Biggest sports stars of all time.

[wicket]

I know im gonna regret this because Im gonna get a lot of solely american sport focused answers but what are your biggest sports stars of all time.
my top 5:
1 Don Bradman, cricket, Australia
2 Pele, football, Brazil
3 Cassius Clay/Mohammed Ali, boxing, USA
4 Eddy Merckx, cycling, Belgium
5 Wayne Gretzky(sp?), Icehockey, Canada

[Don Vito]

Michael Jordan for sure if you want to throw a basketball player on there. He could be the biggest American sports icon, Babe Ruth is a possibility too.

[yourfavestoner]

Kobe Bean Bryant.

[Strongside]

Tiger Woods

[wicket]

even with basketball i would go futher back with chamberlain

[RAVENS/WIZARDS/ORIOLES]

Cal Ripken
http://itricks.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/942507718-d1ba10ee31.jpg

[Matthew Jones]

Pele, Wayne Gretzky, and Wilt Chamberlain might be three of mine.

[holt_bruce81]

Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan for sure.

Roger Federer - Tennis
Tiger Woods - Golf
Bobby Orr- Hockey

[BeerBaron]

Ruth and Jordan for sure.....no offense Wicket, and it's probably because I'm from America, but i haven't even heard of 2 of yours.....

[wicket]

Since I think that the majority here isnt familiar with my choices 1 and 4 I'll give a bit of an extra illustration for them:
Don Bradman. averaged 99.94 with the bat. No other average over 65 has been recorded for players playing a similar amount of games, and this is in the second largest sport worldwide with the longest history of international contests.
Wisden hailed Bradman as, "the greatest phenomenon in the history of cricket, indeed in the history of all ball games". Statistician Charles Davis analysed the statistics for several prominent sportsmen by comparing the number of standard deviations that they stand above the mean for their sport. The top performers in his selected sports are:

Athlete Sport Statistic Standard
deviations
Bradman Cricket Batting average 4.4
Pelé Association football Goals per game 3.7
Ty Cobb Baseball Batting average 3.6
Jack Nicklaus Golf Major titles 3.5
Michael Jordan Basketball Points per game 3.4

The statistics show that "no other athlete dominates an international sport to the extent that Bradman does cricket". In order to post a similarly dominant career statistic as Bradman, a baseball batter would need a career batting average of .392, while a basketball player would need to score an average of 43.0 points per game. The respective records are .366 and 30.1

When Bradman died, Time magazine allocated a space in its "Milestones" column for an obituary:

... Australian icon considered by many to be the pre-eminent sportsman of all time ... One of Australia's most beloved heroes, he was revered abroad as well. When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison, his first question to an Australian visitor was, "Is Sir Donald Bradman still alive?"


Just a quote to illustrate how special he was

Eddy Merckx: won the tour the france (that thing that armstrong won a bunch of times) 5 times but also won every other major competion a few times (armstrong never won any one day courses, nor did he win the giro or the vuelta which basicly are about as important as the tour the france). the diversity of his wins has not only never been equaled, it has never even been flirted with.

[A Perfect Score]

Guys Id throw in, and when I do this, I put them in in the sense that they are synonymous with their sport:

1. Muhammed Ali (you would be hard pressed to find many people who can name any other boxers)
2. Tiger Woods
3. Michael Jordan
4. Babe Ruth
5. Wayne Gretzky

Those would be the big 5 IMO, people so famous that when someone mentions the sport, their names pop into your head.

[SuperKevin]

Jesse Owens

[YAYareaRB]

1. Michael Jordan SG, Bulls
2. Joe Montana QB, 49ers
3. Magic Johnson All Around, Lakers
4. Tiger Woods
5. Jonah Lomu, NZ All Blacks

[KCJ58]

Kobe Bean Bryant.

agreed....

[the decider13]

Baseball: Joltin Joe Dimmagio
Football: Walter Payton
Fussball: Pele
Basketball: Air Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

[Gay Ork Wang]

Jan Ove Waldner

[Xiomera]

The correct answer is Yao Ming.

[CJSchneider]

http://www.pathwaysfamilychiro.com/img/jerry_rice.jpg

[jballa838]

Deion. Primetime. he was the man.

[kwilk103]

http://www.sports-photos.com/catalog/images/JerryWest1Clr.tif.jpg

http://www.bens.at/images/nba_logo1123.jpg

[7-11]

Don Bradman, and it isn't close in my opinion. Do some research on the guy and find out why

[jayceheathman]

http://profantasybaseball.com/images/Albert-Pujols-Pictures/Albert-Pujols-6.jpg
http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/pujols460june5.jpg

[Caddy]

OH MY GOD DON BRADMAN.

A lot don't know about Bradman obviously, but considering cricket is an international sport he definitely deserves to be up there. As far as I know he has a batting average that is at least 40 runs above his closest competitor.

That is absolute domination.

[iowatreat54]

Jordan revolutionized sports marketing. Not only is he arguably the best sports figure of all time, but what he did for advertising and marketing is unheard of for a spokesperson. He changed the way that companies used sports figures as spokespersons.

On top of that, he is prolly the best American sport player. I would think the only person that can challenge him right now is Tiger. But in the big 4 besides MJ and Tiger, there really isn't anyone close.

[MichaelJordanEberle (sabf)]

http://www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/james_060428_1_800x600.jpg

[JeffSamardzijaIRISH]

Maradonna is much more well known than Pele.

[thenewfeature06]

Dean Smith- Coaches

[7-11]

Maradonna is much more well known than Pele.

Mainly cause he's a nutjob. And he's impartial to a little nose candy now and then.

Another take on the topic - the biggest sports star of all-time would be the most popular would he not? Sachin Tendulkar is literally thought of as some sort of demi-god in cricket crazed India. Whenever he plays he has the pressure of over a billion people counting on him to perform. He's said in the past he can't even go out in public anymore. The cricket fanaticism in India is completely and utterly insane, and Sachin Tendulkar is at the dead centre of it.

[CJSchneider]

Dean Smith- Coaches

John Wooden - 10 championships in 12 years.

[M.O.T.H.]

Maradonna is much more well known than Pele.

Who? I've actually heard of Pele.

[the decider13]

Maradonna is much more well known than Pele.

In the States, Pele is much more well known. Actually if you polled the united states, they would probably answer David Beckham.

[OneToughGame]

Michael Jordan for me. NFL would be Peyton Manning or Tom Brady though I'd say..

[aNYtitan]

I'm going to try to pick people that revolutionized the game during my lifetime, or has dramatically altered the game:
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Football: Bill Walsh
Baseball: Barry Bonds (for better or worse)
Hockey: No idea

[OneToughGame]

I'm going to try to pick people that revolutionized the game during my lifetime, or has dramatically altered the game:
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Football: Bill Walsh
Baseball: Barry Bonds (for better or worse)
Hockey: No idea

If you're going to say a coach for Football I'd have to say Lombardi. To each his own though ;)

[7-11]

If you're going to say a coach for Football I'd have to say Lombardi. To each his own though ;)

He said during his own lifetime. And anyway in my limited knowledge of NFL history i'd say that Walsh was more of a revolutionary that Lombardi.

[OneToughGame]

He said during his own lifetime. And anyway in my limited knowledge of NFL history i'd say that Walsh was more of a revolutionary that Lombardi.

I forgot about the "through his lifetime part" so yeah then I'd have to agree.

[holt_bruce81]

I know a lot don't consider what he does a sport....

But you got to consider Lance Armstrong.

[CashmoneyDrew]

Butterbean was the first person who popped into my head obviously....

http://paxarcana.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/butterbean.jpg

[Sniper]

Hockey: No idea

You must have been born after 1999.

http://thestatsman.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/wayne-gretzky-21.jpg

[litlharsh]

Bradman, Tendulkar, Pele, Jordan, Ali, Tiger

[kwilk103]

dan gable....

[Addict]

I know a lot don't consider what he does a sport....

But you got to consider Lance Armstrong.

ehm... no. What Armstrong did in the tour was special. But he only did it in the tour. Never won a Giro (that's he Italian Tour) or a Vuelta (Spanish Tour) or anything not directly related tot the Tour de France. His achievements in the tour de france were great (even though he did at times depend heavily on the teams he was on being insanely good).

It's like saying that if a player plays great in 4 superbowls is automatically the best player ever, even though he never shows up in the regular season or the playoffs.
Merckx is a much, much more renowned cyclist and if you ask a true cycling fan this question you'd see anywhere between 4 and 8 names ahead of Armstrong.

[SuperKevin]

Manny Pacquiao is able to stop the intense political civil war in the Phillippines with his boxing.

[Bob Sanders Dreadlock]

Even trackstars can party like a rockstar
http://www.brentschoonover.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/steve-prefontaine-poster.jpg

Gave potheads another reason to not shut up about legalizing it
http://www.thelifeofluxury.com/images/michael_phelps.jpg

Changed the world of asskicking
http://crossfitasia.com/ChuckNorris.jpg

[SuperKevin]

Me for finishing my half marathon today

[aNYtitan]

You must have been born after 1999.

http://thestatsman.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/wayne-gretzky-21.jpg

I was trying to think of some one less obvious, but I couldn't. He wins by default, the same way Jordan does.

[TACKLE]

Ethan Albright definitely deserves a mention. Just ask him.

[YAYareaRB]

try tackling this monster

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t641/T641783A.jpg

[TimDris]

for team sports Wayne Gretzky was the most dominant athlete.

http://www.totalprosports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wayne-gretzky.jpg

I've heard from a bunch of former pros that the way he saw the ice was just absurd. they said he was 3 steps ahead of everyone else on the ice.

fun fact if you take away all of his career goals, he is still the all time NHL leader in points. he has more assists than people have combined goals and assists. crazy

[Sniper]

fun fact if you take away all of his career goals, he is still the all time NHL leader in points. he has more assists than people have combined goals and assists. crazy

What makes it even more amazing is that his lead is 970 points, which is considered a very good career for a player. Nick Lidstrom, a sure-fire Hall of Fame defenseman, has 997 career points. Gretzky's record is untouchable.

[Ravens1991]

dan gable....

I disagree, I think

https://wiki-land.wikispaces.com/file/view/tx.sanderson.jpg

http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/images/article/photo/7312/mid/Smith.jpg

Cael Sanderson and John Smith are bigger of American wrestlers. I think Cael and Gable sort of fall into the same boat, they could have had better international success if they didnt stop there career after 1 gold medal.



but when it comes to international wrestling no one comes close to

http://bleacherreport.com/images_root/image_pictures/0160/8835/aleksandr-karelin-1_feature.png

Aleksander Karelin

He is arguably the best pure athlete ever, including some NFL stars of today. His records are possibly the greatest in all sports as well.

He was undefeated for 12 years in wrestling, and didnt have a point scored on him for 8 or 9 years as well

[aNYtitan]

for team sports Wayne Gretzky was the most dominant athlete.

http://www.totalprosports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wayne-gretzky.jpg



IDK, cause I think Wilt Chamberlain should be right up there for that title. He was just in a league of his own when he was playing. Only player with 4,000 pts in a season, most points in a game, most rebounds in a game, most consecutive shots made in a game. He freaking averaged 50.4 pts in a season. For his career, he averaged 30.1 ppg and 22.9 rpg. He caused rules to be changed.

In regards to your statement, I just don't think it is so clear cut.

[7-11]

try tackling this monster

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t641/T641783A.jpg

Not even the best rugby player of his generation in my opinion. For players that i've seen plenty of i'd take an, in his prime Brian O'Driscoll over him anyday. Then there's the legend that is Gareth Edwards, slightly before our time but.

[Philliez01]

Any love for Steve Prefontaine? Short career, yes, with no Olympic medals either but he was definitely a star. First real Nike athlete (I think), a contributing reason for Americans starting to jog again, SI cover (rare for a distance runner) and continues to inspire athletes today.

Maybe it's too niche.

[devinhester=R.O.Y 2006]

http://autoracingsport.com/wp-content/uploads/nascar/earnhardt_headshot.jpg

May not be as big as some, but this man is an American icon. Dale Earnhardt was loved by millions and millions across the country. It is too bad that he has passed on.

[devinhester=R.O.Y 2006]

Manny Pacquiao is able to stop the intense political civil war in the Phillippines with his boxing.

I saw a story about Pacquiao on how everything in the Philippines completely shuts down when he is fighting. Now that is some ******* star power. A whole nation revolves around one man, damn.

[E-Man]

If we're talking in terms of fame then it's easy. Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Tiger Woods take the cake. I know those answers sound American, but it seems that people all over know those guys. You'd have to be in some kind of hibernation to not be aware of them.

If we're talking my personal favorite athletes, then my top 5 is:

1. Larry Allen
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Anderson Silva
4. Michael Jordan
5. Jack Johnson(quite possibly the athlete with the biggest balls in American history)

[E-Man]

I disagree, I think

https://wiki-land.wikispaces.com/file/view/tx.sanderson.jpg

http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/images/article/photo/7312/mid/Smith.jpg

Cael Sanderson and John Smith are bigger of American wrestlers. I think Cael and Gable sort of fall into the same boat, they could have had better international success if they didnt stop there career after 1 gold medal.



but when it comes to international wrestling no one comes close to

http://bleacherreport.com/images_root/image_pictures/0160/8835/aleksandr-karelin-1_feature.png

Aleksander Karelin

He is arguably the best pure athlete ever, including some NFL stars of today. His records are possibly the greatest in all sports as well.

He was undefeated for 12 years in wrestling, and didnt have a point scored on him for 8 or 9 years as well

Sanderson has such a humongous feat by going undefeated, and Karelin always baffles me when I hear about his streak. I don't know much about wrestling, but anyone can tell that what he did was unhuman. I think he was something the Soviets cooked up in a lab. haha

[MichaelJordanEberle (sabf)]

for team sports Wayne Gretzky was the most dominant athlete.

http://www.totalprosports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wayne-gretzky.jpg

I've heard from a bunch of former pros that the way he saw the ice was just absurd. they said he was 3 steps ahead of everyone else on the ice.

fun fact if you take away all of his career goals, he is still the all time NHL leader in points. he has more assists than people have combined goals and assists. crazy

I think I speak for all people who have never heard that before when I say:

What the ****

[wogitalia]

This is a great topic, there are a couple of ways to look at it though.

Do you look at it from within the sport and thus make it into a "greatest player" topic or do you look at who is bigger than the sport, so those guys that people know the sport because of.

I'm going to go with something along the lines of the 2nd option and show it from my sheltered view over here in Australia and name the guys that are "bigger than their sports"

1. Michael Jordan - Had kids who didn't even like basketball wanting to "Be like Mike".
2. David Beckham - Put it this way, his wife is the only spice girl still talked about and she is only talked about because she is his wife.
3. Muhammed Ali - People who weren't alive when he boxed know he boxed. May actually be the biggest on this list.
4. Mike Tyson - Is a close 2nd to Ali, when people think of boxing he is 1b to Ali.
5. Tiger Woods - Everyone knows who he is.
6. John McEnroe - Is quiet comfortably the biggest tennis star. Aggassi is a very distant 2nd.
7. Sachin Tendulkar - Biggest star in world cricket. Bradman was the best, Lara was better, but Sachin is the biggest.
8. Diego Maradona/Pele - Can't really seperate the two best players ever, Maradona is probably more famous or more well known, but everyone knows who Pele is also.
9. Yao Ming - Is by far the biggest star currently in the NBA, although may be better known as that huge chinese dude.
10. Anna Kournikova - By far the biggest female athlete in the world and probably actually tennis' 2nd or 3rd biggest star.

That would be my top 10 I think. Rather fluid in that the top 5 could be put in any order but I certainly feel a drop off after them. Just to let it known, Babe Ruth would be baseball, Dan Marino would be NFL and the Mighty Ducks would be Hockey, if I twisted arms until I found someone who knew Hockey would probably be a Gretzky but would take some searching.

I would think Carl Lewis takes the boat for olympics. Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell also deserve mentions if you consider motor sports to be sports as such.

[Gay Ork Wang]

oh wow David Beckham

[Cicero]

http://nybookworm.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/tony-hawk.jpg

[Addict]

2. David Beckham - Put it this way, his wife is the only spice girl still talked about and she is only talked about because she is his wife.

You think David Beckham is the biggest soccer star of all time. ARE YOU ******* SERIOUS?! Really? Spice Girl wife who gets some fame because of him? Really? That's your reasoning "we know who his wife is, so he MUST be famous". For crying out loud Beckham's fame isn't even related to his soccer playing anymore, and hasn't been for years. He's a good-looking dude. Beckham in his absolute prime couldn't sniff the all-time greats. Hell he wasn't even the best player in the world in his prime, that honor belongs to Zidane.
What exactly defines a SPORTS star? Not all the fringework. Beckham today is more a celebrity than he is a soccer player. Teams take him because of marketing considerations. He was a great player back in the day when he played for Manchester Utd. and Real Madrid, but I seriously doubt that even his fanclub would agree to the completely insane statement that beckham is the greatest soccer star.
I'll excuse you for being North American.

8. Diego Maradona/Pele - Can't really seperate the two best players ever, Maradona is probably more famous or more well known, but everyone knows who Pele is also.

again, no. Pele was the greatest. After him, and I do mean AFTER, there's Cruijff and Maradona. Maradona's fame, again, may be greater than Pele's, but that's more due to his fall from grace.


10. Anna Kournikova - By far the biggest female athlete in the world and probably actually tennis' 2nd or 3rd biggest star.


Kournikova? Really? She wasn't even known to be great tennis player, she wasn't even really really good. She didn't win jacksquat during her career. Her fame comes from having a pretty face and a good body. She's poster material, that's it. She didn't even win a major tournament for crying out loud.

[7-11]

You think David Beckham is the biggest soccer star of all time. ARE YOU ******* SERIOUS?! Really? Spice Girl wife who gets some fame because of him? Really? That's your reasoning "we know who his wife is, so he MUST be famous". For crying out loud Beckham's fame isn't even related to his soccer playing anymore, and hasn't been for years. He's a good-looking dude. Beckham in his absolute prime couldn't sniff the all-time greats. Hell he wasn't even the best player in the world in his prime, that honor belongs to Zidane.
What exactly defines a SPORTS star? Not all the fringework. Beckham today is more a celebrity than he is a soccer player. Teams take him because of marketing considerations. He was a great player back in the day when he played for Manchester Utd. and Real Madrid, but I seriously doubt that even his fanclub would agree to the completely insane statement that beckham is the greatest soccer star.
I'll excuse you for being North American.



again, no. Pele was the greatest. After him, and I do mean AFTER, there's Cruijff and Maradona. Maradona's fame, again, may be greater than Pele's, but that's more due to his fall from grace.



Kournikova? Really? She wasn't even known to be great tennis player, she wasn't even really really good. She didn't win jacksquat during her career. Her fame comes from having a pretty face and a good body. She's poster material, that's it. She didn't even win a major tournament for crying out loud.

I think he's strictly talking about most famous, and i think you can easily make a case for Beckham and Kournikova from that angle. And thankyou for mentioning Johan Cruijff, complete genius that everyone should know about.

And he's Australian...

[Gay Ork Wang]

that David Beckham even got mentioned in this thread in seriousness makes me a really really sad panda.

even if its about the most famous guys, u cant name Beckham. he is maybe the most famous guy in the US. But guys like Ronaldo (the Brazilian), Ronaldinho, Kaka and those guys are more famous than Beckham. Seriously the Ronaldo love in 2000-2002 was ridiculous

[7-11]

that David Beckham even got mentioned in this thread in seriousness makes me a really really sad panda.

even if its about the most famous guys, u cant name Beckham. he is maybe the most famous guy in the US. But guys like Ronaldo (the Brazilian), Ronaldinho, Kaka and those guys are more famous than Beckham. Seriously the Ronaldo love in 2000-2002 was ridiculous

Just think of it this way, ask 10 people, from all different demographic backgrounds, from all around the world to name a footballer. I'd say most would name David Beckham. Not saying it's right, but it's probably the truth

[stephenson86]

as an english person commenting on american sports from when i was younger
football - for me it was walter payton
basketball - jordan
baseball - ruth

and the rest
football - pele
tennis - federer
golf - tiger woods

[Jango]

Maradona is a better footballer player then Pele, btw. It's not even as close as people are making it out to be. Pele may be more well known to you Americans but on pure talent, Maradona was better and as a result, the best player to have played the game.

[Calvin & Kevin]

Joe Louis.

I started thinking "who was the first true worldwide sporting superstar" and Louis is who I thought of, at least in the Western world. (I don't know if Australia counts as part of that or not, maybe some of you Aussies can tell me if Louis made any impact there.) Boxing was much more of an international sport at that time, and in the very politicized 1930's, Louis' fights with Schmeling were very significant.

If you don't count Louis as truly international though, you have to say Ali is hands down the biggest sporting star ever. From his peak in the early 70's up until maybe the last ten years, Ali could go anywhere in the world and people would know him, from a bar in Atlanta to a village in Kenya to a market in the Philippines. No other person perhaps in history could say that.

[Addict]

I think he's strictly talking about most famous, and i think you can easily make a case for Beckham and Kournikova from that angle. And thankyou for mentioning Johan Cruijff, complete genius that everyone should know about.

And he's Australian...

Even in the realm of it's own stupidity that post was silly. David Beckham is a celebrity who just so happens to play football, not a football celebrity. Do you really think that people can name more than 1 team he played for? No. They all say "REAL MADRID OMGZZZ" and that's the end of it. There's a reason Beckham went to the MLS you know, because it's where dying football stars go to collect their final big paycheck (no offense to the MLS, but it's true).
Kournikova? She's a model, not a tennis player. She half-assed around a few centercourts way back when, but since then her main claim to fame has been the fact she looks hot in a bikini.
The thing Kournikova and Beckham have in common is that their fame is the result of good looks and a mediahype, not merits. With Beckham being the only one of the two to actually win something in his sport every now and again.


Maradona is a better footballer player then Pele, btw. It's not even as close as people are making it out to be. Pele may be more well known to you Americans but on pure talent, Maradona was better and as a result, the best player to have played the game.

That's how you see it. I'm European by the way, so don't act like I don't know my stuff. Pure talent important, but in the end it's what you do with it. Pele had the talent and the production, while Maradona may have been the most talented player ever, but his personal demons really took their toll on him. And be honest, does it really matter who is the greatest of all time?

The way I see it Maradona, Pele, Cruijff, Garrincha, Zidane and maye even Ronaldo in his prime were all insanely good and much like with American Football it's hard to pinpoint who was the GOAT. It depends on preference more than anything.
Even with that short list, I'm snubbing a few: Platini, Beckenbauer, Schmeichel (yeah, a goalie, but he practically won the Euro '92 with Denmark all by himself)... the list of fantastic players goes on and on. Saying one is definately better than the other is tough, but I suppose you could make a case for Maradona as much as I or anyone else could make a case for any of the other guys I just mentioned. It's how it goes I suppose.

[Caddy]

I would naturally assume most people associate Beckham with Man United. After all, that is where he became one of the best right sided players of all time and a phenomenal set piece player.

[Addict]

I would naturally assume most people associate Beckham with Man United. After all, that is where he became one of the best right sided players of all time and a phenomenal set piece player.

yeah most who actually know beckham's play think Man U, but the two places where he's most respected (that's the US and the Far East) remember him for the hair antics with Real and the huge transfer deals to Madrid and LA. He was a phenomenal player with Man Utd, but he didn't transform from player to celeb until he came to spain and eventually the US. I'll always remember him in a Manchester United uni, when he was still amazing to watch.

[Caddy]

yeah most who actually know beckham's play think Man U, but the two places where he's most respected (that's the US and the Far East) remember him for the hair antics with Real and the huge transfer deals to Madrid and LA. He was a phenomenal player with Man Utd, but he didn't transform from player to celeb until he came to spain and eventually the US. I'll always remember him in a Manchester United uni, when he was still amazing to watch.

Me too. I remember him sinking an amazing free kick from like a million yards against Spurs one day. Was very upsetting.

[the decider13]

that David Beckham even got mentioned in this thread in seriousness makes me a really really sad panda.

even if its about the most famous guys, u cant name Beckham. he is maybe the most famous guy in the US. But guys like Ronaldo (the Brazilian), Ronaldinho, Kaka and those guys are more famous than Beckham. Seriously the Ronaldo love in 2000-2002 was ridiculous

Someone said that Maradonna is more well known, and I said that if you asked people in America about a footballer, they would probably answer Beckham. Unless they were older, then they would probably answer Beckham.

The only people in America who know who Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka are actually watch football. It's sad...I tried to talk to my cousin about the sport, and he said he didn't understand it and had no interest in watching it. Just doesn't catch on here for the most part.

EDIT: Never said who my number one footballer was. Think I'll go different and pick Zidane.

[Jango]

Maradona is a better footballer player then Pele, btw. It's not even as close as people are making it out to be. Pele may be more well known to you Americans but on pure talent, Maradona was better and as a result, the best player to have played the game.

That's how you see it. I'm European by the way, so don't act like I don't know my stuff. Pure talent important, but in the end it's what you do with it. Pele had the talent and the production, while Maradona may have been the most talented player ever, but his personal demons really took their toll on him. And be honest, does it really matter who is the greatest of all time?

My post wasn't meant to be condescending and I apologise if it came out that way. Bottom line is, Maradona was more talented then Pele which in my opinion, makes him better then Pele. If you want to make the arguement that it comes down to production and use of talent, which btw, is a concept that I hate, the word 'production' in a sporting sense really annoys me, then Maradona is once again, better then Pele. He did everything Pele did for his country in a much less talented team, he won everything in his own countries league like Pele but most tellingly, unlike Pele who played out his career at Santos, he traveled to Europe and conquered the Spanish and Italian leagues. This shows an immense versatility and adaptability to his game that Pele never showcased, instead playing almost within himself at a place he felt comfortable at. I mean, Maradona went to Napoli and turned them into champions! This isn't meant to be knocking of Pele and he is, of course, one of the greatest players to have ever played the game but in terms of pure talent, his success in his career and the adulation he recieved from not only his peers but from the fans and press, there is no one better then Maradona.
EDIT: and yes, it does matter who's the best. Just ask Maradona.

The way I see it Maradona, Pele, Cruijff, Garrincha, Zidane and maye even Ronaldo in his prime were all insanely good and much like with American Football it's hard to pinpoint who was the GOAT. It depends on preference more than anything.
Even with that short list, I'm snubbing a few: Platini, Beckenbauer, Schmeichel (yeah, a goalie, but he practically won the Euro '92 with Denmark all by himself)... the list of fantastic players goes on and on. Saying one is definately better than the other is tough, but I suppose you could make a case for Maradona as much as I or anyone else could make a case for any of the other guys I just mentioned. It's how it goes I suppose.

True, the scale of football and how widespread the game is, having international tournaments since the 1920's means that there are going to be huge amounts of players over different eras who could claim to be the greatest player of all time, even your list ommitts some great names such as Puskas and Eusebio, which show just how many players there are that could be worthy of the tittle. However, the fact that Maradona claimed over half of the votes in a poll to decide the best footballer of the century that was voted for by players and fans, had his goal voted the best in the history of the world cup and has caused his country to be the first ever in the history of football to ask FIFA, the sports governing body, to retire his shirt, show, in my opinion, quite unequivocally, that Maradona was the greatest player to have ever played the game.

[Addict]

Someone said that Maradonna is more well known, and I said that if you asked people in America about a footballer, they would probably answer Beckham. Unless they were older, then they would probably answer Beckham.

The only people in America who know who Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka are actually watch football. It's sad...I tried to talk to my cousin about the sport, and he said he didn't understand it and had no interest in watching it. Just doesn't catch on here for the most part.

EDIT: Never said who my number one footballer was. Think I'll go different and pick Zidane.

love that man. I nearly cried to see him go off with a red card in his final game. God that was a sad moment and it never should have happened. Yes it was a stupid foul, yes with any other player it should have been a red card... but this was Zinedine Zidane for crying out loud. The man is a living legend, playing his final game. He pulls something like that, you give Materazzi red for being a douchebag.

[JRTPlaya21]

Richard Petty & Sugar Ray Robinson were pretty big stars in their respective sports. Willie Mays & Jack Nicklaus also come to mind. Jackie Robinson is kind of a big deal.

[Jango]

Maradona is a better footballer player then Pele, btw. It's not even as close as people are making it out to be. Pele may be more well known to you Americans but on pure talent, Maradona was better and as a result, the best player to have played the game.
That's how you see it. I'm European by the way, so don't act like I don't know my stuff. Pure talent important, but in the end it's what you do with it. Pele had the talent and the production, while Maradona may have been the most talented player ever, but his personal demons really took their toll on him. And be honest, does it really matter who is the greatest of all time?
My post wasn't meant to be condescending and I apologise if it came out that way. Bottom line is, Maradona was more talented then Pele which in my opinion, makes him better then Pele. If you want to make the arguement that it comes down to production and use of talent, which btw, is a concept that I hate, the word 'production' in a sporting sense really annoys me, then Maradona is once again, better then Pele. He did everything Pele did for his country in a much less talented team, he won everything in his own countries league like Pele but most tellingly, unlike Pele who played out his career at Santos, he traveled to Europe and conquered the Spanish and Italian leagues. This shows an immense versatility and adaptability to his game that Pele never showcased, instead playing almost within himself at a place he felt comfortable at. I mean, Maradona went to Napoli and turned them into champions! This isn't meant to be knocking of Pele and he is, of course, one of the greatest players to have ever played the game but in terms of pure talent, his success in his career and the adulation he recieved from not only his peers but from the fans and press, there is no one better then Maradona.
EDIT: and yes, it does matter who's the best. Just ask Maradona.


The way I see it Maradona, Pele, Cruijff, Garrincha, Zidane and maye even Ronaldo in his prime were all insanely good and much like with American Football it's hard to pinpoint who was the GOAT. It depends on preference more than anything.
Even with that short list, I'm snubbing a few: Platini, Beckenbauer, Schmeichel (yeah, a goalie, but he practically won the Euro '92 with Denmark all by himself)... the list of fantastic players goes on and on. Saying one is definately better than the other is tough, but I suppose you could make a case for Maradona as much as I or anyone else could make a case for any of the other guys I just mentioned. It's how it goes I suppose.
True, the scale of football and how widespread the game is, having international tournaments since the 1920's means that there are going to be huge amounts of players over different eras who could claim to be the greatest player of all time, even your list ommitts some great names such as Puskas and Eusebio, which show just how many players there are that could be worthy of the tittle. However, the fact that Maradona claimed over half of the votes in a poll to decide the best footballer of the century that was voted for by players and fans, had his goal voted the best in the history of the world cup and has caused his country to be the first ever in the history of football to ask FIFA, the sports governing body, to retire his shirt, show, in my opinion, quite unequivocally, that Maradona was the greatest player to have ever played the game.

Just putting this on the other page incase it got lost on the bottom of the third one. Also, Zidane is without doubt, the greatest footballer I've ever seen and easily the best of his generation, it was such an honour to get to see the great man play live.

[wicket]

My post wasn't meant to be condescending and I apologise if it came out that way. Bottom line is, Maradona was more talented then Pele which in my opinion, makes him better then Pele. If you want to make the arguement that it comes down to production and use of talent, which btw, is a concept that I hate, the word 'production' in a sporting sense really annoys me, then Maradona is once again, better then Pele. He did everything Pele did for his country in a much less talented team, he won everything in his own countries league like Pele but most tellingly, unlike Pele who played out his career at Santos, he traveled to Europe and conquered the Spanish and Italian leagues. This shows an immense versatility and adaptability to his game that Pele never showcased, instead playing almost within himself at a place he felt comfortable at. I mean, Maradona went to Napoli and turned them into champions! This isn't meant to be knocking of Pele and he is, of course, one of the greatest players to have ever played the game but in terms of pure talent, his success in his career and the adulation he recieved from not only his peers but from the fans and press, there is no one better then Maradona.
EDIT: and yes, it does matter who's the best. Just ask Maradona.


True, the scale of football and how widespread the game is, having international tournaments since the 1920's means that there are going to be huge amounts of players over different eras who could claim to be the greatest player of all time, even your list ommitts some great names such as Puskas and Eusebio, which show just how many players there are that could be worthy of the tittle. However, the fact that Maradona claimed over half of the votes in a poll to decide the best footballer of the century that was voted for by players and fans, had his goal voted the best in the history of the world cup and has caused his country to be the first ever in the history of football to ask FIFA, the sports governing body, to retire his shirt, show, in my opinion, quite unequivocally, that Maradona was the greatest player to have ever played the game.

Just putting this on the other page incase it got lost on the bottom of the third one. Also, Zidane is without doubt, the greatest footballer I've ever seen and easily the best of his generation, it was such an honour to get to see the great man play live.

This whole discussion why bradman was my number 1.
There is no bigger sport with a more undisputed number 1. Now for me personally Id take Pele over Maradona every day (and quite some other footballers cause I just think Maradona is a lot of talent and not as good as he could be) but thats not how everybody feels.
There is no sport I can think of with a more undisputed number 1 to be honoust and with cricket being the #2 sport in the world (in number of players, the world cup cricket had better ratings than anything but the olympics even) he was an easy choice.

[eaglesalltheway]

Since I think that the majority here isnt familiar with my choices 1 and 4 I'll give a bit of an extra illustration for them:
Don Bradman. averaged 99.94 with the bat. No other average over 65 has been recorded for players playing a similar amount of games, and this is in the second largest sport worldwide with the longest history of international contests.


Just a quote to illustrate how special he was

Eddy Merckx: won the tour the france (that thing that armstrong won a bunch of times) 5 times but also won every other major competion a few times (armstrong never won any one day courses, nor did he win the giro or the vuelta which basicly are about as important as the tour the france). the diversity of his wins has not only never been equaled, it has never even been flirted with.

I'm probably one of the few Americans familiar with Eddy Merckx (though, admittedly, I wouldn't be able to spell his name until this thread, lol). A few of my friends are cyclists and they got me into it, and Eddy Merckx is easily one of the sport's icons. Armstrong is a recent figure, and his story is what has made him more of a name on some people's eyes, particularly in America, but Eddy is much more accomplished, for the reasons you said.

[locseti]

http://cacophonycafe.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/hendphu016001rickey-henderson-939-stolen-bases-1991-posters.jpg

Oh wait, that's just my favorite sport star of all time.

[YAYareaRB]

I think Golf.. I see Tiger Woods
I think Football.. I see Joe Montana
I think Basketball.. I see Michael Jordan
I think Baseball.. I see Cal Ripken Jr.
I think Hockey.. I see Gretsky
I think Rugby.. I see Jonah Lomu

[Addict]

My post wasn't meant to be condescending and I apologise if it came out that way. Bottom line is, Maradona was more talented then Pele which in my opinion, makes him better then Pele. If you want to make the arguement that it comes down to production and use of talent, which btw, is a concept that I hate, the word 'production' in a sporting sense really annoys me, then Maradona is once again, better then Pele. He did everything Pele did for his country in a much less talented team, he won everything in his own countries league like Pele but most tellingly, unlike Pele who played out his career at Santos, he traveled to Europe and conquered the Spanish and Italian leagues. This shows an immense versatility and adaptability to his game that Pele never showcased, instead playing almost within himself at a place he felt comfortable at. I mean, Maradona went to Napoli and turned them into champions! This isn't meant to be knocking of Pele and he is, of course, one of the greatest players to have ever played the game but in terms of pure talent, his success in his career and the adulation he recieved from not only his peers but from the fans and press, there is no one better then Maradona.
EDIT: and yes, it does matter who's the best. Just ask Maradona.

True, the scale of football and how widespread the game is, having international tournaments since the 1920's means that there are going to be huge amounts of players over different eras who could claim to be the greatest player of all time, even your list ommitts some great names such as Puskas and Eusebio, which show just how many players there are that could be worthy of the tittle. However, the fact that Maradona claimed over half of the votes in a poll to decide the best footballer of the century that was voted for by players and fans, had his goal voted the best in the history of the world cup and has caused his country to be the first ever in the history of football to ask FIFA, the sports governing body, to retire his shirt, show, in my opinion, quite unequivocally, that Maradona was the greatest player to have ever played the game.

Just putting this on the other page incase it got lost on the bottom of the third one. Also, Zidane is without doubt, the greatest footballer I've ever seen and easily the best of his generation, it was such an honour to get to see the great man play live.

I didn't want to go too oldschool with those two, one could even look to Di Stefano and Platini if more names must be added, Van Basten comes to mind, as do Bobby Moore and sir Bobby Charlton.

But it's a debatable subject that has already been battered to death in the public arena. In the end 'the best' is a very very subjective thing. Maradona may have been the most talented, Pele the most productive. The GOAT in the end might be in the eye of the beholder. But Maradona was a beast.

As for the talent v. production thing. I think it works kinda like intelligence. It's not what you CAN do, but what you DO with it.

That said, Bradman prolly is the greatest sports player of all time since there's no argument against him nor does he have competition for the title. Unlike in any other sport where there's always other guys who deserve mention next to a potential GOAT.

[Gay Ork Wang]

Gerd Müller ftw!

[wogitalia]

You think David Beckham is the biggest soccer star of all time. ARE YOU ******* SERIOUS?! Really? Spice Girl wife who gets some fame because of him? Really? That's your reasoning "we know who his wife is, so he MUST be famous". For crying out loud Beckham's fame isn't even related to his soccer playing anymore, and hasn't been for years. He's a good-looking dude. Beckham in his absolute prime couldn't sniff the all-time greats. Hell he wasn't even the best player in the world in his prime, that honor belongs to Zidane.

Really, did you even read what I wrote? The question wasn't the "greatest athletes of all time" it was the biggest stars. For me to be a star you must transcend your sport. Beckham was a very good player, there is no doubt, he was also never the best as you say, he is however by far the biggest star, the guy got 50m to play soccer in the USA, that says it all.

again, no. Pele was the greatest. After him, and I do mean AFTER, there's Cruijff and Maradona. Maradona's fame, again, may be greater than Pele's, but that's more due to his fall from grace.

So your literally taking this topic to mean greatest. If that's what the original poster wanted then he should have asked. Maradona is a bigger star, probably due to infamy like you say, but none the less is the bigger star, also it is very arguable that Maradona was better, but that is another topic.

Kournikova? Really? She wasn't even known to be great tennis player, she wasn't even really really good. She didn't win jacksquat during her career. Her fame comes from having a pretty face and a good body. She's poster material, that's it. She didn't even win a major tournament for crying out loud.

Again, seriously, what is the point of this topic if it isnt about stardom, why name it what it was named? Realistically Kournikova could be a lot higher on the list, hell she just about defines star, she wasn't any good as a singles player and yet she was still better known than anyone playing at the time.

Seriously, you seem to have just looked at the names without even reading what the topic was about.

even if its about the most famous guys, u cant name Beckham. he is maybe the most famous guy in the US. But guys like Ronaldo (the Brazilian), Ronaldinho, Kaka and those guys are more famous than Beckham. Seriously the Ronaldo love in 2000-2002 was ridiculous

Not a chance. Beckham is just far bigger than any of those guys in the rest of the world. He is the biggest soccer star in India, China, Japan, England, Asia in general and the USA. If you are the biggest star in over 50% of the world, you win. Just the way it is.

Even in the realm of it's own stupidity that post was silly. David Beckham is a celebrity who just so happens to play football, not a football celebrity. Do you really think that people can name more than 1 team he played for? No. They all say "REAL MADRID OMGZZZ" and that's the end of it. There's a reason Beckham went to the MLS you know, because it's where dying football stars go to collect their final big paycheck (no offense to the MLS, but it's true).
Kournikova? She's a model, not a tennis player. She half-assed around a few centercourts way back when, but since then her main claim to fame has been the fact she looks hot in a bikini.
The thing Kournikova and Beckham have in common is that their fame is the result of good looks and a mediahype, not merits. With Beckham being the only one of the two to actually win something in his sport every now and again.


You are just flat out wrong on this one mate. Beckham only played for like 4 teams in his career, anyone who can't name Man Utd, Real and LA is just ignorant, not to mention England. You are seriously underrating him as a player also, he wasn't one of the greatest ever, but he was one of the better players in his generation, he also transcended the sport.

As for Kournikova, you are also ignorant, she is one of the most successful doubles player of her era, sure she sucked in singles and didn't win squat, but she was a very good doubles player and she was a superstar in the sport, she basically was womens tennis, hell players like Sharapova are just "the next Kournikova". Really says it all on her behalf.

He was a phenomenal player with Man Utd, but he didn't transform from player to celeb until he came to spain and eventually the US.

Thats just ********. Beckham was the biggest player in the rest of the world long before he went to Madrid, there was a reason Madrid paid so much for him even though he was already declining at that point and it had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with soccer. Beckham was worth what Madrid and LA paid him without even touching a ball, the fact he could play just helped the cause.

Now obviously if you are purely wanting the "greatest players" the list is very different, half those guys don't even sniff it, but it was biggest star, i defined what that meant and made a list. I'd love to see you make a list of guys you think are bigger stars than Jordan, Beckham or even Kournikova, that would be interesting. Of course I can only speak from places I have been and associated with, but that represents over half the world so it probably is a fairly well formed opinion on the topic.

[Gay Ork Wang]

Really, did you even read what I wrote? The question wasn't the "greatest athletes of all time" it was the biggest stars. For me to be a star you must transcend your sport. Beckham was a very good player, there is no doubt, he was also never the best as you say, he is however by far the biggest star, the guy got 50m to play soccer in the USA, that says it all.


that made me lol. So big money in the US = biggest Football player of all time?

you do know that the world is bigger than the US do you?

he is no where close being the most known player in China, India or Japan. if at all it would be someone like Henry who has like all those gilette commercials in the subs. And im talking about personal experience with china.

Ronaldo was by far the guy that was known by everyone who has even the slightest idea of soccer. In china, in germany and all the other countries, Ronaldo was kinda the GOAT, especially when he surpassed Gerd Müller with the most goals in the WC

[Jango]

Beckham is massive all around the world and his off the field success is the reason why Madrid bought him. Sure, he was a quality player and he is one of my favuorites but that Real Madrid team was the peak of the 'Galitcos' (despite not winning something till Beckham's last season, which is kind of funny). they had Raul, Zidane, Heirro, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Figo and Roberto Carlos. Beckham didn't and shouldn't have been expected to make that team better. He was a great player, of course, but he wasn't an upgrade on any of those players, just another luxury signing. What he provided off the field was unbelievable though. The man himself is a brand and is loved in Asia, I mean adored. Japan? China? India? Head over heals in love with him. They buy whatever **** this guy puts his face to, he is massive. No player comes near to him in that regard, your suggestion that Henry is more well known then him becuase of the Gillette adds is really naive, considering Henry has never toured the Far East, (Madrid, as soon as they bought Beckham, announced a tour there that was sold out within minutes) and Beckham has advertised Gillette as well.

In the first six months that Beckham was at Real, from the summer of 2003 to Christmas, he sold more shirts than the rest of the team put together, and twice the number of shirts that Real had sold in the equivalent period a year earlier.

Perez asked him how much Beckham was worth to him. "Five hundred million euro," Sanchez shot back.

End of the day, Beckham made Madrid more millions of pounds, not dollars, but pounds, then games he played for them, and he played 116.

[Addict]

let's be honest here, what do china, japan and india have in common? They all know jacksquat about soccer. So the fact he's more popular there has more to do with marketing than anything.

[Gay Ork Wang]

let's be honest here, what do china, japan and india have in common? They all know jacksquat about soccer. So the fact he's more popular there has more to do with marketing than anything.
seriously, i hardly meet people in china that ever talk about beckham

[Addict]

seriously, i hardly meet people in china that ever talk about beckham

funny coincidence. I never meet people in china to begin with XD

But those countries are notoriously volatile when it comes to celebs and stuff like that. Besides Inda and China should, by numbers have a talent pool that's scary to imagine, but their respective national teams suck.

[Gay Ork Wang]

funny coincidence. I never meet people in china to begin with XD

But those countries are notoriously volatile when it comes to celebs and stuff like that. Besides Inda and China should, by numbers have a talent pool that's scary to imagine, but their respective national teams suck.
thats because they are all playing table tennis and badminton. i think the chinese won all of the table tennis gold medals and titles there is to win this year

[TimDris]

IDK, cause I think Wilt Chamberlain should be right up there for that title. He was just in a league of his own when he was playing. Only player with 4,000 pts in a season, most points in a game, most rebounds in a game, most consecutive shots made in a game. He freaking averaged 50.4 pts in a season. For his career, he averaged 30.1 ppg and 22.9 rpg. He caused rules to be changed.

In regards to your statement, I just don't think it is so clear cut.

I may be biased but it's because I've had lengthy discussions with 2 former NHL pros (who were very accomplished in their own right) about Wayne. They were having trouble explaining how dominant he was. From what I got out of it, the man could do whatever he pleased out on the ice because of pure talent and vision. And did you see the size of him. Incredibly small yet no one even dared to hit him due to the fact he could make them look like idiots (and Marty McSorley) :)

[Jango]

let's be honest here, what do china, japan and india have in common? They all know jacksquat about soccer. So the fact he's more popular there has more to do with marketing than anything.

Wow, what an incredibly ignorant and somewhat moronic comment to make. Did Japan have no idea what football is when they hosted the world cup? When they one of the best footballing leagues outside Europe? What does China know about football, considering they too have a league system and compete regularly in international competitions? What does India know about football, I mean, only 130,000 people turned up to watch Calcutta play Bayern Munich and 5 of the players ended up being scouted by them? When over a million people swabbed Maradona as he toured India? What do these nations know about football?

Football may not be the number one sport in those countries, Table Tennis and Badminton especially in the Far East dominate while Cricket and Hockey may be India's first main sports but football is the only sport that is truly worldwide. You can go anywhere in the world with just a football and get on with anyone, anywhere. Hell, there's a film of 4 guys who travel to Argentina from England to meet their hero, Maradona, with nothing more then a football In American football, the Superbowl Champs are declared World Champs, despite them only beating teams in their country, for a nation to be World Champs, they have to beat countries from all over the world. China, India and Japan don't as you so eloquently put, know 'jacksquat' football. They know about football and enjoy it with a passion

[Jango]

seriously, i hardly meet people in china that ever talk about beckham

China may be a bit of an anomaly compared to the rest of Asia, maybe due to the stance of their government and lack of exposure, government forced 'distancing' from the west, or whatever, let's not get into that now. And I'm not going to argue with you, you appear to have traveled to China and I have not, so I'll take your word for it. But the rest of Asia is in love with him, places like South Korea go apeshit over him. I think it was there they made a statue for him.

[Gay Ork Wang]

China may be a bit of an anomaly compared to the rest of Asia, maybe due to the stance of their government and lack of exposure, government forced 'distancing' from the west, or whatever, let's not get into that now. And I'm not going to argue with you, you appear to have traveled to China and I have not, so I'll take your word for it. But the rest of Asia is in love with him, places like South Korea go apeshit over him. I think it was there they made a statue for him.
i didnt just travel there, both my parents are chinese.

[the decider13]

love that man. I nearly cried to see him go off with a red card in his final game. God that was a sad moment and it never should have happened. Yes it was a stupid foul, yes with any other player it should have been a red card... but this was Zinedine Zidane for crying out loud. The man is a living legend, playing his final game. He pulls something like that, you give Materazzi red for being a douchebag.

That was crazy. When he headbutted him I was just thinking "wtf just happened". Horribe way to end an amazing career.

I picked him because he was a player they always amazed me. It was like he had the ball on a string.

[Gay Ork Wang]

was the Marseille Roulette made famous by Zidane? I know he used it alot but did he make it famous?

[Jango]

Some people call it the '360' and the 'Maradona' but I think that it can be attributable to Zidane as well and the fact that people call it the 'Marseilles Roulette' gives that more credence, considering Zidane was born in Marseilles.

[the decider13]

was the Marseille Roulette made famous by Zidane? I know he used it alot but did he make it famous?

Either him or Maradona...I think of Zidane when I see it though.

[iowatreat54]

I've only ever heard it called or called it the Maradona. IMO, Maradona is more famous for it than Zidane.

[bored of education]

http://www.sportcartoons.co.uk/wallpaper/jonahlomu.jpg
http://metropolis.co.jp/xmg/681/681-S-Lomu.jpg
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/dr_z/03/02/mailbag/p1_lomu.jpg

what a beast he was. greatest rugby player I ever scene.
6'5 240-250, probably ran a 4.50 40. Dude was a beast

uslnjij6NY
best is at 1:30 you see his speed and about 2:00 omg amaazinggg