Five athletes you wish were active today and in their prime

I was watching old footage of one of the following athletes, and it struck me how much I really missed out by not seeing them in their prime.

So my five...

Ruth
Page
Secretariat - I know I'm stretching "athlete" with this one.
Maravich
Jim Brown

Ali could have made the list, but boxing is dead.

 

Ruth
Jim Thorpe
Jesse Owens
Babe Zaharias
Sandy Koufax

 

Saw the first three in their prime but would like to see how they'd do today.

Walter Payton
Ali
Michael Jordan
Sammy Baugh
Joe DiMaggio

 

Wilt
Dr. J
Bob Gibson
Navratilova
McEnroe

 

I'm kind of curious to see what a pre-1995-ish quarterback could do in an NFL with more wide-open, pass-first offenses so I'll used one of my five collectively on Baugh, Graham, Layne, Starr, et al

the rest. . .
Christy Mathewson (he was dominant pitching every two days, imagine him on full rest)
Josh Gibson (modern era = no color line and the greatest home run hitter ever aiming a short porches in modern ballparks)
Gordie Howe (him wearing the Winged Wheel and suddenly Chicago's no longer unbeaten)
Milos of Croton (would absolutely OWN mixed martial arts and his star power might keep the IOC from dropping wrestling)

 

Wilt
Unitas
Ruth
Steffi
Laver

 

None. I don't want to shatter their legacy. Even in their prime, I don't know how well they would do against today's athletes who have trained year round for decades.

Although I'm pretty confident Secretariat would still be great.

 

Roberto Clemente
Ralph Sampson
Bob Feller
John Riggins
Bobby Hull

 

Twice a Prince, who finished second in Secretariat's Belmont, would have won the 2012 race by about three lengths.

That's him in the upper right corner.

 

Wilt
Satchel Paige
Josh Gibson
Jim Brown
Mike Tyson

 

I once ran a mug shot of a horse. You're not off base with the inclusion of an animal on your list.

 

Jim Brown
Johan Cruyff
Nadia Comăneci
Abebe Bikila
Ty Cobb