Best All-Around Athlete of All Time

Great point.. those caliber of athletes would be much more competitive and would make for better entertainment.

Where are guys like Bolt and Phelps on this list?

dabears85 wrote:

Where are guys like Bolt and Phelps on this list?

This list includes "All-Around" athletes, meaning those who have accomplished in multiple sports. In my opinion, these type of athletes would make for a better show than Shaq. For this reason, I do not include the likes of Nurmi, Zatopek, Guerrouj, Bekele, Bolt, Phelps, Gretzky, Woods, etc.

CHRIS JOHNSON!!!

Johnson VS Bolt

WINNER: Johnson (Bolt pulls up lame)

TennesseeTitan$ wrote:

CHRIS JOHNSON!!!

Johnson VS Bolt

WINNER: Johnson (Bolt pulls up lame)

Give me a break... most of the people on this list had better speed or were better backs than Johnson.

Shaq stole the 'Shaq vs' idea from Steve Nash when they were playing together in Phoenix. Nash, a much better all-around athlete, was developing 'Nash vs.' and shared the idea with his Phoenix teammates. Nash was pissed and would have sued, but an executive producer credit and payoff was negotiated for Nash.

Jackie Robinson is regarded as the greatest all around athlete.

Babe Didrickson

Nobody else even comes close...

If Nash was paid and made an executive producer, he sold his idea. It wasn't stolen.

Pre

You've got to include Dave Winfield since he was good enough to be drafted by pro football, basketball, and baseball.

Most gold-medal decathletes should rank high on the list whether or not they played any other sport.

MrChocolateShakes wrote:

I give you my Top All-Around Athletes of All Time:

1. Deion Sanders

2. Jim Thorpe

3. Bo Jackson

4. Bob Hayes

5. Jim Brown

6. Carl Lewis

7. Willie Gault

8. Kirk Gibson

9. Michael Jordan

10. John Elway

Honorable Mentions:

Charlie Ward; Wilt Chamberlain; Jackie Robinson; Gene Conley

I think you forgot to add the adjectives American and Male to your subject line.

;P

Another Option wrote:

If Nash was paid and made an executive producer, he sold his idea. It wasn't stolen.

you don't have any reading comprehension do you?

Thanks for mentioning Dave Winfield. I meant to place him, along with Lou Gehrig, in the HONORABLE MENTION category. Regarding Babe Didrikson, she is certainly one of the best all-around female athletes of all time, but I doubt she would be able to hang with the men - I know she competed against the men in the PGA. She was quite the versatile athlete, really opening the door for women in the world of sports. Additionally, "THISJUSTIN," you're right about decathletes. They are the world's best athletes. I would just have a difficult time displacing the athletes on my list in favor of every Olympic Decathlete Gold Medalist. To "Jack ee:" Across the country, Robinson is not renowned as the greatest all-around athlete of all time. He was one of the best in his day, but he never accomplished as much as the athletes on my list (across multiple sports). "Tick tock," why don't you enlighten me as to why I should place the adjectives male and American in the subject line? I think I explained why women were excluded from the list.. but let's hear about the Flying Finns, Pele, Ronaldo, or even the likes of Ulysses and Pheidippides.

1) I don't think Carl Lewis should even be in the top 100, let alone the top 10. Granted he was superb at what he did but does anyone have the impression he would have been great at other sports (football, basketball, soccer...) if he had focused on them instead? I do not. And to me this is what it means to be a great all-around athlete.

2) Kirk Gibson??? You must know something that I don't know.

There is a difference wrote:

1) I don't think Carl Lewis should even be in the top 100, let alone the top 10. Granted he was superb at what he did but does anyone have the impression he would have been great at other sports (football, basketball, soccer...) if he had focused on them instead? I do not. And to me this is what it means to be a great all-around athlete.

2) Kirk Gibson??? You must know something that I don't know.

You have a good point with Carl Lewis, but it's hard to ignore his versatility on the track. He was simply the best at the 100m, 200m, and long jump. To that end, he is considered one of the best Olympians of all time, winning Sports Illustrated's "Olympian of the Century" Award, along with his 23 medals throughout the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Pan-Am Games. Lewis won 9 gold medals and one silver throughout his Olympic career, setting world records in each of his 3 events (100m, 200m, indoor long jump). Kirk Gibson was a stud. Not only was Gibson NL MVP, ALCS MVP, 2x WS Champion, and a Silver Slugger Award Winner, but he was an integral part of the Michigan State football team in the 1970s. Gibson was a standout wide receiver at MSU, leading the team to a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance. He set Big 10 and MSU receiving records and appeared in both the Hula Bowl and Senior bowl, while making multiple All-America teams. Gibson was the quintessential all-around athlete. Not to mention, two of Gibson's homers are considered in the top of sports' moments.