Who has been the most dominant athlete of all time?

[Shymega]

Major Milestones.

Michael Jordan - 6 time NBA champion, named MVP in all of them. 5 time NBA MVP.

Pele - 1087 goals in 1120 games professionally :eek: . (not including NY Cosmos career). Won THREE world cup titles with Brazil in three different decades - only person ever to do so.

Wayne Gretzky - 4 time Stanley Cup Champion. Only player with over 200 points in a season. Record of 92 Goals in one season. Record of 163 Assists in one season. Record for points in one season with 215. Record for points in a career with 2,857(no other player has reached 2,000). He is dubbed "The Great One" for a reason. Too much too list.

Pete Sampras - 15 Majors, most ever. 64 Career titles/wins in singles comp.

Babe Ruth - .342 career avg. 714 Home Runs 2213 RBI's. .849 slug % in a year(i think that's the best ever). Over 2,000 hits. Career 2.28 Era as a pitcher- 1,221 innings pitched, only 10 home runs allowed. All time home run leader for pitcher. 4 time champion. Too much to list.

Muhammad Ali - 56-5 career record. 1960 Olympic gold medal winner. The Greatest of all time.. Nuff Said..

Jack Niklaus - 17 majors, most ever. 5 time PGA player of the year. 113 pro wins.

[jn_powell]

Jack Niklaus - 17 majors, most ever. 5 time PGA player of the year. 113 pro wins.
Actually I think it was 18, but nevertheless I would probably have to say Wayne Gretzky.

[4savo4]

Pele got to be him aint it.

[mrcoalminer]

in soccer pele
motor sport michael schumacher
i dont give a shit about baseball
tennis, dunno how you spell it bjorg?

[High On PCP]

Muhammad Ali should not be on that list, it should be Sugar Ray Robinson.

[poopchow]

No love for wilt? Avg 50 a game is hard even if he was the tallest dude around

[322]

Wayne Gretzky.... nobody will EVER break his biggest records

[Shymega]

No love for wilt? Avg 50 a game is hard even if he was the tallest dude around

I agree there were other Basketball players more dominant than Jordan, but if i listed Wilt instead of Jordan, i'd have to hear for it for 5-6 pages. Jordan didn't break all the records or anything(i think he is overrated on that type of scale), but he took b-ball to a new level.

[Shymega]

Wayne Gretzky.... nobody will EVER break his biggest records

Most of his records are safe. I think Crosby will come close to his all time points. He will play for close to 25 years. He has to average about 125 points over tha time. I think Crosby will peak at about 150-155 points. He will definitely be number 2 for sure.

[Burningnun]

Fedor Emilianenko would be up there if only he would fight someone good.

[Mr. Heskey]

In about 20 years Tiger Woods will be the most dominate sports player.

[poopchow]

In about 20 years Tiger Woods will be the most dominate sports player.


Or Roger Ferdererereerr

[AsHopeDies]

I can't think of anyone who dominated his competitors more than the Babe. It's gotta be Ruth.

[navid]

i dont see how its not michael schumacher

[Canty]

Luke Chadwick gets my vote.

[bobtheflob]

Most of those players were the best at their sport, but nobody was as head and sholders better than second best as The Great One. I'm not even really a hockey fan but I didn't even think twice about picking him.

[atreyu_2020]

Fedor Emilianenko would be up there if only he would fight someone good.

Heath Herring, Big Nog (twice), Cro Cop, Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Babalu, you're right, no one good.

[72 pet chicken]

no one mentioned jerry rice?!?!!?

[atreyu_2020]

no one mentioned jerry rice?!?!!?

Someone will break his records, and he's nowhere near as dominant as Jordan was in basketball.

[DontBottaMe13]

pele isnt even the best soccer player ever, how could he be the most dominant athlete of all time

gretzky is clearly the most dominant. i heard somewhere that he has more assists OR goals alone then the second leading point scorer in NHL history has total points...thats unbelievable

[Mrdc]

pele isnt even the best soccer player ever, how could he be the most dominant athlete of all time

gretzky is clearly the most dominant. i heard somewhere that he has more assists OR goals alone then the second leading point scorer in NHL history has total points...thats unbelievable

Who, in your opinion, is the best soccer player?

Back on topic, my vote went to Gretsky

[Wu-tang]

Someone will break his records, and he's nowhere near as dominant as Jordan was in basketball.

TDs, maybe. Receptions/yards, nah. But even then dominance isn't about stats or records.

If anyone from football were to be mentioned in this kind of poll it'd be either Jim Brown or Lawrence Taylor.

Just throwing names out there...Tiger Woods.


Speaking in terms of dominance than Wilt Chamberlain would need some say in this too.

[Meio]

Thorpedo
Steve Redgrave
Dougie Lampkin

[atreyu_2020]

TDs, maybe. Receptions/yards, nah. But even then dominance isn't about stats or records.

As the years go the league will be more protective on receivers and keep adding rules. The no contact after 5 yards, yada yada. Somewhere in the future, decades from now probably some phenomenon is going to break all his records.

If Marvin Harrison stays healthy and motivated he'll easily get the all time receptions record.

No one in this time is going to touch his all time receiving yards, but like I said years from now that record will be broken too with receivers getting more leeway.

His all time TD record will easily be broken.

Yeah I know stats and records does not mean everything when it comes to dominance, I'm just saying he's not even in the top 10 as far as dominance goes.

[Plaguis95]

OMG are you guys kidding? Babe Ruth had more homeruns than the entire rest of the league combined--he was absoulutely the most dominant of his time.

[AsHopeDies]

Most of those players were the best at their sport, but nobody was as head and sholders better than second best as The Great One. I'm not even really a hockey fan but I didn't even think twice about picking him.

See below...

OMG are you guys kidding? Babe Ruth had more homeruns than the entire rest of the league combined--he was absoulutely the most dominant of his time.

You actually used the same criteria I did...only you applied it to someone else lol. In my opinion, when Gretzky played there were a lot of great hockey players. He was obviously the best of the bunch and I think if there's gonna be an argument it's between Gretzky and Ruth, but I think Ruth just towered over everyone else in the league.

[Meio]

You actually used the same criteria I did...only you applied it to someone else lol. In my opinion, when Gretzky played there were a lot of great hockey players. He was obviously the best of the bunch and I think if there's gonna be an argument it's between Gretzky and Ruth, but I think Ruth just towered over everyone else in the league.

You could say the same about the guys I listed.

[AsHopeDies]

You could say the same about the guys I listed.

I'm sure you could

[Shymega]

I didn't want to name current athletes, cause it's hard to judge there dominance when they are still in the midst of there career. Tiger and Federer would obviously replace Niklaus and Sampras if all falls into place.

[Mysterio]

Im going to say Wayne (even though I really dont like him) I wanna say Bobby Orr best defence ever but, Waynes stats speak for themselves. 92 goals in a season will not be caught.

Also up there would be Michael Schumacher, no point of even watching the races you knew he would win.

[jn_powell]

I am curious, now that I think about it, why Lance Armstrong is not on that list. The man was completely unbeatable in the Tour de France, which happened to be his sport. I guess that argument that he only raced in that one race could be made, but that one race is the biggest bike race in the world and he completely owned it year after year, and probably still could if he chose to stay in instead of retiring.

[DontBottaMe13]

Who, in your opinion, is the best soccer player?

Back on topic, my vote went to Gretsky

maradonna

if only he didnt do so much cocaine

[322]

I am curious, now that I think about it, why Lance Armstrong is not on that list..

because everyone on the list could kick the shit out of Lance.

[jn_powell]

because everyone on the list could kick the shit out of Lance.
That has shit all to do with this.

[Trevi626]

That has shit all to do with this.

lololololololololololololyes it does

lance is alevel up from almost all cyclists, but i don't think it could compare to most athletes.

[Meio]

I'd like to See Armstrong vs Schumacher fight.

[216]

Secretariat-the horse.

[Angus2816]

i dont see how its not michael schumacher

Because driving a car isn't a fucking sport.

[piggyman18]

No love for wilt? Avg 50 a game is hard even if he was the tallest dude around

Well, 30 points per game, but that, 23 rebounds a game, and 1.3 women a day for 40 years ain't bad.

[atreyu_2020]

Because driving a car isn't a fucking sport.

It's more of a sport then golf or playing with a 4 year old toy (a bike).

[Wu-tang]

It's more of a sport then golf or playing with a 4 year old toy (a bike).

It's no more of a sport than cycling is. At least cycling takes athletic ability. Some one like Lance Armstrong is a better athlete than Jeff Gordon or any other Nascar racer.

[atreyu_2020]

It's no more of a sport than cycling is. At least cycling takes athletic ability. Some one like Lance Armstrong is a better athlete than Jeff Gordon or any other Nascar racer.
Nascar may not require athletic ability but it does require strength and endurance. They drive in nasty heat with all that smoke and gear on, it's crazyfor like 4 hours or some shit.

By the way I'm not anywhere even close to being a Nascar fan, to quote Carlin it's like watching flies fuck it's so boring, but you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[jn_powell]

lololololololololololololyes it does

lance is alevel up from almost all cyclists, but i don't think it could compare to most athletes.
What are you laughing at and what do you NOT understand. The question is who is the most dominant athlete, and Lance absolutely dominated his sport. The question is not whether one could kick anothers ass, or anything of that nature at all. Lance is one of the most dominant athletes of all time.

[AsHopeDies]

I know right. Not mention the fact that he did it with one nut. A guy with one ball dominating men with two balls...now that's somethin'

[jn_powell]

I know right. Not mention the fact that he did it with one nut. A guy with one ball dominating men with two balls...now that's somethin'
It's all aerodynamics man. One nut = less drag. :)

[Meio]

... may not require athletic ability but it does require strength and endurance.

You must have a pretty fucked up definition of 'athletic ability', come on let's hear it.

[AsHopeDies]

You must have a pretty fucked up definition of 'athletic ability', come on let's hear it.

You are saying that steering a car, something billions of people do everyday, is an athletic ability? That's like saying walking down the street is an athletic ability. Most people would agree that an athletic ability requires a higher level of manual dexterity than steering a car. Catching a football, shooting a puck, heading a soccerball, etc. those are athletic abilities.

I don't get you man, the guy explains why he respects drivers in NASCAR, and presumably other motorsports, and how much endurance and physical skill it requires and you can't help but argue over his use of the words 'athletic ability'. You are easily becoming the most argumentative person on here.

[jn_powell]

You are saying that steering a car, something billions of people do everyday, is an athletic ability? That's like saying walking down the street is an athletic ability. Most people would agree that an athletic ability requires a higher level of manual dexterity than steering a car. Catching a football, shooting a puck, heading a soccerball, etc. those are athletic abilities.

I don't get you man, the guy explains why he respects drivers in NASCAR, and presumably other motorsports, and how much endurance and physical skill it requires and you can't help but argue over his use of the words 'athletic ability'. You are easily becoming the most argumentative person on here.
I think he was saying that it is odd that someone would say something did not require athletic ability but did require strength and endurance. I would consider both of those things to be athletic ability.

[AsHopeDies]

I think he was saying that it is odd that someone would say something did not require athletic ability but did require strength and endurance. I would consider both of those things to be athletic ability.

Yeah...I can see where that's coming from. I think athletic skill or something might have been a better term, but when I read what atreyu wrote, I got what he was saying.

[Meio]

You are saying that steering a car, something billions of people do everyday, is an athletic ability? That's like saying walking down the street is an athletic ability. Most people would agree that an athletic ability requires a higher level of manual dexterity than steering a car. Catching a football, shooting a puck, heading a soccerball, etc. those are athletic abilities.

So 4 year old kids don't throw things, catch things and hit things with sticks? I would say that threading a needle while being shot out of a circus cannon for 2 hours requires much more skill than hitting something with a stick. Many people do drive cars everyday as do many people use their legs to get around, but there is a difference between competing in the top level of motorsport (F1 say or CART) and nipping down the road for some milk at 30mph tops, as there is a difference between an International 400m race and walking to next door to borrow some sugar.

I think he was saying that it is odd that someone would say something did not require athletic ability but did require strength and endurance. I would consider both of those things to be athletic ability.

Thank you. Marathon runners are not athletes and weight lifters are not athletes if we contend that strength and endurance are not athletic abilities.

Yeah...I can see where that's coming from. I think athletic skill or something might have been a better term, but when I read what atreyu wrote, I got what he was saying.

I got what he was saying, but he is wrong.

Say what you like, you have to be in great physical condition to compete in F1, and the dexterity required defeats most that try.

[atreyu_2020]

I got what he was saying, but he is wrong.

No, what I said about NASCAR drivers is an opinion. I said it takes stength and endurance for what they do, which is a fact. Whether or not it's an athletic ability is all opinion, but it is a fact what they do is impressive and they do need to condition their bodies to do it.

[Meio]

No, what I said about NASCAR drivers is an opinion. I said it takes stength and endurance for what they do, which is a fact. Whether or not it's an athletic ability is all opinion, but it is a fact what they do is impressive and they do need to condition their bodies to do it.


But your opinions are wrong :) Strength (tug of war) and endurance (marathon running) are obviously athletic therefore if you agree that driving in motorsport requires these qualities than that too is an athletic pursuit, or do you have a problem with them sitting down?

[gatorpatric0]

Who was the boxer back in the day that had like...40 succesful fight defenses? It was back in the 40's or something.

Him.

[acdcrulsthecoop]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman

scroll down and you will see a table....its of in how many people there would have to be to be another person as good as that person.......you can clearly see bradman (cricket) is a-head by a mile.....he averaged 100 an innings.....my vote goes to him

[322]

It's all aerodynamics man. One nut = less drag. :)

and 1 nut = a bitch who can't win in a fight
it doesn't say who's the best athlete, it says who is the most dominant. so picture them all in the roman coliseum. lance would go down first. wayne gretzky would have a fucking hockey stick and skates, he'd fucking slay.

[kledster]

gonna have to go with ali on this one

[jn_powell]

and 1 nut = a bitch who can't win in a fight
it doesn't say who's the best athlete, it says who is the most dominant. so picture them all in the roman coliseum. lance would go down first. wayne gretzky would have a fucking hockey stick and skates, he'd fucking slay.
I don't think that is what the intent of this thread is genious. If that were the case Pete Sampras, Jack Niklaus, and fat man Babe Ruth wouldn't be on the poll and Muhammed Ali would be a no brainer.

[Burningnun]

Heath Herring, Big Nog (twice), Cro Cop, Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Babalu, you're right, no one good.

It's been a while though. I never denied he has beaten great fighters in the past (although I worded it a bit badly), but to establish himself as the best currently, and therefore the most dominant athlete of all time, he would need to join the UFC and fight the current talent.

and 1 nut = a bitch who can't win in a fight
it doesn't say who's the best athlete, it says who is the most dominant. so picture them all in the roman coliseum. lance would go down first. wayne gretzky would have a fucking hockey stick and skates, he'd fucking slay.

I'd give him a 30% chance of beating Fedor. That's if Gretzky turned up with a gun and Fedor with a broken leg.

[poopchow]

Well, 30 points per game, but that, 23 rebounds a game, and 1.3 women a day for 40 years ain't bad.

i was talking about his 50ppg season in his earlier years. 30ppg for career

[xeoset]

Pele. Easily.

He was the best at what he did and that was win games. Probably won't get far on an American dominated forum.

[gatorpatric0]

I change my vote to Lance Armstrong...or Micheal Phelps.

[Regit]

Maradona, craziest Argentinian and Football player I've ever known.

[SIKKENT]

my vote goes to ricky ponting, better cricketer then any other ever in the history of everything. dominated his sport more then tiger, jordan, pele, federer ever have or will

[Ulic]

Bobby Orr

Kinda.

[Dumpster Cunt]

Lance Armstrong is my vote.

[Meio]

Lance Armstrong is my vote.

Not Miguel Indurain who retired when he started getting beaten by doped up cheats... ... ?

[KicktheBaby]

Gretzky is first all time with 2857 career points. Messier is second with 1887. Getting 1000 points in a career is amazing getting 1000 more than anyone is ridiculous.

[DarkLeviathan]

Gretzky is first all time with 2857 career points. Messier is second with 1887. Getting 1000 points in a career is amazing getting 1000 more than anyone is ridiculous.

And Gretzky did it 269 games less than Messier.

[Wu-tang]

Not Miguel Indurain who retired when he started getting beaten by doped up cheats... ... ?

What are you trying to say? :squint:

[Meio]

What are you trying to say? :squint:

Do you follow cycling?

Michael Rasmussen

:squint:

[Shymega]

Gretzky is first all time with 2857 career points. Messier is second with 1887. Getting 1000 points in a career is amazing getting 1000 more than anyone is ridiculous.

Crosby will be the only one besides Gretzky to reach 2,000 points. You'd have to play 20 years at 100 point per year clip to reach that. To get to over 2800 is sickening.

To people who don't understand points in hockey, if you compare it to baseball, goals are like home runs and Assists are like RBI's, just double the assist totals for half the games played in hockey compared to baseball. Assists are just as hard to come by in hockey as RBI's in baseball, and same for goals to home runs.

30 goals and 70 assists(100 points) in hockey = 30 home runs 140 RBI's in baseball.

If a baseball player averaged those numbers for his career over 20 years, he'd have 600 home runs, 2800 RBI's = 600 Goals 1400 Assists = 2000 points in hockey.

That puts it into perspective how hard 2,000 points are to reach in the NHL, Gretzky has over 2800. Enjoy.

[Mysterio]

Also Gretzky is the only player in the histroy on the NHL maby all sports, to have his number retired from any team. Which goes along to show how great he was.

[poopchow]

Crosby will be the only one besides Gretzky to reach 2,000 points. You'd have to play 20 years at 100 point per year clip to reach that. To get to over 2800 is sickening.

To people who don't understand points in hockey, if you compare it to baseball, goals are like home runs and Assists are like RBI's, just double the assist totals for half the games played in hockey compared to baseball. Assists are just as hard to come by in hockey as RBI's in baseball, and same for goals to home runs.

30 goals and 70 assists(100 points) in hockey = 30 home runs 140 RBI's in baseball.

If a baseball player averaged those numbers for his career over 20 years, he'd have 600 home runs, 2800 RBI's = 600 Goals 1400 Assists = 2000 points in hockey.

That puts it into perspective how hard 2,000 points are to reach in the NHL, Gretzky has over 2800. Enjoy.

When i was in the majors, i got avg like 58 and like around 146 RBI or so each season. Then i just quit... so yea gretzky wasnt that great... lollll

[<Enjoy-Incubus>]

Michael Jordan hands down.

[nhsnhs]

don bradman pwns all these

my vote goes to ricky ponting, better cricketer then any other ever in the history of everything. probs best batsman right now, but he's not really out in front of the game's other batting greats.

[Farout]

As the years go the league will be more protective on receivers and keep adding rules. The no contact after 5 yards, yada yada. Somewhere in the future, decades from now probably some phenomenon is going to break all his records.

If Marvin Harrison stays healthy and motivated he'll easily get the all time receptions record.

No one in this time is going to touch his all time receiving yards, but like I said years from now that record will be broken too with receivers getting more leeway.

His all time TD record will easily be broken.

Yeah I know stats and records does not mean everything when it comes to dominance, I'm just saying he's not even in the top 10 as far as dominance goes.

i dont care how many pages back this is....it needs to be discussed...lets talk about issac bruce and tory holt for a minute...harrison has some competition with the rams

[Yea,StopTalking]

Crosby will be the only one besides Gretzky to reach 2,000 points. You'd have to play 20 years at 100 point per year clip to reach that. To get to over 2800 is sickening.

To people who don't understand points in hockey, if you compare it to baseball, goals are like home runs and Assists are like RBI's, just double the assist totals for half the games played in hockey compared to baseball. Assists are just as hard to come by in hockey as RBI's in baseball, and same for goals to home runs.

30 goals and 70 assists(100 points) in hockey = 30 home runs 140 RBI's in baseball.

If a baseball player averaged those numbers for his career over 20 years, he'd have 600 home runs, 2800 RBI's = 600 Goals 1400 Assists = 2000 points in hockey.

That puts it into perspective how hard 2,000 points are to reach in the NHL, Gretzky has over 2800. Enjoy.
There's no way you can say that. How many people do you know that have hit 3 homeruns in a single baseball game? Now how many do you know that have scored 3 goals in a hockey game? Homeruns are much more rare.

[jn_powell]

There's no way you can say that. How many people do you know that have hit 3 homeruns in a single baseball game? Now how many do you know that have scored 3 goals in a hockey game? Homeruns are much more rare.
Baseball plays twice as many games as hockey.

[ebaumforumlover]

the poop out of ass would shirly be a athlete


u live at ur moms still dont u

[Shymega]

There's no way you can say that. How many people do you know that have hit 3 homeruns in a single baseball game? Now how many do you know that have scored 3 goals in a hockey game? Homeruns are much more rare.

I don't mean by game, i mean by season; 40 goals in a season is comparable to 40 home runs in a season, as is 500 goals is to 500 home runs in a career. According to games played, it is twice as hard(or comes by twice as less) to hit a home run, hence the reason for twice as many games as there is to hockey in a season.

[Mr Chainsaw]

Ryan Leaf

*whoo!*

[Sailor_Bob]

Hercules. According to mythology he won like every competition when he was in the Olympics. Even speed skating and synchronized swimming.

[PMUN NY]

Eldrick Woods, he's probably better known as 'Tiger'.

[mathue]

Mike Tyson ftw

[patriotwarrior7]

I'm going to say Babe Ruth.This guy went up against everything,from spitballs to ball parks that were longer in distance.

[Plaguis95]

There's no way you can say that. How many people do you know that have hit 3 homeruns in a single baseball game? Now how many do you know that have scored 3 goals in a hockey game? Homeruns are much more rare.

You do realize that hitting 3 HR's in one game isnt all that crazy? Quite a few have gotten 3 hr's. Comparing a goal to a HR isnt that crazy. All time HR record: 74 (i think) all time goal record: 92.

[fire-eater]

roger federer gets my vote

[DeltaForce277]

Wheres Cristiano Ronaldo?

[mathue]

nowhere, he's a patsy

[DeltaForce277]

Ronaldo will do step overs on babels dead body

[SH4WN, F7W!!]

i picked 'other'.

Reason: Sir John Suckling of the American Cribbage Congress H.O.F.

Yearly domination of European Cribbage.

[GNR Fan]

In all seriousness Pete Rose should have been mentioned somewhere in this thread.

[liquid jesus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman

scroll down and you will see a table....its of in how many people there would have to be to be another person as good as that person.......you can clearly see bradman (cricket) is a-head by a mile.....he averaged 100 an innings.....my vote goes to him

wow man what a find, this bradman is beyond amazing. Those stats that they show you at the bottom of the page are insane, my vote goes to Donald Bradman.

[Leesin]

Fedor Emelianenko

[Meio]

wow man what a find, this bradman is beyond amazing. Those stats that they show you at the bottom of the page are insane, my vote goes to Donald Bradman.

That statistical comparison is amusing, just don't get into watching cricket. It's a good game to play, but trying to watch a whole test match... well it's like watching 15 men standing in a field for 5 days.

[Blue Lightening]

Someone I feel deserves a mention:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9dDH0OdLPoo