Greatest Multiple Sport Athlete EVER

[lines freak]

It's a trick question, cause athlete doesnt make them great at their sport.

Plenty of great track stars couldnt play football to save their life but they made the team sometimes for their speed alone.

so do you mean best player in multiple sports or best athlete?

But Randy Moss was a great athlete and football player who also excelled at hoops.

Elway, drafted by the Yankees originally.

Antonio Gates. Was originally a great hoops star who converted to football. He actually played on a good college hoops team with Kent State. Might be one of the greatest tight ends to ever play, and didnt play till later.

[stevenash]

Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running. During the 1920s, Nurmi was the best middle and long distance runner in the world, setting world records at distances between 1500 m and 20 km.


Nurmi won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the 12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928. In particular, he won five gold medals at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, which is still the most athletics gold medals at one Olympics in the history of the Games.

Gold	1920 Antwerp	10000 m
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Individual cross country
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Team cross country
Gold	1924 Paris	1500 m
Gold	1924 Paris	5000 m
Gold	1924 Paris	Individual cross country
Gold	1924 Paris	Team cross country
Gold	1924 Paris	3000 m team
Gold	1928 Amsterdam	10000 m
Silver	1920 Antwerp	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	3000 m steeplechase

[k13]

If Lebron decided to play in the NFL, he'd go down as a top 3 reciever of all time, maybe 1st. 270 pounds of 5% body fat, 6'9 with a 40 inch vertical leap and probably a 4.4 40 time. Basically a stronger, faster version of Calvin Johnson.

I'd bet against it.

His body fat is not 5%, his vertical is not 40 inches and his 40 time would not be a real 4.4 but not like any of that matters.
Probably be another David Boston if not worse, except LB is slower, weaker and has little football skills.

[Chi_archie]

I think people often get confused with the Operational Definition of "Athlete", especially in this type of thread.

without splitting hairs over semantics: for our purposes I was using the term athlete to just denote a participant in sports. Mostly sports that matter to 99% of SBR.

I WASN'T trying to get out, who had the most raw athletic skills, in the sense of the way athlete is sometimes misused, in that they have all sorts of raw physical tools: Speed, Size, Strength, Agility, ect....

so we don't NEED to point out only Bo Jackson type freaks....

an athlete also does not need to be a PRO to be considered. As long as they participated in multiple sports.

It could be Joe down the street you grew up with who hit 39 HR's in 18 little league games and threw 65 TD's in two years as Varsity QB at joe blow high school.

a guy could have been a "pro" in 3 or 4 major sports like Thorpe
or a pro in one sport and a well known amateur with tons of potential. We can speculate on how good they coulda been. That's the purpose of the thread. To throw our opinions out there and back them up, then refute others.... all in good fun.

I've seen some really interesting ones thrown out there that i'd never known about before...

keep up the good work!

Dick Groat has been moved to 4th on my list now...

[GunShard]

Michael Jordan.

[str]

Jim Brown was unbelievable.

[Otters27]

Here are some guys that have not been mentioned yet!

Tom Glavine (Hockey Baseball)

Steve Nash (Soccer Basketball)

Drew Henson (Baseball Football)

Todd Helton (Baseball Football)

[Otters27]

Tony Gonzalez (Basketball Football)

Jimmy Graham (Basketball Football)

Lots of these guys out there but not many like Bo or Deon

[hankcream]

Brock Lesnar:


WWE world champion
MMA heavyweight Champion
NFL training camp final cut

[rm18]

Brock Lesnar:


WWE world champion
MMA heavyweight Champion
NFL training camp final cut

[19th Hole]

Dave Winfield and Dave Logan only players to be drafted in the NBA, MLB, and NFL

Winfield was actually drafted by 4 leagues. adding the ABA as well

Dave Winfield
That's right Archie...
Abolutely a beast on the hardwood, gridiron
and the tall grass in the outfield.

He was also a beast on the college hardwood....
Winfield is a model citizen doing great work with his charities...
But I remember when he was
playing for the Golden Gophers on national TV....
He dribbled the Buckeye's
Luke Witte's head on the floor with his foot.....
I remember my brother laffing his ass off watching the game.
(We put a bumper sticker on the family car that read....
"Oh How I Hate
Ohio State".)

Childhood memories.

[ronzer]

my vote goes to Bo

[Chi_archie]

Allen Iverson could a been a great college football player at QB, WR, DB
once had 8 INTS in one game!!!!!!!!! most HS wide outs don't catch that many

led his team to state championship

[Chi_archie]

almost as good a toss as ACL

[Chi_archie]

Michael Vick+Antwan Randel El+Ed Reed+Wes Welker+deion+hester

[InTheDrink]

i'll take allen iverson over dick groat if amateur athletics counts....at least he's gonna be in one pro hall of fame

[Chi_archie]

rob Gronkowski!

[Chi_archie]

Shaq Thompson Bosox minor league player and Saftey for University of Washington Football team

[billysink]

Trivia: only one guy has ever been a first rounder in the MLB and nba draft. Who is he?

Hint: it's not dick groat

Elway. Baltimore and the Yanks.

Gimme a point Drinker.

[InTheDrink]

Elway. Baltimore and the Yanks.

Gimme a point Drinker.

billy guy nba not nfl

ill give you (and only you) 10 points if you name him by 9:15 tonight

[Chi_archie]

Moses Malone (great fielding short stop out of high school, couldn't hit the curve ball though)

[InTheDrink]

ok ill give him til 925

even if he hates sbr points

[billysink]

Someone already answered earlier did they not. I was just throwin out elway as another dual first rounder.

It was Burrell was it not??

Drinker I don't hate points brother. They make great prizes don't they??? Gonna save them all for the mother of all golf contest next year bro.

[InTheDrink]

you fukker!

[billysink]

[baskets]

JJ Gold


Greatest catcher of all time. Better than Pizza, Bench, whoever.


Caught more than 10,000 lifetime!!!! .... and has NOT got AIDS!!!

[Optional]

John Surtees.

7 world motorcycle Championships, then switched to Formula 1 and won one there too.

[InTheDrink]

John Surtees.

7 world motorcycle Championships, then switched to Formula 1 and won one there too.

if youre gonna try to be a fukkin smart guy why wouldnt you just say shawn white ya dumb fuk

[bogbat]

Herschel Walker: football, track, bobsled

He also has two pro MMA wins in Strikeforce

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Herschel-Walker-53594

[Optional]

if youre gonna try to be a fukkin smart guy why wouldnt you just say shawn white ya dumb fuk

He's the most famous double sport world champion in the world ever Drinker!!

Ignorant dickhead.

[Chi_archie]

I think my top 5 is now

1. John Surtees
2. Dave Debuschere
3. Dick Groat
4. Bo Jackson
5. Deon Sanders