OT: Name Your All-Time Mt. Rushmore of American Sports Stars
As we approach end of OT season, I'd like to get the Board's take on the All-Time American Sports Mt. Rushmore. You can use any metrics you like to come up with your four. But there can only be four. My criteria would be: 1) Athlete who dominated his/her sport at historical levels and 2) Combined said athletic dominance with an influence that extended well beyond his/her sport.
With that, my Mt. Rushmore is: Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^
I would sub Joe Louis for Ali.
I'm good with the other three. I could have been talked into Willie Mays where Ruth is, but I'm good with Ruth.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:02 PM ^
Gordie Howe, AL Kaline, Steve Yzerman, Barry Sanders
From the MGOWIFE: Alan Tramble, Lou Whitaker, Steve Yzerman, Arnold Palmer.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:03 PM ^
Tiger Woods (greatest winner ever)
Usain Bolt (shouldn't the fastest human ever to walk the earth be on here?)
Hank Aaron (remove his 714 HR's and he still has 3,000 hits)
Barry Sanders (never anyone like him since football started)
August 26th, 2022 at 6:32 PM ^
I think this is for American sports Mt. Rushmore.
August 27th, 2022 at 12:45 AM ^
Rushmore of Shame would be:
Barry Bonds
Lance Armstrong
Marion Jones (though you can substitute a few other sprinters like Lewis)
OJ Simpson
August 27th, 2022 at 8:27 AM ^
Reading comprehension failure on my part.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:35 PM ^
714 is Babe Ruth. Google says Aaron had 755
August 27th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
Yes, thank you. I really screwed the pooch on this post.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
I’m pretty sure they’ve found footprints preserved in the mud (in Australia, I think) that show people running faster than Usain Bolt. Modern humans are weak.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:19 PM ^
Nicklaus has more majors than tiger
August 26th, 2022 at 9:29 PM ^
And he’s a better human.
August 27th, 2022 at 12:17 AM ^
Nicklaus is a buckeye
August 27th, 2022 at 5:01 AM ^
Nobody's perfect.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:55 PM ^
That doesn’t have to be the only metric. Tiger completely transcended the game. There are many arguments to be made that Tiger is greater than Jack. One is 82 vs 73 wins overall.
tiger was more dominant. He won 9 tourneys in a year once and 8 tourneys twice. Jack never won more than 7.
August 27th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
Jack more consistent over a greater period of time. Tigers own standard was majors-he wanted to break jacks record. Not happening
August 27th, 2022 at 8:51 AM ^
Username checks out. But to be fair, the competition level in Tiger's day was far greater than in Jack's.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:12 PM ^
Muhammad Ali: talent in the ring and courage beyond it
Jim Thorpe: maybe the greatest American athlete ever
Serena Williams: our current avatar of athleticism, personal strength, and influence
Hank Greenberg: a star and, though maybe not Mt. Rushmore stardom, I've always liked him
August 27th, 2022 at 5:23 AM ^
I wouldn't put him on Rushmore, but +1 for Hank Greenberg, who was a great player and maybe an even better man. He gets a lot of deserved credit for his decision not to play on Yom Kippur during the 1934 pennant race, but there are two other stories I've always liked:
1. He reenlisted in the U..S. Army in Feb. 1942, even thought he'd already served and had been honorably discharged. He served 47 months, the longest of any MLB player, missing 3 1/2 seasons in the prime of his career.
2. One day in 1939 against the White Sox, Greenberg had been the target of some vicious anti-Semetic bench jockeying, and had been intentionally spiked at first. After the game, he went into the Chicago clubhouse and invited the big mouth who'd called him the worst of the slurs to "get to his feet and say it to my face.” No one moved. One of Greenberg’s teammates said later, “The guy with the big mouth was the luckiest guy in the world, because Greenberg would have killed him.”
August 27th, 2022 at 2:33 PM ^
The correct answer must include Jim Thorpe, even if the question is world’s greatest athletes. His accomplishments are peerless.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:17 PM ^
Serena Williams. Barry Sanders, Magic Johnson, Gordie Howe.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:18 PM ^
If there was a Beatles Mount Rushmore, I’d go with John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
August 26th, 2022 at 8:18 PM ^
I'd probably put up Paul twice.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:59 PM ^
Well, you have to. You have the real Paul and then the Paul impersonator from when the real Paul died.
August 26th, 2022 at 8:56 PM ^
Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of presidents that have had their face carved out of 60ft high stone?
August 27th, 2022 at 5:26 AM ^
The invasive species of shrub growing between the figures would be Yoko.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
The hardest sports are usually the ones with relatively little accolades. I'll agree with any of the great fighters. Climbing is an incredibly underrated sport. It's simply non competitive by nature. If you are at all familiar with the achievements of Alex Honnold, as well as Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgensen, those gentlemen deserve to be on that rock wall (pun intended). If you doubt me, watch The Dawn Wall and Free Solo.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:55 PM ^
Ive seen Free Solo three times. Most incredible thing Ive seen a human being accomplish.
August 27th, 2022 at 7:02 AM ^
My brother is a big time climber and he took me up a mountain to do some "real" climbing this spring. I'm not out of shape by any means but even just a couple of easy 5.7 routes knocked me out. There is a certain amount of literal insanity involved in doing what those people do.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:39 PM ^
Ali, Owens, Jordan and Phelps.
August 26th, 2022 at 10:28 PM ^
Surprised Owens hasn’t gotten more mention.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:40 PM ^
Tom Brady, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Jim Harbaugh
August 26th, 2022 at 6:43 PM ^
Jackie Robinson has to be there. No one had greater influence beyond sport. Substitute him for Tiger.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:45 PM ^
Tom Brady x 4
August 26th, 2022 at 8:52 PM ^
I'd go Brady x2 and Woodson x2...
August 27th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
Any list without Tom Brady is incorrect.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:49 PM ^
Gretzky, Jordan, Serena, Bolt
August 26th, 2022 at 9:04 PM ^
Usain Bolt (assuming that's the Bolt you mean) is definitely not American.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:55 PM ^
Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady and Muhammad Ali
August 26th, 2022 at 9:20 PM ^
Gretzky is Canadian
August 26th, 2022 at 9:33 PM ^
He played for LA and was Gordie’s illegitimate son, so there’s some American in there.
August 27th, 2022 at 5:10 AM ^
Gordie was also Canadian.
August 28th, 2022 at 6:30 AM ^
I think you are spot on. Someone mentioned Gretzky being Canadian but he played in America. If He doesn't qualify, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods or Michael Phelps would be his replacement.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:56 PM ^
Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky
Carl Lewis
Serena Williams
Tiger Woods
hard to argue against Ruth, Ali, and MJ but my four competed in a nonsegregated world, and had a score/time and/or competed on a non team sport. Hank Aaron played in relative obscurity for the Braves. Had he or Willie Mays played for the Yankees, they would be right there with Ruth.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:57 PM ^
Joe Washington
Rosey Grier
John Jefferson
Linvoln Kennedy
August 26th, 2022 at 7:00 PM ^
Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Willie Mays and Dick Butkus
August 26th, 2022 at 7:03 PM ^
i'm going to be semi goofy and semi serious
Porphyrius the Charioteer - between him and Diocles as greatest charioteer ever
William Marshall - so good at tournaments he became the King's tutor and became an Earl
Aleksandr Medved - wrestling is said to be the oldest sport, and I imagine in the Olympics age the athletes are better and more tested than in ancient times, or even when Honest Abe won the title of Menard County's championship. Medved is the most decorated freestyle wrestler
Pele - because soccer is the world's most popular game. I really wanted to make this Brady, but there are more soccer players, so the best soccer player is better than the GOAT. I don't really know enough about soccer. But I know who Pele is. Also I think he scored a goal that helped the Allies beat the Nazis in a stunning second half comeback, or something like that.
August 26th, 2022 at 8:09 PM ^
I found Craig Ross's account.
August 26th, 2022 at 7:06 PM ^
Jim Thorpe
Tom Brady
Tiger
Jordan
Imo any list without Thrope is wrong 🤷
August 26th, 2022 at 7:08 PM ^
NHL: Wayne Gretzky. No explanation.
MLB: Miguel Cabrera. A triple crown these days is insane. Best pure hitter I have ever seen.
NBA: MJ (fuck the Bulls tho)
NFL: Barry Sanders