OT: Who would you put on your sports Mt. Rushmore. This is harder than it sounds...

[ClementeFanOh]

I'll go with players, not coaches or inventors. In no particular order:

1) Babe Ruth

2) Jesse Owens

3) Wilt Chamberlain

4) Muhammad Ali

I'll never get all the Jordan love. Bird/Magic did more to renew interest in
the NBA- and I can't wait until fans find out why Jordan magically
disappeared from the sport for, what, a season and a half? Then there won't
even be an argument Trent King

[Mark17]

Ruth - greatest baseball player and loved worldwide
Ali - greatest boxer and loved worldwide
Pele - greatest soccer player and loved worldwide
Gretzky - greatest hockey player and very popular among hockey playing parts of the world

[ClementeFanOh]

Mark- hard to argue with your 4 as well. This is a tough ask! Trent King

[Mozzie22]

I'm not a huge hockey fan but this list should start and end with Wayne Gretzky. He is the single most dominate player in major sports history and there simply isn't a close second. Opinions vary but statistics do not lie.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Mozzie22

I'm not a huge hockey fan but this list should start and end with Wayne Gretzky. He is the single most dominate player in major sports history and there simply isn't a close second. Opinions vary but statistics do not lie.

I believe it's still the case that he has more assists than anyone else has points. Jagr I think came close to ending that but fell short.

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I believe it's still the case that he has more assists than anyone else has points. Jagr I think came close to ending that but fell short.

Gretzky remains the only player that I have seen in my lifetime that looked like he was playing an entirely different sport than the other players.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by Deertick

Gretzky remains the only player that I have seen in my lifetime that looked like he was playing an entirely different sport than the other players.

Jordan felt that way to me. As a Jazz fan, it just seemed like if there was a shot that mattered he was going to hit it.

[obcbobd]

Ruth
Orr
Ali
Brady


If I liked Basketball I'd swap out Jordon for Ali - but I don't :-)

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

I'll go with players, not coaches or inventors. In no particular order:

1) Babe Ruth

2) Jesse Owens

3) Wilt Chamberlain

4) Muhammad Ali

I'll never get all the Jordan love. Bird/Magic did more to renew interest in
the NBA- and I can't wait until fans find out why Jordan magically
disappeared from the sport for, what, a season and a half? Then there won't
even be an argument Trent King

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

[Natedog]

Brady
Jordan
Gretzky
Ruth

[quinnsryche]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Brady
Jordan
Gretzky
Ruth

My list exactly

[icurnmedic]

Ruth
Gretzky
NickLaus
Phelps

[skil55voy]

Mine would be:

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

[HistoricNewspapers]

Originally Posted by icurnmedic

Ruth
Gretzky
NickLaus
Phelps

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

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by HistoricNewspapers

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

I was thinking Digger Phelps

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by HistoricNewspapers

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

Have to go with Jay Buhner here.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by quinnsryche

My list exactly

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

[Beercan collector]

Caitlin Clark
Larry Holmes
Kyle Busch
Fernando Valenzuela

[Prof_Plum]

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

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by bnorth

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

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

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Tabe

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.

[Bigdaddy]

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?

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

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.

[ClementeFanOh]

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