If you had to pick, who would you say was the best player at his or her sport ever?

For example, would you say that Wayne Gretzky was better at hockey than Michael Jordan was at basketball? Would you say that Pistol Pete was better at basketball than Jerry Rice is/was at football?

I looked through the first few pages of Sports Talk threads when I searched for "best player" and didn't see anything like this. Sorry if this is [old].

4/19/2006 12:53:48 AM

OMG JJ REDICK

4/19/2006 12:56:31 AM

Uhm. Let's not play ourselves.

4/19/2006 12:58:13 AM

If you are asking for the person who is most above the cut of the rest of his competition then I think it's woods or federer

If you are asking just who is the best player than maybe jordan or the stilt?

4/19/2006 1:02:04 AM

MARIO SENDEK!

4/19/2006 1:02:50 AM

What I'm saying is, who is the all-time best player at his/her sport ever?

Is Tiger Woods better at golf than Wayne Gretzky was at hockey?

Also, forgive my ignorance, but what sport does Federer play?

I mean, there's really not a right answer. I just want to know people's opinions.

4/19/2006 1:04:06 AM

Federer plays tennis, and he might be considered the best, but his competition might be a little worse than in other eras. I mean if he were playing Sampras and Agassi in their prime, he wouldnt win every tournament.


Its hard to argue for Gretzky or Jordan being better than the other. Both were nasty, both were innovaters, and both have gambling problems

I'd throw Tiger and Jack Nicklaus in the mix also, with Tiger on is way to being the best, but not there yet.

[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 1:07 AM. Reason : ]

4/19/2006 1:06:56 AM

the pistol did things with a basketball that noone has done before or ever since. i cant speak for other sports, tho. i dont know too much about stuff like golf and tennis and such.

4/19/2006 1:09:29 AM

Im going to throw Lance Armstrong into the mix for fun

4/19/2006 1:09:38 AM

My gut reaction is to just say Gretzky and be done with it. I mean, the man's records are pretty much set in stone and will NEVER be matched. He holds or shares something like 61 records in his sport. That's just in-fucking-credible. There were weaknesses in his game for sure, but I have to think that nobody ever dominated a sport the way he did.

But, like others, I don't watch enough other sports to really know for sure.

4/19/2006 1:13:15 AM

Im going to throw Michael Schumaker into the mix for fun

[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 1:20 AM. Reason : Also Pele]

4/19/2006 1:19:37 AM

Quote :

"Federer plays tennis, and he might be considered the best, but his competition might be a little worse than in other eras. I mean if he were playing Sampras and Agassi in their prime, he wouldnt win every tournament."

have you seen him play??

he would easily take care of sampras and agassi in their prime 70 percent of the time. This kid is unreal.

Also, I'd say that Ken Climo dominates his sport...http://www.kenclimo.com/bio.htm

4/19/2006 1:27:34 AM

barb lindquist - female triathlete

4/19/2006 1:35:05 AM

^^ Yes I've seen him play, and no I dont agree with you.


Agassi and Sampras used to duel each other to the death. People just fold up on Federer now that he's established himself.


If you can find me a statistic of unforced errors by each one of their opponents in big matches (majors...quarter finals through finals preferably) that proves me wrong, then I'll change my mind. I'd be willing to bet that there are a LOT more favoring Federer than did Agassi and Sampras.

I just think people choke against Federer....even though he is pretty damn sick in his own right.

[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 1:36 AM. Reason : ]

4/19/2006 1:36:32 AM

Im just gonna finish this discussion.

The Great Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, The Babe, Babe Ruth

He was the first player to hit over 30, 40 and 50 home runs in one season, Had a 1.06 ERA in the 1918 world series as a pitcher, and could drink anyone on this site under the table.

4/19/2006 1:44:52 AM

gretzky

4/19/2006 1:45:37 AM

Ruth or Gretzky, but probably Ruth. if not them, then Secretariat.

4/19/2006 1:52:49 AM

I don't consider forced eugenics a sport.

Because if we're going to go that route.......Bodacious the Bull > Secretariat.

4/19/2006 1:54:22 AM

KELLY SLATER
come on 7 world titles period, who is better than that at there sport, and kelly is over 30

4/19/2006 2:01:23 AM

The babe wins.

i don't know why, but i just think of baseball greats as better in their sports than other people. i mean, you can say wilt, jordan, russell, west, kareem, etc... but they don't seem to hold a candle to mays, cobb, wagner, dimaggio, gehrig, mantle, musial, aaron, and so on

maybe its that the stats can so easily be compared to now, but the greatest baseball players, to me , are the greatest of all time. anyone else feel this way?

4/19/2006 2:05:03 AM

Tough to argue there.

But how many records to any individuals hold?

4/19/2006 2:06:20 AM

^^^Lance has won 7 titles consecutively, and he battled back from cancer. I'd say he's more dominant at his sport now than anyone ever has been. If he were to race in the tour de france this year, he'd win easily

[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 2:07 AM. Reason : ^^^]

4/19/2006 2:06:32 AM

actually i'm gonna pick maximus

4/19/2006 2:08:16 AM

4/19/2006 2:12:46 AM

Quote :

"Also, forgive my ignorance, but what sport does Federer play?"

what are you, a sports talk mod?!

4/19/2006 2:13:49 AM

If you look at the things Ruth did compaired to the others of his time its just crazy. Hes gotta win this.

4/19/2006 2:18:47 AM

I will give it up that Ruth is by far and away the greatest baseball player of all time but he played in an era with less in the talent pool(only white players were allowed to play). Not taking away from him....but it does lessen it a bit for me.

But yea......if you're one of the greatest pitchers of all time and they move you so you can hit then you must be pretty damn good.

4/19/2006 2:21:26 AM

Babe wins just because of his stats....yea it was a different time period but for that period he dominated.

As a pitcher:
W-L 94-46
2.28 era
107 complete games
1,221.1 innings and served up only 10 hrs

As a batter...we all know but:
.342 avg
714 hrs
2213 rbi
2873 hits

4/19/2006 2:25:01 AM

I'm not really trying to detract but it's very sad that he's so far removed from my lifespan that it's hard to put into perspective.

4/19/2006 2:26:31 AM

the dh is the greatest player in his sport of all time.

4/19/2006 2:27:30 AM

I've thought about this, and it's really a Ruth/Gretzky race.

I'm gonna say Ruth because Gretz couldn't hit and was never a great two-way player, even if he did get 970 more points than anyone else.

4/19/2006 2:27:37 AM

Holy crap.

I looked it up and the Babe was only voted into the hall with 95.13% of the vote in 1936.

I guess the remaining votes were from bitter Boston writers.

4/19/2006 2:29:23 AM

Here's my beef with the Ruth argument. And remember here, we're talking opinions, so take it for what it's worth (very little).

Ruth's feats, while great, have been duplicated and surpassed.

In the equally lengthy history of professional hockey, Gretzky's records are literally miles from the closest competitors. Few ever even come close to a Gretzky record. Ever.

4/19/2006 2:32:35 AM

He also played in a time where the game was less physical and thus allowed him to stay relatively injury free since he is not that big of a guy.

4/19/2006 2:35:32 AM

Quote :

"Ruth's feats, while great, have been duplicated and surpassed."

Yes, but by very few people and no one has been a better pitcher and hitter

4/19/2006 2:39:38 AM

^^ No, it's because he had two big angry fuckers who beat the shit out of anyone who dared touch him.

4/19/2006 2:49:46 AM

Lance Armstrong

4/19/2006 3:07:06 AM

i don't know much about hockey, but its hard to argue against gretsky

federer and tiger are certainly two of the most dominant ever, but i don't know if they're the 'best' yet

4/19/2006 3:22:22 AM

I'm gonna get laughed at, but the first thought that came to my mind was Mia Hamm.

4/19/2006 7:32:22 AM

Quote :

"Ruth's feats, while great, have been duplicated and surpassed."

If you take his accomplishments individually, yes, they've been overtaken.

But ALL of them?

No one's done that.

4/19/2006 7:34:08 AM

Alexander Karelin in Greco Roman Wrestling (over 100kg)

4/19/2006 7:48:12 AM

what ruth did was so amazing because during his time in the majors, he outhomered some entire teams on several occasions. during his time in his sport, he was the most dominant player. it's unfair to compare current baseball to ruth's time, especially juiced up players like bonds. no one dominated their sport during their time like ruth, however, gretzky's a close second.

4/19/2006 9:48:43 AM

1 - Gretzky
2 - Jim Brown
3 - Jordan
4 - Willie Mays

4/19/2006 10:10:08 AM

Where the fuck is Willie Mays coming in? He was a great, great baseball player, but by far not the best...much less the best player ever in a sport.

4/19/2006 10:29:35 AM

Um Tom Burleson duh

4/19/2006 10:30:37 AM

4/19/2006 10:31:04 AM

1. His Airness (MJ)
2. Gretzky
3. Woods
4. Lance Armstrong
5. Samprass/Agassi (It's a Tie)
6. Jerry Rice
7. The Intimidator Dale Earnhardt
8. Hulk Hogan


III

[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 10:36 AM. Reason : Armstrong....good call]

4/19/2006 10:32:18 AM

1. Gretsky
2. Ruth
3. Jordan
4. Lance Armstrong

4/19/2006 10:34:44 AM

The widely accepted answers by the public at-large:

Basketball: Michael Jordan, some say Larry Bird or Magic Johnson
Soccer: Pele, some say Diego Maradona
Baseball: no real answer
Football: no real answer
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

Stock car racing: either Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty
U.S. open-wheel racing (Indycar): Mario Andretti
European open-wheel racing (Formula One): Jim Clark arguably, a rare case of someone being considered the best even though he died in his prime. "He apparently had difficulty understanding why other drivers were not as quick as himself."

Tennis: no real answer
Golf: no real answer, some would say Tiger Woods
Boxing: Muhammed Ali arguably (part of being the best is perception)
Pro Wrestling: Hulk Hogan



[Edited on April 19, 2006 at 10:52 AM. Reason : .]

4/19/2006 10:40:10 AM

Geb

4/19/2006 10:46:33 AM