Will We Ever Know Who The Greatest Athlete of All Time Is
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 2:29AM Joe Simmons 
In sports we always talk about who is the best. On any given day we can argue who the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) is in any sport. The problem is that most of us never saw many of the greats from yesteryear play, so we can only give information about who we think is the best versus who is really the best.
There will always be those who are purists but many people will accept greatness for what it is. If you were to ask anyone who is the greatest baseball player of all time you will get answers like this:
George Herman Ruth 
Henry Aaron
Willie Mays
Barry Bonds
Ted Williams
Josh Gibson
Baseball is one of those games where the GOAT is easy to grasp, it just depends on who you ask. Take Babe Ruth, his game is generational. Ruth could fit on any team today and be as productive as he was in the early 1900s. The same thing goes for anyone on that list. The only person that wouldn’t get a nod directly would be Josh Gibson, who in my mind was the greatest player ever. Also noticeable on that list is that the only pitcher who appears is Babe Ruth. However he is only noted for his ability to bash the ball. As a pitcher he was really below average.
If you ask who is the greatest basketball player of all time you get answers like:
Michael Jordan 
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Earvin Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul - Jabbar
Larry Bird
Kobe Bryant
It is just hard to justify who is the best basketball player ever. You would have to say Center, then everyone else. Look at the list. No players had ever dominated the game like Russell, Chamberlain, and Jabbar simply because it was a big mans league. Well then comes Michael Jeffrey Jordan and all that changes. Now the NBA is a league of versatile position players like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. Versatility is the key in the post Jordan era.
If you ask who is the greatest football player of all time the answer is usually pretty simple:
Jim Brown 
Jerry Rice
Lawrence Taylor
Three names no deviation. One could argue that there are more names to add to this list but in all actuality it is hard to justify the GOAT in any particular sport without being position specific or even era specific.
What is most noticeable about the football is that there isn’t a quarterback listed. You could argue Joe Montana because he has the rings, but if you ask most people Montana benefited from a system and an offensive mind that was second to none. Imagine the San Francisco 49ers with Dan Marino as their quarterback with that lightning quick release and pinpoint accuracy. They probably win 7 or 8 super bowls because the 49ers were glamorized on offense but they had the best defense in the league in the 80s.
All this being said and still there is no determining who is the GOAT in any sport without an argument. From Boxing to Tennis, from Soccer to Golf, there will always be arguments. That is what we live for.
Reader Comments (8)
Easy for me.. Greatest Athlete of All time Mohammed Ali.
Jordan in the modern era. Jim Brown in the middle of the last century. Babe Ruth and Jack Johnson in the early parts of the last century. All are debatable but I can only really speak for Jordan because I saw him in person.
I can only say Jordan for now. I would have put Tiger Woods in that category but after that cheating situation, he has not been so super.
The things Tiger can do with a golf ball and the way he performs in clutch situations make him one of the GoATs
this is my many decades of viewing..............................
NFL---(career)-JOE MONTANA---(talent)-BARRY SANDERS>>>>>NBA---(career)-BILL RUSSELL--- (talent)-MICHAEL JORDAN>>>>>MLB---(career and talent 3 way tie)-BABE RUTH / JACKIE ROBINSON / HANK AARON --they didnt cheat with steriods like many of the ones the past 20 years>>>>>NCAAF---(career)-RON DAYNE---(talent)-MARCUS DUPREE>>>>>BOXING---(career)-MOHAMMED ALI ( cassius clay )---(talent)---MIKE TYSON>>>>NHL---(career)-WAYNE GRETZKY---(talent)-MARIO LEMEIUX>>>>>SOCCER---(career)-PELE---(talent)-4 way tie with RONALDHINO / DROGBA / MESSI / ROONEY--(you cant go wrong with these 4 greats) ................
.........career means stats or just stayed committed and loyal to the sport and/or team...............talent means talent in their prime plain and simple regardless of rings or trophies or whatever.................
@ mceagle611-----IM SORRY BRO BUT GOLF IS A JOKE !!!!!! THAT WILL NEVER BE A REAL SPORT UNTIL WE START SEEING BLITZ PACKAGES......C'mon DUDE, THESE GOLFERS GOT ALL FUCKING DAY TO SWING THE BALL...WERE IZ THE REAL PRESSURE IN THAT....THESE OTHER SPORTS YOU DONT HAVE ALL DAY TO JACKOFF AND PLAY....................
HERE IS ANOTHER SPORT BETTER THAN THAT FUCKING GOLF !!!!!!!!!! "BEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL"
MENS---(career and talent)-PETE SAMPRAS (however roger federrer is right on his azz for this arguement)
LADIES---(career and talent 2 way tie)-STEFFIE GRAF and MONICA SELES ( however, seles would have been #1 if it wasnt for that german bastard that tried to kill her and ruin her career).......NOTE: martina navratilova would be the clear #1 but she took steriods so she isnt recognized in my opinion to be the best.....................................................
AND I REPEAT----ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN GOLF..................DAM ID RATHER JERK IT AND WATCH SHITTY BOWLING THAN THAT SICK NASTY GOLF..................GOLF GOLF GOLF WHAT A JACKN SLACKN SLAPN SWALLOWN INBREDDED PIECE OF NASTY======================WE INTERRUPT THIS MESSAGE BEFORE WILD STARTS SPAZZEZ TOO MUCH=====THANKYOU FOR SWINGING============code 696969696969696969696969===oh my 69.................................................
excuse me, but what doez the letters in G-O-L-F mean ?.......why do u ask ?.........cause i want to know.........ok, well it means GOOBERZ ON LOST FIELD.......... why would u say that ?..........well why would u care ?.........cause i want to know ?...........well i say that cause thats what they are ?...........well dont u think that its hard to play ?............dont you mean they get hard when they play ?............no thats just tiger, i mean the sport is hard...........oh i see what u mean, no it aint hard cause theres no pressure.............sure there is, when u got many watching you to perform............you call that pressure when they stand there for an hour daydreaming at the ball then the course than the ball again ?...............
no i mean its hard to be swinging when so many watching..............look, in the top sports you dont have all day to stare at the clouds the goats the air you get my point ?..............yea thats true but golfs swinging is alot of timing and pressure................dont you mean tigers pressure when hes out swinging ?...............boy i tell you wild you just a tiger hater.................no card your just tyring to save golf....................wait a sec, wild and card ?...............oh my is there a connection ?.................wild ?.......................card ?....................OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHH ITS ME AND ME !!!!!!! AND US AND US !!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ..............hey here is a question for us............
............and what would that be?.............do you think tiger prefers his 10 iron or his 69 ?...............HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lets go smoke one wild.............ok card................