Gable Steveson

[scourge165]

46 minutes ago, billyhoyle said:

I am sure Jordan could have been a great football player or world class high jumper.  Jordan was a better athlete than Deion Sanders.  I'd say Bo was more versatile since he was elite at two different sports, but was never as good at a single sport as Jordan was at basketball. 

Yeah Chamberlain is great too.  

There are two different ways to qualify this.

Greatest TEAM athlete...as in accomplishments in a sport vs pure athletic ability. 

Tom Brady is recognized as the greatest FB player ever. Most punters were more athletic than Brady.
So using that metric, Jordan is in a very-very rare group.
Talking about just pure athletic ability. Speed, agility, strength, etc...I think Jordan was incredible, but Bo and Deion were different.

Deion's speed and agility were off the charts, but the revisionist history is that he wasn't physical. Go watch him early in his career. He hit. He was pretty physical. He got beat up and had shoulder issues and then became the player people remember.

Bo? He was incredible. Just the speed he had at 6'1 240, he ran away from DBs, he ran through LBs. I'd guess people would over estimate his stats, but he came straight from Baseball to Football and went for 5 YPC. 

And then baseball? The power, insane arm...

So I guess if you combine the two, I'd say Jordan was better. Incredible athletic ability and is the greatest of his generation in terms of winning(greatest other than Russell in that respect, but even Russell had...what, 6 other HOFs).

[ionel]

5 minutes ago, RockLobster said:

Ban was banned from this forum... this time "permanent."

'Ban basketball' was a clever forum name. Showed his sense of humor. But in reality, he actually played basketball.

Well then good to know BBBB - Bob banned ban basketball. 

[RockLobster]

16 minutes ago, scourge165 said:

No...if I was talking about Pele, I'd have at any point mentioned Pele.

I'm talking about Jordan. Particularly during the Dream Team era. 

Jordan was probably thee biggest reason why the NBA grew internationally the way it did. 

Can't go wrong with Jordan. Dude is a legend.

But I've got Jesse Owens on my card for best athlete ever. 

Won 4 Olympic Golds (1st time ever) in 1936 in Hitler's Berlin Olympics.

'He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".'

He grew up in poverty as the youngest of 10 children.

[billyhoyle]

53 minutes ago, scourge165 said:

There are two different ways to qualify this.

Greatest TEAM athlete...as in accomplishments in a sport vs pure athletic ability. 

Tom Brady is recognized as the greatest FB player ever. Most punters were more athletic than Brady.
So using that metric, Jordan is in a very-very rare group.
Talking about just pure athletic ability. Speed, agility, strength, etc...I think Jordan was incredible, but Bo and Deion were different.

Deion's speed and agility were off the charts, but the revisionist history is that he wasn't physical. Go watch him early in his career. He hit. He was pretty physical. He got beat up and had shoulder issues and then became the player people remember.

Bo? He was incredible. Just the speed he had at 6'1 240, he ran away from DBs, he ran through LBs. I'd guess people would over estimate his stats, but he came straight from Baseball to Football and went for 5 YPC. 

And then baseball? The power, insane arm...

So I guess if you combine the two, I'd say Jordan was better. Incredible athletic ability and is the greatest of his generation in terms of winning(greatest other than Russell in that respect, but even Russell had...what, 6 other HOFs).

I watch Michael Jordan playing basketball, and I see somebody who is clearly one of the greatest athletes to ever live.  I see something we'd never seen before and something we haven't seen since. Deion is great as well, but just not to that level.  With Bo Jackson, I see what I see with Jordan-nobody was like him before and nobody has been since-he just never performed to the skill level of Jordan in either sport.  But for greatest athlete ever without question Bo is in the same conversation as Jordan.  

[scourge165]

40 minutes ago, RockLobster said:

Can't go wrong with Jordan. Dude is a legend.

But I've got Jesse Owens on my card for best athlete ever. 

Won 4 Olympic Golds (1st time ever) in 1936 in Hitler's Berlin Olympics.

'He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".'

He grew up in poverty as the youngest of 10 children.

Yes, he's up there. That's why it's impossible to go with the "greatest" of all-time.

I can only go by Owens accomplishments, but they were amazing...particularly given how he won those Gold Medals!

 

Speaking of which, biiig Bill Burr fan! He has a good line joke about Hitler. I think the whole bit is funny, but it starts with about 1:20 left in the video...if you care;

 

[scourge165]

18 minutes ago, billyhoyle said:

I watch Michael Jordan playing basketball, and I see somebody who is clearly one of the greatest athletes to ever live.  I see something we'd never seen before and something we haven't seen since. Deion is great as well, but just not to that level.  With Bo Jackson, I see what I see with Jordan-nobody was like him before and nobody has been since-he just never performed to the skill level of Jordan in either sport.  But for greatest athlete ever without question Bo is in the same conversation as Jordan.  

Yeah, I watched them as well...and I'm with you on Bo and MJ, but I think you're understating Deion's greatness.

The way he played offense, he was a weapon as a return man, the best cover corner in the modern era. 

 I would take Jordan as #1 in this group because of what he actually accomplished, Bo as #2 just because he was such a great athlete, but if you weigh both evenly, Deion has to at least be in that conversation. He was both great in his team sports(really good player with the Braves, all-world with the Falcons, Cowboys and 49ers) and he ran a 4.2 something.

 

I can't really argue AGAINST any of them...

[Truzzcat]

I love a good greatest athletes thread, mine go in no order.

Buvaisar Satiev

Deion Sanders

Phelps 

Bo Jackson 

Lebron/Jordan 

Tiger Woods

Gretzky 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

8 hours ago, scourge165 said:

There are two different ways to qualify this.

Greatest TEAM athlete...as in accomplishments in a sport vs pure athletic ability. 

Tom Brady is recognized as the greatest FB player ever. Most punters were more athletic than Brady.
So using that metric, Jordan is in a very-very rare group.
Talking about just pure athletic ability. Speed, agility, strength, etc...I think Jordan was incredible, but Bo and Deion were different.

Deion's speed and agility were off the charts, but the revisionist history is that he wasn't physical. Go watch him early in his career. He hit. He was pretty physical. He got beat up and had shoulder issues and then became the player people remember.

Bo? He was incredible. Just the speed he had at 6'1 240, he ran away from DBs, he ran through LBs. I'd guess people would over estimate his stats, but he came straight from Baseball to Football and went for 5 YPC. 

And then baseball? The power, insane arm...

So I guess if you combine the two, I'd say Jordan was better. Incredible athletic ability and is the greatest of his generation in terms of winning(greatest other than Russell in that respect, but even Russell had...what, 6 other HOFs).

Unathletic Tom Brady was drafted by the Expos as a high school catcher.  His movement skills do not seem very good, but his hand eye coordination, mechanics, agility within a phone booth sized area, arm strength, and ability to generate power, etc. are other-worldly.  This doesn't even take his mental skills into account.  Yeah, he ain't beating anyone in running or jumping, he's just maxed out in other harder to define physical characteristics.

[headshuck]

Pete Weber

[lisa morales]

Babe Zaharias was the greatest athlete...by far. 

She won gold medals and set world records in track & field, won 10 professional golf tournaments and the women's grand slam.  She also played professional baseball (men & women) & basketball.   She's in three Hall of Fames and has a U.S. postage stamp commemorating her greatness.  

[Offthemat]

1 hour ago, lisa morales said:

Babe Zaharias was the greatest athlete...by far. 

She won gold medals and set world records in track & field, won 10 professional golf tournaments and the women's grand slam.  She also played professional baseball (men & women) & basketball.   She's in three Hall of Fames and has a U.S. postage stamp commemorating her greatness.  

From Falfurrias?

[lisa morales]

Port Arthur, Texas.  There is a golf course in Falfurrias named after her though.  

[WrestleFan12]

2 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

I love a good greatest athletes thread, mine go in no order.

Buvaisar Satiev

Deion Sanders

Phelps 

Bo Jackson 

Lebron/Jordan 

Tiger Woods

Gretzky 

Don’t forget Jim Thorpe. A couple of Olympic gold medals (decathlon and pentathlon), and played professionally in three sports in the United States (baseball, football, and basketball). He also considered playing professional hockey, but that never panned out. At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, he was a solidly built athlete. Thorpe is currently in the NFL Hall of Fame.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

31 minutes ago, WrestleFan12 said:

Don’t forget Jim Thorpe. A couple of Olympic gold medals (decathlon and pentathlon), and played professionally in three sports in the United States (baseball, football, and basketball). He also considered playing professional hockey, but that never panned out. At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, he was a solidly built athlete. Thorpe is currently in the NFL Hall of Fame.

"You sir, are the world's greatest athlete."

[Jim L]

27 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

"You sir, are the world's greatest athlete."

Thanks,  king.

[MNRodent]

Joe Mauer.

Baseball: 6'4" catcher first ballot HOF with multiple AL batting titles and Gold Glove awards. Career batting average of .600 in high school with one strikeout!  Number 1 overall pick in MLB draft.

Football: QB, #1 national prospect by several service coming off Senior year. Turned down Florida State offer when he got drafted overall #1 in the MLB draft.

Basketball: Guard. His worst sport but was first team All-State his last 2 years of high school.

Edited May 20 by MNRodent

[lisa morales]

Joe Mauer was a great athlete and a great person!  

[Wrestleknownothing]

The obvious, and unquestioned, greatest athlete is Zambian, Nanu. After being seen outrunning a cheetah in his home country, he came to the United States and singlehandedly won the NCAA track and Field Tournament in 1973. Though it was touch and go due to his rough start (he fell/slid backward on his first long jump attempt and his first javelin attempt went backward), following a key coaching adjustment he won the 440, high jump, javelin, shot put, pole vault, discuss, long jump, and another track event in just 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

 

[ionel]

3 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

The obvious, and unquestioned, greatest athlete is Zambian, Nanu. After being seen outrunning a cheetah in his home country, he came to the United States and singlehandedly won the NCAA track and Field Tournament in 1973. Though it was touch and go due to his rough start (he fell/slid backward on his first long jump attempt and his first javelin attempt went backward), following a key coaching adjustment he won the 440, high jump, javelin, shot put, pole vault, discuss, long jump, and another track event in just 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

 

@wrestlenanuthing digging up some more obscure sports facts.  

[Offthemat]

Some football coaches might be interested in seeing how Steveson does at running back.  

[ionel]

4 minutes ago, Offthemat said:

Some football coaches might be interested in seeing how Steveson does at running back.  

I'm thinking a valuable asset on goal line offense.  Quick pitch and could back flip into the endzone.

[Offthemat]

1 minute ago, ionel said:

I'm thinking a valuable asset on goal line offense.  Quick pitch and could back flip into the endzone.

Maybe similar to Jerome Bettis.  

[ionel]

11 minutes ago, Offthemat said:

Maybe similar to Jerome Bettis.  

[Konquest]

Danny Ainge is considered the best high school athlete of all time, FWIW.

[MPhillips]

48 minutes ago, Konquest said:

Danny Ainge is considered the best high school athlete of all time, FWIW.

Thank you Boston Celtics...