| Greatest American Athletes ever
A few years ago, ESPN did a countdown of the 50 greatest "American" athletes of the 20th century (i put American in quotation marks because the list included Canadian hockey players who played in the NHL). Their top 5 was:
5. Wayne Gretzky
4. Jim Brown
3. Muhammed Ali
2. Babe Ruth
1. Michael Jordan
Since I'm a sucker for lists, and they tend to stir up a good deal of debate, I figured I'd give my top (which is only slightly different from ESPN's), as well as my top 5's in each sport
Top 5, All sports
5. Lance Armstrong
4. Wayne Gretzky
3. Muhammed Ali
2. Michael Jordan
1. Babe Ruth
Top 5 Baseball Players (batters only)
5. Ty Cobb
4. Ted Williams
3. Willie Mays
2. Barry Bonds (if hes not on steroids)
1. Babe Ruth
Top 5 football players (Offense only)
5. Johnny Unitas
4. Walter Payton
3. Joe Montana
2. Jerry Rice
1. Jim Brown
Top 5 basketball players
5. Larry Bird
4. Magic Johnson
3. Bill Russell
2. Wilt Chamberlain
1. Michael Jordan
Top 5 hockey players
5. Patrick Roy
4. Bobby Orr
3. Mario Lemieux
2. Gordie Howe
1. Wayne Gretzky
Top 5 individual sports
5. Mike Tyson
4. Carl Lewis
3. Tiger Woods
2. Lance Armstrong
1. Muhammed Ali
Feel free to discuss, or offer your own opinions |