Your city's top-10 athletes of all time...

[cowboy82nd]

Not an athlete.

Is an athlete, but his accomplishments are tainted due to his "profession" .

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Edmonton top 10 -No particular order

Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier
Warren Moon
Connor McDavid
Paul Coffey
Jari Kurri
Glenn Anderson
Ricky Ray
Damon Allen
Matt Dunigan/Tracy Ham

It's crazy how many good QBs the Eskimos had. To have three hall of famers in Dunigan, Allen and Ham in one season, is even crazier.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Milwaukee, WI
Note: Green Bay Packers split home games between GB and Milwaukee between 1933-94.

A "reasonable" case can be made for each to be considered the greatest to ever play their respective sport:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Hank Aaron
3. Don Hutson
4. Brett Favre

No claim to be the greatest, but most likely top 50 in their respective sport:

5. Warren Spahn
6. Eddie Matthews
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Bob Pettit
9. Bart Starr
10. Ray Nitschkie

Alternative list, not including Packers:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Hank Aaron
Warren Spahn
Eddie Matthews
Oscar Robertson
Bob Pettit
Moses Malone
Robin Yount
Paul Molitor
Rollie Fingers

Not in our top ten (but because it is a hockey website)
Top Hockey Players:

Shea Webber
Pekka Rinne

Euh? No.

He is not even top 5, maybe not even top 10.

Great legendary player, but not even close to the GOAT discussion. Hell, his successor, Aaron Rodgers, has more of a case (and he doesn't have one).

 

[iamjs]

Kind of gave thought to an order

Mario Lemieux
Roberto Clemente
Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin
Mean Joe Greene
Willie Stargell
Troy Polamalu
Honus Wagner
Terry Bradshaw
Jack Lambert

Mostly agree, but I'm pulling Lambert and adding Jagr somewhere on the list.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

Is an athlete, but his accomplishments are tainted due to his "profession" .

Athlete by definition is a person who plays a sport. A sport implies competition of some sort.

There is literally no competition in pro wrestling. They're closer to Hollywood actors than pro athletes.

 

[cowboy82nd]

Athlete by definition is a person who plays a sport. A sport implies competition of some sort.

There is literally no competition in pro wrestling. They're closer to Hollywood actors than pro athletes.

Just pulled this up from google:

ath·lete
/ˈaTHˌlēt/
Learn to pronounce
noun
noun: athlete; plural noun: athletes

1. a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.

I would call wrestling, even though it is fake, another form of physical exercise.

 

[Suntouchable13]

For Toronto out of those athletes that I have actually watched:

1. Kawhi Leonard
2. Roy Halladay
3. Mats Sundin
4. Vince Carter
5. Jose Bautista
6. Josh Donaldson
7. Carlos Delgado
8. Auston Matthews
9. Edwin Encranacion
10. Eddie Belfour

 

[Unspecified]

Texas:
Nolan Ryan
Michael Young
Dirk Nowitski
Jason Kidd
Mike Modano
Ed Belfour
Troy Aikman
Emmit Smith
Michael Irving
Roger Staubach

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Alright.

Luleå, Sweden.

1. Jarmo Myllys
Legend. Ask Kari Lehtonen or Tuukka Rask, or any other Finn old enough to remember when they won their first ever World Championship gold medal in 1995. Jarmo was a superstar in Luleå for years and backstopped them to their only championship. Of course, had Finland not rested him in the semi-finals in the 1994 Olympics, they would also have won an Olympic Gold.

2. Tomas Holmström
The legendary net-front presence was an important piece in Luleå Hockey’s sole Swedish championship, but I guess he’s more noted for his four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, and as a member of the triple gold club. In the 1998 playoffs, he was outscored only by Yzerman and Fedorov.

3. Stefan ”Skuggan” Nilsson
Has the second most assists of any player in the history of the SHL. Skuggan is second only to Johan Davidsson who finished his career with nine more assists, in 204 more games.

4. Justin Williams
Mr. Game Seven himself has credited the lockout year spent in Luleå for helping him bringing his game to the next level. Three Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe makes him one of the more noteworthy athletes to have played for the team.

5. Mattias Öhlund
Öhlund was also part of the 1996 Championship Luleå team. I guess that he arguably was Sweden’s second best defenseman (after Lidström) for a few years, and has been inducted in the Canucks’ ring of honor.

6. Jenni Hiirikoski
Touted as the best female defenseman in the world, and is the captain of the powerhouse Luleå/MSSK team in the SDHL.

7. Michelle Karvinen
Grew up playing hockey on a line with Lars Eller and Mikkel Bødker in Denmark. Has lit up the SDHL at a 2+ point per game pace over the last five years.

8. Mikael Renberg
Was the third link on the Legion of Doom, of course. Showed a lot of promise in the NHL before he started getting injured. Still holds, I believe, the record for most points scored by a rookie for the Philadelphia Flyers.

9. Jonas Jerebko
The most successful Swede ever in the NBA played with Luleå’s Plannja for a season and won a championship there.

10. Niclas Wallin
Had a pretty solid career as a stay-at-home defenseman in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes as his greatest achievement. Here’s a pretty neat little stat: Wallin scored four goals in the NHL playoffs, all of whom were game winners, and three came in overtime.

 

[Johnny Engine]

A woefully incomplete look at St. John's:

1. Brad Gushue
2. Colin Fewer
3. Carl English
4. Yanic Perreault
5. Nicola Will
6. Alex Faulkner
7. Harold St. Croix
8. Nathan Dempsey
9. Andy Sullivan
10. Zach O'Brien

There's certainly some baseball, soccer, rugby and regatta athletes that I'm missing, as well as plenty of women outside of Nicola Will, who has the benefit of good record-keeping of her achievements and records. I chose to include Alex Faulkner over his brother George, as Alex has more time as a player in the city itself - both brothers played in Grand Falls and Harbour Grace extensively. I chose to include Andy Sullivan as the Southern Shore area (Bay Bulls, Witless Bay) are directly adjacent to the metro area while Harbour Grace is not.
While Zach O'Brien has played ECHL hockey in the city so is arguably less accomplished than just about any long-term Leaf or IceCap, I think his role as the best player on a professional champion makes him comparable in importance to athletes who have dominated sporting events within the city like Colin Fewer has.
Gushue is so far ahead in this one it's not even funny.

 

[Neutrinos]

Hmm...

Ty Cobb
Barry Sanders
Joe Louis
Gordie Howe
Isaiah Thomas
Steve Yzerman
Hank Greenberg
Bobby Layne
Al Kaline
Joe Dumars

Not bad at all.

Dumars isn't top 10 worthy

Certainly not at the expense of players like Lidstrom and Cabrera

 

[rfournier103]

Dumars isn't top 10 worthy

Certainly not at the expense of players like Lidstrom and Cabrera

I’m on board with Lidstrom over Dumars. Cabrera isn’t in Detroit’s top ten.

 

[Neutrinos]

Athlete by definition is a person who plays a sport. A sport implies competition of some sort.

There is literally no competition in pro wrestling. They're closer to Hollywood actors than pro athletes.

Athlete
a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.


Certainly professional wrestling would qualify as a form of physical exercise

 

[Neutrinos]

I’m on board with Lidstrom over Dumars. Cabrera isn’t in Detroit’s top ten.

Whether you have Cabrera in the top 10 or not, he should be ranked ahead of Dumars

 

[FourRings]

1. Joe DiMaggio
2. Babe Ruth
3. Lawrence Taylor
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Mickey Mantle
6. Mariano Rivera
7. Patrick Ewing
8. Yogi Berra
9. Derek Jeter
10. Brian Leetch
11. Mark Messier

This isn't an Islander/Ranger thing, but in NY I don't think any hockey players crack the top-10.

 

[tlk]

Ugh.. Datsyuk I guess (tho the shine has regrettably weared off tho.. in more ways than one...)
Yashin
Kostya Tszyu
(couple more, eg in biathlon and figure skating)

 

[Holymakinaw]

This isn't an Islander/Ranger thing, but in NY I don't think any hockey players crack the top-10.

What? What about Gretzky? Messier?

 

[FourRings]

What? What about Gretzky? Messier?

Maybe I'm interpreting it differently, but I wouldn't consider Gretzky a NY athlete. His best years and legacy were elsewhere. Messier is really the only Ranger that has a claim to a spot, but hockey isn't that widely celebrated around here and therefore I wouldn't include a hockey player on the NY list.

 

[bradrich99]

Maybe I'm interpreting it differently, but I wouldn't consider Gretzky a NY athlete. His best years and legacy were elsewhere. Messier is really the only Ranger that has a claim to a spot, but hockey isn't that widely celebrated around here and therefore I wouldn't include a hockey player on the NY list.

Agree.Just as it would look out of place to put him on a STL list.

 

[Colin226]

Maybe I'm interpreting it differently, but I wouldn't consider Gretzky a NY athlete. His best years and legacy were elsewhere. Messier is really the only Ranger that has a claim to a spot, but hockey isn't that widely celebrated around here and therefore I wouldn't include a hockey player on the NY list.

I would agree that I don't think a hockey player makes the list just given that most of the list would be Yankees legends, but I would make a case for Martin Brodeur. I mean, how many players from any NYC area sports team have as many records as him? The list is absolutely huge. And that's not even counting the team and individual trophies he won.

I genuinely am struggling to think of a non-Yankee who comes close to the accolades of Broduer.

 

[scott clam]

1. Wilt Chamberlin
2. Eric Lindros
3. Bobby Clarke
4. Reggie White
5. Mike Schmidt
6. Julius Erving
7. Bernie Parent
8. Charles Barkley
9. Chuck Bednarik
10. Joe Frazier

Not really in order, except for Wilt at #1

Wilt at no.1 is pretty much mandatory. I'd take Lindros off that list though and replace him with Allen Iverson.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

It doesn't matter if the CFL is like NFL. The list is a out your city's top 10 athletes and there are many Eskimos who should be on the list, instead of Oilers.

Who would you remove? This list has 2 of the best players current and some of the greatest players all time and HOFers

I like the CFL more than NFL. This isn’t me knocking the players or league. Its simple though. These players listed were the best in the world while playing in Edmonton. The same simply can’t be stated about players in the CFL. Allen would be a great example. Awesome career, an icon but compared against the best in the world he’s not on the level of the elite at the top like a Brady or a Manning. I don’t really see how anyone could argue against that point.

Maybe Draisaitl a case could be made against but even currently he was looking like a league MVP and scored 50 last year. It’s tough though. These were dominant players during a dynasty in the best league in the world. Players like Coffey while far from a favourite of mine personally absolutely make the list based on his numbers verses his peers

 

[Roof Daddy]

My stab at an Edmonton one:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mark Messier
3. Connor McDavid
4. Paul Coffey
5. Warren Moon
6. Chris Pronger
7. Grant Fuhr
8. Jari Kurri
9. Glenn Anderson
10. Fernando Valenzuela

All Hall of Famers minus Connor, but I think he’s a safe bet to be a 1st ballot guy.

 

[newfy]

Wilt at no.1 is pretty much mandatory. I'd take Lindros off that list though and replace him with Allen Iverson.

I was surprised to see no mention of Iverson on a Philly list. Has an MVP, 7 time all NBA, led the league in steals a bunch of times and led the league in points per game a bunch of times as well. Find it hard to imagine him not making the Philly top ten

 

[DingDongCharlie]

My stab at an Edmonton one:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mark Messier
3. Connor McDavid
4. Paul Coffey
5. Warren Moon
6. Chris Pronger
7. Grant Fuhr
8. Jari Kurri
9. Glenn Anderson
10. Fernando Valenzuela

All Hall of Famers minus Connor, but I think he’s a safe bet to be a 1st ballot guy.

List is very similar but I agree I should take Draisaitl out for the time being. I think your list is bang on