OT - Greatest Athletes of All Time

But I've always understood the greatest athlete to be the winner of the decathlon.  (And rightfully so, in my mind.)

No other title encapsulates such a wide range of athletic prowess. 

So, the greatest athlete of all time, to me, would be the world record holder of the decathlon.  Currently, that is Ashton Eaton.  Who knows, maybe a new GOAT will be crowed in a couple weeks?  Perhaps a name none of us have ever heard of.

Jackie Robinson would also be somewhere near the top of my list

If it's not Jim Thorpe it's nobody.

I did not care for "The Godfather"

Sergey Bubka

No mention of Jim Brown,Jesse Owens or Willie Mays

Curt Hennig, obviously.

kirby puckett

Guys that big shouldn't be able to move that fast. And we may never know how great he could have been because he battled kidney disease most of his career, which eventually led to a transplant and premature death.

Batman.

So what if he doesn't actually play a sport? He knows almost every form of martial arts there is, prowls around on rooftops, and beats the living hell out of every criminal he comes across. 

But if I need to be serious about this, then you can't really claim any athlete to be the best, regardless of sport. Have to break it down by sport since each sport requires different things and has different levels of physical exertion. A golfer, for example, does not belong in the same category as a boxer. But I'll try giving it a go for the sports I know enough about:

Football - Jim Thorpe, Adrian Petersen (maybe recency bias, but this guy is undeniably the best since Barry), Barry Sanders

Baseball - Willy Mays, Jackie Robinson, and Cy Young. For that guy to have pitched in as many games as he did, won as many as he did, when teams in his day likely had nowhere close to the depth and rotation at the position, is nothing short of incredible. Considering getting to 300 wins these days for a pitcher likely makes themHOF material, I don't think we'll ever see anyone come remotely close to his 511 wins. And then finally, Nolan Ryan. I'll always remember him beating the snot out of Robin Ventura and throwing 100 mph fastballs well into his 40's. 

Basketball - Lebron. I am not saying he is the best player. That honor belongs to MJ. But Lebron is the perfect physical specimen, can play any position and dominate from all of them. 

Hockey - uhhh....Gretzky? Not sure, I don't know hockey well enough. 

Uh... Me... Obviously.

lol "maybe Michael Phelps," and if it were a swimming meet, the NBC stooge would be saying "maybe Usain Bolt." I guess to them 3 hours of hype for a 10 second race isn't blown totally out of proportion without even more histrionics For what it's worth, i consider neither of them to be anywhere near the top. Their sports just don't demand the versatility of others

The original olympian who ran 26 miles to deliver a message and died

George Patton's Third Army for marching 100 miles after a major battle to defeat the Germans...not a game I know but a major atheltic accomplishment few can match

People that swim the English Channel

Special olympians who overcome disabilities and physical impairments to compete...except for that asshole from South Africa who murdered his g/f...he doesn't count

People who climbed those Himalaya mountains

Dean Karnazes - look this dood up

 

The folks who compete the Ironman and other Triathlon events. 

theres a few guys that should be honorable mention.

Iverson- Mr football and Basketball in the talent rich state of VA

 

Nate Robinson-Freak athlete that was a starting CB as a sophmore at Washington in Football.  if he was 6ft tall he arguably couldve been the #1 overall pick in the NBA.

Dan Marino/John ELway.  Both couldve been Top MLB prospects had they gone/stayed pro pro.

Right conference, wrong school.

Herschel Walker.

Need to be in the conversation. Tennis is in an absolute golden era right now and when all is said and done these guys may end up being 1,2, and 3. So they belong on the list of greatest athletes ever. Nadal definitely fiercest competitor and I'd have him play for my life any day. Djokovic is something like 130-11 since 2015 and is 49-6 against the top 10 in that time span--just insane. Federer has won 17! Majors in the best era of men's tennis in history. Nadal with 14 and djokovic with 12.