ESPN 100 greatest athletes

Just stumbled across the ESPN 100 greatest athletes of all-time. There is no way that Koufax is 44. I'm sorry, but anyone that was as mediocre as he was for the first half of his career cannot be included on a list of greatest athletes of all-time. When you are taking into account every sport out there, there just isn't any room on that list for athletes that we sub .500 for the first half of their career.

The other gripe I have is with the inclusion of Bob Beamon. Yes, he shattered the long jump record by 2 feet, but he never had another jump close to that. Was he one of the best in the world at the time? Yes, but not one of the 100 greatest athletes of all-time. I long the long jump event, but no one should be making this list based on a one time occurrence in someone's career. It's like saying Len Barker is one of the greatest pitchers of all-time because he threw a perfect game.

Jay

These concerns are why I like Bill James' rankings where he makes two lists: Peak value, and Career value.

unless you're willie mays or can run, hit, throw...i wouldn't call most baseball players great athletes. you have a unique skillset in that you can make solid contact with a round bat on a round ball, or you're gifted with the ability to throw 95mph...but you're not a great athlete.

being great at any athletic endeavor requires have a very unique skill set. Truly great athletes like Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrickson and Bo Jackson are very rare and should ahve probably been 1-2-3

I would call anyone who plays athletics an athlete. If the sport simply requires you to do something like hit a ball or put it in a hole(thats what she said), and you do it extremely well or dominate your sport then your an athlete. Their simply doing what their supposed to do. Bowling and Pool arent physically demanding but there is a talent to doing it extremely well.

To me a top athlete should have really dominated the top level of his sport for an extended period of time. Bo Jackson wouldnt qualify cuz he didnt do much in the NFL. Whether they got injured or not shouldnt matter. It really just matters what they did-not what they could have done. Thorpe could be somewhere on the list because of the Olympics I guess but he didnt play in a Major Leagua and dominate so he shouldnt be very high. The top levels should be the obvious guys-Ruth, Jordan, Cobb Etc. Also they should leave the "fixing society's ill's" guys off, or just focus on their athletic careers. If I see one more Ali special about how he "changed the world" or "fought injustice" instead of how he just beat guys up I'm going to puke.

Koufax, Is the greatest Pitcher I ever saw. When he was at his peak for those 4 or 5 yrs. There was no one better and he was virtually unhitable. He was so dominate that the Bookie's in Vegas wouldn't take bets on games he pitched.

You need to do some research on Jim Thorpe. He is a no brainer for #1. He won gold in the decathlon and pentathlon. The decathlon involves 10 track and field events while the pentathlon involved swimming, shooting, fencing, horse riding and cross country running. Thorpe was the greatest all around athlete ever to walk the planet. Jordan, Ruth and other players you cite as great only did one thing great. Thorpe, Didrikson and Bo did multiple things at a world class level. Jackson not only played football and was one of best RBs ever seen (the only RB with 2 carries over 80 years), he was also a world class sprinter.

As for Koufax, he was dominant for the last 5 years of his career, but was nothing special for the first half. Dwight Godden was a good as it got for pitching in the mid 80s but no one confuses him with the all-time greats.

J R Richard falls under the Koufax category but because of his stroke he is a forgotten man.

As far as athletes I think a guy like Dave Winfield has to be up there, if you get drafed by 3 major sports you must have some athletic ability. I also believe that Bo Jackson is the greatest athlete I have seen in my lifetime. We can't forget Deion Sanders, Dave Debushere.

Lee

Good call on Winfield. I forgot that little tidbit about being draft in baseball, football and basketball.

I think decathletes and people that played multiple sports (or could have, as evidenced by teams trying to get the person to play) should get more careful consideration and possibly higher rankings based on the fact that they weren't just good at one thing.

Some positions in single sports also require more all-around athleticism than others in order to be outstanding. Linebackers in football come to mind. Maybe corner outfielders and shooting guards/small forwards. Even quarterbacks. These things that are done best by people that combine muscularity, speed, agility, quick reflexes, coordination - the things typically associated with athleticism - should also get a higher rating for those that excel.

For my money, the best athlete I've ever seen may have been Teofilo Stevenson - the Cuban boxer. Wow. He did have it all. I'll have to think about other really purely athletic people I've seen - it will be an interesting exercise!

And I'll also have to go take a look at ESPN's list when I get a chance. It does seem like a bailout to me if the list is all people that excelled in their respective sports regardless of athleticism shown or even required.

J

ok i just googled the list...then i saw #2 babe ruth and #5 wayne gretzky...UGH (i stopped browsing). seems like they're just naming off best players at a particular sport. i agree with everybody that play multiple sports should be up there, also i'd think some MMA guy or guys doing triathlons+ would be better athletes than players in the 4 major sports.

Maybe the problem is that they used the word "athlete" when what they really meant was something like "greatest sports figures" or "greatest players of our major games".

I can see someone wanting to rank everyone together and not just best baseball players, best track stars, etc. But what do you call that list? Maybe that's how they came up with "athletes" and started us down this road. Just like "MVP".

J

Of the major sports, hockey players are easily the best athletes. They do everything that the people other sports do but they do it on a thin piece of metal. It's the one sport I was never very good at.

Some people will argue that basketball players are the best athletes, but they can play every minute of game, including OT. There isn't a human being out there capable of playing every minute of a hockey game except the goalie and only because they don't have to skate up and down the rink and constantly be hit.

Jay