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

[Jeffrey Pedler]

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

Anderson and maybe Fuhr for Gizmo and Moon.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Anderson and maybe Fuhr for Gizmo and Moon.

Moon was already on the list. Gizmo is awesome. There is certainly a number of good options for those last few spots

 

[FourRings]

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.

That's fair too.

As far as no-brainer, slam dunk, non-Yankees: LT, Ewing, Frazier, Namath....anyone else a sure bet? I'm a Mets fan but am hesitant to put Gooden up there.

 

[1OApick]

Hard to say about athletes but I think from hockey players Antti Niemi have the best legacy here.

 

[Vegeta]

Gordie Howe
Barry Sanders
Nicklas Lidstrom
Joe Louis
Ty Cobb
Al Kaline
Steve Yzerman
Bobby Layne
Justin Verlander
Miguel Cabrera

More or less have the names right. I'd argue Cobb is the best athlete in Detroit history though. Man held half the record book for half a century.

 

[Sabreality]

BFLO:

Dominik Hasek
OJ Simpson
Bruce Smith
Gilbert Perrault
Jim Kelly
Bob McAdoo
Thurman Thomas
Rick Martin
Jack Eichel
Andre Reed

Pretty close to what I have, but I think you have to include John Tavares, arguably the greatest indoor Lax player of all-time.

 

[newfy]

That's fair too.

As far as no-brainer, slam dunk, non-Yankees: LT, Ewing, Frazier, Namath....anyone else a sure bet? I'm a Mets fan but am hesitant to put Gooden up there.

I dont think its fair to count Brodeur for NYC at all. NYC is already the biggest city in the USA, I dont think they need to start adding players from a completely different state

More or less have the names right. I'd argue the Cobb is the best athlete in Detroit history though. Man held half the record book for half a century.

Yeah Cobb is definitely not behind Lidstrom. Detroit is a weird one though, they have like 3 guys that are pretty much for sure top 5 all time in their sports but not really a clear number one. I think JoeLouis has the best claim for the number one all time. Some people rank him above Ali but Ali gets ranked higher a lot because of the time he boxed and the cultural stuff to it. Boxing has died off considerably though so its hard to gauge. Barry is probably the lowest all time in his sport, arguably the number one running back (if Brown is considered a fullback) but its a league with a tonne of positions and QBs are valued the most. Gordie has an argument for as high as number 2 but is likely number 3 all time. But in a sport that has been around the least amount of time. I've seen Cobb ranked as high as 2 or 3 but is probably closer to 5. But hes also in the sport thats pretty much been around the longest.

Theres no way Cobb is outside the Detroit top 4 and I think he has as much of a claim as anyone for the top spot but they really have 4 guys that are in that exact same range as far as all time rank go. Its basically 3 guys that are top 5 in their sport all time plus Barry who is harder to compare.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

not from Pittsburg but I would of thought Bradshaw would be higher

Bradshaw prbably isn't even top 20. He's not close to Big Ben, like not even in the same league. Steelers have a lot of players who were elite at their position, and some even all time greats (Pomalu, AB, Lambert, Greene, Franco Harris). As do the Penguins (Mario, Jagr, Sid, Geno).

 

[ziggyjoe212]

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

Brashaw over Ben? Where is Jagr?

I don't think Bradshaw belongs in the top 20. He's famous for team accomplishments.
Jagr is one of the best hockey players in history. He should be at worst #4.

 

[FourRings]

I dont think its fair to count Brodeur for NYC at all. NYC is already the biggest city in the USA, I dont think they need to start adding players from a completely different state





Yeah Cobb is definitely not behind Lidstrom. Detroit is a weird one though, they have like 3 guys that are pretty much for sure top 5 all time in their sports but not really a clear number one. I think JoeLouis has the best claim for the number one all time. Some people rank him above Ali but Ali gets ranked higher a lot because of the time he boxed and the cultural stuff to it. Boxing has died off considerably though so its hard to gauge. Barry is probably the lowest all time in his sport, arguably the number one running back (if Brown is considered a fullback) but its a league with a tonne of positions and QBs are valued the most. Gordie has an argument for as high as number 2 but is likely number 3 all time. But in a sport that has been around the least amount of time. I've seen Cobb ranked as high as 2 or 3 but is probably closer to 5. But hes also in the sport thats pretty much been around the longest.

Theres no way Cobb is outside the Detroit top 4 and I think he has as much of a claim as anyone for the top spot but they really have 4 guys that are in that exact same range as far as all time rank go. Its basically 3 guys that are top 5 in their sport all time plus Barry who is harder to compare.

Eh, there's a big overlap between NY and NJ in regards to sports. For instance, I'd consider Broduer as more of a NY sports figure than I would any athlete from Buffalo.

Hell, both of the football teams that market themselves as NY play in NJ.

 

[newfy]

Eh, there's a big overlap between NY and NJ in regards to sports. For instance, I'd consider Broduer as more of a NY sports figure than I would any athlete from Buffalo.

Hell, both of the football teams that market themselves as NY play in NJ.

I know theres big overlap but it just doesnt make sense when talking about cities. Maybe if we want to start talking about States or geographical locations sure, but Newark isnt NYC. Buffalo is 6 hours from NYC so I dont think anyone would consider Buffalo players for NYC for good reason. Brodeur is definitely more of a figure in NYC than a Buffalo player but that doesnt mean hes an NYC icon when he played 20 years in Newark either.

Would you count Gretzky for anaheim just because he played in LA?

 

[Colin226]

I know theres big overlap but it just doesnt make sense when talking about cities. Maybe if we want to start talking about States or geographical locations sure, but Newark isnt NYC. Buffalo is 6 hours from NYC so I dont think anyone would consider Buffalo players for NYC for good reason. Brodeur is definitely more of a figure in NYC than a Buffalo player but that doesnt mean hes an NYC icon when he played 20 years in Newark either.

Would you count Gretzky for anaheim just because he played in LA?

I would go by media markets, and a good chunk of NJ is in the NYC media market as determined by both Nielsen and local TV territories. Newark is also closer to NYC than Nassau Coliseum is, so would you have not considered the Islanders as having been a part of the NYC market before they played games in Brooklyn? Buffalo is different because it has it's own media market. Do they even get NYC local news there like we do here in NJ (and on Long Island, parts of lower upstate NY, and parts of lower Connecticut)?

I'll also throw out there that Brodeur played most of his career in East Rutherford, NJ a stone's throw away from where the NY football teams play. So if you're talking strictly geography - I feel like you either have to include him or exclude the NY football teams, which wouldn't make much sense.

And for these reasons, I would say Gretzky and any Anaheim-team athletes are part of the "Greater LA Area". You would lump them all in just like you'd lump in all of the sports teams playing in the greater NYC area.

The San Francisco 49ers now play over 40 miles from San Francisco down by San Jose - are all future 49ers players now only lumped in with the Sharks and not with the other San Fran teams?

I just think you have to go by media market. NJ and Long Island are NYC, Buffalo is a separate market, Anaheim is in with LA, and the entire "Bay Area" is one market as well.

 

[Colin226]

That's fair too.

As far as no-brainer, slam dunk, non-Yankees: LT, Ewing, Frazier, Namath....anyone else a sure bet? I'm a Mets fan but am hesitant to put Gooden up there.

I'd love to say Piazza from the Mets since he is one of the best hitting catchers of all time, but he wasn't close to the best at his defensive position and the Mets only won an NL pennant, so sadly as a Mets fan myself, I wouldn't include him and can't think of another Met who would crack the list.

 

[LongWayDown37]

Pretty close to what I have, but I think you have to include John Tavares, arguably the greatest indoor Lax player of all-time.

Agreed, I thought about him after. He probably falls somewhere between Bert and Thurman, bumping Reed off the list. That seems about right.

 

[newfy]

I would go by media markets, and a good chunk of NJ is in the NYC media market as determined by both Nielsen and local TV territories. Newark is also closer to NYC than Nassau Coliseum is, so would you have not considered the Islanders as having been a part of the NYC market before they played games in Brooklyn? Buffalo is different because it has it's own media market. Do they even get NYC local news there like we do here in NJ (and on Long Island, parts of lower upstate NY, and parts of lower Connecticut)?

I'll also throw out there that Brodeur played most of his career in East Rutherford, NJ a stone's throw away from where the NY football teams play. So if you're talking strictly geography - I feel like you either have to include him or exclude the NY football teams, which wouldn't make much sense.

And for these reasons, I would say Gretzky and any Anaheim-team athletes are part of the "Greater LA Area". You would lump them all in just like you'd lump in all of the sports teams playing in the greater NYC area.

The San Francisco 49ers now play over 40 miles from San Francisco down by San Jose - are all future 49ers players now only lumped in with the Sharks and not with the other San Fran teams?

I just think you have to go by media market. NJ and Long Island are NYC, Buffalo is a separate market, Anaheim is in with LA, and the entire "Bay Area" is one market as well.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree on this lol.

The Islanders play in a suburb of New York. They have a New York name and are playing their games 7 miles outside of Queens. The prudential center is in a completely different State and you actually have to drive through Jersey City to get there before you even get to the arena. So a different city, with another city separating them in a different state makes much less sense than a team in the suburbs of one city, 7 miles from an actual burrough of the city with that city's name as their team name.

Making a list for Anaheim and saying Gretzky is one of the best players from Anaheim is wrong. If you want to start changing the parameters of the question and say greater LA area you might have an argument but thats different than asking for a specific city's greatest players.

I think I would do it like this. If you walked up and asked Brodeur where he played hockey is he ever going to say NYC? No
If you walk up and ask Jimmy Garrapolo where he plays football is he going to say San Fransisco? Yes

Youre ignoring too much history on that question. The team has historically been in San Fran and just because they moved 5 years ago to Santa Clara doesnt mean theyre suddenly a San Jose team when theyre not even located in San Jose now. They stayed in the San Fran Bay area and moved to a small city and have been there for 5 years. Theyre still named after San Fran as well. Its not a good comparison again to a team that is in another state, with another city in between them no matter what the viewership is

 

[FerrisRox]

Good addition.

Really? He went to Philadelphia when he was 38 and left when he was 42; You think he was one of the top ten athletes in Philly sports history in that time?

 

[FerrisRox]

I don't think the Rock belongs due to not being a notable athlete during his time in Calgary.

Of course he doesn't belong, he never even played a game for them.

 

[FerrisRox]

I’ll give it a shot with a mix of success, impact and popularity.

Montreal area

1. Maurice Richard
2. Georges St-Pierre
3. Jean Béliveau
4. Gilles Villeneuve
5. Guy Lafleur
6. Howie Morenz
7. Jacques Plante
8. Doug Harvey
9. Gary Carter
10. Jackie Robinson

H.M.: Larry Robinson, Vladimir Guerrero, Andre Dawson, Anthony Calvillo

I think its pretty difficult to have a credible list for Montreal athletes and not have Anthony Calvillo. He's a Hall of Fame player that is a three time league MVP, three time champion, a Grey Cup MVP and professional football's All-Time leading passer.

Robinson had an outstanding season with the Montreal Royals, but it was just one year and his accomplishments in Montreal pale in comparison to Calvillo who enjoyed one of the best careers of a quarterback in CFL history based on what he did in the city of Montreal.

 

[FerrisRox]

New York is wierd. 8 teams in total and the first 5 would be Yankees if we're being honest .

Babe, Gehrig, Dimmagio, Mantle, Jeter

I might slot Joe Namath ahead of Derek Jeter. The success of the later era Yankees should really have an asterix next to it considering how messed up professional baseball became. When sometimes teams are spending a hundred million more than other teams in the same league, the league is pretty dysfunctional, IMO.

 

[rfournier103]

I might slot Joe Namath ahead of Derek Jeter.

Take away ONE GAME and Joe Namath isn’t in the NY Top 25. Put Namath on the list if you have to, but there should be no way in hell that a quarterback with more career interceptions than touchdowns ranks higher than Derek Jeter.

 

[FerrisRox]

Think Salming has a better case than Clark, even if he was universally loved.

Salming clearly has a better case then Clark, who as his best was pretty mediocre, but Teeder Kennedy has a way, way better case.

 

[Voight]

Take away ONE GAME and Joe Namath isn’t in the NY Top 25. Put Namath on the list if you have to, but there should be no way in hell that a quarterback with more career interceptions than touchdowns ranks higher than Derek Jeter.

Agreed, even if we were to go off fame/fan love - its still Jeter

 

[BrindamoursNose]

Really? He went to Philadelphia when he was 38 and left when he was 42; You think he was one of the top ten athletes in Philly sports history in that time?

Not putting him in my Top 10, but he's a great name.

 

[LongWayDown37]

I might slot Joe Namath ahead of Derek Jeter. The success of the later era Yankees should really have an asterix next to it considering how messed up professional baseball became. When sometimes teams are spending a hundred million more than other teams in the same league, the league is pretty dysfunctional, IMO.

I think Jeter’s talent is way overrated, but you are crazy. Namath belongs nowhere near such a list.

 

[FerrisRox]

I think Jeter’s talent is way overrated, but you are crazy. Namath belongs nowhere near such a list.

Nowhere near? lol

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single list of the top New York athletes that didn't have Joe Namath on it.