Who was the most INTIMIDATING athlete of all time?

[mintacular]

My vote is Mike Tyson, can anyone beat that? Thanks.

[Writehooks]

Tyson's a good pick, but I'd go with Sonny Liston.
Iron Mike's "IQ" (intimidation quotient) was shattered after Buster Douglas KO'd him in Japan; it was a classic example of the schoolyard bully turning into a creampuff once he ran into somebody who wasn't scared and actually fought back. His subsequent meltdowns against Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis underlined just how far he'd slipped.
Liston, on the other hand, never lost his aura of murderous ferocity — even after the two losses to Ali. In fact, Ali is on record as saying the only opponent he was physically afraid of was "The Big Ugly Bear." Even George Foreman — no shrinking violet when it came to intimidating other fighters — has said he was "terrified" during sparring sessions with Liston.

[TUM301]

Gordie Howe, Jim Brown or maybe Nolan Ryan.

[dherm360]

Originally Posted by mintacular

My vote is Mike Tyson, can anyone beat that? Thanks.

when I saw your thread this is who I immediately thought of, early in his career he was dominating and feared.

Also thought of Tiger Woods during his run

[White Borders]

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. He was known as "The Intimidator".

[djrhanover]

For me, the first name I thought of when I saw this question was Dick Butkus.

[39special]

How about Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson.

[Wihawk]

Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns didn't exactly look like a charm school grad with that evil pre fight stare

[nolemmings]

for baseball it was Frank Howard. 6'7+" 275 pounds of muscle. Whereas you might be intimidated by Barry Bonds taking you deep, you would be scared that Hondo would kill you. Hit the ball hard? Made Reggie Jackson look like a punch and judy hitter.

[howard38]

,

[tedzan]

Todd S

You beat me to mentioning "Hondo".

During the 1960's, when pitchers of both leagues were asked which batter they feared the most, most said Frank Howard.
Simply because with his 6:7 stature he would regularly undercut the ball with tremendous power and the ball would soar.

Shortstop Tony Kubek once commented that Howard hit a line drive that Kubek leaped high for but just missed the ball in
its flight. That ball on a fly eventually hit the 457-foot marker on the Centerfield wall at the old Yankee Stadium.

Man, is that power....or what ?


TED Z

[dstraate]

Surely a failed rap album and the movie Kazaam removed his mystique a bit, but I've got to think Shaq would be on this list somewhere.

Down here in New Mexico, Brian Urlacher is something of a cult legend.

And guys have mentioned Nolan Ryan, but it bodes reiteration. Anybody remember when Robin Ventura charged the mound and Nolan taught him the man dance? Whew. That was friggin awesome. People were re-creating that on the playground for weeks.

[nebboy]

Some of the most intimadating player have shortend carriers because of the way they played

BO Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgYYaL--1qc

Earl Cambell -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfJybuzkMT0

[brian1961]

I simply cannot select from just one sport. So, just some random picks, but sincere nonetheless:

Baseball: Ty Cobb, Lefty Grove, Jackie Robinson

Hockey: skating away from the goons, I would select Maurice "Rocket" Richard and Bobby Hull. Also, I have to totally agree with the gent who mentioned Bobby Orr. I was blessed to see him play against my Black Hawks during his rookie year. He was all over the place, giving the last-place Bruins a fighting chance against what was probably the best Hawk team in history. Chicago won that game, 6-3, I believe, but Orr scored and no doubt intimidated everyone he faced. All my junior high classmates and I adored Bobby, though we were from the Chicago suburbs. He wasn't much older than us yet he was already a major star. As Orr's career flourished, he obviously became more and more intimidating, just as happened with Richard and Hull.

Horse Racing: Secretariet

Cycling: IF ALL the key players were indeed on some sort of PEDS over the last 10 years, Lance Armstrong rides up the mountain alone, demoralizing everyone's resolve behind him. Before drugs or whatever, Belgian Eddy Merkx would be my selection as the most intimidating, ferocious rival.

Speed Skating: While his Olympic stardom was limited to one Olympiad, imagine what EVERY speed skater at the 1980 Olympics must have felt when they had to go head-to-head with Eric Heiden! As for the ladies, Bonnie Blair rules( My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie...).

Wrestling: American Dan Gable, as well as ANY teams he coached!

Long Distance Running: Vladimir Kuts, Russia (1956), Emil Zatopek (1948, 1952), Herb Elliott (1960), Lasse Viren (1972, 1976), and with the exception of the '72 Olympics, American Steve Prefontaine. None of them except PRE had an "attitude"; however, it was the way in which all of them raced their opponents that struck great fear. Tactically, they would break you apart! You did not want to race them, but you had to.

Automobile Racing: Tazio Nuvolari, Jose Froilan "Fathead" Gonzales, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx and by all means, Michael Schumacher!

Cheers. --Brian Powell

[aaroncc]

Mike Tyson... even later in his career people were beat before the bell rang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVPMgMBUsCI

[alanu]

I'd go with Tyson too, but prior to the Ali fight, Foreman isn't too far behind

Maybe the same can be said for Liston, but that was a little before my time.

As for "non-contact" sports I'd go with Gibson, Gossage, Tiger, Gordie Howe, Butkus (okay, FB & Hockey are probably "contact")

[Jewish-collector]

Wilt Chamberlain