Sports icons, a running list

Yeah. Beef03 got him on Page 2.

And, OOP. I'd like to think Clemente would surely make that Pittsburgh list. And maybe even Ralph Kiner? Andy Van Slyke and Jay Bell are probably on the second tier, though.

 

Now these are icons. There are many great soccer players the world over, but only these four deserve iconic status.

 

mike, Clemente had already been mentioned. I was bringing up guys who hadn't been listed yet. Like Lemieux, his iconic status goes beyond Pittsburgh. It's amazing how many Clemente jerseys you will see in New York to this day.

I think we're stretching it a bit to mention Van Slyke and Bell as icons, even just in Pittsburgh.

93Devil brought up Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward. I thought maybe that was reaching a bit too, but I have to admit something about both athletes really connected with that city. Then again, this is a city that had people lined up around the block when Ben Roethlisberger was in the hospital, so it's kind of hard to judge who really deserves icon status there.

Has anybody mentioned Tony Dorsett?

 

Beckenbauer

 

TD never played for the Steelers. That holds a ton of weight in Pittsburgh. Unless he is an icon in Dallas, I don't think he makes the list.

 

Roy Keane

 

Great, great player. An icon in Germany, but doesn't immediately come to mind when you think of the greatest ever.

The same thing applies, I think, to Sir Bobby Charlton.

And Devil, you're high.

 

He might be the greatest modern player, and most controversial player, of the top franchise in the world.

I'm not saying he is the best player, but iconic? I would think so.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/charlton-tops-poll-to-find-uniteds-bestever-player-428094.html

 

Um, no, not even close. Ryan Giggs.

And the biggest club in the world is still Real Madrid.

 

Has Joe Louis or Jesse Owens been mentioned?

 

I know the definition of an icon differs from person to person, and my definition of an icon is someone you go to see above and beyond the actual event.

For example, it would be nice to see a golf tournament, but I would go out of my way to see Tiger Woods play in a golf tournament. That makes him an icon under my (and it might be way off) definition.

So using my definition, is John Daly an icon?