Your Top Ten 20th Century Athletes who played in North America

[Say Hey Kid]

Your Top Ten 20th Century Athletes who played in North America

Michael Jordan,
Babe Ruth,
Muhammad Ali,
Jim Brown,
Wayne Gretzky,
Jesse Owens,
Jim Thorpe,
Willie Mays,
Jack Nicklaus,
Joe Louis

HM: Carl Lewis, Wilt Chamberlain, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell

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[MXD]

20th Century:

Michael Jordan,
Babe Ruth,
Muhammad Ali,
Jim Brown,
Wayne Gretzky,
Jesse Owens,
Jim Thorpe,
Willie Mays,
Jack Nicklaus,
Joe Louis

...It's extremely North American heavy.

But then I started wondering who I'd take out, and the first name that came to mind is Jesse Owens due, well, all his glory came within a few weeks... But that mostly, if not solely, had to do with circumstances that were really out of his control.

And then, who the hell can be considered.

The first two names that came to mind were Rod Laver and Sergei Bubka.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I forgot to add "who played in North America". The best international who qualifies I can think of is Martina.

 

[kihei]

Whoops. 20th century, okay, try again

Muhammad Ali
Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Bobby Orr
Jesse Owens
Bill Tilden
Rocky Marciano
Willy Mays
Roger Bannister




HM: Henry Aaron, Warren Spahn, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Joe Montana, Jimmy Brown, Jerry Rice, John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Pancho Gonzalez, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul Jabbar,

 

[Maplebeasts]

Wayne Gretzky
Muhammed Ali
Babe Ruth
Willy Mays
Michael Jordan
Jesse Owens
Tiger Woods (if we look at purely career start date)
Jack Nicklaus
Bobby Orr
Rocky Marciano

HM: Wilt the Stilt
Henry Aaron
Jim Brown

 

[frisco]

In no order:

Jabbar
Jordan
Chamberlain
Mario
Gretzky
Deacon Jones
Jim Brown
Koufax
Magic

My Best-Carey

 

[Maestro84]

I'll give five for each sport that I've followed over the years.

Basketball:
- Jordan
- Kareem
- Wilt
- Magic
- Bird

Football:
- Pele
- Maradonna
- Cruyff
- Beckenbauer
- Puskas

Tennis:
- Laver
- Gonzales
- Sampras
- Rosewall
- Borg

Women's Tennis:
- Navratilova
- Graf
- Evert
- King
- Court

Hockey:
- Gretzky
- Lemieux
- Howe
- Orr
- Richard

NFL:
- Montana
- Rice
- Thorpe
- Brown
- Payton

Baseball:
- Ruth
- Mays
- Gherig
- Koufax
- Bonds

Boxing:
- Ali
- Tyson
- Rocky
- Louis
- Dempsey

Olympians:
- Owens
- Lewis
- Comaneci
- Spitz
- Joyner-Kersee

Golf:
- Nicklaus
- Palmer
- Hogan
- Jones
- Player

 

[Maestro84]

I'll make a list for 21st century athletes (year 2000 onward) too since we're already 20 years into the new millennium (yeah I know time fliesssss)

Basketball:
- LeBron
- Kobe
- Duncan
- Shaq
- Curry

Football:
- Messi
- CR7
- Brazilian Ronaldo
- Zidane
- Ronaldinho

Tennis:
- Federer
- Nadal
- Djokovic
- Murray
- Wawrinka

Women's Tennis:
- Serena
- Venus
- Henin
- Sharapova
- Clijsters

Hockey:
- Crosby
- OV
- Malkin
- Lidstrom
- Brodeur

NFL:
- Manning
- Brady
- Brees
- Rodgers
- Tomlinson

Baseball:
- Trout
- Pujols
- Bonds
- Rodriguez
- Kershaw

Boxing:
- Mayweather
- Pacquiao
- Calzaghe
- Klitschko
- Martinez

Olympians:
- Phelps
- Bolt
- Biles
- Bjorgen
- Lochte

Golf:
- Tiger
- Rory
- Phil
- Brooks
- Vijay

 

[AngloHab]

I would put Sugar Ray Leonard as my number one North American athlete of the 20th century. He was very smart and his footwork, speed and power were unbelievable. He was a great finisher too, very clinical.

 

[Perennial]

Hard to believe that Bo Jackson hasn't been mentioned, and Jim Thorpe has only been mentioned once...

And Carl Lewis should be in everyone's Top 10

 

[Albatros]

In no particular order (only North American team sports):

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Carlos Alberto
Franz Beckenbauer
Johan Cruijff
Eusébio
Zlatan Ibrahimović (peaked in 21st but anyway)
Michael Jordan
Gerd Müller
Pelé
Bill Russell

 

[The Shadow]

Probably the best athlete of them all left off allthe lists above Bo Jackson