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Calling all heroes (Top 10 Sports heroes of all time)
ESPN ^ | 6/2005 | staff

Posted on 07/21/2005 8:28:44 PM PDT by pissant

1. Jackie Robinson

It wasn't what Jackie did as much as the way Jackie did it -- bearing up under the pressure of breaking baseball's color barrier with dignity and class and some damn great ballplaying. And, like few others before or since, he became bigger than the game itself, an American treasure in his own right. Said AL President Gene Budig in 1997, "He led America by example. He reminded our people of what was right and he reminded them of what was wrong. I think it can be safely said today that Jackie Robinson made the United States a better nation."

2. Babe Ruth

Babe was, quite simply the American sports icon of The American Century, a mythic hero who would have had to be invented had he not been flesh and blood. Out of the mouth of Pete Rose, in 1992, came the truth: "If Babe Ruth had been a soccer player, soccer would be our national pastime."

3. Vince Lombardi

Lombardi was voted the greatest coach of all time by ESPN's SportsCentury panel, but he was so much more. During the turbulent 1960s, he became a symbol of all that was right with the old-fashioned, "square" ways. A tough guy, an emotional man, one who inspired great loyalty among his players. Quite simply, the best boss there ever was.

4. Muhammad Ali

Ali was "The Greatest" during his boxing career, but it was after his boxing days were done that he secured his legend as a great American man. Was there ever a more moving moment in sports than when he lit the flame to open the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta? Ailing with Parkinson's, Ali has faced his long physical decline with the kind of courage and grace and humor that have made him not just admired, but truly beloved. Said Pres. Bill Clinton to Ali after the torch-lighting ceremony, "They didn't tell me who would light the flame, but when I saw it was you, I cried.'"

5. Johnny Unitas

A great quarterback, we all know. The greatest ever, probably. But more simply, an admirable man who honored the sports world by being part of it. "He was the kind of man," said Cardinal William H. Keeler at Unitas' funeral, "who would shake the hand of a homeless person and say to that person it was an honor to shake his hand."

6. Nile Kinnick

We're reminded of the legacy of a young man who died too young at the start of every Big 10 football game. The coin that's tossed bears Kinnick's likeness, and it's only one of many tributes to the great Iowa football star and war hero that are scattered around his home state. When he won the Heisman in 1939, he said, famously, "I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe." A few years later, Kinnick was killed on a training flight, serving his country in that same war. He had turned down a lucrative pro contract from the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers to attend law school, and many expected him to eventually become president. "This country is O.K. as long as it produces Nile Kinnicks," wrote Bill Cunningham in the Boston Globe, shortly after Kinnick took home the Heisman. "The football part is incidental."

7. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird

These men made their pro basketball homes on opposite coasts -- one in glamorous L.A., the other in old, work-a-day Beantown, but the 3,000 miles didn't separate them in our minds. Take your pick -- Magic's infectious good humor and enthusiasm and, when it all came crashing down, courage. Larry's hard-scrabble, Midwest, get-it-done can-do everyman attitude. It's impossible. They're heroes bound together by time, and by a sport, and by exhibiting complementary qualities that added up to greatness both on and off the court.

8. Joe DiMaggio

"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you … " Would any other player, in any sport, have worked in that great line from Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson"? No way. Even though lots of ugly things about Joe's life have come out lately, his fame and heroic stature may be equaled, but never topped. DiMaggio, wrote Page 2's David Halberstam in "Summer of '49, " was "the perfect Hemingway hero, for Hemingway in his novels romanticized the man who exhibited grace under pressure, who withheld any emotion lest it soil the purer statement of his deeds."

9. Billie Jean King

She was the best tennis player of her time, and one of the all-time greats. She fought for equal prize money -- and got it. She created an entirely new format for tennis competition -- World Team Tennis -- and it worked. And she creamed Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes," a more important event than the circus-like atmosphere surrounding it foretold. Wrote Neil Amdur of the New York Times after King defeated Riggs, "Most important perhaps for women everywhere, she convinced skeptics that a female athlete can survive pressure-filled situations."

10. 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

At a time when things looked pretty bleak for the U.S. -- mind-boggling inflation, hostages in Iran, a seemingly endless "energy crisis," and a president who spoke of a "national malaise" -- this team made everything look brighter, at least for a while. By beating the Soviets in the "Miracle on Ice" and going on to win the Gold Medal against the longest odds, the young team of amateurs reminded lots of folks what the best of America was all about.

"It made you want to pick up your television set and take it to bed with you," wrote E.M. Swift in SI, of the team's medal run. "It really made you feel good."


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: overpaid
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To: scott says; All; Owl_Eagle; randog

Everyone: excellent choices, I must say.

(Though Owl Eagle and Randog might need a little work!)


21 posted on 07/21/2005 9:00:31 PM PDT by pissant
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To: pissant
I would have to drop DiMaggio and King if we are talking about heroes.

Being a hero goes beyond on court achievements.

In Joe's case I believe the man he was is far from heroic. When he died his home was full of things like golf clubs he scammed from charities. Those who truly knew him best have not spoken kindly of how he lived his life after baseball. If you want a list of greatest baseball players, I would put him on it, but talent alone does not a hero make.

Billie Jean, in my opinion, is given credit for improving the status of women players to a degree she has not earned. Her behavior did as much to alienate the public as it did to advance the image of women in sports. I believe you can look at others who broke barriers and get a much better image of how one should face the situation.

Who would I replace them with? I would have to give it a lot of thought.

For sure, one would be Gherig. I believe what he accomplished was amazing, and the way he handled adversity is inspirational. In fact, I feel leaving him off a list like this is a travesty.

The other would likely be Knute Rockne. I believe he personified all that is good in a coach and in athletics.


Scared Bunny Blog
Not for the timid,
and not political

22 posted on 07/21/2005 9:15:51 PM PDT by sharktrager (My life is like a box of chocolates, but someone took all the good ones.)
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To: pissant

Yes, Billie Jean King kind of spoils an otherwise good list. They should have chosed Babe Didrikson if they felt they HAD to have a woman. Or how about one of those skater babes or gymnast gals. Nothing against Ms. King, but to me she is just an icon of the the ugly feminism that has done so much to harm this nation.


23 posted on 07/21/2005 9:21:15 PM PDT by jocon307 (Can we close the border NOW?)
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To: pissant

Roger Staubach should be on this list.

He's not only one of the greatest football players ever, he's also a real-life leader.


24 posted on 07/21/2005 9:23:00 PM PDT by pax_et_bonum
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To: marmar

Ditto to you and I'd add David Robinson and Roger Staubach


25 posted on 07/21/2005 9:29:07 PM PDT by Horatio Gates (Ye olde roadside donuthouse hooligan)
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To: pissant

26 posted on 07/21/2005 9:35:10 PM PDT by Horatio Gates (Ye olde roadside donuthouse hooligan)
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To: pissant

Mohammed Ali, Michael Jordan,Carl Lewis.


27 posted on 07/21/2005 9:54:46 PM PDT by danny5555
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To: Horatio Gates; pissant

I forgot........PAT TILLMAN.........all around Hero and Warrior........Patriotic American........


28 posted on 07/21/2005 10:02:28 PM PDT by marmar (Even though I may look different then you...my blood runs red, white and blue.....)
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To: NonValueAdded

I've always liked Flutie.


29 posted on 07/22/2005 5:13:38 AM PDT by pissant
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To: marblehead17

The 1980 hockey championship game was the only time I ever teared up for a sports event.


30 posted on 07/22/2005 5:14:36 AM PDT by pissant
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To: softwarecreator

Jim Brown was amazing. But he only played a few years, didn't he?


31 posted on 07/22/2005 5:15:57 AM PDT by pissant
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To: VastRWCon

My opinions should be all that matter to you! ;o)


32 posted on 07/22/2005 5:20:41 AM PDT by pissant
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To: 185JHP

Wasn't the Babe's bat extremely heavy?


33 posted on 07/22/2005 5:21:41 AM PDT by pissant
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To: Dan from Michigan

Damn I hated the bad boy Pistons. Still do, as a matter of fact! ;o)


34 posted on 07/22/2005 5:22:25 AM PDT by pissant
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To: marmar

Add David Robinson to that list! ;o)


35 posted on 07/22/2005 5:24:39 AM PDT by pissant
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To: So Cal Rocket

Agreed!


36 posted on 07/22/2005 5:25:04 AM PDT by pissant
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To: pissant
I think he played 9 years, leading the NFL in rushing for 8 of those.  Quit to concentrate on acting.
37 posted on 07/22/2005 5:25:15 AM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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To: Dan from Michigan

4 - Chris Spielman - Who every football player should aspire to be on and off the field.

Well said,

it's good to hear this recognition from a guy from "that state up north"..................


38 posted on 07/22/2005 5:25:27 AM PDT by WhiteGuy (Vote for gridlock - Make the elected personally liable for their wasteful spending)
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To: thoughtomator

Does Cal work for the Orioles organization still?


39 posted on 07/22/2005 5:25:57 AM PDT by pissant
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To: pissant
Damn I hated the bad boy Pistons

Yeah, but if you lived in Detroit (and your lucky you don't), they were great fun to watch!!

40 posted on 07/22/2005 5:26:50 AM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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