Greatest sportsman ever (in any sport)?

[Jagger69]

In no particular order sport-by-sport:

Wayne Gretzky (hockey)
Michael Jordan (basketball)
Babe Ruth (baseball)
Jim Brown (AMERICAN football)
Pele (soccer)
Muhammad Ali (boxing)
Tiger Woods (golf)
Lance Armstrong (cycling)
Bjorn Borg (tennis)
A.J. Foyt (Indy car racing)
Dale Earnhardt (NASCAR racing)
Willie Shoemaker (horseracing)
Dick Weber (bowling)
Mark Spitz (swimming)
Jim Thorpe (decathlon)
Ingemar Stenmark (skiing)
Ty Murray (Rodeo)
"Nature Boy" Rick Flair (wrestling...lol only kidding. Everyone knows it's Hulk Hogan)

I'm not up on fencing, cricket, field hockey, rugby, Australian rules football, lacrosse and the like so maybe some appropriate enthusiasts can fill in the blanks for me.

However....the GREATEST of all-time.....has to be Gretzky at least for now until Tiger Woods' career is finished. NO ONE elevated himself above his contemporary competitors like the great one did.

 

[Puma23]

MJ and Tiger

 

[BigSwede]

how about Roberto Clemente?

Who?

 

[Nomad 800]

Me in the IFL (Imaginary Football League). I was completely untouchable.

And you should see my imaginary trophy wife.

 

[SBTNW]

Who?

WHO? c'mon dude, you can make a little search...

but i just did it for ya:
http://www.latinosportslegends.com/clemente.htm
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=112391

he's one of the greatest baseball players of all-time!

 

[sonne80]

Lance Armstrong - cycling

Lance suffered cancer, none wanted him in their cycling club after that but Johan Brynelle. So give that man some honour as well, he's the best cycling manager that have ever put his feet on the earth.

Lance gotta be one of the athletes with the strongest will I've ever seen as well, making it trough cancer and winning Tour de France 7 times. That's respect.

 

[Blackjack69]

Michael Jordan
Tiger Woods
Barry Sanders

 

[youwanttoshagme]

Lance Armstrong.

the first name i think of, i say that because he never lost.

I'll always have a much greater opinion of Mig Indurain. To me, along with Eddy Merckx, they will always be the greatest cyclists of all time. Indurain not only was a amazing athlete, but a true gentlemen, family man and human. There wasn't the over inflated ego that Armstrong always had, and he was a much greater ambassador for the sport.

I would much prefer to ride with Indurain over Armstrong any day.


(Only thing is, I don't think you should ever meet you hero. You'll only be disappointed when they come across as human, and not the legend you think they are.)

 

[megamega]

americans. amazing. naming all these people that no one around the world gives a shit about.

to the majority of the world the greatest sportsman ever is either Pele or Diego Maradona. Michael Jordan was obviously the best at his sport but in world terms, he is the greatest in his sport and obviously famous, but Maradona is considered a God. Weird how different the love and fervour is in one sport compared to the rest.

 

[MrZiggles]

Jim Thorpe amd Pele have to be on the short list. Michael Jordan maybe, though I'm not a fan. I think it should be somebody from a 'true' sport, and a sport which has a lot of competition. So I don't even count auto racing, golf, billiards, darts, etc. It's tough to say Gretzky when only cold weather residents care about it and play it in large numbers. Btw- I'm still waiting for the pretty boy to take a hit.

 

[stephen20uk]

Cristiano Ronaldo is well on his way.

 

[zell]

americans. amazing. naming all these people that no one around the world gives a shit about.

to the majority of the world the greatest sportsman ever is either Pele or Diego Maradona. Michael Jordan was obviously the best at his sport but in world terms, he is the greatest in his sport and obviously famous, but Maradona is considered a God. Weird how different the love and fervour is in one sport compared to the rest.

The funny thing is that here in America,I don't think that there are that many people who has ever even heard of a Diego Maradona(myself included),but you can probably go to any corner of the world and you'll find more people who know who Michael Jordan is.I'll give you Pele,but it's been so long since he's even been around.

I guess the only other people who I can think of are Muhammad Ali and Babe Ruth.I think that to be the greatest sportsman,you have to not only be a great player at your respective sport,but you also have to transcend sports and become a cultural icon.

I guess I would have to go with Ali,then Jordan and finally Babe Ruth.I guess I'm just your typical American,not giving props to soccer.

 

[marquis2]

It's like asking what's the best food-but how do you compare lobster with steak? It has to be someone who dominated the sport for a long time like WG Grace and DG Bradman did in cricket in different eras.
Or someone like John Surtees who was World Champion in motorcycle racing and then switched to cars, eventually becoming World Champion there too. Some achievement.
Or people like Sir Steve Redgrave whom I've already mentioned who was at the top of his sport for so long.
How do you pick just one?

 

[clogselfe]

Emil Zatopek

 

[Count Fuckula]

Cristiano Ronaldo is well on his way.

Athlete yes .. sportsman .. no .. in the sense that he's not a very good sport, nor does he have much of a sense of fair play .. witness his contriving to get Rooney sent off in the World Cup.
Ditto Drogba .. great footballer .. lousy sport
I imagine yr a United fan ..

Sporting Heroes for me are guys like Richard Hill the England flanker, Bobby Moore ex England Captain .. Roger Federer .. Ayrton Senna
Zatopek great choice .. Muhammed Ali .. Steve Cram ... Bradley Wiggins .. Max Schmelling

Maradona .. was a cheat

 

[SBTNW]

Cristiano Ronaldo is well on his way.

i strongly disagree with that.

you can vote for Cristiano Ronaldo as the best here:
http://board.freeones.com/showthread.php?t=214361

 

[boobmanz]

Johan Cruijff inside and outside the court, always fun

 

[squallumz]

see, this in another example where this should have been a poll.

btw. did i say jordan yet?

 

[stepne]

Michael Jordan

 

[BlueBalls]

Eddie ' The Eagle' Edwards