Athletes

Athletes (25)

We have other nominated athletes who transcended sports, but there is still only one Muhammad Ali.
Six NBA titles, six NBA Finals MVPs, and five MVPs. There are many fans and pundits who believe that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all-time, and they…
After a brief time with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues, Hank Aaron would become the greatest player in Atlanta Braves history, which is no small feat considering the…
The Associated Press named Jim Thorpe the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th Century, and with the myriad of sports that he excelled in, it should have…
How good an athlete was Jim Brown? When he was a star fullback at Syracuse, he also lettered in basketball, track, and lacrosse.
In 1935, Owens was enrolled at Ohio State set records in the 100 m dash and long jump, and there was no doubt that he was the top athlete in…
After World War II, many within Major League Baseball knew that it was time to re-integrate (there had been black players in the Majors in the 1880s), and it was…
Babe Ruth was not the first star in Baseball, but he was the first man of the game who transcended the sport. "The Sultan of Swat" began his career as…
The Boston Celtics had a legacy of winning long before Larry Bird got there, but when you won as many the championships as they had, the bar is set pretty…
Bill Russell is not always in the conversation when basketball fans talk about the greatest player ever, but there are many reasons why they should.
One of the purest hitters in Baseball, Ted Williams, was the template by which thousands of batters followed.
"He can run, but he can't hide."Joe Louis said this about Billy Conn, one of the many who challenged him for the heavyweight title and failed.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson became the Los Angeles Lakers' face during their "showtime" years, which considering the number of other personalities, was no small accomplishment.
In 1936, Jesse Owens set the track world on fire by winning four Gold Medals. It was believed that in 1984, Carl Lewis could do the same thing.
You can’t talk about scoring in basketball without mentioning Wilt Chamberlain, one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game. Chamberlain, a seven-time scoring champion, is the…
Willie Mays played two years with Birmingham of the Negro Leagues before he signed with the New York Giants, and it would not take long before the “Say Hey Kid”…
The long and incredible career of Martina Navratilova began in the Soviet Bloc country of Czechoslovakia, where at age 18, Czech officials demanded that she return home as the budding…
If Babe Ruth was the first baseball player to be a national celebrity, Joe DiMaggio was the first to be one part of an athlete/celebrity power couple when he was…
Babe Ruth was the first superstar on the New York Yankees, but it did not take long before he was joined by another one, Lou Gehrig.
From Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente was not the first Latin American star in Major League Baseball, but he was the first one who transcended the sport.
Jack Nicklaus is one of the most recognized and successful golfers ever, and depending on the metric, you can argue the best of all-time.
While Arnold Palmer was not the first superstar of golf, he was the first of the television era, making him the sport's top attraction.
In 1932, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson had one of the best Olympics of any American female, winning Gold in the 80 m hurdles and the javelin while also capturing Silver in…
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