Who is the Greatest/Most Dominant Athlete of All Time?

[Ferien]

I can't believe Babe Ruth has only been mentioned twice in this discussion. The man singlehandedly changed the course of baseball to what it is today, and set records that stood for 30+ years. At his retirement, his home run total was almost twice that of the second in the list (Lou Gehrig, also one of the absolute greats of the sport). Pitching may be better now, but the rules (foul pole wasn't a home run, and balls hooking past it weren't either), parks (hi2u Polo Grounds), and even the ball were all working against him. It's said that if he were playing with modern rules in modern parks, he would have hit 104 home runs in his 1921 season.

And this is a guy who started out as a very strong pitcher.

[Andarvi]

I can't believe Babe Ruth has only been mentioned twice in this discussion. The man singlehandedly changed the course of baseball to what it is today, and set records that stood for 30+ years. At his retirement, his home run total was almost twice that of the second in the list (Lou Gehrig, also one of the absolute greats of the sport). Pitching may be better now, but the rules (foul pole wasn't a home run, and balls hooking past it weren't either), parks (hi2u Polo Grounds), and even the ball were all working against him. It's said that if he were playing with modern rules in modern parks, he would have hit 104 home runs in his 1921 season.

And this is a guy who started out as a very strong pitcher.

Source? Athletes have evolved so much over the decades that I find that to be a hard stat to pin, despite how great Ruth was. And I said it before and I'll say it again, he didn't play against any black players because of league segregation therefore he didn't play against the best. I am a Yankee fan till I die, but i will say the same thing about ruth, mantle, dimaggio, all the old timers pre-league integration. Not even Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, but years after when there was more than a handful in the league.

And you can call me a Favre hater, dude is overrated, doesn't belong in the discussion of top 5 QBs, let alone anything else. If you had a mock draft of QBs tomorrow knowing what their careers would be Favre would go close to 10, maybe 8.

[Soa]

Not even close to being as impressive as Bill Russell's 11(?) championships in basketball when his competition was Wilt Chamberlin every year.

Wilt didn't care about winning championships, he only cared about fucking as many women as humanly possible.

[Eticket]

Source? Athletes have evolved so much over the decades that I find that to be a hard stat to pin, despite how great Ruth was. And I said it before and I'll say it again, he didn't play against any black players because of league segregation therefore he didn't play against the best. I am a Yankee fan till I die, but i will say the same thing about ruth, mantle, dimaggio, all the old timers pre-league integration. Not even Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, but years after when there was more than a handful in the league.

Amazon.com: The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger: Bill Jenkinson: Books

That's the book that is most heavily cited for that stat.

I agree with you too a point about the segregation of the time. There were a lot of detriments back then as well though. As others have noted, the rules were not as friendly to hitters back then. Also, as mentioned in the page for the book, Ruth and other players in that era dealt with chronic injuries that would easily be dealt with by modern era athletes.

[Iced]

No offense to Tiger, but when I think about it and the title of this thread, I can't put him in it. Greatest Sports Figure of All Time, yeah, but Greatest Athlete I can't. Who are you comparing him to in Golf that is athletic? Tiger is a fitness freak, but when your playing a sport where you can puff on a stogy and pay someone else to carry you clubs while your taking a stroll around the course, I just can't put him in there.(and yes I play golf regularly)

And how are you making a list of top 10 QBs and not putting John Elway in it is beyond me and not even mentioning him at all in the greatest/most dominant athlete catagory is crazy. Guess people forget he was drafted by the Yankee's in the 2nd round and and finished his class A season with .318 batting average, with four home runs and a team-high 25 RBI.

And to the hockey fans, fuck Mario, fuck Wayne, its all about Gordie Howe, 35 season, 29 all star appearances and 7 mvps, plus he has the best hat-trick named after him.

[Plow]

You just pretty much pointed out why comparing the Williams sisters to Tiger is fucking laughable. Focus/drive/determination. I do also think that your last sentence is far fetched at best. We're also talking about two different people. It's like saying that Federer and Nadal are the most dominating athlete ever to play any sport. Ummm...see the issue?

You're misunderstanding what I'm saying about the Williams sisters.

I'm not saying they deserve any legitimate mention in a thread about the most dominant athletes.


What I'm saying is that if they *did* have the level of determination and drive of the true greats, either one of them had the physical tools and raw talent to dominate their sport at a level nobody, male or female, has ever even come close to.

Then, and only then, if they'd had that kind of drive, they would've won on a level that would make any other athlete, male or female, look like just another star in comparison to true dominance.


I'm just using it to make the point about how silly it is to say female athletes don't count.

[Deejay]

Pass Attempts to Interceptions. Its lost on you though since you really don't care what stats indicate what sort of playstyle or skillset in a quarterback.

Whoosh.

The problem is, the stats you're using aren't as great as you're making them out to be. Brett is a work horse, but he was never a statistical phenom. His style of play was never ground breaking either, as he just played a game of give and take. He had good years and he had bad years. He wasn't "the greatest" no matter which way you look at it.

[Charismatic]

Anyone but Tiger Woods and you're wrong.

[Maestro]

Being a Knicks fan now and definitely during the 90s, I hate saying it but its Jordan. There were just games no one was gonna stop him, you could've taken out Pippen, Grant, Kerr, etc and he was still gonna win that game. Unfortunately all those games seemed to happen during the playoffs. Fucking Bulls.

But if Jordan didn't exist I'd say Tiger.

[octopus]

Kobayashi is the most dominant! No one could eat half as many hot dogs as he could for a few years until now ;o

[Ferien]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ut_in_2007.jpg
Joey Chestnut has been the champ for 2 years running.

[Jodwahh]

Kobayashi is the most dominant! No one could eat half as many hot dogs as he could for a few years until now ;o

This. He could even beat a fucking bear.

[Null]

http://www.imagebeast.net/images/52a...f1lkysd5tn.jpg

[Weltall]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ut_in_2007.jpg
Joey Chestnut has been the champ for 2 years running.

People need to stop bringing up these bullshit ass people. The thread deserves better.

[thebearofscience]

I don't care if this was already said: Evander Holyfield, because he's awesome.

[Ferien]

People need to stop bringing up these bullshit ass people. The thread deserves better.

I brought him up in response to Kobayashi. I still stand by my previous statements about Babe Ruth.

[Plow]

The problem with Tiger Woods is that there's no other true great during his time.


There's been 30+ majors he didn't win during his career prior to this year.

The next highest behind him during that time is Mickelson with a whopping 3...


The other day during the par 3 challenge, there was a trio of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player... And, amazingly enough, all 3 of their "peaks" overlap. Not to mention the overlaps with Trevino, Thompson, Floyd, etc.


He really needs someone to step up and start winning a whole lot when he doesn't, and finishing close behind when he does.

[Weltall]

Jack Nicklaus still has him with the following:

1. More majors - Tiger still has to catch up. It should be a gimme, but we don't know yet.

2. Nicklaus had MUCH, MUUUUCH better competition. There were 4-5 people who could have been the favorite any week.

3. Nicklaus came in 2nd place 19 (NINETEEN!) times in majors.

Tiger still has a hill to climb. There is no way to even put him as the best in his sport until he is on top of the mountain. So the whole, "Tiger or you're wrong" is fucking retarded, and wrong

[Tyche]

If tiger pulls this shit out of his ass being back like 7 shots at the start, then this thread is pretty much over. Oh, well hello thar Eagle. Absurd.

edit: LOL, Phil choked hard on the tee after Tiger hit that Eagle. Phil is playing remarkable today though.

[Ishido]

Jack Nicklaus still has him with the following:

1. More majors - Tiger still has to catch up. It should be a gimme, but we don't know yet.

2. Nicklaus had MUCH, MUUUUCH better competition. There were 4-5 people who could have been the favorite any week.

3. Nicklaus came in 2nd place 19 (NINETEEN!) times in majors.

Tiger still has a hill to climb. There is no way to even put him as the best in his sport until he is on top of the mountain. So the whole, "Tiger or you're wrong" is fucking retarded, and wrong

Jack had been a pro for 25 years when he won his last major. Tiger has 12 year until he matches that, and it's fairly likely he will have at least matched Jack's records by then.