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Greatest Athlete of All-Time?

Greatest Athlete of All-Time

  • Total voters
    174
RJKarl said:
What does that mean?
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Crossover era: Also known as the "down low" area. A period of time when male athletes performed sexual acts with one another in order to relieve stress without the complications of having to cuddle and stay awake to talk afterward. Not to be confused with the "overt lesbian era" of 1875 to present day among female athletes, which credits its beginnings to Calamity Jane. As used in a sentence, "Even though he could have had any man in America, Jim Thorpe didn't play in the crossover era".
 
vtwhat etc said:
I posed a similar question (more centered to 'current' rather than 'historical') a while back to a group... One of my friends made a very compelling case for Ashton Eaton, who I was admittedly pretty unfamiliar with.
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This is the correct answer. The gold medalist at decathlon is considered to be the best all-around athlete in the world. Eaton is also the world-record holder, meaning that he has run faster, thrown farther, and jumped higher than any man in history. Many of his marks, en route to his world record in the decathlon, would be competitive in individual events.
 
vtwhat etc said:
In terms of athletes that I've been able to consciously watch compete in my lifetime (so dating back to the early/mid-90s), I think a strong case could be made for Jon Jones. In terms of pure athleticism, he likely deserves a mention in the conversation.

I posed a similar question (more centered to 'current' rather than 'historical') a while back to a group... One of my friends made a very compelling case for Ashton Eaton, who I was admittedly pretty unfamiliar with.
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Regarding Jon Jones he just has a freakish reach advantage, he gets hurt fairly easily, and hasn't really fought anyone in their prime. Not sure he'd qualify as being included in this list. I'd make a stronger case for Anderson Silva or GSP.
 
I'm surprized no one - especially RJ - has mentioned Wilt Chamberlain. Now, here is a man who amassed all sorts of racords in different sports, formal and informal.
 
The board is anti-Wilt. But he would qualify to be near the top of the list. In addition to his basketball legend, he is also a beach volleyball legend. Many credit him with helping to popularize the sport.

He also high jumped nearly 7' in sneakers without any training. He just showed up and jumped.
 
RJKarl said:
The board is anti-Wilt. But he would qualify to be near the top of the list. In addition to his basketball legend, he is also a beach volleyball legend. Many credit him with helping to popularize the sport.

He also high jumped nearly 7' in sneakers without any training. He just showed up and jumped.
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and there was also something about the 20,000 ... er, ne'er mind
 
that was training for the other sports...good for heart health.....
 
RJKarl said:
that was training for the other sports...good for heart health.....
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He should have banged more women since he had a bad heart.

IMO, Jim Thorpe is easily the greatest athlete of all time.
 
The answer is Jim Thorpe. He won both the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics. It should be noted that the pentathlon won by Thorpe was more like a half decathlon. A bit of trivia: the 1912 Olympics had two pentathlons, the one won by Thorpe and the modern one, in which George Patton came in fifth.
 
When Jim Thorpe was awarded his gold medal at the Stockholm Olympic by the King of Sweden, He proudly said "Thanks, King".
 
Thorpe is up there but not #1. I would give him best athlete for his era. Even if some of his competitions were integrated, all of the records set by him and his contemporaries have been completely smashed. Bo and Deion would smoke Thorpe in the 100, 200, 400 or long jump. No way in hell could Thorpe tackle Bo or play centerfield like Bo or Deion.

Thanks for coming out, Jim, but Indians are mascots these days for a reason.

#1 Bo Jackson
#1A Deion Sanders
 
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sailordeac said:
I'm surprized no one - especially RJ - has mentioned Wilt Chamberlain. Now, here is a man who amassed all sorts of racords in different sports, formal and informal.
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I'll never get the love for Bo Jackson as the greatest athlete of all time. The guy hit .250 with 141 home runs in eight seasons, and made the All Star team once. As an NFL player he played four seasons, never playing more than 11 games, and never rushing for more than 950 yards. On top of all this, how does the greatest athlete of all time have a career ending hip injury on a light tackle? And he's dumb as a brick.
 
BabyDeac75 said:
And Winfield is the only athlete drafted by four different pro leagues (MLB, NBA, ABA, and NFL).

All things considered, I would have to go with Jim Brown. His credentials are staggering. He was one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time, an All-American lacrosse player who was one of the finest ever, averaged 38 points per game in high school basketball and lettered in hoops at Syracuse, finished fifth in the 1956 national decathlon championship, was offered a minor-league deal by the Yankees, and could have been a pro boxer after he retired.
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not really in the same athletic category but I heard an interview w/ Tony Gwynn. He mentioned that he went to San Diego St on a basketball scholarship and still holds school records for assists (single game, season & career). He was drafted by the San Diego Clippers & San Diego Padres on the same day.
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
Thorpe is up there but not #1. I would give him best athlete for his era. Even if some of his competitions were integrated, all of the records set by him and his contemporaries have been completely smashed. Bo and Deion would smoke Thorpe in the 100, 200, 400 or long jump. No way in hell could Thorpe tackle Bo or play centerfield like Bo or Deion.

Thanks for coming out, Jim, but Indians are mascots these days for a reason.

#1 Bo Jackson
#1A Deion Sanders
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Can't buy this argument based on eras. It is like saying that Barack Obama is a better public speaker than Abraham Lincoln because of teleprompters or that JK Rowling is a better writer than William Faulkner because she sold more books. . Greatness lies in how you do within your generation, now how you do against a previous generation.
 
Winkathomelygirl said:
Can't buy this argument based on eras. It is like saying that Barack Obama is a better public speaker than Abraham Lincoln because of teleprompters or that JK Rowling is a better writer than William Faulkner because she sold more books. . Greatness lies in how you do within your generation, now how you do against a previous generation.
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His point is that Thorpe didn't completely compete against his generation. When you are competing in segregated events and leagues, are you really competing against the best?
 
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