My approach was just to write out a list of people who could reasonably be considered the best at their particular sport and then throw out anyone from a sport where it seems debatable. Maybe Jordan is the best basketball player ever, but one could also make a reasonable case for LeBron or Wilt or Kareem -- so that rules out basketball. Maybe that's not a particularly good approach, but it's what I came up with. One could also disregard the athletic dominance of the athletes and just select on the basis of heroism or personal sacrifice or something like that, but my guess is if that were done correctly it would be four people none of us have ever heard of, so I decided not to factor in personal qualities one way or the other. So, with that preface and with the caveat that I don't follow most of the world's sports, here's what I am left with.

Tom Brady
Eddie Merckx
Michael Phelps
Babe Ruth

my dad

Alex Honnold's climb up El Capitan was absolutely breath-taking and I still think impossible.

Using this method, we have to include Joey Chestnut:

"Let's be frank, nobody was going to deny Joey Chestnut his 14th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest title. No competitor could catch up to Chestnut, who set a new world record by eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the annual July 4 event on Coney Island.

Chestnut's win was no surprise, as he was considered a -2400 favorite by William Hill Sportsbook entering Sunday. The 37-year-old American -- whose previous record was 75 in 2020 -- has won every Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest except one since he took the Mustard Belt from Takeru Kobayashi in 2007. Matt Stonie beat Chestnut in 2015."

This guy has won as many championships as Ruth and Brady combined!

I'm glad to see so many mentions of Merckx.

The only reason I left him off my list is that I don't think he's had as much influence outside sports as some other athletes.

But if the only criteria is total domination of a sport he's got to be in the mix.
1969 He won every classification at the Tour de France, overall winner, points(best sprinter) King of the mountains, combined, and most combative.

1974 he was the first to complete cyclings triple crown, Giro D'Italia, Tour de France, and world championship.

525 wins in 1800+ races, 445 of 1585 as a professional. 54 wins in 120 races in 1971 still the record for most wins in a season.

I doubt we'll see anything like that again in the sport, as it's become more of a team and specialists sport. The big tour winners are good at everything, but rarely great at everything.

Ali, Didrickson, Owens, Ruth

I hadn't considered him, but I'm not sure I would have selected him anyway. I'd certainly rank him first, but the fact that Kobayashi dominated by a much larger margin in the years before Chestnut arrived and that they were only separated by, what, 5%(?) in the years when Chestnut first pulled ahead makes it too close for me to say there's not even a conversation about who was the greatest.

Guess Nathan's needs its own theoretical stat so certain people can determine whether or not Chestnut is any good:
OH DEAR (Overall Hot Dogs Eaten Above Replacement)

After reading all the posts and I some great people listed for the 4 slots I can see a lot of choices I would not have picked but could easily see them on this list

Great thread

Babe
Tiger
Bo
Mike

1-Brady- greatest football player of all time
2-Ruth-greatest baseball player
3-Gretzky-greatest hockey player all time
4-pele- gretest soccer player of all time. Dominated a sport that boasts more participants and fans of any sport in the world

Greatest basketball player of all time? Up for debate. Bill Russell is the greatest winner of all time. I will say pick one Jordan or Wilt. I would say if any athlete is debateable they don’t go on the mountain.

Lou Gehrig

Vince Lombardi

Jesse Owens

Richard Petty

ty Cobb
Tiger woods
Jordan
Pele

A debate for the ages!

Usain Bolt
Serena Williams
Lionel Messi
Bobby Orr

I think any selection will be debatable. I would take Orr over Gretsky. :-)

Ted Williams
Serena Williams
Emmitt Smith
Žydrūnas Savickas

Never been a big basketball guy. So why did Jordan miss that season and a half?

Brady
Jordan
Gretzky
Ruth

The rumor is that Jordan was actually suspended for that season and a half as a result of his gambling.

I have also heard that rumor. Even if that was confirmed I doubt many would care.

Ruth - The man played 100 years ago and still is the greatest ballplayer, ever.
Pele - The greatest player in the world's most popular sport.
Ali - He told us he was the greatest, and I believe him. Known around the world.
Jordan - Coulda been Jesse Owens, Jim Thorpe, Lombardi, Jackie Robinson or Carl Lewis, or ........but I'm choosing Jordan for his worldwide appeal, greatness on the court and impact on merchandising.

Hard to argue with many of the previous lists, but I tried to use 'impact' as a deciding factor among so many greats. What was their impact on their game, their teammates (if any) and the world in general?

In the case of Gretzky, he literally made every player he played with better, more than any player in any sport. He is also pretty much singlehandedly responsible for his league expanding the way it did. Without him, there's no teams in San Jose or Anaheim. Probably not Atlanta, Dallas or Carolina either. And no Mighty Ducks movies.

Mount Rushmore
 

Okay, I'll foolishly swim into even deeper waters...

The arguments for Wayne Gretsky and Pele are compelling, and I could
easily see them on a fictional "Mount Rushmore" of sports athletes. I'll
double down on Michael Jordan, though. Some commenters have
mentioned "commercial impact", and I don't agree with that as a prime
mover for membership in an exclusive club such as "4 best ever" in sports,
"Mount Rushmore", etc. Jordan was a wonderful player (and so were guys
like Russell, Robertson, Bird, and so on). He was also Tracy McGrady at the
beginning of his career, horrible at the end, and "mysteriously absent"
(wink wink) in the middle of it. It's wonderful for his bank account that
Nike was enamored of him, but that dog won't hunt. Many folks have
named athletes whose impact on the sport, or perhaps society, was greater
than Jordan's and who were paid only a small fraction of what Jordan
earned- and he STILL got out earned in endorsements many times
by...drum roll, please- Michael Schumacher!!

As for people "not caring" about that tiny little absence at the height of his
fame, I'm sure many fans could persuade themselves not to care. Even if
I could be persuaded to get there, however, it sure wipes him out of a
Mount Rushmore chat. These are opinions, which is what was called for-
and that's my explanation. I'll take cover now:) Trent King

I will take a different spin: who would I like my child to look at as a role model?

Barney Ross (patriotism and selflessness), Aaron (grace), Robinson (courage), Clemente (humanity)

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...bsize/Ross.jpg

Per Wikipedia: "In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in April 1942 to fight in World War II. ... He was sent to the Pacific theater. He served with B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. One night, he and three other comrades were trapped under enemy fire. All four were wounded; Ross was the only one able to fight. Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning. Two of the Marines died, but he carried the third on his shoulders to safety; the other man weighed 230 lb (104 kg) compared to Ross' 140 lb (64 kg). Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the Silver Star, as well as a presidential citation. ... He was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006."

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ron%20num1.jpg

"There is no shortcut in life. You have to take it one step at a time and work hard. And you have to give back.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...kie%20RPPC.jpg

“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.”

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...20Clemente.jpg

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth."

All Baseball Mount Rushmore, by era
 

Babe Ruth

Jessie Owens

Wayne Gretzky, or Wilt Chamberlain (tough one to decide).

Walter Camp...."Father of American Football"....American Football was just a crude version of Rugby in the late 19th Century. At Yale Univ., Walter Camp developed the American game into what we know it is in the 20th and 21st Century.


TED Z
.

Ruth
jordan
gretzky
tiger
ali

Honorable Mention: Tanner Boyle

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...7%20Topps.webp

Tanner Boyle: Those Yankees are real turds.

Tanner Boyle: Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!

My list exactly

Ruth
Gretzky
NickLaus
Phelps

Mt. Rushmore
 

Mine would be:

Curt Flood
Lance Alworth (barely over Gale Sayers)
Bill Russell
Mike Bossy

Ken Phelps getting some love...as greatest platoon hitter ever. :)

I was thinking Digger Phelps :)

Jim Phelps

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...im_Phelps.webp

"This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."

Reporter : Have you been doing a lot of heavy intervals?

Ruiz : Someone else asked me about that, and I'm not sure what intervals are? What are they?

Reporter : Intervals are track work outs designed to make your speed improve dramatically, and if you've went from a 2:55 to a 2:31 one would expect that you've done a lot of speed work. Is someone coaching or advising you?

Ruiz : Um, no I advise myself.

Reporter : Congratulations. Rosie Ruiz the "mystery woman" we missed her at all our check points.

Ruth
Gretzky
Jordan
Ali

I knew someone would push back against Peyton Manning. However, there is a difference between being the most successful player and being the greatest.

The award winning columnist, Bob Kravitz, formerly of the Indianapolis Star, used to get local hate mail for writing his opinion that Brady was the G.O.A.T. of the NFL, and not Peyton Manning. However, he had to write a retraction piece after the Colts followed up a 14-2 season in 2009 with a 2-14 season only two years later. The difference was that, in 2011, Manning received surgery for his career-shortening neck injury at the hands of the headhunting defensive coordinator Greg Williams, and what a difference it made for the Colts, who were still thought to be a decent team. Kravitz then wrote, in his column, an apology to Manning, implying that Peyton's greatness had covered up so many team deficiencies, that he had to be the greatest QB ever, after all, and not Brady, whose Patriots sill managed to make the playoffs without him on the roster for a full season.

In no particular order:

Katie Ledecky
Jim Thorpe
Pele
Dan Gable

Michael Phelps.

Oh yeah on Dan Gable! What a champion. How well I remember those 1972 Olympics. In the midst of the terrible Israeli wrestler murders, I still recall some events that made me smile and marvel at. I especially remember Frank Shorter (USA marathon gold medalist), Lasse Viren (the flying Finn who won the mens 10,000 and 5,000 meter run), Olga Korbut (still remember vividly her backwards flip on the uneven parallel bars and Jim McKay's astonished response at this move), Mark Spitz (GREATNESS!!!), Dave Wottle (the greatest 800 meters track race ever run; should you doubt me, check it out on YOUTUBE. Every once in a while, I watch Dave, and get teary-eyed, while I beam with national pride!

However, with all these magnificent moments, my heart has a very special place for Chris Taylor, the USA super heavyweight wrestler. I honestly think he was gyped out of a medal. He was a good one, that one. A very dear man, and family man.

Thanks for listening. --- Brian Powell

Say what you will but Ty Cobb would be my first and probably only consistent addition. The other three would probably change by the day.

Just thinking about the four major sports the first four names that come to mind are: Ty Cobb, Bobby Orr, Julius Erving, and Jim Brown.

Same here. As a Bills fan I wish it could be Jerry Rice for football but Brady earned it by a long shot.

Caitlin Clark
Larry Holmes
Kyle Busch
Fernando Valenzuela

I'd probably stick to the four major sports if a monument is being built, but I just saw a documentary on Eddie Feigner and it's hard not to be impressed by what he could do and what he did for a long as he did it

Babe Ruth
Muhammad Ali
Michael Jordan
Pele

My personal one would be

Babe Ruth
LeBron James
Wayne Gretzky
Tom Brady

With Lionel Messi being close, but I was never much of a soccer guy

Displayed left to right
Ruth
Jordan
Brady
Ali

Ruth would be upfront where Washington is ,
Jordan
Brady would be tucked in the hole where Roosevelt is,
Ali would be where Lincoln is because he deserves his own rock (area)

Have to go with Jay Buhner here.

all baseball homies
 

Dan Brouthers
Ty Cobb
Ernie Harwell
Charles Gehringer

Great thread, I have enjoyed browsing through all the picks. The OP said, "your" Mt. Rushmore - not the statistically most correct Mt. Rushmore.

I probably go with:

Ruth
Ryan
Aaron
Paige