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Who are the 25 Greatest Athletes of All Time? by Mark D. Hauser (part 4 of 4)
16. CHERYL MILLER. When I watched the 1984 men's Summer Olympics basketball games Michael Jordan appeared twice as good as everyone else and 10 times more exciting. However, the NBA players were not playing in the Olympic tournament.
When I watched the 1984 women's Summer Olympic basketball games, all the world's best women basketball players were playing in the tournament and Miller appeared three times better than the rest of the women players and 10 times more exciting. If it were not for injuries and a lack of opportunities (no WNBA), it is scary to think how great her career would have been.
Perhaps the most underappreciated female athlete of all time and with all due respect to the great players that have played in the WNBA, the best woman basketball player of all time. Yes, like Jordan, flash with tons of substance.
17. WAYNE GRETZKY. The great one. Mind-blowing career stats (including 4 Stanley Cups won and 8 straight Hart Awards). Enough said.
18. DAN GABLE. Perhaps the greatest freestyle wrestler ever. Lost only one match in his collegiate career and won the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal without a single point scored against him in his six matches. No single adjective in the English language does this accomplishment justice. How about unbelievably amazingly awesome?
19. MICHAEL PHELPS. His dominating performance at the last year's Olympics, coupled with the rest of his career, has now moved him past the legendary Mark Spitz as the greatest swimmer ever.
20. BRUCE LEE. As I said above -- it is my list, and you get a vote, too. It is too bad he spent his life developing his own martial artist system because he felt the existing systems were inferior, and as a result did not enter their competitions. He came around 30 years too early, since the Ultimate Fighting Championships would be perfect for him. I am sure he would dominate and might even beat the best fighters in the higher weight classes.
Go rent his first movie, "The Big Boss", to witness the fastest reflexes on a human being in recorded history. (During the filming of the TV series, "The Green Hornet", the producers actually had Lee SLOW his moves down because they were afraid the viewers would not see his slick karate type moves!) There are also stories of his famous one-inch punch, which resulted in people heavier than he flying ten feet away.
21. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR. Probably the second best NBA player ever and the best collegiate basketball player ever. Six MVPs, six NBA titles and is still the the all-time leading scorer in the history of the NBA. In college, he was a two-time Player of the Year and three-time National Champion where he led the UCLA Bruins to an 88-2 record during his reign. Not a shabby career.
22. CARL LEWIS. Greatest male track and field athlete ever. Essentially accomplished everything Jesse Owens did with a much longer career, spanning four Olympics.
23. SUGAR RAY ROBINSON. One of the two greatest boxers ever (depending on whom you believe). Five-time world champion with a long career in a very demanding sport.
24. WILLIE MAYS. The second best player in major league history; a great all-around player who also could have been great at other sports.
25. JACKIE ROBINSON. A great all-around baseball player who broke the color barrier in the modern era of major league baseball. Lettered in 4 sports in both high school and college (baseball, basketball, football, and track). He also won a junior Negro tennis title when he was 17. Gee, maybe he should be higher.
In case you are wondering about my list for the 25 greatest male athletes of all-time it is the same 20 male athletes listed above in the same order (1-20) followed by:
21. JESSE OWENS
22. WILT CHAMBERLAIN
23. TED WILLIAMS
24. CAEL SANDERSON
25. JOHN SMITH
The rest of my list for the female athletes is (same concept for numbering):
6. SONJA HENIE
7. MICHELLE AKERS
8. MIA HAMM
9. CHRIS EVERT
10. ANNIKA SORENSTAM
11. BONNIE BLAIR
12. TRACY CAULKINS
13. WILMA RUDOLPH
14. BILLIE JEAN KING
15. MONICA SELES
16. STEFFI GRAF
17. ALTHEA GIBSON
18. SHERYL SWOOPES
19. CYNTHIA COOPER
20. LAILA ALI
21. PEGGY FLEMING
22. MICHELLE KWAN
23. MARY T. MEAGHER
24. LISA FERNANDEZ
25. LARISSA LATYNINA
Other athletes to whom I gave serious consideration to were (not necessarily in order):
Nicklaus, Joe Louis, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, Lou Gehrig, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Ty Cobb, Gordie Howe, Joe Montana (these nine were all in ESPN's top 25), Roger Staubach, Jerry Rice, Red Grange, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Spitz, Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, Sandy Koufax, Erving, Eric Heiden, Rod Laver, Edwin Moses, Rafer Johnson, Michael Johnson, Mario Lemieux, Greg Louganis, Hutson, Henry Armstrong, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Lance Armstrong, Maradona, Jean-Claude Killy, Paavo Nurmi, Sahaharu Oh, Sergei Bubka, Sawao Kato, Alexei Nemov, Ann Meyers, Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley, Dawn Frazer, Janet Evans, and Mary Decker Slaney.
(I did not consider anyone who I strongly suspect to have done steroids, such as Florence Griffith-Joyner and Barry Bonds.)
A couple of final thoughts. You may not agree with my list (I would be shocked if you did), but at least I put some serious thought and research (I hope this shows) into my answers. I tried to give you intelligent, logical reasoning in support of my choices; I also tried to be as objective as possible.
These are my first drafts, and I am sure with more thought, discussion, and research, these lists could change dramatically (especially for non-US athletes, who, admittedly, were short-changed). This was harder than it looks (you will soon find this out if you decide to make your own list), but still fun.
Again, how much weight you put on each of the factors listed above (plus any factors I may have missed), which sports you like, what country you grew up in, and how old you are, will significantly affect your answers. Hence, there really are no right answers to this "ultimate" sports question. Except for yours and mine!
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Past Articles
Who are the 25 Greatest Athletes of All Time? by Mark D. Hauser (part 4 of 4)
Who are the 25 Greatest Athletes of All Time? by Mark D. Hauser (part 3 of 4)
Who are the 25 Greatest Athletes of All Time? by Mark D. Hauser (part 2 of 4)
Who are the 25 Greatest Athletes of All Time? by Mark D. Hauser (part 1 of 4)
(More on) Voting for the MVP Award in Sports by Mark D. Hauser
Who Deserves the MVP Award in a Particular Sport? by Mark D. Hauser
Who Should Vote for Sports Awards and All-Star Selections? by Mark D. Hauser
Why are some Athletes Underrated and others Overrated ... and How do we Know for Sure? by Mark D. Hauser (part 2 of 2)
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