Greatest Of All Time

[J-Mike88]

ESPN has their schit running now, it's down to Jim Brown against Bo Jackson, but theirs is in terms of ATHLETE, as in "athletic".

I loved Bo, as you know by me posting hit 30for30 think, but in terms of ACHIEVEMENTS, Bo was not in that discussion of GOAT.
I do agree God could not have created a greater physical specimen for a RB than Bo Jackson was though.

But for accomplishments, GOAT, I narrow it down to this:

Michael Jordan
Bill Russell
Wayne Gretzky
Karch Kiraly
Jack Nicklaus
Roger Federer

I rule out Federer because he's been owned by Rafael Nadal, despite winning the most Slams ever.
Russell has a lot more titles than Jordan does... but he wasn't a one-man machine like MJ was.
Kiraly was the best ever in volleyball and he did it indoors for team USA winning 2 gold medals I think (1984 & 1988) and dominated the 2-man beach scene for a long time, even playing great well into his 40's, against the young stud 20's.
But alas, it's volleyball and nowhere near as popular as the big sports. Although... it was very popular during Karch's time and he was huge worldwide in that sport.

Soccer/Football, is huge worldwide, but who was the GOAT in that sport?
Pele? Maradonna? Is it Messi? I watch Messi against Christiano Ronaldo, and sometimes Ronaldo is clearly better out there. I can't put in a guy from that sport as a clearcut #1 guy.

Boxing nope.
I work in the golf business, but Jack Nicklaus can't be above these guys from real sports, not games.

My vote, without a doubt, goes to Wayne Gretzky, and I am not a big hockey fan at all.
He owns 61 NHL records including all the big ones regular seasons and playoffs.

He won 9 MVPs, even in perhaps the greatest era of NHL hockey ever.

Gretzky fans, check this classic vintage clip of the Great One when he was 16

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nqX2LkpaJI




Most points in a season: 215

In 1985-86, The Great One broke his own record of 212 points, set in '81-82, by scoring or assisting on 215 of Edmonton's 426 goals.
It was the fourth and final 200-point season of his career; he's the only player to get 200 in any season, and he did it 4 times.

Of the 13 seasons in which a player had 160 or more points in a season, 9 belong to Gretzky and the other 4 to Mario Lemieux, including a 199-point effort in 1988-89.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=384583


MOST GOALS: 894 (1,485 games)
Second: 801 -- Gordie Howe, 26 seasons, 1,767 games


MOST GOALS, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS: 1,016 -- 894 regular season and 122 playoff
Second: 869 – Gordie Howe, 801 regular season and 68 playoff


MOST GOALS, ONE SEASON: 92 – 1981-82, 80-game schedule
Second: 87 – Wayne Gretzky, 1983-84, 80-game schedule


MOST GOALS, ONE SEASON, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS: 100 – 1983-84, 87 goals in 74 regular season games and 13 goals in 19 playoff games.


MOST PLAYOFF GOALS, CAREER: 122
Second: 109 – Mark Messier


MOST ASSISTS IN PLAYOFFS, CAREER: 260
Second: 186 – Mark Messier

[Job Reborn]

I'll start the Mario Lemieux was better debate.

[SuperMcGee]

Originally Posted by Job Reborn

I'll start the Mario Lemieux was better debate.

That debate is full of sentence fragments.

Gretzky was certainly not an unmatched talent, but he does still have over 1000 points on the guy with the best argument.

[the_legend_killer]

Chester McGlockton.

[Caddy]

Donald Bradman - Cricket player.

He averaged 99.94 runs per innings during his career. 2nd place on the list is 60.97. It's hard to compare him against a lot of athletes, but probably the nearest equivalent is baseball. It's bascially like him batting at +.500 when the next closes is .366

Bradman still holds the following significant records for Test match cricket:

Highest career batting average (minimum 20 innings): 99.94
Highest series batting average (4 or more Test series): 201.50 (1931–32) and second highest 178.75 (1947–48)
Highest ratio of centuries per innings played: 36.25% (29 centuries from 80 innings
Highest ratio of double centuries per innings played: 15.0% (next highest is 5%)
Highest 5th wicket partnership: 405 (with Sid Barnes, 1946–47)
Second highest 6th wicket partnership: 346 (with Jack Fingleton, 1936–37)
Second highest score by a number 5 batsman: 304 (1934)
Highest score by a number 7 batsman: 270 (1936–37)
Most runs against one opponent: 5,028 (v England)
Most runs in one series: 974 (1930)
Most centuries scored in a single session of play 6 (1 pre lunch, 2 lunch-tea, 3 tea-stumps)
Most runs in one day's play: 309 (1930)
Most double centuries: 12
Most double centuries in a series: 3 (1930)
Most triple centuries: 2 (equal with Chris Gayle, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag)
Most consecutive matches in which he made a century: 6 (the last three Tests in 1936–37, and the first three Tests in 1938)
Bradman has averaged over 100 in seven different calendar years (*qualification 400 runs). No other player has achieved this in more than two calendar years.
Fastest player to reach 2000 (in 22 innings),[230] 3000 (33 innings),[231] 4000 (48 innings),[232] 5000 (56 innings)[233] and 6000 (68 innings)[234] Test runs.

[vidae]

Is there a way you can turn this toward the Packers? If anyone can do it you can!

[pierce2walker]

[Bert Macklin]

Pete Sampras

[RufusMcDaniel]

When I go to Brantford, I always get off on the Wayne Gretzky Parkway.

And in honour of his wife, every time I'm in Brantford I'm at the casino.

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by pierce2walker

/thread

[TheFinisher]

[J-Mike88]

Originally Posted by Bert Macklin

Pete Sampras

He never once won a major on clay, I don't think he even made it to a finals of the French Open.
On grass, he has a case along with Federer and Borg.



When did Bradman play?

Originally Posted by Caddy

Donald Bradman - Cricket player.

He averaged 99.94 runs per innings during his career. 2nd place on the list is 60.97. It's hard to compare him against a lot of athletes, but probably the nearest equivalent is baseball. It's bascially like him batting at +.500 when the next closes is .366

Bradman still holds the following significant records for Test match cricket:

Highest career batting average (minimum 20 innings): 99.94
Highest series batting average (4 or more Test series): 201.50 (1931–32) and second highest 178.75 (1947–48)
Highest ratio of centuries per innings played: 36.25% (29 centuries from 80 innings
Highest ratio of double centuries per innings played: 15.0% (next highest is 5%)
Highest 5th wicket partnership: 405 (with Sid Barnes, 1946–47)
Second highest 6th wicket partnership: 346 (with Jack Fingleton, 1936–37)
Second highest score by a number 5 batsman: 304 (1934)
Highest score by a number 7 batsman: 270 (1936–37)
Most runs against one opponent: 5,028 (v England)
Most runs in one series: 974 (1930)
Most centuries scored in a single session of play 6 (1 pre lunch, 2 lunch-tea, 3 tea-stumps)
Most runs in one day's play: 309 (1930)
Most double centuries: 12
Most double centuries in a series: 3 (1930)
Most triple centuries: 2 (equal with Chris Gayle, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag)
Most consecutive matches in which he made a century: 6 (the last three Tests in 1936–37, and the first three Tests in 1938)
Bradman has averaged over 100 in seven different calendar years (*qualification 400 runs). No other player has achieved this in more than two calendar years.
Fastest player to reach 2000 (in 22 innings),[230] 3000 (33 innings),[231] 4000 (48 innings),[232] 5000 (56 innings)[233] and 6000 (68 innings)[234] Test runs.

[Rob S]

Originally Posted by TheFinisher

[Brent]

[josh07039]

Anderson Silva.

[hockey619]

how about George Hainsworth, goalie for Montreal back in the 1920s or so?

He had 22 shutouts...in a 44 game season.
Its a record that still stands for a season despite pad size increases, helmets, the zone trap, and of course the 82 game season schedule. .92 Goals against average that year, another record (anything below 2 is great. below 1 is unheard of) 270 mins and 8 secs of consecutive shutout play in the playoffs, another record. these are records that few if anyone has come close to beating in the last 90 years

90 YEARS. thats nuts. seriously, dudes a boss.

[DoughBoy]

Bill Russell was amazing, What Jordan did offense, Bill did on defense.... I think he is the greatest defensive presence all-time in any sport. Also, Jim Thorpe was dominate in everything he did. I wrote papers on the man every chance I got in school, he would have been a world famous athlete in any era IMO.

[nepg]

Originally Posted by cmarq83

/thread

See...in Chicago (like with New Jersey), they get it. He's a garbage time circus. In Boston, people actually thought he could play (Doc Rivers included).

[badgerbacker]

Originally Posted by nepg

See...in Chicago (like with New Jersey), they get it. He's a garbage time circus. In Boston, people actually thought he could play (Doc Rivers included).

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/01/2...at_pco=cfd-1.0

That cat can ball.