This message was self-deleted by its author

[Tribetime]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Lasher (a host of the General Discussion forum).

This message was self-deleted by its author (Tribetime) on Sun Sep 7, 2025, 10:03 AM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[H2O Man]

1. Muhammad Ali.

The Champ was larger than sport, a global figure, and the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.

[Tribetime]

4. My dad always told me that he was the most famous man in the history of the world

[H2O Man]

11. He was.

In large part because he accomplished what was considered impossible at the time. Very few people thought that he could withstand the power of Liston or Foreman when he challenged for their titles. By briefly becoming "Cassius X" after the liston bout, then Muhammad Ali, he was welcomed when he toured the Middle East. Then the whole world watched him defeat Big George in Africa a decade later. He fought in Canada, Europe, and Asia as well, the true definition of a world champion.

Also of great significance was his refusal to be drafted, which led to his fight against Uncle Sam in the American legal system. A fight that he won in the U.S. Supreme Court with an 8 to 0 decision. Talk about being bigger than sports!

After retiring from the ring, Ali did things such as getting hostages released -- often in coordination with his former opponent, Uncle Sam. Thus, he stands alone at the very highest level when considering great athletes.

[leftstreet]

2. Mo Salah

in before the move to the lounge

[Skittles]

3. I couldn't name five

but I loved Gordon Banks

[BlueKota]

5. Kareem Abdul Jabbar basketball

Chris Everett-Tennis
Bjorn Borg- Tennis
Magic Johnson- Basketball
Fernando Valenzuela- Baseball Pitcher Los Angeles Dodger.

[Tribetime]

6. I was trying to see if people had a top 5 for each sport

[Chasstev365]

8. Here Goes

Ted Williams - Baseball
Tom Brady - Football
Gordie Howe - Hockey
Michael Jordan - Basketball
Pele - Soccer

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. Boxing

Boxing - Muhammad Ali. Sugar Ray Robinson. Joe Louis. George Foreman. Sugar Ray Leonard. Football-Tom Brady. Jim Brown. Joe Montana. Barry Sanders. Jerry Rice. Baseball-Babe Ruth. Willie Mays.Tom Seaver. Derek Jeter. Shohei Ohtani Basketball- LeBron James. Michael Jordan. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Magic Johndon. Steph Curry.

[Botany]

10. My 6

Red Grange
Bo Jackson
Jesse Ownens
Babe Zerharis
Secretariat
Muhammad Ali

[LoisB]

14. Thank you for including Secretariat. I watch the 1973 Belmont Stakes at least twice a month.

[2MuchNoise]

12. Maybe not all time bests, but 2 of my favorites.

Brooks Robinson and Johnny Unitas.

[EdmondDantes_]

13. In no particular order

Bo Jackson
Jim Thorpe
Babe Didrikson
Erin Phillips
Jackie Robinson

I think it's hard to rank people who only competed in one sport because most sports are limited in what they ask of an athlete by the rules of the sport/position. Not saying that any professional athlete isn't great (look at that former Boston Celtics guy Brian Scalabrine who sometimes just absolutely demolishes people who think just because he was a wasn't a great professional basketball player that they can beat him), but for me the best athletes have to be able to do it in multiple sports or in sports that don't specialize the movement so much.

You can get into things like martial arts and parkour where there's a lot of what I consider well-rounded athletes even if they are in one sport that I love to watch, but at that point it comes down generally to personal preference of style.

For parkour/martial arts (I couldn't narrow it down to 5 just people I love watching move and a couple I've had the pleasure of being coached by)
Bruce Lee
Cara de Peixe
Minh Vu
Tim Champion
Darryl Stingley/iamwavezilla
Camila Stefaniu
Lateef Crowder
Renae Dambly

[WarGamer]

15. NBA

Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Kareem
Larry Bird
Kobe Bryant

[LoisB]

16. Here's mine. The greatest in my opinion only.

Tennis: Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King

Football: Johnny Unitas, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Jerry Rice, Joe Greene

Baseball: Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench

Basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Bill Russell, Larry Bird

Horse Racing: Secretariat, Lafitt Pincay, Citation, Man-O-War, Bill Shoemaker

[LoisB]

17. Oh, and Boxing: There is only one - Muhammad Ali

[JT45242]

18. A lot of recency bias on these lists

Basketball
Wilt
The Big O
Jokic will be on the list but not yet needs a few more years
Lebron
Kareem

Unfortunately, bird and magic careers cut short by injury and HIV.

Baseball
Babe Ruth
Barry bonds (would be on this list if he had never juiced)
Willie Mays
Josh Gibson and Johnny bench
Ted Williams

Olympic/multi sport
Babe didrickson
Jim Thorpe
Jesse Owens
Phelps
Jim Browm

[FHRRK]

19. No Jordan?

Tough call to leave Magic off the list, I would include him. No Jordan? Can’t see any reason he doesn’t make top three

Baseball, maybe Maddox or Clemons? (Agree with Bonds)

Hard to put anyone above Phelps for longevity and dominance.

[Melon]

20. Michael Phelps

[valleyrogue]

21. All around best: Secretariat

The rest are far behind.

[Lasher]

22. Locking.

Sports are generally prohibited in the GD forum. Please consider reposting in the Lounge.