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Forums - General - The greatest professional athlete in history?

TheRealMafoo on 02 August 2009
Samus Aran said:
Eddy Merckx did his last pro race in 1978, so that isn't too modern. I've looked some of these guys up people mentioned and there victories just pale in comparison to what Eddy Merckx has achieved imo.

You need to train daily if you want to be a professional cyclist. These guys ride 150km 5 times a week. It's just not possible to chose another sport. The problem with Jim Thorpe is, his records aren't amazing compared to today's standards(at least in athletics)
However, it's truly amazing that he can jump over 1.963 meters without training. I can jump over 1.70 meters with just knowing the basic technique, so I know how impressive it is what he has done. But if you take a look at the world records today...

Yes, but he did not know what we know today. He did not have the nutritional information, or the understanding of training.

When he signed up for the Decathlon, he didn't even know what half the events were. He won them all, and held the record for 2 decades. That shows the kind of pure athlete he was.

I mean as good as I am sure Eddy Merckx was, if you put him in the cycling world today, how well would he do? Same rules apply to Jim Thorp (or any athlete).

As technology improves, the rules change. It's not fair to hold everyone to the same standard, as time passes.



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AdventWolf on 02 August 2009

Hmm Kareem and Wilt were two of the best most dominant players in basketball.
MJ is considered one of the best no doubt, but if we grew up during the time of the others then they would be idolized much more.

But I think I gotta say Ali.



TheRealMafoo on 02 August 2009
AdventWolf said:
But I think I gotta say Ali.

To all the people saying Ali..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Ray_Robinson

"Muhammad Ali, who repeatedly called himself "The Greatest" throughout his career, ranked Robinson as the greatest boxer of all time. Other Hall of Fame boxers such as Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Leonard said the same."



Rath on 03 August 2009
TheRealMafoo said:
Samus Aran said:

Eddy Merckx has won almost everything there is to win in cycling(and that is a lot)

The second greatest cylist in history has only half the points Eddy Merckx has on a special list that gives points to what you've won in your carreer.

If that's not domination then I don't know :P

But that's just one sport. I am not sure I would give it to someone who is just better at one thing then everyone else.

If that's the metric, then hands down, the best would be Sir Donald Bradman.

His batting average is 99.94, the second highest is R.G. Pollock at 60.97.

There is no other statistic in sports where the best is that much better then the second best.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting_average

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WG_Grace


Its not really the batting average that matters, W.G. Grace essentially invented modern batting - he totally dominated the entire game as a bowler, a batter, a fielder and a captain. Seriously just read up about him, he was so good that during his time playing he essentially was the game. The era when he captained the gentlemen was the only era in history where they dominated the players.



megaman79 on 03 August 2009
FootballFan said:
JEDE3 said:
FootballFan said:
I would say Phelps but he sets a shite example with him taking drugs and all that. Nobody else to me has outshone others by that great a margin.


It wouldn't have been a big deal if he was a nobody. Trust me, more idols smoke pot than just him.

 

My personal favorite - Eddie Belfour. One of the reasons I played Hockey and was a goalie.


O yes, i have no doubts lots take illegal drugs and stuff. But, it certainly doesn't make it right. He is suppose to lead by example and not undergo illegal drugs.

Never would someone who took drugs could ever be the greatest athlete in my eyes. Its more than just the sport its about his image. His has most certainly being damaged.

Drug legality is simply an issue of the times. Marijuania should atleast be decriminalised and just like alcohol should be treated with counselling, not prison.

I would debate whether punching people in the head is better for your image than smoking grass is.



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amp316 on 03 August 2009

I gave my answer earlier but some people are claiming that Michael Jordan wasn't the best basketball player ever and that's an absolute joke. MJ is every bit as good at basketball as Gretzky or Pele were in their respective sports. No one is even close and any other answer is ridiculous. I'm old enough to have seen Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, and many others play and I'm telling you that Michael Jordan is unquestionably the greatest basketball player ever.



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DSLover on 03 August 2009

By sport; I think for football (or 'soccer' to you americans) the Brazilian maestro Pele. I think for Tennis it has to be Roger Federer.



 

 

Samus Aran on 03 August 2009

TheRealMafoo said:
Samus Aran said:
Eddy Merckx did his last pro race in 1978, so that isn't too modern. I've looked some of these guys up people mentioned and there victories just pale in comparison to what Eddy Merckx has achieved imo.

You need to train daily if you want to be a professional cyclist. These guys ride 150km 5 times a week. It's just not possible to chose another sport. The problem with Jim Thorpe is, his records aren't amazing compared to today's standards(at least in athletics)
However, it's truly amazing that he can jump over 1.963 meters without training. I can jump over 1.70 meters with just knowing the basic technique, so I know how impressive it is what he has done. But if you take a look at the world records today...

Yes, but he did not know what we know today. He did not have the nutritional information, or the understanding of training.

When he signed up for the Decathlon, he didn't even know what half the events were. He won them all, and held the record for 2 decades. That shows the kind of pure athlete he was.

I mean as good as I am sure Eddy Merckx was, if you put him in the cycling world today, how well would he do? Same rules apply to Jim Thorp (or any athlete).

As technology improves, the rules change. It's not fair to hold everyone to the same standard, as time passes.

He had the worldhour record for 12 years. They ride the worldhour record on a copy of the bike that Eddy Merckx broke the record with. 1 person broke the record so far with only a little.

But you're right though... Eddy Merckx even said that you can't compare riders of different generations with each other.

 

I've read up on the story of Jim Thorpe yesterday and I don't really respect him tbh. He was addicted to alcohol.

Having a lot of talent alone doesn't make you the best athlete in history. I have more respect for someone if they have almost no talent, but they get a better result then Jim Thorp with a lot of training.

 

Marco Pantani was also a freak of nature(You could say his body was made for cycling) and he's regarded as one of the best climbers in cycling today, but he still failed to defeat Lance Armstrong on the Mont Ventoux and in the tour de France. He also killed him self because he was depressed in 2003 and he was addicted to cocaine. Do I need to respect Marco Pantani more then Lance Armstrong because he had more talent? Or do I need to respect Lance Armstrong more because that guy's picture is next to determination in the dictionary.



TheRealMafoo on 03 August 2009
Samus Aran said:

I've read up on the story of Jim Thorpe yesterday and I don't really respect him tbh. He was addicted to alcohol.

Having a lot of talent alone doesn't make you the best athlete in history. I have more respect for someone if they have almost no talent, but they get a better result then Jim Thorp with a lot of training.

Yea, Jim Thorp was a complete asshole. But I didn't think personality really mattered for this question.

If respect is a part of it then I would pick someone else.



FootballFan on 03 August 2009

I am the greatest athlete in history.

I won the egg and spoon race once!