Mount Rushmore

[klunderbunker]

I saw this on ESPN and thought it could be cool to see some others' responses. The concept is very simple but I'm altering it a bit. All Americans and many non-Americans are familiar with Mt. Rushmore. It's a mountain with the faces of four of America's greatest leaders carved into it (if you've never been and you're ever near South Dakota, take the time to go see it. Really quite amazing). On ESPN, they had a competition to see who people would vote as their state's Mount Rushmore of sports. In this case though I'm going to ask for your all time Mount Rushmore of sports regardless of state or anything like that. What four athletes would you believe deserve to be honored on a mountain? No limits on each sport. You can have four different sports represented, all of the same, or any combination you'd like. Judge it by talent, impact, respect or favoritism, however you'd like to do it. These are my choices in no particular order.

Jackie Robinson-While we all know him as the man that broke the color line in major league baseball and team sports, his overall talent is largely forgotten. On his Hall of Fame plaque, not a word about his racial impact is mentioned. Along with being a pioneer, he was an amazing ball player. One of the best second basemen of all time, he was a career .300 hitter and a terror on the basepaths. Adding to that, he lettered in football, track and basketball at UCLA and that he was an amateur tennis champion, it's hard to not have him listed here.

Michael Jordan-This man has gotten all kinds of recognition and he's earned every bit of it. Never has one man been so dominant in a team sport. No one ever put up a legitimate challenge to him. With six titles that likely would have been eight had he not retired, the success speaks for itself. The all time leading points per game average in basketball history shows that he can score with anyone. Add in that he's second all time in steals and it's hard to argue with this one.

Jesse Owens-This is someone that sadly a lot of people haven't heard of. Jesse Owens was a track star ran in the Olympics in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. With Adolf Hitler himself looking on, Owens won four gold medals in the middle of country that was on the verge of beginning their conquest of Europe. To go into the enemies camp and beat the best in the world, Owens was under enormous pressure and he mroe than lived up to the hype.

John Wooden-This man here is someone that the more I hear about him the more I respect him. He was the epitome of a coach. Not only did he win an astonishing 10 national titles, but the stories that I've heard about him and the lessons that he would teach his players make me shake my head. He was a phenomenal coach and an even more amazing man. To not have him on thsi list would be a shame.

 

[BooCocky]

I was thinking of this the other day but I was going to do it like this " It is your job to find four athletes from your hometown, they didn't have to play in Pittsburgh or enter random city, they just had to be born there"

Anyway I am gonna take The Basketball, Baseball, football and Hockey route.

Basketball- The obvious answer is Michael Jordan. The man was great, he was a winner everywhere he went. He was clutch, and he could possibly be the most prolific scorer in NBA history. The man did it all. Hus stats are up there with the best, and that was with taking a couple years off.

Roberto Clemente- And this isn't even a homer pick, for what he did for the game, and the game in Pittsburgh is truly remarkable. He came into a racist city and he earned the respect of every Pittsburgher and World Wide Citizen. When it is all said and done, Clemente was an all time great and was a pioneer to the game because he expanded it a sport that involved white and black to a world wide phenomenon.

Hockey- Wayne Gretzky, what he did for the sport he was truly remarkable, he is the most prolific scorer in NHL history, and he is basically a world wide role model. Too bad Lemieux had to battle illnesses throughout his career because he would have given Gretzky point total a little run.

Football- Well, this is hard seeing as how there have been so many greats and when you talk football not one name sticks out, but when it is all said and done you have to give the name to Vince Lombardi, he has a Championship trophy named after him for sakes, and you can't argue with his success as a head coach in the NFL.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I love this concept and this idea, it actually is a little tougher than I thought it would be. There were so many worthy guys that I left off here, I couldn't even begin to list my honorable mention.

Muhammad Ali Is he the best boxer ever? That's debatable but the fact is I would say he is far and away the most famous and possibly respected, I wasn't alive when he fought but from some of the things I heard he was like a rockstar he was so famous. Obviously he's was pretty damn good too.

Babe Ruth Was he the best baseball player ever? Just like Ali that is debatable the fact remains he is probably the most famous of all time. How often do you hear "Such and Such is the Babe Ruth of (whatever their sport is)" You hear it all the time because that is how good and famous Ruth was.

Michael Jordan Just like the first two its debatable whether he is the best basketball player ever. Most people will say he is(myself included) but not everybody. But just like the first two he is probably the most and famous and recognizable and you can't deny how great and how big of an impact he made.

Tiger Woods Now this is where favoristism comes into play, I'm a huge Tiger Woods fan so this has alot to do with. But in the past 50 years very few athletes if any have made an impact on their sport like Tiger did with golf. Ratings and coverage for golf went through the roof with him. He completely changed the sport not just the PGA tour but golf in general. All walks of life play it now and that necessarily wasn't the case before Tiger. I remember before Tiger I would go play courses and all you saw were rich white people, now it's not like that, you see middle class workers and more minorities and I say Tiger is the biggest reason why. Not to mention he will probably break every major record there is so he is also great at it and not all hype.

 

[HEEL Blazy]

Lets see....some people not consider Nascar a sport but I do and I gotta Dale Earnhardt is one of the ones I'll put on it. Richard Petty also will be on it. Also I gotta say Hank Aaron. Jackie Robinson also is another. Now let me explain why.

When you think of Nascar the two names you think of with being the best is Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Both huge names. So I say both take a sport on there. Hank Aaron hit 755 Homeruns and yes the record has been broken but just look at all the other stuff he has done and you will see why I picked him. With Jackie Robinson I agree with that klunderbunker said.

 

[CENAtion]

I saw the same ESPN thing and this is a really good idea.

If your going to create a Mount Rushmore of sports, in my opinion regardlesss of your favorite sports there is really only one man who should be at the top of your list...Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Michael Jordan - The man is a sports and worldwide icon. Just through endorsements alone, the man is known throughout the world. Gatorade, Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, and Hanes to name some. Now lets get to the game. Six titles in eight years. The Rockets and the Spurs should thank him for that because the Bulls would have won the title the two years the Rockets won tjhe title and they may have won it in 99 and 2000. His list of accomplishments is ridiculous:

6 NBA Titles
6 Finals MVP's
5 Season MVP's
14 time All Star
1 time Defensive Player of the Year
10 time 1st All NBA Team
9 time 1st All NBA Defensive Team
Rookie of the Year
3 time All Star MVP
2 time Dunk Contest Winner
10 time League Leading Scorer
2000 ESPY Athlete of the Century

Thats not even getting into his individual numbers. This is a man who is the definition of refuse to lose. He demanded so much from his teammates but he always held himself to even higher expectations. And this is also a man, who when it matters delivers. He averaged 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. If the game is on the line in any sport, who would you rather have to decide the outcome than Michael Jordan.

Tiger Woods Here is another guy who just is so clutch and competitive it is scary. He will hold all of golf's records when it is said and done and i think will be the unanimous decision as greatest golfer of all time.

Muhammad Ali He stood up for what he believed. Did not fold under that pressure, took criticism but years later he has received much praise for that and rightfully so. The self proclaimed Greatest of All Time. If he wasnt stripped of his title he may habve held onto the belt for a long long time. Gave us probablyu the two most memorable fights of all time in Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla.

Ted Williams The Greatest Hitter who Ever Lived. In 1942, he hit .356 with 36 homers and 137 rbi. whats he do for the next three years, fights in a war. After that he returns and you would expect there to be rust and there suyre was, he only hit .342 with 38 and 123. What a drop off. He's hit over 400 in a season, how many guys can claim that. He had a .344 career batting average. He won the 1942 and 1947-AL-Triple Crown. He finished with 521 career home runs, but that number would be closer to 600 if he hadnt fought in the war.

 

[NSL]

I'm going to stick with the 4 major sports.

From baseball, I'd put Babe Ruth. His numbers speak for themselves. Although he wasn't exactly the greatest person in the world, baseball is the way it is today, because of him. No matter what path he chose, he would've went down as a great. He could've had us celebrating Roger Clemens, the Babe Ruth Award winner for outstanding pitcher. He was a great athlete, and everyone knows the name.

For hockey, I'd use Wayne Gretzky. Think about this for a second...He could've never scored a goal in his career, and still gone down as the all-time points leader in NHL history. He was a phenomenal offensive player, and was under-rated playing defense. He transcends his sport.

For football, I'd use Vince Lombardi. No, he's not a player, but he is a huge reason the game is what it is today. He's the greatest coach of all time, and if that's not enough, his name is on the trophy that goes to the champion.

For basketball, I'd use Michael Jordan. I really don't think there's a reason to explain why he'd be there. Not only is he the greatest basketball player ever, but he's one of the greatest athletes ever. He dominated his sport like no other.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I'm going to stick with the 4 major sports.

From baseball, I'd put Babe Ruth. His numbers speak for themselves. Although he wasn't exactly the greatest person in the world, baseball is the way it is today, because of him. No matter what path he chose, he would've went down as a great. He could've had us celebrating Roger Clemens, the Babe Ruth Award winner for outstanding pitcher. He was a great athlete, and everyone knows the name.

For hockey, I'd use Wayne Gretzky. Think about this for a second...He could've never scored a goal in his career, and still gone down as the all-time points leader in NHL history. He was a phenomenal offensive player, and was under-rated playing defense. He transcends his sport.

For football, I'd use Vince Lombardi. No, he's not a player, but he is a huge reason the game is what it is today. He's the greatest coach of all time, and if that's not enough, his name is on the trophy that goes to the champion.

For basketball, I'd use Michael Jordan. I really don't think there's a reason to explain why he'd be there. Not only is he the greatest basketball player ever, but he's one of the greatest athletes ever. He dominated his sport like no other.

I could spend all day typing this up, or I could just agree with you. That's exactly what I'd come up with. They were either one of two things, the influence with the most impact on the game, or the best at what they've done.