Who would be on your Detroit sports Mt Rushmore?

Submitted by UM85 on January 23rd, 2021 at 10:24 AM

You can only pick four, of course.  Mix and match any of the sports, so you can have more than one deserving hero from a single sport (good luck finding four from the Lions, however).  The criteria are whatever you feel elevates that individual to the top of the heap. Mine are as follows, purposely provided without explanation because I think they explain themselves:

 

Gordie Howe

Ty Cobb 

Barry Sanders

Isiah Thomas

 

I will get the popcorn and sit back.

MGoBoard

Elmer

January 23rd, 2021 at 2:10 PM ^

I had tickets that day also, but was stuck at a business meeting near Nashville.  I was trying to rush my boss to get out of there sooner, but he was intent on taking his sweet time.  By the time my later flight landed in Detroit, the game had already started, so I decided to drive home.  

Caught the fight on TV.  If I had only known what was to occur, I would have went straight to the Joe.  

 

 

 

 

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yossarians tree

January 23rd, 2021 at 10:40 AM ^

Howe, Cobb, Sanders are first-ballot.

4th spot up for grabs but I'll go with Joe Louis.

Interesting re Ty Cobb. A great book called "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty" recently came out which largely destroys the ill-deserved reputation of Cobb. The biggest asshole biographer in American history was Al Stump, whose bio of Cobb was a pack of lies made up by a drunken hack sportswriter who took advantage of a troubled old man and wrote most of the book after Cobb was dead and to which Cobb could never sign off. The movie made from that book was literally regurgitating the shit that came out of that book.

Cobb had his demons, to be sure, but he is largely vindicated in this book, especially as to his alleged racism. One of Cobb's best friends and the man who ran his businesses for decades was a black man from Georgia. Read the book and come back here and tell me I'm wrong.

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mGrowOld

January 23rd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^

I think by all reasonable measures you have the correct four despite some of the glaring recency bias clearly in this thread.  You selected:

1. One of the best hockey players of all time.  #4 on the hockey writers https://thehockeywriters.com/the-5-greatest-hockey-players-ever/

2.. One of the best baseball players of all time.  #3 on Baseball Almanac's list: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml

3. One of the best football players of all time. #3 on this list, top 10 on virtually every other list: https://www.lineups.com/articles/top-50-nfl-players-all-time/

4. One of the best boxers of all time.  #4 on NBC sports                        https://www.nbcsports.com/fans-top-5-greatest-boxers-all-time#slide-4

 

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rob f

January 23rd, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^

Thank you, "Yossarians Tree".

I've been preaching the same ever since reading Charles Leerhsen's book a few years ago. 

The real POS wasn't Cobb; it was the drunk "biographer"  Al Stump, who not only spewed lies but also robbed Cobb blind. Shame on the movie makers and Tommy Lee Jones for not doing proper research before filming that awful movie. 

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stephenrjking

January 23rd, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^

I think the inescapable conclusion here is that Detroit Sports, historically, haven't had it all that bad, even if the teams right now are embarrassing. Cobb and Howe and Louis were all at one time or another valid, debatable candidates for greatest of their sports. And Barry was the most explosive running back of all time (runs of over 20 yards have only been recorded since 1991, skipping two of his NFL years, and he still has far and away the most since then; unlikely that anyone else is close before then, either) and did things on the field that no one since has come close to matching. 

It's a bit frustrating to me to leave off a guy like Yzerman, who means so much to me personally, but... it's Gordie Howe. Mt. Rushmore, after all, does consist of guys who have been dead for a while. 

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blueheron

January 23rd, 2021 at 10:43 AM ^

This is a great barroom question, OP.

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I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Joe Louis yet.

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I think Ty Cobb was a better player than Al Kaline but a worse person by far. How would that work into the discussion?

You could also discuss team vs. individual accomplishments (Bobby Layne, Barry Sanders).

Joined: 03/26/2009

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Yost Ghost

January 23rd, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^

The Pistons were in Auburn Hills, does that disqualify them? /s

This exercise would seem to require the promotion of those we feel embody excellence that led their teams to the height of their sport for each of the 4 major sports. Since we haven't had that in pro football since Bobby Lane and his legacy was marred by a curse that seems to have come true and then some, I went with the next best thing in football. 

P.S. It's also my GT so...

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