that pele has ten times the votes maradona has is an indictment on the average person's knowledge of soccer.
i'm not saying maradona is necessarily better than edson arantes do nascimento, but he is at least his equal.
terry - 5 days ago
Basketball from decades ago didn't allow dunking like the players of today do. You had to have talent back then. I was hoping to see if anyone was mentioning their write-in or other player not mentioned. I chose Johnny Bench as my fill in.
rtb - 6 days ago
Ted Williams deserves more votes. His baseball career was shortened by military service during ww2 at the prime of his life.He could have added a lot more to his exceptional stats.
Max - 6 days ago
More votes for Montana than Rice? Come on people.
Kacee Giger - 2 weeks ago
Tom Brady? Someone really thinks that Brady might be one of the 5 greatest team sport players ever? I doubt many believe he is one of the top 5 quarterbacks playing today, let alone ever, let alone among all positions and all team sports. Who did Gisele flash so her hubby would make this list?
Gordie - 2 weeks ago
' "Greatest Team Sport Players" has to include the success of the team' ..
Why? It is the greatest players in a team sport. Plenty of great players couldn't help that they were on crappy teams. Hank Aaron is the greatest CLEAN slugger of all time. He did all he could to be successful dispute the Braves. Barry Sanders is one of the top RB's of all time(watch the film) who played on bad teams but had the sense to walk away early.
Bob Earl - 2 weeks ago
"Greatest Team Sport Players" has to include the success of the team as well as the individual & their lifetime achievements. I'd start with Gordie Howe & his first place among all with lifetime achievements. Bill Russell was surrounded by great players who he made greater. Babe Ruth's career in the pinnacle of pressure speakers for itself. Compare Wilt Chamberlain's stats to all other players stats & you soon realize he WAS THE TEAM in many years. Pele carried his team to the world stage, while always standing on the accelerator.
don garrow - 2 weeks ago
If this questioned was posed differently such as: Who are the 5 greatest athletes in sports history?
Certainly Jim Thorpe would have to be recognized as the greatest athlete who ever lived. Aside from his tremendous skills as a great football player, college and pro, he also went on to achieve some success as a porfessional baseball player. But his greatest achievement was during the 1912 Stockholm Olympics by winning gold medals in both the Decathalon and Pentathalon. I was young enough to recall Sport magazine in 1950 took a poll and asked the question, "Who was the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century?" The answer was Jim Thorpe. Beating out Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and many others. Who else in the 20th century achieved such greatness?
How could you leave him off this list?
Don Garrow
John - 3 weeks ago
It is also really difficult to compare NBA players of past eras and NFL players of past eras. The NFL players used to be at 5'9 and a massive 188 pounds at Defensive end....He runs an incredible 7 second forty yard dash! The NBA had portions where if you were 7 feet tall you were like a high school senior playing against elementary school kids...
John - 3 weeks ago
The cricket player mentioned above is no on the list because cricket is stupid and not a sport. It appears to be baseball if a drunk person gave a rouh explanation to someone borderline mentally challeged people and told them to go make a baseball league. Anyway. Gretzky is the most dominant on this list. Babe Ruth is the most overrated athlete of all time. He was great in a time when baseball was not a full time job, no weight training, no black athletes, no split fingered fastballs or consistent use of relief pitchers... So basically a bunch of white dudes that don't work out and play in there spare time. Sounds like my college intramural team..
Brad - 3 weeks ago
I know this is an American site, but can I have some love for Don Bradman please?
"widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is often cited as statistically the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport."
"The statistics show that "no other athlete dominates an international sport to the extent that Bradman does cricket". In order to post a similarly dominant career statistic as Bradman, a baseball batter would need a career batting average of .392, while a basketball player would need to score an average of 43.0 points per game. The respective records are .366 and 30.1."
jai - 3 weeks ago
baggio seems a little out of place on this list...? He is equivalent to a Dan Fouts to me, a hall of famer, but not someone who gets a lot of "all time greatest" airtime, especially without a championship
ATS - 3 weeks ago
Some may not consider Track & Field a team sport but I put Carl Lewis down. He was a beast on the track during his day and won the US it's fair share of god medals.
Mike - 3 weeks ago
I have no gripe with the top 4 by the public being Jordan, Gretzky, Ruth and Pele. You might disagree with them, but you won't find anyone saying they're horrible choices.
The player I'm shocked isn't higher, and who I put as my 5th, is Jerry Rice. I can't think of any other football player who so exceeded anyone else who has ever played the game with what they were asked to do. Rice is to football what Gretzky is to hockey.
So, is a WR ineligble of being the best football player of all time, because their touches are limited? Or can a WR impact the game enough to be the best ever?
Clifford Sanders - 3 weeks ago
There have been two Greatest - Ali and Jim Brown, Ali can't get on a team sport so the answer is Jim Brown, all others are midgets. ...and in baseball who would you rather have Babe Ruth, Ted Williams or Willie Mays? No others on the list deserve to be on the list with these three, MAYBE Joe Dimaggio, but The Say Hey Kid was the most complete baseball player ever, glove, bat, speed, average & power.
Al V. - 3 weeks ago
My picks perfectly matched the poll results, although not in the same order. Poll ranking (as of 2/3) (1) Michael Jordan, (2) Wayne Gretzky, (3) Babe Ruth, (4) Pele, (5) Jim Brown. Mine: (1) Pele, (2) Wayne Gretzky, (3) Jim Brown, (4) Michael Jordan, (5) Babe Ruth.
Jim - 3 weeks ago
Hey, make the scale go from only go from zero to 20 (instead of 100) so we can see these differences better! Thanks, Joe.
Steve from Alabama - 4 weeks ago
Sorry, Jim. Thorpe, not Thormpe.
Steve from Alabama - 4 weeks ago
Are you guys that built this poll crazy? Where is Jim Thormpe, the pick of sports writers as the greatest all-around athelete of the 20th century? Despite being an Indian in a white man's world, he was not only the 1912 Decathlon champion but he was one of the greatest college football players that ever played. Carlisle, an Indian School, yeah, Indian school with just Indian atheletes, played the best and beat them. What kind of draw would he have had with television and the internet? He was a pro baseball player and World Champion at (yeah this is correct) Ballroom Dancing. Now who in the list above can say that. Oh, and by the way, he started the NFL (THAT'S THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE).
doug booher - 4 weeks ago
ben - jim thorpe is in the pro football hall of fame, he was one of the charter members! he also played in the major leagues and was part of an exhibition basketball team of native americans that toured and played against professional teams. as i said before, his exclusion from this list makes it a farce.
BenA - 4 weeks ago
Jim Brown was one of the few (perhaps the only?) player on the list who was world-class in TWO team sports.
bob - 5 weeks ago
patrick roy, the greatest goalie in NHL history?
Henry - 5 weeks ago
I don't suppose anyone would accept John McEnroe as a doubles player, but I'm reminded of his long-time teammate Peter Flemings' description: "the best doubles partnership in the world is McEnroe and anybody."
And where are the cricketers?
Tom Geraghty - 5 weeks ago
There are several NFL QBs that should be options if Tom Brady is one: Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, and Sid Luckman created the modern passing game in the 30s through the 50s, for example. Roger Staubach? Bart Starr?
Also, if you are going to have soccer players, Alfredo DiStefano ought to be on the list.
Jeff K - 5 weeks ago
Petyon Manning absolutely has to be on that list. He's one of the greatest football players of all time, with a strong case for being the greatest, even if he doesn't play another down.
CoachK25 - 5 weeks ago
Russell.......11 NBA titles in 13 years (including 2 as player/coach) + 2 NCAA titles + an Olympic Gold....never lost a Game 7 or "elimination" game......HOW IS HE NOT #1?
I didn't vote for anyone who made up his own name, no matter how awesome a name "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar" is. Does "Cassius Marcellus Clay" (Ali was Cassius Jr.) not count because the boxer was named after a politician/abolitionist?
Other possible oversights:
Gianluca Pagliuca
Radek Bonk
Shaka Smart
Regardless of your age, race, or even gender, you gotta admit you wish your name was Shaka Smart.
Ben - 5 weeks ago
Joe -- YES, definitely. I went Johnny U. for #5, but I don't know how you gripe with Russell, Oscar, Hank, or Willie Mays.
Doug -- Does he count as a "team sport" athlete? If so, he'd be getting more votes than 2/3 of the people here. Not sure if individuals on a track & field 'team' qualify... sort of like Michael Phelps or something.
Anders Westin - 5 weeks ago
I voted MJ, Maradona, Gretzky, Babe Ruth and Pele but would have left Pele off the list if Don Bradman had been on the list.
Matt Vandermast - 5 weeks ago
Circle me Oscar Charleston.
doug booher - 5 weeks ago
jim thorpe not being on the list makes it a complete farce.
Chad - 6 weeks ago
Unfortunately, the polls on this site are never properly formatted - the results given add up to a total of 100, but since each voter is allowed up to five choices, the numbers aren't right.
Joe - 6 weeks ago
So it's Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Pele, Babe Ruth, and [someone else] eh?
Sam Watkins - 6 weeks ago
Terry Bradshaw is curiously missing from this list.
that pele has ten times the votes maradona has is an indictment on the average person's knowledge of soccer.
i'm not saying maradona is necessarily better than edson arantes do nascimento, but he is at least his equal.
Basketball from decades ago didn't allow dunking like the players of today do. You had to have talent back then. I was hoping to see if anyone was mentioning their write-in or other player not mentioned. I chose Johnny Bench as my fill in.
Ted Williams deserves more votes. His baseball career was shortened by military service during ww2 at the prime of his life.He could have added a lot more to his exceptional stats.
More votes for Montana than Rice? Come on people.
Tom Brady? Someone really thinks that Brady might be one of the 5 greatest team sport players ever? I doubt many believe he is one of the top 5 quarterbacks playing today, let alone ever, let alone among all positions and all team sports. Who did Gisele flash so her hubby would make this list?
' "Greatest Team Sport Players" has to include the success of the team' ..
Why? It is the greatest players in a team sport. Plenty of great players couldn't help that they were on crappy teams. Hank Aaron is the greatest CLEAN slugger of all time. He did all he could to be successful dispute the Braves. Barry Sanders is one of the top RB's of all time(watch the film) who played on bad teams but had the sense to walk away early.
"Greatest Team Sport Players" has to include the success of the team as well as the individual & their lifetime achievements. I'd start with Gordie Howe & his first place among all with lifetime achievements. Bill Russell was surrounded by great players who he made greater. Babe Ruth's career in the pinnacle of pressure speakers for itself. Compare Wilt Chamberlain's stats to all other players stats & you soon realize he WAS THE TEAM in many years. Pele carried his team to the world stage, while always standing on the accelerator.
If this questioned was posed differently such as: Who are the 5 greatest athletes in sports history?
Certainly Jim Thorpe would have to be recognized as the greatest athlete who ever lived. Aside from his tremendous skills as a great football player, college and pro, he also went on to achieve some success as a porfessional baseball player. But his greatest achievement was during the 1912 Stockholm Olympics by winning gold medals in both the Decathalon and Pentathalon. I was young enough to recall Sport magazine in 1950 took a poll and asked the question, "Who was the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century?" The answer was Jim Thorpe. Beating out Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and many others. Who else in the 20th century achieved such greatness?
How could you leave him off this list?
Don Garrow
It is also really difficult to compare NBA players of past eras and NFL players of past eras. The NFL players used to be at 5'9 and a massive 188 pounds at Defensive end....He runs an incredible 7 second forty yard dash! The NBA had portions where if you were 7 feet tall you were like a high school senior playing against elementary school kids...
The cricket player mentioned above is no on the list because cricket is stupid and not a sport. It appears to be baseball if a drunk person gave a rouh explanation to someone borderline mentally challeged people and told them to go make a baseball league. Anyway. Gretzky is the most dominant on this list. Babe Ruth is the most overrated athlete of all time. He was great in a time when baseball was not a full time job, no weight training, no black athletes, no split fingered fastballs or consistent use of relief pitchers... So basically a bunch of white dudes that don't work out and play in there spare time. Sounds like my college intramural team..
I know this is an American site, but can I have some love for Don Bradman please?
"widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is often cited as statistically the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport."
"The statistics show that "no other athlete dominates an international sport to the extent that Bradman does cricket". In order to post a similarly dominant career statistic as Bradman, a baseball batter would need a career batting average of .392, while a basketball player would need to score an average of 43.0 points per game. The respective records are .366 and 30.1."
baggio seems a little out of place on this list...? He is equivalent to a Dan Fouts to me, a hall of famer, but not someone who gets a lot of "all time greatest" airtime, especially without a championship
Some may not consider Track & Field a team sport but I put Carl Lewis down. He was a beast on the track during his day and won the US it's fair share of god medals.
I have no gripe with the top 4 by the public being Jordan, Gretzky, Ruth and Pele. You might disagree with them, but you won't find anyone saying they're horrible choices.
The player I'm shocked isn't higher, and who I put as my 5th, is Jerry Rice. I can't think of any other football player who so exceeded anyone else who has ever played the game with what they were asked to do. Rice is to football what Gretzky is to hockey.
So, is a WR ineligble of being the best football player of all time, because their touches are limited? Or can a WR impact the game enough to be the best ever?
There have been two Greatest - Ali and Jim Brown, Ali can't get on a team sport so the answer is Jim Brown, all others are midgets. ...and in baseball who would you rather have Babe Ruth, Ted Williams or Willie Mays? No others on the list deserve to be on the list with these three, MAYBE Joe Dimaggio, but The Say Hey Kid was the most complete baseball player ever, glove, bat, speed, average & power.
My picks perfectly matched the poll results, although not in the same order. Poll ranking (as of 2/3) (1) Michael Jordan, (2) Wayne Gretzky, (3) Babe Ruth, (4) Pele, (5) Jim Brown. Mine: (1) Pele, (2) Wayne Gretzky, (3) Jim Brown, (4) Michael Jordan, (5) Babe Ruth.
Hey, make the scale go from only go from zero to 20 (instead of 100) so we can see these differences better! Thanks, Joe.
Sorry, Jim. Thorpe, not Thormpe.
Are you guys that built this poll crazy? Where is Jim Thormpe, the pick of sports writers as the greatest all-around athelete of the 20th century? Despite being an Indian in a white man's world, he was not only the 1912 Decathlon champion but he was one of the greatest college football players that ever played. Carlisle, an Indian School, yeah, Indian school with just Indian atheletes, played the best and beat them. What kind of draw would he have had with television and the internet? He was a pro baseball player and World Champion at (yeah this is correct) Ballroom Dancing. Now who in the list above can say that. Oh, and by the way, he started the NFL (THAT'S THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE).
ben - jim thorpe is in the pro football hall of fame, he was one of the charter members! he also played in the major leagues and was part of an exhibition basketball team of native americans that toured and played against professional teams. as i said before, his exclusion from this list makes it a farce.
Jim Brown was one of the few (perhaps the only?) player on the list who was world-class in TWO team sports.
patrick roy, the greatest goalie in NHL history?
I don't suppose anyone would accept John McEnroe as a doubles player, but I'm reminded of his long-time teammate Peter Flemings' description: "the best doubles partnership in the world is McEnroe and anybody."
And where are the cricketers?
There are several NFL QBs that should be options if Tom Brady is one: Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, and Sid Luckman created the modern passing game in the 30s through the 50s, for example. Roger Staubach? Bart Starr?
Also, if you are going to have soccer players, Alfredo DiStefano ought to be on the list.
Petyon Manning absolutely has to be on that list. He's one of the greatest football players of all time, with a strong case for being the greatest, even if he doesn't play another down.
Russell.......11 NBA titles in 13 years (including 2 as player/coach) + 2 NCAA titles + an Olympic Gold....never lost a Game 7 or "elimination" game......HOW IS HE NOT #1?
I didn't vote for anyone who made up his own name, no matter how awesome a name "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar" is. Does "Cassius Marcellus Clay" (Ali was Cassius Jr.) not count because the boxer was named after a politician/abolitionist?
Other possible oversights:
Gianluca Pagliuca
Radek Bonk
Shaka Smart
Regardless of your age, race, or even gender, you gotta admit you wish your name was Shaka Smart.
Joe -- YES, definitely. I went Johnny U. for #5, but I don't know how you gripe with Russell, Oscar, Hank, or Willie Mays.
Doug -- Does he count as a "team sport" athlete? If so, he'd be getting more votes than 2/3 of the people here. Not sure if individuals on a track & field 'team' qualify... sort of like Michael Phelps or something.
I voted MJ, Maradona, Gretzky, Babe Ruth and Pele but would have left Pele off the list if Don Bradman had been on the list.
Circle me Oscar Charleston.
jim thorpe not being on the list makes it a complete farce.
Unfortunately, the polls on this site are never properly formatted - the results given add up to a total of 100, but since each voter is allowed up to five choices, the numbers aren't right.
So it's Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Pele, Babe Ruth, and [someone else] eh?
Terry Bradshaw is curiously missing from this list.