great shot on him, there is no more you could want in a football player. I don't care about his outer life of him being an alcoholic and all that stuff, in football he is easily one of the best, if not the best.

Also Pete Sampras isn't far off. If you ask me he is possibly the best tennis player off all time, but maybe that's just my opinion.

[Guest Wrestling_Man]

My pick is Cal Ripken Jr. because of his AMAZING Iron Man streak in baseball. 2,632 games I believe it was, and this was straight through, with injuries, and BS in the team and everything. Yes Brett Farve might be doing the same thing but it'll never capture America like when Cal Ripken broke the record of Lou Gehrig. Cal's record could very well be the only streak that will never be broken in sports. And he was such a great guy, always helped with the community, he's just the greatest. If you guys had ever lived in Maryland like I am, you will know how big Cal Ripken is to Maryland sports.

[DMN in the House]

My pick is Cal Ripken Jr. because of his AMAZING Iron Man streak in baseball.  2,632 games I believe it was, and this was straight through, with injuries, and BS in the team and everything.  Yes Brett Farve might be doing the same thing but it'll never capture America like when Cal Ripken broke the record of Lou Gehrig.  Cal's record could very well be the only streak that will never be broken in sports.  And he was such a great guy, always helped with the community, he's just the greatest.  If you guys had ever lived in Maryland like I am, you will know how big Cal Ripken is to Maryland sports.

←

Ripken's streak is so overrated its unbelievable. He went out there, HURT his team, and becomes a god.

And Farve's is much more impressive, though he did achieve it with the help of painkillers.

[Guest Wrestling_Man]

Ripken's streak is so overrated its unbelievable. He went out there, HURT his team, and becomes a god.

And Farve's is much more impressive, though he did achieve it with the help of painkillers.

←

It's like I said, anywhere else in America the streak is overrated. Here in Maryland, I don't think people say it's overrated. But he didn't hurt his team, the team had some crappy managers through the years. At least Ripken doesn't have to get hit by 300 pound defensive linemen.

[gunnar hendershow]

Even if Ripken didn't play the O's would have sucked. He saved baseball too, one cannot deny that. What else was going on the mid-90s in baseball? Oh yeah... the strike.

[DMN in the House]

Even if Ripken didn't play the O's would have sucked.  He saved baseball too, one cannot deny that.  What else was going on the mid-90s in baseball?  Oh yeah... the strike.

←

Dude, Sammy and McGwire saved baseball, not Ripken.

[gunnar hendershow]

Dude, Sammy and McGwire saved baseball, not Ripken.

←

Well in the mid-90s, before they showed up with their homerun battle. Without Ripken's streak baseball would've had nothing to pride itself on in the mid-90s. It was also a good thing for baseball to have someone like Ripken after a messy strike. Trust me if Ripken didn't have the streak than McGwire and Sammy's streak wouldn't have had as much of a significance on the sport's return after 94.

Edited July 5, 2004 by damshow

[VerbalPuke]

My pick is Barry Sanders. It's kind of a biased opinion, but I believe he is a very good choice. He was amazing to watch, he could break out a huge run at any given time. It was also obvious that Barry could have broken Walter Payton's record, and put it out of reach. Unfortunately Barry retired prematurely, and while it dissapointed me greatly, I also respected his decision. To put it simply, he was poetry in motion. One of the most exciting atheletes of any time period.

[A-Dub]

Jim Thorpe or Ali, both amazing, both dominated their respective sport(s in Thorpe's case..)

BTW, to Syco......most of Favre's streak has been done without the aid of any pain meds.

[Clawson]

Ok looking through here I've been wondering if you guys want me to re-open the EWB Sports Hall of Fame. Would make for some debates as to who gets in, since most of the obvious ones are in there.

So ya when you're giving you best athlete let me know if you want the HOF re-opened.

[A-Dub]

Definatly re-open that mo-fo. Also once he retires, I have to go with Favre, Maybe it's that I'm a GB boy, but that guy is beyond amazing. Amahn Green would be nothing without him.

[Guest Hurricane]

He may not be the best athlete ever, but Barry Sanders was the most exciting to watch. When I was younger, I couldn't wait until sunday to see him play. I never got to see him play live though, but my parents did, and they said it was the most amazing thing they've ever seen in (american) football.

I'm going to see him, along with John Elway, Bob Brown, and Carl Eller get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.