Hated Detroit athletes
In light of the Ndamukong Suh suspension, I got to thinking about Detroit athletes that have been hated by the rest of America. Of course everyone always points to Bill Laimbeer (deservedly so), but it goes much further than that. So with that in mind, I thought I'd compile who I thought were the most hated Detroit athletes. Turns out, Detroit probably has the biggest collection of hated athletes in the history of professional sports.
1. Ty Cobb- Meanest son of a bitch that's ever received money for playing a professional sport, hands down, end of discussion. Would recieve death threats by the hundreds every week, in addition to the standard hate mail.
2. Bill Laimbeer- To this day, will still get booed by NBA crowds. Once named by Sports Illustrated as the most hated man in sports.
3. Dennis Rodman- You'd be hard pressed to find an basketball player more disliked.
4. Bobby Layne- People hated his night life, and how all the morning cab drivers knew his name. Only professional athlete since Babe Ruth that could perform at an all star level completely drunk.
5. Bob Probert- Opposing fans opinions of him ranged from thug, goon, and hack artist. (F*uck them though, I loved him growing up)
6. Isiah Thomas- Most would agree he's one of the 50 best players of all time, but the snubbing of the bulls after they eliminated the pistons, really harmed Zeke's image around the league.
7. Dick "Night Train" Lane- His ferocious play infuriated opposing fans, and like ohio fans of today, fans would constantly hope injury on him.
8. Rasheed Wallace- "Ball don't lie" and neither did the boos that Sheed got while playing in road games.
9. Hank Greenberg- Being the first Jewish sports superstar, came with a lot of drawbacks fort the times Greenberg played in. The racism and anti semitic actions and comments he'd have to endure, rivaled what Jackie Robinson experienced.
10. Ted Lindsay- It was impossible to for opposing fans to hate Goride Howe, given his peaceful demeanor, so they chose to hate Lindsay.
December 8th, 2011 at 8:25 PM ^
Can't forget Vladimir Konstantinov either. I think he was hated even more than Chris Chelios.
December 8th, 2011 at 8:52 PM ^
was that guy back in the 40's
December 10th, 2011 at 1:39 PM ^
I was reading the thread and couldn't believe no one was mentioning Vlady. Agreed 100% with Charlie, Konstantinov was hated and feared among the NHL. As a Wings fan, I naturally loved the way he played. A great career cut way too short.
December 8th, 2011 at 8:41 PM ^
tough players. Tough guys are usually hated.
December 8th, 2011 at 8:56 PM ^
How about one Denny McLain of the Tigers?
December 8th, 2011 at 9:04 PM ^
He was hated by employees that got robbed of their retirement funds at the hot dog factory.
December 8th, 2011 at 9:19 PM ^
December 8th, 2011 at 9:41 PM ^
I guess that's kind of a superstars list, but there's not a hockey fan anywhere that likes Kirk Maltby, other than Wings fans.
December 8th, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^
Fought Bobo Brazil for 30 years and invented moves like camel clutch and fireball. Born in Lansing, Mi and died in Williamston, MI.
December 8th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
Me, when I played hockey in Detroit I was cool to those I played against. Once I moved to NY in '89 I was a MuthaFuc*ing headhunting goon.
/jk kinda
December 8th, 2011 at 10:32 PM ^
I see everything through Maize & Blue lenses. And so, I would add Kirk Gibson to my list of hated Detroit sports team athletes. Anyone who likes Gibson has given a pass to Sparty.
December 8th, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
1) Darko 2) Joey Harrington 3) Charles Rodgers 4) Charlie Batch
Ohh....you meant by other people...
December 9th, 2011 at 8:47 AM ^
You can add Juan Gone to that list.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^
What? How can you not like Darko? Every time he was in the game it means the Pistons were guaranteed to win!
December 10th, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^
Human victory cigar!
December 9th, 2011 at 9:23 AM ^
I'm surprised no one has brought up Papa Grande, his displays of enthusiasm often irk opposing players and fans.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:15 AM ^
Sergei Fedorov
December 9th, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^
I liked Rodman cause he played hard. Sure the dude was a freak off the court, but on it he was a beast. It wasn't that he couldn't score like a lot of people thought, he jusst didn't have to or want to. He played hard nosed defense and was the basketball version of a ball hawk