Greatest Athlete ever

[Heeko]

If you had to choose one athlete which you would consider the best athlete ever in history, who would you choose?

There is no wrong answer as answers will vary with each individual.

Also do not count activities outside of their respective sport. The question only applies to what he/she did while actively involved during the course of regulation play (overtime included).

Tough choice with many great candidates, but if I had to go with only one I would say Magic Johnson.

 

[CitY of MicA]

Tough. In terms of American athletes, I would have to go with either John Elway or Walter Payton. Elway was a top notch baseball prospect, too (drafted by the Blue Jays, if memory serves). He was great with a football in his hands: passing or running. But he was sacked so many times and played for so long that eventually, athletically-speaking, he was a shadow of his former self. Payton was just beautiful to watch- so graceful and so powerful. Sugar Ray Robinson, as I mentioned on a recent boxing thread, was a superior athlete, too. Outside the U.S., I would probably go with Pele. Soccer (football), to me, requires as much athleticism as any sport.

 

[unclebill]

I have three choices. Pele, Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth. Besides hitting 714 home runs, Ruth won 100 games as a pitcher. And when in shape, he had surprisingly good speed. Jordan redefined basketball, and Pele was a thing of beauty to watch on a soccer field.

 

[johnttickle]

My vote is for Jim Thorpe.

In the 1912 Belgium Olympics, he set records in the pentathlon and decathlon; his records would stand for many decades.

He was one of the top professional base ball players at that time too.

Plus, he was the top professional football player too at that time. He was instrumental in forming the American Professional Football Association, and eventually became the president of the group. Through the years, the association evolved into today's NFL

I don’t know anyone else that was tops in the Olympics, pro baseball, and pro football.
That is one hell of an athlete.

Aloha, John

 

[jugner]

Lance Armstrong or Bo Jackson

 

[InspectorJapp]

Difficult question, but I think I would have to go with the greco-roman style wrestler Alexander Karelin, from Russia.
His undefeated streak ran for thirteen years, the last six of them without surrendering a single point.
Finally, Rulon Gardner beat him in 2000, and an unbelievable career came to an end.

 

[isabeau]

Lou Gehrig...

 

[Capnmad]

In terms of sheer athletic ability, I'd second Jim Thorpe.

For inspirational power and purpose, I'd say Muhammad Ali.

Someone mentioned Rulon Gardner having beaten Karelin... It's funny -- my sister had actually considered naming her future son "Rulon" after that match, but then, some time later, Gardner took a nosedive with a snowmobile into a frozen river. He got frostbite on his toes and one had to be amputated.

Henceforth, my sister couldn't realistically consider the name, as she remembered too vividly from an episode from "The Simpsons" a song with the refrain:

"Some folks'll never lose a toe,
But then again, some folk'll,
Like Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel!"

True story. I kid you not. 😀

 

[Snail Shell]

Randy 'The Natural' Couture

Snail Shell

 

[johnttickle]

Ok, I just had to say it, "Nacho Libra."

Aloha, John

 

[SamuelKhan]

The Donuts of Champions

<embed src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/26266/john_belushi_donuts_of_champions.swf" width="400" height="345" wmode="transparent" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed><br><font size = 1><a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/26266/john_belushi_donuts_of_champions/">John Belushi - Donuts Of Champions</a> - <a href="http://www.metacafe.com/">Watch more amazing videos here</a></font>

"They taste good, and they have the sugar to get me going in the morning..."

 

[CurtWild]

Randy 'The Natural' Couture

Snail Shell

funny....i was thinking the same thing



Karelin would`ve been an absolute beast it the world of MMA