OT: Mount Rushmore of American pro athletes

[dollarbill44]

Nope. Ask a 20 year old kid who Brown or Nicklaus are...sorry geezers. Tiger Woods has to be on there. His the biggest sports icon in the world for 2 decades in any sport. Literally no one would not know him.

Jordan, Woods, Gretzky and Brady as much as it pains me

20 year old kids don't know even what Mt. Rushmore is, so their opinion doesn't count.

 

[dollarbill44]

Any sports related Mount Rushmore that does not include Tiger Woods is a joke.

Why? He's not even the greatest golfer of all time. That is Jack Nicklaus.

 

[phil77]

Jordan - Woods - Ali - Brady

 

[nzm136]

Gary Gait, Ernie Davis, NZM136, and Carmelo Anthony.

And if you want to exclude Gary Gait for being born in Canada (neither George Dubya the 1st, nor Tommy Jeff were born in the USA), then add Jim Brown.

I don’t know why people are making this question sound complicated.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Except that people seem to overvalue more recent accomplishments. Their perspective is skewed and that’s why TR is on there, I submit.

I gave the Creamer book on Ruth to a retired doctor friend of mine, who was a big STL Cards fan, and I suspect he had his own ideas on greatness. When he gave it back to me he just said, “Unquestionably the greatest ever” and he frequently did it with a hangover. People who don’t agree just don’t know the facts.

I have heard tremendous, overpowering feats described as “Ruthian” meaning “in the manner of Babe Ruth”.

A shame he had to bump Ducky Medwick to number two

 

[Townie72]

20 year old kids don't know even what Mt. Rushmore is, so their opinion doesn't count.

The interesting thing about this thread is that so many posters assume sports history started in their lifetimes.

Nicklaus? Palmer? Sam Snead? Bobby Jones? Who are they?

They name no baseball players, but include people from Women’s tennis. Amazing!

 

[Orangepace]

Why? He's not even the greatest golfer of all time. That is Jack Nicklaus.

Nobody brought more to the game of golf than Tiger Woods did.

Your statement is like asking why Jordan? Bill Russell has more championships.

 

[Townie72]

Interesting topic.

I'd go Jordan, Jackie Robinson, Serena Williams and Brady. As much as that last one hurts.

Jackie Robinson on what basis?

Certainly not his playing career?

And if you put Jackie Robinson up there, why not Bill Russell, the first black guy to play on a championship team?

 

[Townie72]

Nobody brought more to the game of golf than Tiger Woods did.

Your statement is like asking why Jordan? Bill Russell has more championships.

Just curious. How many games did you watch Bill Russell play?

 

[dollarbill44]

Nobody brought more to the game of golf than Tiger Woods did.

Your statement is like asking why Jordan? Bill Russell has more championships.

That's not a great comparison. Basketball is a team sport and there are other categories from which one can assess greatness, such as points, rebounds, assists, triple doubles, etc. Incidentally, it was easier to win an NBA championship in Russell's day. There were only 8 to 9 teams in the whole league for most of his career. (Btw, Rocket Richard has the most hockey championships, but you don't see him even close to being considered the best hockey player of all time).
Golf, being an individual sport, you look at championships, specifically the majors, because those have been around for a long time, whereas other tournaments have come and gone. Jack Nicklaus has the most major championships. Would Tiger have caught him had he not had a catastrophic personal breakdown? Probably, but he couldn't control himself after his father died. Sports are littered with great talents that flamed out short of the pinnacle for many reasons.
Anyway, this is all a subjective discussion with no right or wrong answers. Well, there are some absurd choices that have been thrown up here (some idiot said Evel Knievel!)

 

[Alsacs]

That's not a great comparison. Basketball is a team sport and there are other categories from which one can assess greatness, such as points, rebounds, assists, triple doubles, etc. Incidentally, it was easier to win an NBA championship in Russell's day. There were only 8 to 9 teams in the whole league for most of his career. (Btw, Rocket Richard has the most hockey championships, but you don't see him even close to being considered the best hockey player of all time).
Golf, being an individual sport, you look at championships, specifically the majors, because those have been around for a long time, whereas other tournaments have come and gone. Jack Nicklaus has the most major championships. Would Tiger have caught him had he not had a catastrophic personal breakdown? Probably, but he couldn't control himself after his father died. Sports are littered with great talents that flamed out short of the pinnacle for many reasons.
Anyway, this is all a subjective discussion with no right or wrong answers. Well, there are some absurd choices that have been thrown up here (some idiot said Evel Knievel!)

Tiger increased the money in golf tenfold.
As I said the person who finished 100th in money list last year made over a million dollars. The tour in 80s and 90s after Jack’s prime was ripping in interest.
Jack Nicklaus is the greatest champion ever in golf but Tiger made the tour millions and was more influential to make the sport more mainstream.

 

[dollarbill44]

Tiger increased the money in golf tenfold.
As I said the person who finished 100th in money list last year made over a million dollars. The tour in 80s and 90s after Jack’s prime was ripping in interest.
Jack Nicklaus is the greatest champion ever in golf but Tiger made the tour millions and was more influential to make the sport more mainstream.

How much of that was inflation? The money in all sports also increased exponentially during that period.

 

[kcsu]

Wilt
Jack
Babe
Jim
They each dominated their Sport and as importantly would have dominated regardless of the team they played on. As to Jack i doubt his record number of tournament wins will ever be topped.