One of the top 4 professional athletes of all time

[McEnborg]

Gretzky, Jordan, Phelps and Fed...the 4 best professional athletes of the last 100 years. Who else? Maybe Ali, Brady, Nicklaus, Ruth, Mays, James and a few others.

But, Fed is top 3 or 4 ever when you consider his overall athletic ability--his fluidity, quickness, agility, hand/eye coordination, "hands", balance, strength, etc. Then consider his longevity and incomprehensible consistency. He's right there with Jordan, Phelps and Gretzky. What an incredible privilege to watch him. How often in life to you get to watch an entire career of the greatest ever in his sport? And to watch it over 15 years!!!

 

[Brokenstrings]

I'd definitely put Fed in the top 4. I'd take out Phelps and put in Nicklaus. After 4 it gets a little tougher.

 

[TheFifthSet]

Federer is up there with a bunch of other athletes. Perhap he belongs on that particular Mount Rushmore. He's definitely in the top 4 . . . for tennis fans. And this is a tennis forum. So, a little bit of confirmation bias here. Definitely has an argument, though.

 

[Fedfan34]

Gretzky, Jordan, Phelps and Fed...the 4 best professional athletes of the last 100 years. Who else? Maybe Ali, Brady, Nicklaus, Ruth, Mays, James and a few others.

But, Fed is top 3 or 4 ever when you consider his overall athletic ability--his fluidity, quickness, agility, hand/eye coordination, "hands", balance, strength, etc. Then consider his longevity and incomprehensible consistency. He's right there with Jordan, Phelps and Gretzky. What an incredible privilege to watch him. How often in life to you get to watch an entire career of the greatest ever in his sport? And to watch it over 15 years!!!

ROFL, Ali is in the top 4. Dude's influence extends well beyond sports. And he was ALWAYS a fighter.

 

[SinjinCooper]

ROFL, Ali is in the top 4. Dude's influence extends well beyond sports. And he was ALWAYS a fighter.

Influence beyond sports isn't part of being one of the, "best professional athletes." "Most influential?" Sure. "Greatest sportsmen?" Sure. But Ali's not right at the top of the athletic list. Mayweather's a complete knob, and boring as hell, but he's 10x the boxer Ali ever was. And I wouldn't say he belongs, either.

Jordan, Brady, Gretzky, Ruth, Nicklaus, Phelps, Bolt, Pele, and yeah, Federer.

Not Serena. Not Messi.

 

[McEnborg]

Ali was great...he also lost 5 times and ended his career badly. You really think as a PURE athlete he was as good as Phelps (who won in multiple events) and Gretzky (who absolutely dominated NHL Hockey for about 10 years)? Was he the overall athlete Jordan and Fed have been? Watching Jordan and Fed cover a lot more real estate in their perspective sports and having to win so many times?? Boxers fight 2-5 times a year. I'm not talking about INFLUENCE. You added that FedFan and didn't read my post. I'm talking about pure athletic skill encompassing many athletic areas of performance.

 

[MatsPhilander]

 

[tennis_pro]

I don't understand comparing a 35-year old sportsman who competes in a team to a 35-year old tennis player.

Federer has to do it all ON HIS OWN.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Gretzky, Jordan, Phelps and Fed...the 4 best professional athletes of the last 100 years. Who else? Maybe Ali, Brady, Nicklaus, Ruth, Mays, James and a few others.

But, Fed is top 3 or 4 ever when you consider his overall athletic ability--his fluidity, quickness, agility, hand/eye coordination, "hands", balance, strength, etc. Then consider his longevity and incomprehensible consistency. He's right there with Jordan, Phelps and Gretzky. What an incredible privilege to watch him. How often in life to you get to watch an entire career of the greatest ever in his sport? And to watch it over 15 years!!!

In the view of some (including me), Laver was the greatest athlete who ever stepped on a tennis court. I would equate Laver's athleticism and intensity to that of Walter Payton and Michael Jordan.

 

[Autodidactic player]

The OP said "athlete". A great athlete is generally defined as a sportsperson who possesses superior physical strength throughout all major muscle groups, speed, quickness and leaping ability, endurance in all weather conditions and coordination (including hand/foot eye coordination) and balance. To include Jack Nicklaus and Babe Ruth in any group of "great athletes" is ludicrous! What do you guess Nicklaus or Ruth's 40 time was: 8 seconds? Could either even touch the rim on a basketball goal? Finish a 10K in under an hour? Sprint up and down a soccer pitch for more that a few minutes? Walk across a balance beam without falling off? Bench press their own weight? Jack Nicklaus is one of the three greatest golfers of all time, but he's definitely not one of he greatest athletes of all time. Babe Ruth probably qualifies as one of the top 10 baseball players of all time but, like Nicklaus, definitely not even close to being one of the greatest athletes. Federer, on the other hand, certainly should be in the conversation.

 

[Ginger ninja]

I think Usain Bolt and Maybe Carl Lewis are in the top 4 list.

Jordan
Bolt
Fed
Barry Sanders

 

[Pyrolysis]

It's at the point now where Federer is easily the Open Era GOAT at least - and the Open Era GOAT of tennis should probably be in the top four or five sportspeople of all time.
Tennis is incredibly demanding in terms of all-around fitness compared to most sports. There's a a reason why top tennis players have historically declined quickly with age.

 

[Deleted member 733170]

Number 1 if you really think about it, considering how technical and athletic tennis is compared to the other sports mentioned.

 

[DreddyTennis45]

Erm Messi. Arguably more talented then all of those mentioned

 

[AceSalvo]

I would put him in different category with Armstrong, Bond, and Johnson...

It pains, we know!

Chosing to be an mouse and showing your rear side at an elephants party is fun to watch.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Erm Messi. Arguably more talented then all of those mentioned

I don't see any argument for Messi being more talented than Federer or Bolt. Possibly more than Jordan yes. Gretzky's numbers **** on every team sportsman but I haven't seen enough of him to evaluate his talent. Ali makes lists of this kind primarily for cultural impact, not his sheer boxing dominance.

 

[Thundergod]

It's hard to pin it down to 4, but he's certainly in that group. I would put him with Jordan, Phelps, Bolt, Gretzky, Nicklaus(Woods had a chance), and Mayweather(if we're talking about pure boxing ability). In terms of being physically gifted(size, speed, strength, etc.), Bolt and LeBron are from another planet.

 

[metsman]

federer, gretzky, hasek, jordan, phelps, bolt, mays, unit would probably be Mount Rushmore for pro athletes in the sports that i follow at least. Federer probably has the best case at #1 out of any of them for his dominane+longevity+dominance at advanced age combo.

 

[TMF]

 

[Fedfan34]

In the view of some (including me), Laver was the greatest athlete who ever stepped on a tennis court. I would equate Laver's athleticism and intensity to that of Walter Payton and Michael Jordan.

I do support the spirit of the post. I'd say Rod is every bit the athlete Fed or Pete or Nadal ever were.

 

[Mazz Retic]

Um anyone heard of a cricketing legend named Bradman? I know most of you wouldn't follow cricket but to put it in perspective he finished cricket with a batting average of 99.94. The next best is in the low 60s..and he did this over 50 years ago and technology of bats has improved immeasurably since his day.

 

[6august]

LOL

Outside the US border there's a sport called football which is followed by billions of people...

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Um anyone heard of a cricketing legend named Bradman? I know most of you wouldn't follow cricket but to put it in perspective he finished cricket with a batting average of 99.94. The next best is in the low 60s..and he did this over 50 years ago and technology of bats has improved immeasurably since his day.

I hate cricket with a passion but my nationality makes it impossible to not know a little about it. I consider Bradman the greatest ever but he did only ever face one team in international competition. Not to mention that that particular team has not been dominant by any stretch of the imagination in the "Open Era" (for lack of a better term).
Just throwing this out there. Obviously there are excellent arguments against this line of thinking.

 

[Mazz Retic]

I hate cricket with a passion but my nationality makes it impossible to not know a little about it. I consider Bradman the greatest ever but he did only ever face one team in international competition. Not to mention that that particular team has not been dominant by any stretch of the imagination in the "Open Era" (for lack of a better term).
Just throwing this out there. Obviously there are excellent arguments against this line of thinking.

I agree the depth of competition is greater now. But he like many listed in this thread, and even if you don't like it, left a lasting impression on Australian history and culture. Not to mention if you just compare him to his own generation he is something special.

 

[MasturB]

I'd take out Phelps tbh.

Gretzky. Jordan. Fedr. and the rest is up for grabs.

 

[abmk]

In the view of some (including me), Laver was the greatest athlete who ever stepped on a tennis court. I would equate Laver's athleticism and intensity to that of Walter Payton and Michael Jordan.

Borg and Nadal over Laver in terms of athleticism and there isn't even a shadow of doubt in my mind.

I'm sure majority would agree with that (among those who saw enough of Laver)

enough with the BS Laver worship !

 

[Tommy Haas]

Phelps is not a professional athlete. He's the greatest Olympic swimmer for sure, but it's a non paid event. His earnings are from endorsements and not prize money.

Tennis = Roger Federer
Basketball = Michael Jordan
Baseball = Barry Bonds

No opinions on hockey or football as I don't follow those sports, but I do have an opinion on golf which I'll get flamed for by fellow members who also play the sport.

There's no way even the greatest golf players like Woods and Nicklaus could be included on any greatest athletes list. The level of athleticism and physical fitness required for golf is nowhere near that of the contact or endurance sports.

Golf to me is on par with race car driving, bowling, and billiards.

 

[Deleted member 742196]

Top 4 Athletes of all time would need to have mass appeal. Being Canadian myself, Gretzky is legendary, but beyond North America, heck, just the small hockey faring part of it, hardly anyone would know who Gretzky is, or even what his crazy stats represent.

The top 4 athletes would need to transcend their sport. I know we all hate the idea of Federer being larger than tennis, but when my grandaunt across the street, who hardly knows anything about tennis, has a crush on Roger Federer, I think we can say that whatever it is about RF, seems to appeal to a broader audience beyond the sport.

I'm a Yuge NFL fan [go Patriots!] but honestly, in spite of Brady, Montana, Rice or Manning or whomever being de-facto Gods in US, hardly anyone in the rest of the world has any idea who they are. The same would apply to the Gods of cricket, having lived in the Middle East and Australia for a while, I'm aware of how pervasive these sports are, but just a handful of countries play the sport. It's just too niche.

In my mind the Top 4 all time athletes could only come from either soccer, boxing, basketball and tennis. These three sports are pretty much played everywhere, all sorts of levels, have the sort of global tour/league/audience/broadcasting/merchandising and venues that attract people far and wide. While I don't know much about soccer, [quite honestly I find it to be a dead boring], but even I had to attend one of those FC Barcelona things when I was in the city. I don't know the first thing about Maradonna's or Messi's or Ronaldo's or Pele's accomplishments, or what makes them so great, but I do know of these people.

So the top 4 all time athletes for me would be [in no particular order]:

• Federer
• Jordan
• Ali
• Some soccer dude - whether Pele, Ronaldo, Messi or anyone else, it's got to be some soccer god.

 

[Fedfan34]

Borg and Nadal over Laver in terms of athleticism and there isn't even a shadow of doubt in my mind.

I'm sure majority would agree with that (among those who saw enough of Laver)

enough with the BS Laver worship !

Different kind of athleticism. Laver was very explosive and had effortless movement around the entire court. Nadal and Borg are marathon runners with great stamina. One is not inferior to the other. Would love to see Nadal stand 12 feet behind the baseline and run down crisp angled volleys on a grass court with a wooden racket fired off by Rocket.

 

[goatstomin]

Football's the biggest sport in the world by quite a wide margin, and its talent pool is much, much bigger than any other sport. Any list without Messi/Pele/Maradona I doubt would hold much weight outside of the US.

 

[Purplemonster]

LOL

Outside the US border there's a sport called football which is followed by billions of people...

Haha very true and it involves kicking the ball with your foot hence the name football which is pretty logical.

Unlike golf, baseball and american "football" you can't be overweight as a professional footballer. It has produced more recognisable stars than any other sport over the years. Just because Messi is not a household name in 1 country doesn't mean he isn't elsewhere.

 

[kOaMaster]

Top 4 Athletes of all time would need to have mass appeal. Being Canadian myself, Gretzky is legendary, but beyond North America, heck, just the small hockey faring part of it, hardly anyone would know who Gretzky is, or even what his crazy stats represent.

The top 4 athletes would need to transcend their sport. I know we all hate the idea of Federer being larger than tennis, but when my grandaunt across the street, who hardly knows anything about tennis, has a crush on Roger Federer, I think we can say that whatever it is about RF, seems to appeal to a broader audience beyond the sport.

I'm a Yuge NFL fan [go Patriots!] but honestly, in spite of Brady, Montana, Rice or Manning or whomever being de-facto Gods in US, hardly anyone in the rest of the world has any idea who they are. The same would apply to the Gods of cricket, having lived in the Middle East and Australia for a while, I'm aware of how pervasive these sports are, but just a handful of countries play the sport. It's just too niche.

In my mind the Top 4 all time athletes could only come from either soccer, boxing, basketball and tennis. These three sports are pretty much played everywhere, all sorts of levels, have the sort of global tour/league/audience/broadcasting/merchandising and venues that attract people far and wide. While I don't know much about soccer, [quite honestly I find it to be a dead boring], but even I had to attend one of those FC Barcelona things when I was in the city. I don't know the first thing about Maradonna's or Messi's or Ronaldo's or Pele's accomplishments, or what makes them so great, but I do know of these people.

So the top 4 all time athletes for me would be [in no particular order]:

• Federer
• Jordan
• Ali
• Some soccer dude - whether Pele, Ronaldo, Messi or anyone else, it's got to be some soccer god.

Finally someone with perspective. Fully agree on this one.

 

[Candide]

Henry Shefflin
Zinedane Zidane
Roberto Duran
Roger Federer

 

[DreddyTennis45]

I don't see any argument for Messi being more talented than Federer or Bolt. Possibly more than Jordan yes. Gretzky's numbers **** on every team sportsman but I haven't seen enough of him to evaluate his talent. Ali makes lists of this kind primarily for cultural impact, not his sheer boxing dominance.

Lol. This is messi as a Kid. He was destroying his peers.

And this is Messi as a teenager.

Destroying teams left right and centre, even scored a hat-trick as a teenager, against one of the best teams in the world, Real Madrid.

Definitely more talented than Fed and Bolt. What were they doing in their teens? Fed and Bolt have accomplished more, I'll give you that, but in terms of pure talent? They don't touch Messi.

 

[Druss]

I'd definitely put Fed in the top 4. I'd take out Phelps and put in Nicklaus. After 4 it gets a little tougher.

Why Nicklaus instead of Phelps? He's the greatest swimmer and Olympian of all time! I can see Nicklaus in top 10, but there are others ahead of him; Pele, Maradona, Usain Bolt and Ali.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Borg and Nadal over Laver in terms of athleticism and there isn't even a shadow of doubt in my mind.

I'm sure majority would agree with that (among those who saw enough of Laver)

enough with the BS Laver worship !

Have you seen Laver play?

 

[bwongman]

Golf to me is on par with race car driving, bowling, and billiards.

I saw this and I had to say something. How can you compare race car driving to golf, bowling and billiards? I am not saying that race car drivers are the greatest athletes in the world, but they are surely more athletic than a golfer or bowler or even a baseball player. The mental strength of a race car driver rivals any athlete in the world. Having to react to things at 200mph for several hours is extremely taxing on the mind. The smallest error or mental break could mean death on a race track. Also the amount of G-forces that the body experiences during a race is more than any other sport. Most race car drivers lose around 8lbs of body weight during a 2 hour race from the amount of sweat that they lose. Also if we were to sit in an F1 car for an entire race we would not be able to even hold our heads up from the muscle fatigue in our necks.

Back to the main topic. My list for greatest athlete would have to be Lebron (I am not even a fan of his), Bolt, Ronaldo and Gretzky. I am trying to be completely unbiased in my selection and basing my decision on achievement and physical gifts. Lebron is a beast, Bolt is the fastest man on the planet, Ronaldo is pretty much as good as Messi but is also in peak physical conditioning and Gretzky has records that are incomprehensible and his mind was always a step ahead of everyone else. If I were to have picked my personal favorite they would have been Jordan, Federer, Gretzky and Brady.

 

[Bobby Jr]

I am constantly in dismay at how many people still rate Phelps alongside people like Jordan or Federer. Sure he's the most dominant swimmer perhaps ever, but swimming is a chump sport with not only among the lowest overall skills level required aside from running or cycling but it's also the sport where they hand out Olympic medals like tic tacs compared to most others.

When a swimmer can win 3 Olympic medals in an afternoon you can't seriously regard the medals as being on-par with one for Decathlon or marathon etc.

Moreso, if Phelps had been from anywhere other than the US his regard would be less than half of what it is. The pro-US media machine has elevated him quite absurdly on all-time greatest athletes lists in the same way it often has for American football and basketball players. He isn't even in the same realm as Jordan, Ali, Federer (let alone a pile of other tennis players), Gretzky etc.

 

[Bobby Jr]

The OP said "athlete". A great athlete is generally defined as a sportsperson who possesses superior physical strength throughout all major muscle groups, speed, quickness and leaping ability, endurance in all weather conditions and coordination (including hand/foot eye coordination) and balance.

Generally defined?

Oh yeah? What about: dexterity, hand-eye coordination, nerve, clutch, strategic thinking etc?

Consider those things and golfers are definitely in the conversation. It's swimmers who are out. Rote repetitive type sports (swimming, cycling) are almost excluded from any list which makes a balanced assessment of overall athletic ability.

 

[SinjinCooper]

Lol. This is messi as a Kid. He was destroying his peers.

And this is Messi as a teenager.

Destroying teams left right and centre, even scored a hat-trick as a teenager, against one of the best teams in the world, Real Madrid.

Definitely more talented than Fed and Bolt. What were they doing in their teens? Fed and Bolt have accomplished more, I'll give you that, but in terms of pure talent? They don't touch Messi.

Sweet! Guy must have an unassailable track record on the world's biggest stage, then.

No, wait. He's a career zero.

LOL. Not in the top 100 athletes. Got to win to get in.

 

[DreddyTennis45]

Sweet! Guy must have an unassailable track record on the world's biggest stage, then.

No, wait. He's a career zero.

LOL. Not in the top 100 athletes. Got to win to get in.

He's at least top 10 fella. Best player in the best sport.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Sweet! Guy must have an unassailable track record on the world's biggest stage, then.

No, wait. He's a career zero.

LOL. Not in the top 100 athletes. Got to win to get in.

Dear God, how do you keep embarrassing yourself so much on a regular basis?

 

[Deleted member 742196]

I saw this and I had to say something. How can you compare race car driving to golf, bowling and billiards? I am not saying that race car drivers are the greatest athletes in the world, but they are surely more athletic than a golfer or bowler or even a baseball player. The mental strength of a race car driver rivals any athlete in the world. Having to react to things at 200mph for several hours is extremely taxing on the mind. The smallest error or mental break could mean death on a race track. Also the amount of G-forces that the body experiences during a race is more than any other sport. Most race car drivers lose around 8lbs of body weight during a 2 hour race from the amount of sweat that they lose. Also if we were to sit in an F1 car for an entire race we would not be able to even hold our heads up from the muscle fatigue in our necks.

Back to the main topic. My list for greatest athlete would have to be Lebron (I am not even a fan of his), Bolt, Ronaldo and Gretzky. I am trying to be completely unbiased in my selection and basing my decision on achievement and physical gifts. Lebron is a beast, Bolt is the fastest man on the planet, Ronaldo is pretty much as good as Messi but is also in peak physical conditioning and Gretzky has records that are incomprehensible and his mind was always a step ahead of everyone else. If I were to have picked my personal favorite they would have been Jordan, Federer, Gretzky and Brady.

Yeah, I was debating adding Schumacher as he checks almost all the criteria I'd used in my list - the reason I didn't however was that for [most] women, they're hardly attuned to racing, F1, NASCAR etc - and that's a big demographic. Also, you can't separate driver from machine/crew, so it seems a bit awkward to use the term "athelete" (to me anyway.

As a Canuck myself, would love to include Gretzky but outside of Canada and the few hockey towns in the US nobody follows hockey.

PS
FYI, NHL goalie loses 5-8 pounds per game avg.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

By

Lol. This is messi as a Kid. He was destroying his peers.

And this is Messi as a teenager.

Destroying teams left right and centre, even scored a hat-trick as a teenager, against one of the best teams in the world, Real Madrid.

Definitely more talented than Fed and Bolt. What were they doing in their teens? Fed and Bolt have accomplished more, I'll give you that, but in terms of pure talent? They don't touch Messi.

By those standards Nadal Borg and Becker are more talented than Federer. There is no skill in the sport of tennis that Federer has not mastered at at least an A level. Compilations of amazing Fed shots probably outnumber those of every other player ever put together.
In fact I think you could easily make the case that Messi's accomplishments match Federer's.
Plus, of being amazing at a sport at a young age as well as sustaining that is your standard for talent, LeBron >> everyone.

 

[InsideOut900]

Messi has been in his prime since 2008, when he finished 2nd for Ballon D'Or.
His peak in 2011 was the greatest thing in football ever. 2006 Fed with 2011 Djoker's ruthlessness. His 2009-2012 was as good as peak Fed and he had better longevity as he is still going strong now.

It is embarassing that so many posters ignore him just because "soccer" is not popular in USA. And btw, every other country has a name for the sport that resembles "football".
How the heck soccer become a used term for this sport? American football is just a different version of rugby.

 

[pc1]

Gretzky, Jordan, Phelps and Fed...the 4 best professional athletes of the last 100 years. Who else? Maybe Ali, Brady, Nicklaus, Ruth, Mays, James and a few others.

But, Fed is top 3 or 4 ever when you consider his overall athletic ability--his fluidity, quickness, agility, hand/eye coordination, "hands", balance, strength, etc. Then consider his longevity and incomprehensible consistency. He's right there with Jordan, Phelps and Gretzky. What an incredible privilege to watch him. How often in life to you get to watch an entire career of the greatest ever in his sport? And to watch it over 15 years!!!

Gretzky was a quantum leap above all the players during his time for scoring. It was truly shocking to look at the scoring stats then and see how far Wayne was ahead of the others. Was Federer that way at his peak? Possible but it's hard to compare.

 

[pc1]

Gretzky, Jordan, Phelps and Fed...the 4 best professional athletes of the last 100 years. Who else? Maybe Ali, Brady, Nicklaus, Ruth, Mays, James and a few others.

But, Fed is top 3 or 4 ever when you consider his overall athletic ability--his fluidity, quickness, agility, hand/eye coordination, "hands", balance, strength, etc. Then consider his longevity and incomprehensible consistency. He's right there with Jordan, Phelps and Gretzky. What an incredible privilege to watch him. How often in life to you get to watch an entire career of the greatest ever in his sport? And to watch it over 15 years!!!

Gretzky was a quantum leap above all the players during his time for scoring. It was truly shocking to look at the scoring stats then and see how far Wayne was ahead of the others. Was Federer that way at his peak? Possible but it's hard to compare.

Here's the NHL scoring records.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/points_season.html

Here's just 1985-1986.
http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1986_leaders.html

 

[KINGROGER]

Federer
Jordan
Messi
Taylor
Woods

 

[abmk]

Have you seen Laver play?

I have seen several full length matches of Laver.(plus highlights of matches)

 

[abmk]

Different kind of athleticism. Laver was very explosive and had effortless movement around the entire court. Nadal and Borg are marathon runners with great stamina. One is not inferior to the other. Would love to see Nadal stand 12 feet behind the baseline and run down crisp angled volleys on a grass court with a wooden racket fired off by Rocket.

Borg was effortless around the court as well. Plus able to sustain it for long periods of time.

Nadal isn't as effortless, but he can move around in all areas of the court just fine.

Movement wise, stamina wise, they both are better than Laver.

Oh and nadal stood in closer on grass when playing well. He made that adaptation - had to.