The Greatest Sportsman Ever

[Skyhook]

Boxing: Ray Robinson
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Ice Hockey: Wayne Gretzky
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Golf: Jack Niklaus
Cycling: Lance Armstrong (they were all doping in that era)
Soccer: Pele
Football: Jerry Rice
Track and Field: Carl Lewis
Motor Racing: Michael Shumacher
Tennis: Roger Federer
Swimming: Michael Phelps
Cricket: Sachin Tendulkar

[Welsh Jon]

No way mate, if a guy aint even unanimous champion of his sport he stands no chance, not even a snowballs of ranking ahead of a Bradman. I make a massive exception for Jim Thorpe considering he was the dominant force in something like 20 plus sporting events..... there are 10 events in the decathlon and 5 in the pentathlon alone and I bet he was awesome with a bow and arrow too,, so he kills sugar Ray Robinson from 80 metres away.... boxers stand no chance of ranking above him. Thorpe could master ball sports, contact sports and outright track and feild athleticism. Thorpe is the greatest American sportsman of all time, bar none.

There is no sport worth watching where there is one unanimous champion. Can we honestly say that SRR is unanimously better than the likes of Sam Langford, Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles, Louis or Ali? Can we defo say that Pele is better than Maradona or Messi? Is Jesse Owens better than Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson or Usain Bolt?

I don't think even Bradman is the undisputed king of his sport.

[Miburo]

Sportsman? Arguello if you're using that word.

[Japanese Boxing]

Fedor Emelianenko.

10 years of violent dominance.

[RubenSonny]

Without doubt it is Sir Don Bradman, of all those names up there I can think of two guys who were more dominant than the others, Bradman stands at the top only because Walter Lindrum's sport of Billiards is tiny in comparison to cricket and there has always been debate of which guy was the more awesome in his sport. Lindrum is nothing less than a magician, he could do things with a cue and cue ball that no snooker player or Pool player has ever approached, he was simply unbeatable..( and so was Herb Elliot the great runner who never lost a single race in his life, including Little Athletics )...... Lindrum like Bradman was the unchallengeable champion for 20 years of top flight competition, Bradman is regarded by 99 out of a hundred experts as basically twice as good as the second greatest batsman to ever live.... it sounds like a fairy tale but it's all true................ ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- I am very glad you put Thorpe up there, I know very little about Gridiron but I regard Thorpe as by far the all round sportsman of all time with Bradman the 2nd greatest all round sporting best (but in his game he was god).. many people dont know that Bradman was awesome at golf, tennis and squash and had won state titles in all of those sports....... when he won the state tennis title he had no picked up a raquet in ages, walked in and asked if he could enter the tournament, being so famous they jumped at it,,, and he won the whole tournament,, and I'm sure most people know that back then Australia was a giant in the sport of tennis....... give Bradman a stick and a ball and he will be the best no matter what the sport,... he was invited to Lindrums billiards room and was annoyed that he was made to look a fool by Lindrum, he managed to make a break of about 30 that day and had never played much let alone make a century... he promised Lindrum that a week later he would make a century and Lindrum laughed.... next week his jaw hit the floor as Bradman easily made a century......... Walter then decided Bradman was too good to take chances with and won by making his usual One THOUSAND break............ I wish I was around to see those guys.

Sobers>Bradman.

[gingeralbino]

Without doubt it is Sir Don Bradman, of all those names up there I can think of two guys who were more dominant than the others, Bradman stands at the top only because Walter Lindrum's sport of Billiards is tiny in comparison to cricket and there has always been debate of which guy was the more awesome in his sport. Lindrum is nothing less than a magician, he could do things with a cue and cue ball that no snooker player or Pool player has ever approached, he was simply unbeatable..( and so was Herb Elliot the great runner who never lost a single race in his life, including Little Athletics )...... Lindrum like Bradman was the unchallengeable champion for 20 years of top flight competition, Bradman is regarded by 99 out of a hundred experts as basically twice as good as the second greatest batsman to ever live.... it sounds like a fairy tale but it's all true................ ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- I am very glad you put Thorpe up there, I know very little about Gridiron but I regard Thorpe as by far the all round sportsman of all time with Bradman the 2nd greatest all round sporting best (but in his game he was god).. many people dont know that Bradman was awesome at golf, tennis and squash and had won state titles in all of those sports....... when he won the state tennis title he had no picked up a raquet in ages, walked in and asked if he could enter the tournament, being so famous they jumped at it,,, and he won the whole tournament,, and I'm sure most people know that back then Australia was a giant in the sport of tennis....... give Bradman a stick and a ball and he will be the best no matter what the sport,... he was invited to Lindrums billiards room and was annoyed that he was made to look a fool by Lindrum, he managed to make a break of about 30 that day and had never played much let alone make a century... he promised Lindrum that a week later he would make a century and Lindrum laughed.... next week his jaw hit the floor as Bradman easily made a century......... Walter then decided Bradman was too good to take chances with and won by making his usual One THOUSAND break............ I wish I was around to see those guys.

ever hear of a guy called Max Woosnam?

pretty decent all round sportsman.