Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Steve Prefontaine
Roberto Clemente
Roger Staubach (he had a navy commitment before he played pro football)
Hakeem Olajuwon (Had he grown up in the US and played from a young age...)
I'm tempted to write Tiger Woods.
Yes, those are good ones.
We're talking about the best ever, right? I don't think too many of those listed in this thread could have been the best ever - but better than they are acknowledged.
Marcel Dionne - just played with the garbage LA Kings for too long AND played in the Gretzky era AND played in LA (not a hockey mecca)
Willie Mays - maybe he really is the best ever. He could do it all, speed, power, fielding
Oscar Robertson - Could do it all (except as a small man play in the paint)
Roberto Clemente
Bobby Orr
Barry Sanders and Walter Payton. If Emmitt Smith played for Sander's Lions, there's no way he would've achieved his numbers. Sanders played for some bad Lions team.
George Best (Northern Ireland) and George Weah (Liberia). Also, to a lesser extent, Ryan Giggs (Wales) and Abedi Pele (Ghana).
Best and Weah were dominant soccer players who never got to showcase their talents on the biggest stage in the world - the World Cup - because they came from countries that were too insignificant to qualify.
Byron "Refrigerator" Tompkins was perhaps the greatest jockey of all time and his fearlessness and unique ability to communicate with his mounts were the stuff of legends. Unfortunately, Tompkins weighed over 350 ponds when he burst onto the Churchill Downs Scene in the late 40's and his career was over before it even started.
bo jackson was great when he played, unfortunately injury cut his career short.
sean elliot was a top player in the NBA until kidney problems cut his career short.
bill walton was on a par with jabbar and chaimberlain, again until injury cut short his promising career.
davey allison and alan kulwiki both could have been top nascar drivers, until they died in aircraft accidents.
satchel paige could have been the MLBs greatest pitcher of all time, except that by the time he was able to break into the league, he was too old to have a long enough career to prove himself.
thurman munson was on the verge of becoming one of the greatest catchers of all time, again until he died.
barry sanders retired too early, otherwise he would have gained the most yards in a career instead of emmit smith.
archie manning could have been a top quarterback, but he was saddled with the new orleans saints for his career.
Greg LeMond - american cyclist. If he doesn't get shot while hunting he may very well have won 5 or 6 Tour de France titles as well as the big 3. Unlike the drug cheat, LeMond was a good all around cyclist and did more races including the classics. Who knows what he could have won. Still america's greatest cyclist.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
