Greatest Athlete of All Time

[M. Winters]

Was just skimming through it in the sports section and was shocked that Wayne Gretzky was only discussed once. I know most Americans don't give a damn about hockey but if you're ever talking about the greatest athletes of all time there is no argument that he dominated his respective sport the most, his career speaks for itself. 2,857 career points, the next closest is Mark Messier(played 269 more games) at 1887 and Gordie Howe(played 280 more games). He also leads the all-time goals category with 894, the closest active player being Teemu Selanne is a whopping 288 goals away and this is probably his last year. Also, he destroys everyone in all-time assists as well with 1,963, the next closest being Ron Francis at 1,249. So how does an athlete who leads his league in the 3 major statistical categories and on top of that has 4 Stanley Cup Championships and holds 40 regular season records and 15 post-season records barely even get mentioned?

I don't have a fucking clue.

 

[Big Sexy]

Dominating your sport and having the ability to fly > just dominating your sport

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Must agree with Big Sexy here.

While Gretzky was without a doubt the greatest Hockey player of all time, and deserves recognition somewhere on the top ten list, in no way was he a greater athlete than Michael Jordan.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

I'd have to disagree.

 

[M. Winters]

Must agree with Big Sexy here.

While Gretzky was without a doubt the greatest Hockey player of all time, and deserves recognition somewhere on the top ten list, in no way was he a greater athlete than Michael Jordan.

Wayne Gretzky dominated his sport, none of his career points, goal or assist totals will EVER be touched, neither will his regular season records. There isn't even a debate which player dominated their sport more. Gretzky had 215 points in a single season, that's absolutely insane. The average Art Ross(most points in a season) winner now a days will score between 100-120 points, when Gretzky played he scored at will and helped his teammates score like no other.

 

[Lee]

CB Fry....it's coming

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

The fact that he played Hockey has much to do with lack of recognition. Other than Canada and Russia most of the world doesn't give two shits about Hockey. Plus Jordan's compiled championships and the fact that he won three in a row two different times reall separates Jordan from Gretzky.

 

[Thriller Ant]

First name that came to my mind when I read the thread was Gretzky. Jordan was second

 

[M. Winters]

The fact that he played Hockey has much to do with lack of recognition. Other than Canada and Russia most of the world doesn't give two shits about Hockey. Plus Jordan's compiled championships and the fact that he won three in a row two different times reall separates Jordan from Gretzky.

People not knowing the sport is irrelevant to who the greatest athlete of all time is. If you look at who purely dominated their sport the most, it's obviously Wayne Gretzky.

All time leader in points, goals, assists and holds over 60 league records.

 

[SavageTaker]

People not knowing the sport is irrelevant to who the greatest athlete of all time is. If you look at who purely dominated their sport the most, it's obviously Wayne Gretzky.

All time leader in points, goals, assists and holds over 60 league records.

So..someone can claim they are the greatest athlete of all time even if the sport they play isn't as well known as others? That's what I'm getting from the bolded part.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

This is not just about dominating one sport, and the sports relevancy plays a part in how recognizable the athlete is.

Jordan did way more for Basketball the Gretzky did for Hockey, and the goal of any professional sport is to win championships. Jordan got 6 of them and was the Finals MVP in all 6 series.

Jordan was also a standout in college, a 2 time all American and an NCAA national Champion.

Comparing individual Hockey records to individual Basketball records is simply apples and oranges at this point. We are talking about the creme de la creme here, and Jordan achieved more at a higher level than Gretzky did.

 

[ScreaminNormanSmiley]

How has nobodby mentioned Takeru Kobayashi, nobody has ever dominated a sport like he once did.

 

[Барбоса]

A hockey player the Greatest overall athlete ever? What a load of crap. For all you know, Gretzky could run and throw like a little girl

Surely something like a decathlete would be a far better overall athlete than someone who just excelled at one sport...

How about this guy...

He had a combination of speed, strength, endurance, cunning and guile. He could box. He could wrestle. He could fight with a sword or a bow. No contest really

 

[The Doctor]

How has nobodby mentioned Takeru Kobayashi, nobody has ever dominated a sport like he once did.

He would have been my choice.

 

[Stormtrooper]

How has nobodby mentioned Takeru Kobayashi, nobody has ever dominated a sport like he once did.

Joey Chestnut >>>>>>>>>>> Takeru Kobayashi.

A hockey player the Greatest overall athlete ever? What a load of crap. For all you know, Gretzky could run and throw like a little girl

And Jordan could skate like shit, and shoot like crap. That goes both fucking ways, man.

Surely something like a decathlete would be a far better overall athlete than someone who just excelled at one sport...

this.

with the following 2 words, I win this debate.

JIM THORPE.

 

[X]

I lol'ed so hard seeing Blue Cardinal pick Babe Ruth. Like, seriously? The greatest ATHLETE of all time? The guy smoked, drank like a fish, and ate hot dogs like they were air that he needed to survive. Legendary baseball player, piss-poor "athlete". You're not allowed to win the Greatest Athlete of All Time award when you're as much of a fat-ass as Babe was.

 

[CH David]

I lol'ed so hard seeing Blue Cardinal pick Babe Ruth. Like, seriously? The greatest ATHLETE of all time? The guy smoked, drank like a fish, and ate hot dogs like they were air that he needed to survive. Legendary baseball player, piss-poor "athlete". You're not allowed to win the Greatest Athlete of All Time award when you're as much of a fat-ass as Babe was.

Then how about Jesse Owens or Usain Bolt?

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I'm not entirely sure.. I don't follow every sport but I'm sure there's at least the best of each one. All of them are hard choices though. I'll give a few sports a bash though.. these are my opinions:

Wrestling
Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock and John Cena.

Football/Soccer
Christiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Ronaldiniho and Wayne Rooney.


Off of the top of my head anyhoo.

 

[M. Winters]

Jordan more for Basketball the Gretzky did for Hockey, and the goal of any professional sport is to win championships. Jordan got 6 of them and was the Finals MVP in all 6 series.

Wayne Gretzky was playing pro hockey when he was 17, so he has no college or junior league stats to impress you with but Gretzky does have 4 championships as well as 2 Conn Smythe trophies(Playoff MVP) . Oh and he has 9 Hart trophies(Regular season MVP), 8 of them coming in a row.

And Gretzky didn't do as much for hockey as Jordan did for basketball? He's the face of the sport and will be forever.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Wayne Gretzky was playing pro hockey when he was 17, so he has no college or junior league stats to impress you with but Gretzky does have 4 championships as well as 2 Conn Smythe trophies(Playoff MVP) . Oh and he has 9 Hart trophies(Regular season MVP), 8 of them coming in a row.

And Gretzky didn't do as much for hockey as Jordan did for basketball? He's the face of the sport and will be forever.

 

[Hazardous]

Now I don't follow basketball as close.. Just can't get into it. But I do hear often people say Lebron will be better then Jordan all the time. Or that Kobe is better then Jordan.

I HATE Gretzky, always have, always will. But there is no denying he's done more for the NHL then any man has. Not even just the NHL, but all hockey. He is indeed the fact of the sport. His retirement, and career meant so much that the whole league retired the #99. No one can ever have that number again, because they wouldn't be able to live up to Gretzky. He is a National Icon. I mean, he got to be the one to light the Olympic cauldron. That don't go to just ANYONE. IF Wayne put out a clothing line, it would be huge too, just like Air Jordan. Especially since it would be a partnership with Nike as well.

 

[M. Winters]

[YOUTUBE]VMVgbHa0Fd0[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Барбоса]

And Jordan could skate like shit, and shoot like crap. That goes both fucking ways, man.

Of course the same goes for Jordan. The greatest athletes are rarely to be found in a team sport.

with the following 2 words, I win this debate.

JIM THORPE.

Thorpe would definitely be up there.

Then how about Jesse Owens or Usain Bolt?

Should he stay fit and follow through with his claims, I could see Bolt heralded as the greatest ever in the next decade.

He is proven at 100 and 200m. He has shown an interest at running 400m and doing the long jump. From there it is not a great leap to go for the Decathlon...

He is certainly crazy enough to try it

 

[a0161613]

I'm not entirely sure.. I don't follow every sport but I'm sure there's at least the best of each one. All of them are hard choices though. I'll give a few sports a bash though.. these are my opinions:

Wrestling
Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock and John Cena.

Football/Soccer
Christiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Ronaldiniho and Wayne Rooney.

Formula 1
Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Aryton Senna and Lewis Hamilton.

Off of the top of my head anyhoo.

Only Schumacher and Senna could be considered there. I did consider picking Flair though.

Rooney and Ronaldo are fuckwits who will be famous for pissing away their frankly ridiculous talent.

Rooney in particular is a cunt.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

I lol'ed so hard seeing Blue Cardinal pick Babe Ruth. Like, seriously? The greatest ATHLETE of all time? The guy smoked, drank like a fish, and ate hot dogs like they were air that he needed to survive. Legendary baseball player, piss-poor "athlete". You're not allowed to win the Greatest Athlete of All Time award when you're as much of a fat-ass as Babe was.

Spoken like a true Sox fan