25 Most Iconic Athletes in the History of Sports

T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
While it can be hard to pick the greatest athletes of all time, if you narrow your criteria the task becomes a little simpler. Factors that influenced our particular list include the athlete’s accomplishment in their particular sports, the number of years they were considered its best player, and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general. Here are the 25 most iconic athletes in the history of sports.



Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
 
TMF said:
While it can be hard to pick the greatest athletes of all time, if you narrow your criteria the task becomes a little simpler. Factors that influenced our particular list include the athlete’s accomplishment in their particular sports, the number of years they were considered its best player, and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general. Here are the 25 most iconic athletes in the history of sports.



Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

Pretty weak click bait list. Where's, Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi............... Outside of North America, most people would have no idea who 20 of those 25 athletes are.
 
Yes Bruce Lee, the martial artist movie star deserves to be on this list? Someone must have gotten drunk while watching Fists of fury...
 
Inanimate_object said:
Yes Bruce Lee, the martial artist movie star deserves to be on this list? Someone must have gotten drunk while watching Fists of fury...
Click to expand...

Definition of athlete in English:
noun

1A person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise:
Click to expand...

Bruce Lee was not an athlete?

I don't necessarily agree with the list but Bruce Lee would deserve consideration for such a list.
 
NatF said:
Bruce Lee was not an athlete?

I don't necessarily agree with the list but Bruce Lee would deserve consideration for such a list.
Click to expand...

Really? He was a physical specimen but he was not a professional athlete, and even at the amateur level I can't think of any streak of competition he went on. Is my friend who goes to the gym every other day in contention for this? I dunno, Enter the Dragon is a good movie, wouldn't say that qualifies him as an athlete though.

In any case, as always, Bo knows...
 
Bruce Lee has huge impact on martial art and on the world general(his philosophy teaching).
 
Inanimate_object said:
Really? He was a physical specimen but he was not a professional athlete, and even at the amateur level I can't think of any streak of competition he went on. Is my friend who goes to the gym every other day in contention for this? I dunno, Enter the Dragon is a good movie, wouldn't say that qualifies him as an athlete though.

In any case, as always, Bo knows...
Click to expand...

"Be water my friend"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl1sS1kVAvA

:twisted:

ps. He also beat Chuck Norris :shock:

psps. I know that **** ain't real. But I'm not sure who a more influential martial artist would be.
 
Last edited:
el sergento said:
Pretty weak click bait list. Where's, Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi............... Outside of North America, most people would have no idea who 20 of those 25 athletes are.
Click to expand...

Of course the players you mentioned are all great athlete, but it's hard to make a short top 25 list. Maybe not 50 then you will see there name included.
 
1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe

These are the ones I've heard of... I take it most of the others are American athletes of American sports?
 
WTF... no football players on the list, that's ridiculous. I'm gonna tell something to people in north-america: It's the most popular sport in the whole world, hahaha.
 
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee

what the ****... if I find any of those in the street I won't be able to recognize them.
 
augustobt said:
WTF... no football players on the list, that's ridiculous. I'm gonna tell something to people in north-america: It's the most popular sport in the whole world, hahaha.
Click to expand...

Ever heard of Pele ?

Slide724.jpg
 
Definitely not an international list and put together by people of questionable world sports knowledge. It seems like an American just used google randomly.
 
TMF said:
While it can be hard to pick the greatest athletes of all time, if you narrow your criteria the task becomes a little simpler. Factors that influenced our particular list include the athlete’s accomplishment in their particular sports, the number of years they were considered its best player, and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general. Here are the 25 most iconic athletes in the history of sports.



Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

The inclusion of Sanders and Jackson seems to go against the lists own criteria. Does anyone consider them close to top 10 all time in either football or baseball?

Jack of all trades...

p.s

Two words: Jesse Owens
 
Last edited by a moderator:
70sHollywood said:
The inclusion of Sanders and Jackson seems to go against the lists own criteria. Does anyone consider them close to top 10 all time in either football or baseball?

Jack of all trades...

p.s

Two words: Jesse Owens
Click to expand...

Bo Jackson has precisely zero World Series titles, zero Vince Lombardi trophies, zero performance records and has never won the final game of the season. Goes to show how little results actually matter that a guy like this is widely considered in the US to be the greatest athlete of all time.
 
It's obviously written by an American. So what?!? Don't like the list, then list the 'top 25...' from a writer for your country, or country of choosing and we can dissect and disagree on that all day too.

My take away is this, Roger Federer is to Tennis, is what Michael Jordan is to Basketball. No other tennis player, past or present is even in the same league.
 
Praetorian said:
It's obviously written by an American. So what?!? Don't like the list, then list the 'top 25...' from a writer for your country, or country of choosing and we can dissect and disagree on that all day too.

My take away is this, Roger Federer is to Tennis, is what Michael Jordan is to Basketball. No other tennis player, past or present is even in the same league.
Click to expand...

And yet as a cultural phenomenon, in 20 years, will people dress up like Federer for Halloween, or still like still like J Mac or Borg. Those guys represented and embodied an era, not just a sport. Federer, time will tell.
 
TMF said:
Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

Only ones I have heard of are in bold.
 
TMF said:
While it can be hard to pick the greatest athletes of all time, if you narrow your criteria the task becomes a little simpler. Factors that influenced our particular list include the athlete’s accomplishment in their particular sports, the number of years they were considered its best player, and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general. Here are the 25 most iconic athletes in the history of sports.



Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

You just know american's made this list.
Top 25 in whatever order
Roger Federer
BJK
Ali
Tyson
Schumacher
Pele
Maradonna
Messi
Ronaldo
Valentino Rossi
Senna
Tiger Woods
Michael Jordan
Carl Lewis
Usain Bolt
Michael Phelps
Bjorn Borg
Rafael Nadal
Sugar Ray Robinson
Jackie Robinson

People who think people watch american sports like NFL, Hockey outside of america are kidding themselves. No on in europe africa or asia pays attention to the american sports except for maybe basketball.
 
The Green Mile said:
Nah. Who is he?

Just looked him up. Baseball. Explains it. Only player I have ever heard of is Babe Ruth. And that was thanks to the 1993 movie "The Sandlot"! :lol:
Click to expand...

Great movie, but there was a movie about Jackie Robinson a couple of years ago called 42. That's why I thought non-baseball fans/Americans might know.
 
SoCalJay said:
Definitely not an international list and put together by people of questionable world sports knowledge. It seems like an American just used google randomly.
Click to expand...


For all accurately calling that list weak. It should come as no surprise. as this is a pointless, historically questionable list is posted in yet another attempt to paint one tennis player (you know who) as some "great" at something...anything.

Meanwhile, the real world continues.
 
Man of steel said:
You just know american's made this list.
Top 25 in whatever order
Roger Federer
BJK
Ali
Tyson
Schumacher
Pele
Maradonna
Messi
Ronaldo
Valentino Rossi
Senna
Tiger Woods
Michael Jordan
Carl Lewis
Usain Bolt
Michael Phelps
Bjorn Borg
Rafael Nadal
Sugar Ray Robinson
Jackie Robinson

People who think people watch american sports like NFL, Hockey outside of america are kidding themselves. No on in europe africa or asia pays attention to the american sports except for maybe basketball.
Click to expand...

Hockey is a Canadian sport, get it right.
 
TMF said:
While it can be hard to pick the greatest athletes of all time, if you narrow your criteria the task becomes a little simpler. Factors that influenced our particular list include the athlete’s accomplishment in their particular sports, the number of years they were considered its best player, and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general. Here are the 25 most iconic athletes in the history of sports.



Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Roger Federer
3. Tiger Woods
4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
6. Michael Phelps
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Carl Lewis
11. Wayne Gretzky
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
16. Muhammad Ali
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
19. Pele
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
24. Babe Ruth
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

History of sports eh? Where is George Best then?
 
The author of this list may have never heard of Sachin Tendulkar. Anyone who has knows he was the definitive icon to a billion people for a quarter of a century since 1990. In tennis terms he may not have been the greatest player, but McEnroe was a truly iconic sportsman.
 
TMF said:
[
Two tennis stars made the top 25 list.

4. Deion Sanders
5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
7. Bo Jackson
8. Cheryl Miller
12. Nadia Comaneci
13. Bruce Lee (WTF, seriously? Athlete?)
14. Dan Gable
15. Bobby Orr
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
18. Jim Brown
20. Willie Mays
21. Sugar Ray Robinson
22. Jackie Robinson
23. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
25. Jim Thorpe
Click to expand...

Haven't heard of those / no idea what sport they used to play.
This list seems to be big crap by a us-american baseball-fan.

"and their impact not only in their own sports but on the world in general." - freestyle wrestling & womens basketball had exactly 0 impact on the world.
 
Last edited:
I'd put Federer above Jordan.

Roger is an international star, Jordan basically just competed in the US.
 
That list is a joke. It must be created in the US. I haven't heard of half of the "icons" on the list.

Diego Armando Maradona didn't make it... LOL :)
 
I need a little help with my math:

In relationship to the number of NBA titles won by a player; is 11 still greater that 6?
 
heftylefty said:
I need a little help with my math:

In relationship to the number of NBA titles won by a player; is 11 still greater that 6?
Click to expand...

So Mark Messier should replace Wayne Gretzky simply because 6 is greater than 4 ?

Please, stop trolling !
 
TMF said:
So Mark Messier should replace Wayne Gretzky simply because 6 is greater than 4 ?

Please, stop trolling !
Click to expand...

I would have thought that the person with the most slams would be paired with the person with the most titles. That's all.
 
Jesus some of you are so annoyingly touchy. Yes, it's some idiot and he's taken a US centric view on it, so what. If there was some list by a guy in London and he didn't mention Babe Ruth, would I give a rats ***? No.

Most people in the US don't care about soccer just like most people don't care about baseball but many of you feel like people in the US should apologize about it. Get over it and grow up.

As to comment on the list, Deion at #4 is hysterically dumb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
SI's 20 greatest athletes of the 20th century (2 tennis players among them)
Replies
29
Views
4K
drakulie
drakulie
clout
Greatest in each sport...and its closest challengers
Replies
27
Views
1K
hollywood9826
hollywood9826
zvelf
Serena, Graf, Navratilova, Evert, and Court
2 3
Replies
125
Views
7K
BTURNER
B
Back
Top