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

[darwinbulldog]

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

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

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.

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!

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Mark17

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 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.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Mark17

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!

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)

[mrreality68]

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

[MR RAREBACK]

ty Cobb
Tiger woods
Jordan
Pele

[boysblue]

A debate for the ages!

Usain Bolt
Serena Williams
Lionel Messi
Bobby Orr