Cohiba Stevie Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 After seeing a very interesting and informative documentary about sporting greatness, I was intrigued at what they claimed was the greatest sportsperson of all time... It was when they explained why that I actually felt stupid and wholeheartedly agreed. So I'm at my weekly squash game this morning, I ask my friend who I'm playing against who he thought it was in the documentary, in the hour we battered the ball up and down the court he couldn't get it... So who do you think it is? Here are things to consider The person must have performed at the top of their game and dominated the sport for a considerable time. They must have went to considerable lengths to popularise their respective sport and promote it across the world. Their presence outside of the sport must be respectable and well behaved (so all those who are thinking tiger woods you can forget it) They must be a role model. Their efforts in charitable activities must be very well renowned. Endorsements. Give your personal opinions, I will give the answer in due course for a bit of fun lol. Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliverdst Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Pelé and Jordan are in the same level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanceSchmerr Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Jackie Robinson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Arnie Palmer fits all those criteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanbellc Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Arnie Palmer fits all those criteria X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cohiba Stevie Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Pelé and Jordan are in the same level. One of those is right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazolaman Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Steve Redgrave... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stargazer14 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Mario Andretti. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR (the other being Dan Gurney). He also won races in midget cars, and sprint cars. During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles, and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship. Along with Juan Pablo Montoya, he is the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. Andretti competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in four decades. No American has won a Formula One race since Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. Coming from a refugee camp, his family emigrating to the US with $125. After all his racing glories Associated Press voted him Driver of the CENTURY. He is very sucessfull after racing retirement and an inspiration to both business and education. And one hell of a nice guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gargett Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 interesting way to do it. endorsements? a lot of this seems to place more emphasis on how important the sport is as that would inevitably lead to a variation in recognition and affect parts of the criteria you have set out (not complaining about that, just making the point). no idea under those criteria but for purely the greatest, anyone who has ever heard of cricket would be likely to put forward don bradman. extraordinary domination across several decades and no one has ever come within cooee. i'd also suggest heather mckay. yes, i know that even today most aussies have no idea who she was. squash player (which raises the concept of how much weight to what might be seen as a lesser sport). dominated the world for twenty years. when i say 'dominated', she lost two games very early in her career. she was never beaten again. the british open was considered the world championship. i don't think she ever lost another set, let alone a game. and many times, never even lost a point. imagine if this was tennis - people we long argue over the best - and we could say that federer had not only not been beaten for 20 years but had not lost a set at wimbledon for that time and often won games without losing a point. gives it some perspective. and she took up racquet ball as well, in order to play someting in the States. she won the American Amateur Racquetball Championship, the American Professional Racquetball Championship three times, and the Canadian Racquetball Championship five times and was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 1997. she also took up hockey and played for australia in the national team for a number of years. or depending on your "definition" of sports, walter lindrum - billiards. more than 50 world recorsds, many still standing. greatest break was over 4,000. the problem was that he was so sominant, many players simply refused to play him or enter tournaments with him. and the officials were forced to make rule changes to bring him back to the field. he used to play a lot of exhibition matches against former world champions and would give them 7,000 points start. as for charity, during wwii, he raised more than half a mill pounds doing exhibitions and more than two mill in his career. not bad for those times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cohiba Stevie Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 As a squash player you can understand that I've heard of heather McKay, and it is indeed a fine reccomendation. I also found the inclusion of endorsements intriguing... The documentary put it as receiving those endorsements would further help the popularity of the sport, furthermore the value of such endorsements can vary considerably given that sportspersons achievements. But you make a few excellent personal selections ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cohiba Stevie Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 For reference my own selection would have been Ayrton Senna... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 KG, Bradman was certainly the greatest in his sport - but he didn't fill the criteria of "They must have went to considerable lengths to popularise their respective sport and promote it across the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfectform Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Bo Jackson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Gretzky or Jordan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxman Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenMonkey Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 It's Jim Thorpe. No one else comes close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riazp Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 barry bonds, roger clemens and lance armstrong come to mind LOL serioulsy, As a kid growing up, Jordan was one of my favorite athletes, and so was ken griffey Junior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Festa Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 In terms of the numbers that play, or watch, the sport, it would have to be Lionel Messi. My undisputed greatest sportsperson of all time would have to be Reinhold Messner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cohiba Stevie Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 In terms of the numbers that play, or watch, the sport, it would have to be Lionel Messi. My undisputed greatest sportsperson of all time would have to be Reinhold Messner. Lionel messi is a close number two according to this eurosport documentary, given his young age, if he keeps playing the way he is he could be number one in a very short time. Lionel messis achievements are truly phenomenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwifruit Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Muhammad Ali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Festa Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Lionel messi is a close number two according to this eurosport documentary, given his young age, if he keeps playing the way he is he could be number one in a very short time. Lionel messis achievements are truly phenomenal. True? Keen to hear who tops him! Check out Reinhold in the meantime. So hardcore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 In terms of the numbers that play, or watch, the sport, it would have to be Lionel Messi. My undisputed greatest sportsperson of all time would have to be Reinhold Messner. Lionel messi is a close number two according to this eurosport documentary, given his young age, if he keeps playing the way he is he could be number one in a very short time. Lionel messis achievements are truly phenomenal. Who??? Not to disparage any of the above mentioned athletes, but I have no idea who any of these guys are. I think one of the things needs to be their worldwide presence. Even if I don't watch the sports that any of the above named guys are in, people should still have a general idea of who they are, worldwide. I don't watch soccer, and I still know who Beckham is, Pele, Ronaldo, etc. I don't watch tennis at all, but still know who Agassi is, the Williams sisters, or John McEnroe. I'm not saying one way or another is right or wrong. But, just a thought - there should really be that wide-spectrum appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geosmoke Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Gretzky and Serhiy Bubka. Bubka broke the world record for pole vaulting 35 times and still holds the world record of 6.15 meters. Don't know much about his personal life or if he's a role model or not, but definitely he's one of the greatest athletes ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverickdrinker Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 MJ.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Tough call..... for me, probably a tie..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.e2a46b57b5880109ddf171d1b6f9daea.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now