[ChuckyTheGoat]

Top 9 – Sports Superstars of Last 60 yearsfficeffice" />>>
What are the criteria? Let’s go with this:>>
· Majority of career after 1950>>
· Limit to four North American sports>>
· Top player (or co-top player) in specified sport for 3+ consecutive seasons>>
· Top 0.2% of players All-time in his sport>>
· Cultural icon status>>
· Talent so great that it can’t be replicated>>
9) Jackie Robinson…I think he has to be on the list, because he broke the color barrier and all the ignorance he endured. Only knock might be that his MLB career totals aren’t overwhelming, since he broke into Majors at age 28 (not his fault).>>

[ChuckyTheGoat]

8) Joe Dimaggio…In the line of Yankee Legends. So cool, endorsed all the products. Dated the hot model. The guy that everyone wanted to be.fficeffice" />>>
7) Michael Jordan…Only reason I have him this low is that his personality is not that likable. Has an ornery edge to him, which certainly goes with the ultra-competitive nature. The part I don’t get is this…’Mike, you won.’ He blocked a whole decade of peers from winning championships. Even the Olajuwon Rocket titles are asterisked as “* Non-Jordan years.” So clutch, so tough on the big stage, could seemingly elevate his game when he had to. Almost universally regarded as “Best non-center ever”, if not more.>>
6) Wilt Chamberlin…I know some Celtic fan will argue that Bill Russell should have this slot. But raw talent earns Wilt this honor. Arguably, one of the three best athletes of the last century. Gene pool at least two generations ahead of his time. His size matched with nimble feet immediately granted him Paul Bunyan status. Just dabbled in track and volleyball, yet earned acclaim in those sports. Season averages of 50 PPG and 20 Reb/game look like misprints. Won two NBA titles, but I’ll argue that he was at least a little unlucky to not play with better supporting casts.>>
5) Wayne Gretzky…Literally re-wrote the NHL record book. Single-handedly made a joke out of youth scouting reports, which claimed he was too small, too weak, and wouldn’t transition to the next level. Not too many guys you can unequivocally call “The GOAT”. But Gretzky is for sure the Greatest of All-Time. Debate it over a pint in Moosejaw, now or 50 years from now, but you come to the same conclusion. Gretzky = best there ever was, best there ever will be.>>
4) Magic Johnson…At 6’10”, the gifted point guard was a unique talent. How many young players have been dubbed “the next Magic” in the last twenty years, only to come up way short? Along with Bird, he saved the league. Almost changed the angles on the floor with his vision, the lookaways, and the 60-foot bounce passes. Easily runs the point on the “All-Time starting five.” Showed his mortality the day he revealed that he had contracted the HIV virus.>>
3) Larry Bird…A great foil to Magic, dating back to the NCAA Final duel. Think about Bird’s skill set and then identify “the best forward ever.” If your answer isn’t Bird, there’s something wrong with your logic. The shooting, the passing, the box-outs. The day he walked into the Boston Garden he made the Celtics matter again. The determination, the rare ability to see the floor at 6’9”. The way he made his teammates better. There’s also the “Great White Hope” factor. In a sport dominated by African-Americans, Bird was the hope of Caucasian American youths. Count the number of American-born white NBA stars since, and it’s clear that there was only one Bird.>>
2) Ted Williams…The “Splendid Splinter” certainly qualifies as an archetypal great American hero. There’s a magic to the lore of being the last .400 hitter and getting to .406 by going 6-for-8 in a doubleheader on the last day of the season. He studied hitting and wrote books about it. Teddy carries a preposterous .482 career on-Base percentage. Ted said “All I ever wanted out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say ‘There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.’” In his spare time, worked in two tours of duty and became a great fighter pilot/war hero.>>
1) Mickey Mantle…They wrote more about “The Mick” than Jesus. Mantle is iconic, yet somehow also the “tragic hero.” His talent was awesome, you wondered how the power and speed could come in the same package. His production was great; the Yankee championships seemed to come so easy. A country boy from Oklahoma, he found paradise in the New York nightlife. The injuries were numerous and eventually robbed him of his skill. Much of it was self-imposed, via the alcoholism. Mantle was one of the top 10 non-pitchers ever, yet you wondered (unfairly?) what could have been. He partied hard and wore out his liver, and you wondered how he lived as long as he did. For all the talent and the multiple layers, I put Mickey Mantle #1 on this list.>>

[will2survive]

Not a great list. Both Magic and Bird are listed at 6 foot 9 but Bird is taller than Magic. Mickey Mantle had the most potential if he didn't use alcohol (lousy number 1), BILL RUSSELL ISN'T ON THIS LIST? this is a waste to read. Good luck with your bets

[rsnnh12]

Disagree with the argument for Wilt. He actually had more all stars play with him than Russell did, but it was always all about Wilt, which is why they didn't win more. He had plenty of talent around him but he didn't feel like using it properly

[iceminers26]

how can you have Wayno on the list and no Mario, take your Wilt/Russell reasoning... Mario was by far more talented than Wayno... didn't have the #s because of injuries but based on talent alone, far more

[ChuckyTheGoat]

how can you have Wayno on the list and no Mario, take your Wilt/Russell reasoning... Mario was by far more talented than Wayno... didn't have the #s because of injuries but based on talent alone, far more

I respect your opinion. Obviously, there is going to be some personal decision on a subjective list like this.

I know Mario returned from the back/Hodgkins. Even injury-free, you think Mario would have surpassed some of Wayne's career records? All that said, no doubt that Mario was an uber-talent and did some amazing things. His instincts and calm were very good.

I still like Gretzky's quote that he felt like he had 8 men on the ice, not 6. Because he used both posts as a bank pass if he had to. How many players even think of that, much less have the skill to do it?

It's your call...but you'd really rank Mario ahead of Gretzky on a list like this? Also, consider that I'm approaching it from a "superstar" status. Not exactly the same as "most talented." What about Wayno blitzing the record book? The assists, the pts, the scoring streak. Are u saying Mario was more creative than Wayno?

Several of the players on this list had better careers than Mickey Mantle, but I will argue that he was the #1 superstar. Books are still being written about him, 45-50 years after he played. The New York angle comes into play, too, b/c the light is brightest there.