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Old 07-27-2005, 05:56 AM
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Default Greatest athlete of all-time

Posted By: warshawlaw

I agree that Marciano is underrated, but...Marciano is underrated for a very good reason, which is that he retired before his time because of financial irregularities with his management team (a pack of thieves, they stole so much that he quit rather than give them more money). Marciano also was a rather unpleasant person, a cheapskate and moocher. There was no one on the horizon to beat him for at least another 3-4 years, so he could readily have defended his title another 4-6 times, which would have put him way up there in my view. Notably absent from the discussion is Joe Louis, who defended the title a record 25 times. How about Gene Tunney, who had only 1 defeat early in his career as a light-heavyweight and retired with the title? He is way underrated.

But back to topic, I think Thorpe has to be the greatest overall athletic presence. The man played MLB, pro football, and was an Olympic champion. No one has come close.

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