Chester™ Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Michael Jordan if I was to choose. Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis or Jesse Owens all a close second. Schumacher has to come close for what he achieved with a record that could be hard to be broken. There are so many sports out there with so many dominant individuals. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for hockey. Pele, Maradona et al for football. Bradman or Warne for cricket. Woods/Nicklaus for golf. Chris Hoy for his near total dominance in his area of expertise. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Tom Brady for American Football. Stephen Hendry and Phil Taylor for snooker and darts (and before the arguments start they are classed as sports so they indeed are sportsman). The list is indeed endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Willo Flood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djf Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 How can you compare a tennis player with a boxer or what have you? Unless you are taking SL's angle? FWIW i'd probably venture some extreme marathon runner or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big D Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Probably easier to select someone who excelled at many sports and then moved successfully into sports Admin. Jim Thorpe. Probably quicker to google him than for me to precis his achievements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambo_boy Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Ali Senna Woods Hendry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alsie Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 great thread this one, so many differing opinions. As a keen golfer i'm going to be biased and champion Tiger Woods - when he surely goes onto to become the winningest golfer ever. most opinion polls taken generally say Ali, and similar to Pele being regarded as the greatest footballer ever, i wonder what a footballer/sportsman in the future has to achieve in order to get ahead of these 2? shaun, is it definite that Indurain also used substances to win? i cant remember doubts ever being cast about him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavsy Van Gaverson Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Ali - without doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makween Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Neil MacFarlane, 'cause he had cool hair and did a good job tidying up in midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavsy Van Gaverson Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Neil MacFarlane, 'cause he had cool hair and did a good job tidying up in midfield. Replace with 'receding' and you're spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makween Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Replace with 'receding' and you're spot on. I don't think that it was receding, 'cause that'd imply that he once had a full head of hair. I could imagine MacFarlane aged seven with his hair looking the exact same as it does now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billco98 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 In the proper sense of 'Sportsman' I would say Sir Stanley Matthews - a great footballer, human being and sportsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterCapital Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Ron Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Findlay Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Cassius Clay. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Seeger Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 In my lifetime it has to be Bowls finest mr Marshall, closely followed by Tiger and Micheal Johnson. Also a special mention for Lance Armstrong. An inspiring athlete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsychocAndy Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Ali great fighter, promoter, self promoter, poet and in a none poffee way, handsome. A man I aspired to be like but could never be. John Robertson Drew Busby Hey I'm a Jambo :107years: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Douglas Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Joe Decker. Not many people can say they've completed 4 100 mile plus marathons in one year; including a 135 mile run through 120 degree heat, starting about 200 feet below sea level and ending up 8000 feet above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deesidejambo Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Anybody but Lance Armstrong. I think cycling is a boring sport. Same for rowing, so thats Steve Redgrave out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecjambo Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Stephen Hendry for me. Awesome snooker player, the best ever. Better than O'Sullivan, Davis, Reardon all of them. Record World Championships, highest amount of century breaks, most titles, near enough every record possible in snooker. Just all round had a desire to win everything and dominate a sport. You may argue that it is not a real sport but thats your view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Ewing Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 The Greatest sportsman for me is Stephen Hendry(what ecjambo said about him covers it.) My favourite/greatest(some are maybe not the greatest) sportsman in each sport are: NFL: Player: Peyton Manning Coach: Tony Dungy Yes I am a colts fan and these two men gave me a super bowl to celebrate which I never saw happening to the colts until they joined. MLB: Coach: Terry Francona Player: the whole red sox world series 08 team Yes I am a red sox fan as well(I have family and friends in Boston and Indy so I had to support at least one team from both areas) 2 world series in 4 years after such a long wait that's why I think he's the greastest manger and I cant choose a player so just choose a team. Football: manger: Marcello Lippi won so much at the top level and gave me some of the happiest sport days of my life(world cup 06 and champions league final 96) F1:hate so say it but has to be Michael Schumacher. Tennis:Roger Federer. Golf:Tiger woods. Bowls: Alex Marshall. Boxing:Muhammad Ali/Lennox Lewis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billco98 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Ron Jeremy Was he no a pole vaulter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Emil Zatopec. Purely because he did something nobody else will ever do. Winning the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon in the same olympics. And it was his first ever marathon I think. Edit, just checked and it was his first marathon, and he also broke the olympic record in all 3 races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Ali, Best, Borg, Korbut (not a man, I know) and Pele. Because my mum says so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfstar Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 For football, in my time Cafu / Maldini / Ronaldinho all 3 have won the top awards, and I have seen the last 2 play Boxing - Ali, even though im a young pup I love watching his fights and interviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffin Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 great thread this one, so many differing opinions. As a keen golfer i'm going to be biased and champion Tiger Woods - when he surely goes onto to become the winningest golfer ever. most opinion polls taken generally say Ali, and similar to Pele being regarded as the greatest footballer ever, i wonder what a footballer/sportsman in the future has to achieve in order to get ahead of these 2? shaun, is it definite that Indurain also used substances to win? i cant remember doubts ever being cast about him Great word I'd have to say Woods is the greatest ever sportsman. My favourite is Zidane though, best player imo and he was a mean UFC fighter too, just as Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Ali!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 shaun, is it definite that Indurain also used substances to win? i cant remember doubts ever being cast about him Shaun appears to be the only person to ever cast aspersions on Indurain. There were never any rumours or prosecutions. An utterly nonsensical accusation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sconnie Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Michael Jordan? Sure, he played a good role in Space Jam, but greatest ever sportsman? I can only talk about people from my generation so I'd go for Tiger Woods and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Both are outstanding and a class apart from anyone else in there sports. Here's a name I've not seen mentioned, Joe Calzaghe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley_ Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Rocky Balboa. Seriously though, in terms of their domination in the sport in my lifetime, I'd go for Woods, Federer and Hendry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I can only talk about people from my generation so I'd go for Tiger Woods and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Why do people always mention people like O'Sullivan? Great sportsmen win things. O'Sullivan has won things but he is a novice compared to the likes of Davis and Hendry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley_ Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Why do people always mention people like O'Sullivan? Great sportsmen win things. O'Sullivan has won things but he is a novice compared to the likes of Davis and Hendry. Well said. O'Sullivan may be entertaining, although I don't particularly like the guy, but that does not make him the greatest sportsman. Arguably he has the potential but I doubt he will fulfil it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sconnie Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Why do people always mention people like O'Sullivan? Great sportsmen win things. O'Sullivan has won things but he is a novice compared to the likes of Davis and Hendry. If O'Sullivan's head wasn't so messed up he'd have won alot more tournaments. When the snooker is on the tele the pundits never shut up about O'Sullivan and they always pick him over Hendry when asked who the better player is. He's a genius at snooker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 If O'Sullivan's head wasn't so messed up he'd have won alot more tournaments. When the snooker is on the tele the pundits never shut up about O'Sullivan and they always pick him over Hendry when asked who the better player is. He's a genius at snooker. And Chic Charnley was a football genius. As I said, great sportsmen win things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sconnie Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 And Chic Charnley was a football genius. As I said, great sportsmen win things. * World Championship – 2001, 2004, 2008 * UK Championship – 1993, 1997, 2001, 2007 * British Open – 1994 * German Open – 1996 * Scottish Open – 1998, 2000 * China Open – 1996, 1999, 2000 * European Open – 2003 * Irish Masters – 2003, 2005 * Welsh Open – 2004, 2005 * Grand Prix – 2004 * Masters – 1995, 2005, 2007 * Scottish Masters – 1998, 2000, 2002 * Irish Masters – 1998, 2001, 2007 * Premier League – 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 (04/05), 2005 (05/06), 2006, 2007 * Benson and Hedges Championship – 1993 * Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge – 1996 * Riley Superstar International – 1997 * Champions Cup – 2000 He's more worthy of a mention than some of the other names mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun.lawson Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Shaun appears to be the only person to ever cast aspersions on Indurain. There were never any rumours or prosecutions. An utterly nonsensical accusation. Oh no I'm not. Please see: http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_53114/sports/Former-rider-Jarmann-says-Indurain-used-banned-drugs/ However, it's possible my memory was playing tricks on me, and I'd got the wrong end of the stick about this: http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/08/31/bike.php Moreover, sadly, because of the epidemic of problems in cycling over the last decade, there are bound to be suspicions. I think I heard Stephen Roche was implicated, so was Bjarne Riis... and so many people harbour grave doubts about Armstrong too. I absolutely accept nothing has ever been proven about Big Mig though, so in that respect, was out of line in what I said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GforGallo Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 in my lifetime, you have 3 candidates maldini woods armstrong given that maldini has won as many champions leagues as liverpool i think thats pretty special. obviously woods is above everyone in his sport and armstrong overcame a lot. but from those 3 maldini for me. ever? ali was overated, a helluva lot of loses on his record compared to some, and fwiw i think mayweather would have dropped him. to much mawkish sentimentality because he's old/in the past/nostalgia/ has a debilitating illness. id tend to go with maldini overall, but iv seen very few people at their prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester™ Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 He's more worthy of a mention than some of the other names mentioned. Maybe. You'd be better going and looking at Hendry's records and then you'll see who the greater player is and realise that some commentators (namely Virgo and Thorne), talk out their over inflated arsehole. (NB I really ****ing hate those two. They get right on my tits. Always manage to spoil my viewing) I see you cast doubt with MJ as well. Might be worth checking him out on youtube to understand the fuss. Kobe and LeBron are poor pretenders... The problem with lists like this is it is so difficult to compare sports and what they do. All have people and players who are at the very top of their sports and dominate unlike others before and after. All have valid cases for the title but to truely say one over another is a difficult thing to do. As I said previously on this thread, the list is endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 ali was overated, a helluva lot of loses on his record compared to some, and fwiw i think mayweather would have dropped him. That is one of the funniest things I have ever read. Especially the Mayweather part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Nobody's mentioned Eric Liddell! A world class athlete with integrity and hailing from Edinburgh. Truly a sporting great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun.lawson Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 If O'Sullivan's head wasn't so messed up he'd have won alot more tournaments. When the snooker is on the tele the pundits never shut up about O'Sullivan and they always pick him over Hendry when asked who the better player is. He's a genius at snooker. The O'Sullivan/Hendry thing. First off, you have to remember with Ronnie what a horrific background he had: father imprisoned for murder (about which he's always protested his innocence); mother sent to jail for a time for tax evasion. Can anyone remember, a couple of years after he burst onto the scene, him completely ballooning in weight? Hardly surprising given all this, and that he'd been left to look after his younger brother, is it? He's had to contend with bipolar disorder since too - making it next to impossible for him to be a relentlessly consistent winner. Plus, it's a constant theme in sport that "naturally gifted" individuals who are truly different tend to have all kinds of inner demons to contend with too: think Maradona, Best, Gazza, Cantona, or Alex Higgins. In other words, if he was a winner in the Hendry mould, Ronnie just wouldn't be Ronnie. Given all this, I think he's done remarkably well (how many of us could cope with such a background? And how many could do so in the public eye?), and his 17-4 destruction of Hendry at the 2004 World Championship remains the greatest individual match performance I've ever seen. However. Despite having acknowledged all of this, it's almost an insult to even consider whether O'Sullivan has a claim to being ranked alongside Hendry. Back in the 80s, however good Steve Davis was, he tended to feed off his opponents' mistakes; but with Hendry, even if you left him apparently in trouble with the cue ball tight on the cushion, he could knock in a corking red and clear the table. In this sense, he literally changed the game, and ushered in an infinitely more attacking era chock full of high breaks. There was a period in the mid-90s when Hendry seemed literally unbeatable - and his response to O'Sullivan's coming from 8-2 down to level at 8-8 in the Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge final in 1997 was, preposterously, a 147. Any other player would have cracked at having lost such a big lead: but what Hendry did had the two of them laughing as they left the arena. In the end, he only lost his world title that year because he was literally too successful, and was utterly spent by the latter stages at the Crucible (and even then, still gave Ken Doherty an almighty fright) - and his reponse to the adversity which followed (losing the Masters final on a respotted black to Mark Williams, getting knocked out in the first round at Sheffield by Jimmy White, and most of all, being whitewashed 9-0 at the UK Championship by little known Marcus Campbell) was, staggeringly, to pick himself up off the canvas and win his seventh world title, in what remains the highest quality championship ever staged. To me, that ended the argument. There has never been a more consistent, more dominant, hungry and most of all brave snooker player than Stephen Hendry: he is to snooker what Schumacher was to F1, Sampras was to tennis, or Woods is to golf. Nor do I accept that many feel Ronnie is the better player: with both at their best, Hendry would win because he's mentally tougher and was a far better match player in his prime; and when I ran an All Time World Championship on another forum a couple of months ago (inviting the generally knowledgeable contributors to enter their guesses for all matches in the 'tournament' as it progressed), Hendry beat Ronnie in the semis, and went on to beat Steve Davis 18-15 in the final. Hendry's the greatest snooker player: for me, there's no question about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibrahim Tall Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 JaMarcus Russell. Sugar Ray Robinson. Best boxer ever, easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Why do people always mention people like O'Sullivan? Great sportsmen win things. O'Sullivan has won things but he is a novice compared to the likes of Davis and Hendry. Snooker is not a sport, it is a pastime that has been made popular by TV, snooker players cannot be mentioned in the same context as great sportsmen such as Ali, Pele etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 TT, I'm new to this thread, it's late, but to me, a "sport" is something you actually break a sweat at - not effing snooker, FFS! yni Snooker is not a sport, it is a pastime that has been made popular by TV, snooker players cannot be mentioned in the same context as great sportsmen such as Ali, Pele etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 TT, I'm new to this thread, it's late, but to me, a "sport" is something you actually break a sweat at - not effing snooker, FFS! yni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boaby Ewing Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 There are more doubts over Indurain's five wins that Armstrong's seven. For what it's worth, I think Armstrong was doping prior to getting cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsmak Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 TT, I'm new to this thread, it's late, but to me, a "sport" is something you actually break a sweat at - not effing snooker, FFS! yni You've never seen me play then... Knackered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N User Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Chaz Michael-Michaels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Gosling Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 There are more doubts over Indurain's five wins that Armstrong's seven. For what it's worth, I think Armstrong was doping prior to getting cancer. He admitted it himself, if I remember correctly. Armstrong's cancer turned him into a different kind of athlete, he was a big powerhouse rider before it. When he came back, he was a lot slimmer and lighter - helped with the climbs at least. And besides, even if he did dope post-cancer, everyone else did too which would still make him the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy_jambo_2006 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Ali.but the best ever Brit is Sir Steve Redgrave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cisc0 K1d Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I think Eddie Merckx is widely recognised as the greatest ever cyclist, he didn't just win the Tour 5 times, he won 5 Giro's, 3 World Titles and dominated the classics winning 28 of them. Armstrong has a great story and his overcoming cancer is an achievement which trancends his sport but I think he was the 3rd best cyclist of all time also behind Jacques Anquetil. Anquetil openly admitted to taking drugs back in the late 50s early 60s which was a common practice then (I wonder how common it is now ?). Miguel Indurain is an interesting charachter, his natural physical attributes in terms of Lung Capacity and his Hearts Blood Circulation meant that his body was a Ferrari compared to the rest of the field who had to make do with Ford Fiestas, I've never heard of him being linked to drugs but he did loose what could have been his 6th Tour to Riise who later admitted to using EPO. Lance Armstrong also has great Physical attributes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boaby Ewing Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 He admitted it himself, if I remember correctly. Armstrong's cancer turned him into a different kind of athlete, he was a big powerhouse rider before it. When he came back, he was a lot slimmer and lighter - helped with the climbs at least. And besides, even if he did dope post-cancer, everyone else did too which would still make him the best! Nah, he's never admitted it. His post-Tour profile in the US relies on his cancer comeback story. If he admitted he was doped (like pretty much every rider pre-1997 I'd wager), he'd have a hard time maintaining his aura/position as a cancer research etc. advocate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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