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Greatest Athlete of all time?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Ilmago, Aug 23, 2010.

  1. Ilmago

    Ilmago Guest

    I've had this debate many times, and I know it's hard to only choose one, but in your opinion who do you believe is the greatest athlete of all time and why?

    I don't have time to give a good long answer right now, but personally I always believed it was Jim Thorpe.
     
  2. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Stephen Strasburg.
     
  3. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    On my short list are Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson.
    Thorpe and Walker could and did do whatever they wanted to athletically. Both were Olympians -- in events that were pretty far removed from football -- and proved their ability in a variety of sports. I think Walker could probably still play for some NFL teams if he wanted to.
    Brown and Jackson were just gifted, physical freaks of nature. Maybe not as talented across a wide variety of disciplines like Thorpe and Walker were, but that may be because they never tried. Both played at an all-star (in Jackson's case) or hall of fame level (in Brown's case) in the two sports they did try.
     
  4. Ilmago

    Ilmago Guest

    I agree with everything you said, I'm curious to know how do you feel about Jesse Owens being discussed amongst the greatest athletes of all time?
     
  5. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Red Grange. Greatest football player ever. Sort of the first professional football superstar, and one of the earliest college football superstars. And a sweet nickname too "Ice Man."
     
  6. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    If we're going by accomplishment in more than one sport, then it's Babe Didriksen Zaharias and nobody else is even close.
     
  7. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Babe Didriksen Zaharias, Bo Jackson and here's a name that many won't mention, Deion Sanders.
     
  8. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    You can be my wing man anytime.
     
  9. Ilmago

    Ilmago Guest

    I definitely consider him one of the most gifted athletes of all time. I wouldn't say he's on the same level as Bo Jackson but he does deserve consideration.

    Side note: I'm really happy no one mentioned Lance Armstrong yet.
     
  10. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    Bo and Deion are the first two that come to my mind.
     
  11. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Jesse Owens is the original version of Carl Lewis. Great at track and field events, incredible runners, two of the best ever in their sport, but not the same varied skill set as those others I mentioned.
    I don't think Owens and Lewis could hold their own in a more physically demanding contact sport the way Thorpe, Brown, Walker and Jackson could, whereas those top four probably could hold their own on the track with Owens and Lewis.
     
  12. HeinekenMan

    HeinekenMan Active Member

    Forrest, Forrest Gump. He was a star football player, a marathon runner and a world champion table tennis player. My second pick might be Jackie Robinson. He participated in baseball, football, basketball and track at UCLA. He also excelled at tennis in high school.
     
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