Calling all heroes (Top 10 sports heroes of all time)

ESPN ^ | April 26, 2003

[InvisibleChurch]

agreed. ... i just hope that lance's kids don't freeze him when he dies

[stylin19a]

I'm thinking Moe Berg and Rick Monday.
But I'll take Ted Williams over all.

[Peter Libra]

I led off with a little homily without reading through the complete post. The article qualified American sports persons. Ah well, never mind, I am sure this light hearted contribution has given a deal of harmless and mild food for thought for many Freepers.

Well, anyway, my nomination of Ted (Kid) Lewis of old London Town may just qualify - he fought for four years in America. As a man and gentle human being outside the ring- Jack Dempsey was a fine American. True there was some nastiness about the draft in World War One, but Dempsey made up for it in the next war. (Heavyweight Champion 1919- 1926).

[rightofrush]

Wasn't Lou Gehrig the one who would sharpen his spikes with a file while in the dugout to freak out the other team's second baseman? Some hero - he made Babe Ruth look like a gentleman by comparison.

[baseballfanjm]

The problem is, a lot of the atheletes who were/are good people were/are mediocre atheletes, thus they don't get the headlines. My personal sports, okay baseball, heroes who were/are great atheletes as well are Lou Gherig and Jackie Robinson. I also love Tony Gwynn. I was 8 in San Diego when I became the baseball fanatic I am today. When I got to see him play, he was, to put it politely, a tad overweight, but he still had that sweet swing and I watched him win two of his batting titles.

[TD911]

Ted Williams IS the MAN!

ACE Fighter Pilot in two wars, WWII and Korea. Ask John Glenn.

He had balls of steel.

[baseballfanjm]

I'd have put both those guys over Babe Ruth. Yeah, the Babe was the best baseball player ever, but his behavior I think keeps him from being a true sports hero.

[rightofrush]

If you could put Babe Ruth in there somewhere, you have it nailed. Babe, as a pitcher, was the only one who had a winning record over Walter "Big Train" Johnson.

[rightofrush]

If you could put Babe Ruth in there somewhere, you have it nailed. Babe, as a pitcher, was the only one who had a winning record over Walter "Big Train" Johnson.

Before the Babe, the home-run hero was "Home Run" Baker, who never hit much more than 30 in a season.

[arly]

Numero Uno ... Gordie Howe

[arly]

How did a draft dodger make it to #4 ?...some role model

[Fred Mertz]

I believe you're thinking of Tyrus (Ty) Cobb.

[Mr. Mulliner]

You may be thinking of Ty Cobb. That doesn't sound like Lou Gehrig who I believe was a real gentleman, quiet, and in many ways the opposite of the Babe.

[rightofrush]

Your are right sir! My bad.

[HitmanLV]

I'd add Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Ole & Arn Anderson.

[lawdude]

Rick Monday who jumped a class A bastard to keep him from burning a US Flag on the field.

[Captainpaintball]

This is a silly list for many of the reasons already listed, but also because it doesn't even consider any athletes from the previous centuries and millennia...

Or other solar systems!!! They obviously have NO respect for Intergalactic Zorf Champion Gleekon-6, who, for all intents and purposes re-invented the sport by amassing 1,453,456,839 plutars in a single tri-session.

[Mr. Mulliner]

I just can't believe we made it to post #98 before Gleekon-6's name came up!

[T'wit]

>> Hiya T'wit. I just re-read the title. What the heck is a sports hero?

It's hard to get at the core of what "hero" means. I once spent two years working on that question. Real heroes are almost invariably self-effacing and modest -- not a quality noted in many sports celebrities. We have to look to the great athletes in terms of character and leadership, not merely in their achievements. Jim Thorpe, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Babe Zaharias and Cal Ripken -- these were people whose character shone as brightly as their athletic skills. Tiger Woods seems on course to join that distinguished group.

By the same standards, we certainly could not put Ali or King on a list of heroes, and I'm having second thoughts about endorsing Michael Jordan. In fact, I'll give Jordan's slot to the Big O -- Oscar Robertson, who was almost as much a pioneer as Jackie Robinson.