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My vote is easy, only because of an injury.

Micheal Jordan, hands down, even more driven to win than Tiger

Bo Jackson, a God surrounded by regular players.

Jordan was very very good, but arguably not even the best player in his sport ... plus he tried another sport and couldn't make the majors in baseball.

Bo was good, but aside from being a slightly above average player in 2 sports at the same time, did nothing impressive.

I don't think allowances should be made for injuries. Some of the most talented players ever in many sports had very short careers. And others played hurt for an extended time during a long career.

I know baseball more than any other sport, so I'll site a few references from baseball.

Sandy Koufax had his career cut short at the age of 30. He is a hall of famer based on his last 5 years, over which he had a 97-27 record, with an ERA of about 2.00 and an average of almost 300 innings pitched. With the health of someone like Nolan Ryan, Koufax may have gotten 400 wins and been the career strikeout leader.

Mickey Mantle, had he lived more healthfully and not had horrible knee problems might well have had 800 HRs and 2500 RBI. As it was, this possibly the most talented baseball player ever really only had 4 or 5 complete healthy years and retired at 36 without exceeding 500 At bats past the age of 29. Even with a short career for such a superstar, he still amassed 536 Home Runs.

Joe DiMaggio lost 3 years of his prime (when he was 28-30 years old) serving in WWII and also was plagued by injuries at the end of his career. Along with Mantle, he might have been the most talented baseball player ever, but we just don't know because of injuries.

Other players like Stan Musial and Hank Aaron are considered to be on a higher level than DiMaggio and Mantle, but they were blessed with longer, healthier careers. I'm a big fan of both Stan the Man and Hammerin' Hank, but honestly, I suspect that Mantle and DiMaggio were just as talented or better.

I'm not suggesting any of these baseball men as candidates for the best athlete of all time ... if you've read all this thread, you know my 2 choices. I'm just arguing against making allowances for a mediocre athlete like Bo Jackson just because he had a short career from injuries.

Seriously, Bo Jackson? Come on!! How about Barry Sanders? How about Jim Brown? Both of those were light years better than Bo.

" a mediocre athlete like Bo Jackson just because he had a short career from injuries."

You may be the only one on the planet who would consider him a mediocre athlete.

Well, anyone is an incredible athlete that even plays a single game in major professional sports ...

But it is all relative ... when talking about the greatest athletes of all time ... Bo IMO isn't any better than thousands of others. Mediocre from that point of view. Compared to the average person, Bo was of course incredibly awesome and supremely talented.

It's a relative comparison. People rip and rail on pro athletes that are marginal players for the most competitive leagues all the time. But just being on a major pro team means someone is one of the best players in the world and a phenomenal athlete.

Again, I'm not trying to rip on Bo ... he was a very talented athlete. I just don't think he belongs in this discussion.

I have said that as far as raw athletic talent goes, Bo was the best I've ever seen. The man had a combination of spped, power, elusiveness and insticts that were greater than any player I've seen. It was awesome to see him in action.

You can't measure this strictly with numbers. Noone here is mentioning Emmitt Smith, are they? There are only a handful of people in history that made jaws drop on a regular basis when they played, such as MJ and Ali. And for however brief a time, Bo did that. He did win the Heisman (I know, so did Eric Crouch) and he was the MVP of the MLB all star game.

All I can say is you haven't seen Barry Sanders or Jim Brown.

Jim Brown is in that category, Barry Sanders was a great back but lacked the power to be the All Time Greatest.

I just want to say ...

Nothing personal on this. I'm pleased to see how civil everyone has been. This is a fun thread, and it is all about personal opinion.

I may strongly disagree with some things (read Bo Jackson) but that doesn't mean I am right.

Great thread.

I agree - it's all in fun. There is no right answer, it's all subjective. I may disagree about some too (See Zaharius, Babe) but it's a great discussion.

"I ... am the best athlete of all time... bar none."








"Hey! Did someone say bar? Let's go!"

Bo Jackson, I am not sure if you saw him play football. I shall quote from above:

I have said that as far as raw athletic talent goes, Bo was the best I've ever seen. The man had a combination of spped, power, elusiveness and insticts that were greater than any player I've seen. It was awesome to see him in action.