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Probably every generation thinks the athletes they’ve witnessed are the greatest. I can’t attest for ancient Greece, but I imagine they were proud of their Olympians.

And I can remember my Grandpa Davis talking about Satchel Paige, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, and Y.A. Tittle. Who could argue these athletes weren’t “great”?

But the thought struck me not long ago—actually in March while on a jet winging across the Atlantic—that I have been privileged to witness, to actually see perform, some of the reputedly greatest athletes of all time. Here’s my hall of fame list:

--Jim Brown. Being a kid from Ohio and having watched Brown run as a Cleveland Brown in the early 1960s when I was in junior high, no one will ever convince me there was or is a better, greater running back in the National Football League. I know he’s had a couple of dust-ups along the way, but I also enjoyed his short acting career, particularly “The Dirty Dozen” and “100 Rifles.” And I’ve admired his work with inner city youth.

--Muhammad Ali. “The Greatest.” Ali was at his peak when I was in college. After bursting to prominence in his second victory over Sonny Liston in 1965, a knock-out at 2:12 in the First Round, he went on to become boxing’s best ever, a cultural force, and a worldwide celebrity. His record was 56-5. One of those losses came from Joe Frazier in 1971 when I was a college freshman. It was billed as “The Fight of the Century.” Frazier fought Ali twice more, losing both, 1974 when I was a senior, and 1975, the last being “The Thrilla in Manilla.” Unbelievable fights. Then there was big George Foreman in 1974, “The Rumble in the Jungle.” In a matter of ten months Ali beat Frazier and Foreman. Incredible. There is not now and I don’t think ever will be a fighter like Ali. “The Mouth” is quiet now due to Parkinson’s syndrome, but he is still a force of nature.

--Pete Rose. I watched “Charlie Hustle” throughout my youth. So it’s especially sad for me today to think about how he botched his reputation and legacy gambling on games in which he managed. It’s particularly ironic in that I grew up to write a no-gambling book. Rose is Exhibit #1 for what gambling can do to a life. But Rose is still the greatest hitter ever to play baseball, 4,256 hits. He gambled away Cooperstown but he still makes my hall of fame.

--Secretariat. Yes, a horse. And what a horse, and an athlete in every sense of the term. In 1973 when I was in college Secretariat became the first horse in 25 years to win racing’s Triple Crown. His records at the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes still stand, the latter of which he won by 31 lengths. Secretariat went to his reward in 1989 and it’s improbable we’ll see his like again in the next one hundred years.

--Lance Armstrong. Road racing cyclist’s greatest, Armstrong won the Tour de France 7 times in a row, 1999 to 2005. This feat may be approached, but I doubt it will ever be bettered. Armstrong, though not the most likeable person and a rather testy agnostic, is nevertheless a cancer survivor, tireless worker on behalf of his foundation, and hero of those who acknowledge resolve. He is known to possess an exceptionally large heart, which is the source of his incredible energy. This is a trait he shares with Secretariat, which during autopsy was discovered to have a heart two and one-half times the size of an average horse. Amazing.

--Michael Jordan. I’m not a big basketball fan, but who can ignore “Air Jordan”? Kids today know him more for Nike and Hanes underwear commercials than for basketball, but Jordan’s 6 NBA championships, 5 MVP awards, and 14 All-Star appearances, and much more, set a standard few have emulated. Maybe more than his skill and winning, or certainly along with them, he stood out because he so obviously loved the game and gave it every hang-time moment he could.

--Tiger Woods. No one at this point, not even Woods, knows whether his career is at its zenith. But to give him his due, he was and in large measure still is, the gold standard of golf greatness—not in majors won, that belongs to the Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus—not in crowd appeal, that belongs to Arnold Palmer and his Army or maybe to Phil Mickelson—but in technique, skill, hitting a ball like no one else. That's Tiger. I hope he gets his life on course and hits some more great shots.

There’s more “Great Ones” among sports figures, of course--these are all men, so a women's hall of fame is yet to come. But these will do for my hall of fame short-list for now. I’ve been privileged to watch them all.

 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

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