DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Favorite Players from Each Sport

I was reading the Al Kaline and Bobby Mitchell threads and thought of this topic. It's the slow season. I was a teacher and like to set parameters, but pick the sports you like and set your own number of athletes who were your favorites. I do think limiting it to 5 is a good idea, but maybe not.

NFL:

Johnny Unitas
Walter Payton
Jim Brown
Gayle Sayers
Dick Butkus

NBA:

Walt Frazier
Magic
LeBron
Spencer Haywood
Ray Williams............LOL, but it's true.

MLB:

Roberto Clemente.........my favorite athlete ever!!!!!
Barry Bonds
Omar Vizquel..........dude was great when my son was at the stadium and performed in the Skills challenge. Screw Charles Nagy.
Willie Mays
Hank Aaron

Men's Tennis:

Bjorn Borg
Arthur Ashe
Jimmie Conners

Women's Tennis:

Martina N.....I can't spell it
Chris Everett

PGA:

Gary Player
Corey Pavin
Arnold Palmer
Seve Bal.........can't spell it.
Tom Watson

LPGA:

Not sure.

WNBA:

Not sure.

Boxing:

Ali
"Sugar" Ray Leonard
Wilfred Benitez
Joe Louis [thanks Pops]
Ernie Shavers [thanks for the lessons and I will never, ever forget them.]

I better clarify............I am not asking for the best players of each sport. Just your own personal favorites.

NFL:

Bo Jackson
Barry Sanders
Eric Metcalf
Dan Marino
Bernie
Walter Payton
Randy Moss (was it possible to over-throw him?)
Prime Time!


NBA:

Magic
LeBron
Austin Carr (friend of a family friend, got us playoff tix for the "miracle" and lots of autographs from everyone - I was the coolest kid in grade school with all the swag. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find five Cavs in your living room!)
Allen Iverson
Tracy McGrady


MLB:

Bo Jackson
Roberto Clemente
Barry Bonds
Omar Vizquel... dude was great when I bought him a beer at OzFest, and thanked him for all the years and memories.
Will the Thrill
Nolan Ryan
Ryne Sandberg


Men's Tennis:

Bjorn Borg
Roger Federer
Andre Agassi's comback


Women's Tennis:

Martina Navratilova
Serena Williams... the most dominant female athlete ever.


Boxing:

Roy Jones Jr
Ken Norton
Ali
Wilfred Benitez... one of the most underrated ever. One of the best counter-punchers and defenders ever.
Iron Mike

Only ranked players I've alive to see and remember:

MLB

Albert Belle
Ken Griffey Jr.
Greg Maddux
Kenny Lofton
Orel Hershiser
Darryl Strawberry
Kirby Puckett

NBA

Shawn Kemp
Mark Price
Michael Jordon
David Robinson
Bron Bron
John Starks
Nick Van Exel
"Thunder" Dan Majerle

NFL

Webster Slaughter
Barry Sanders
Joe Monatana
Jerry Rice
Larry Fitzgerals
Frank Minnifield
Hanford Dixon
Deion Sanders
Randall Cunningham
Tony Romo

Tennis

Andy Roddick - His U.S. Open win was incredible.
Andre Agassi
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer - Respect. Roddick rarely beat him. The '09 Wimbeldon Final was incredible.

Martina Hingis
Monica Seles
Steffi Graf


**Could not stand Lleyton Hewitt

PGA

Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
John Daly
Fred Couples

I don't know how anyone can make a baseball list without Francisco Lindor on it. I get Visquez, but Lindor has all he had, and far more.

For me, mine were players from the time I grew up as a kid from mid 80s through 90s.

As an adult, I struggle to find that soft spot I felt for players in my youth and younger years.

Love Lindor, he'll be gone. Sports are a business and I'm fully attuned to that now.

Baseball:
Johnny Bench
Pete Rose
Al Kaline
Kirk Gibson
Omar Vizquel

Football:
Joe Montana
Bo Jackson
Clay Matthews
Dave Logan
Jim Brown

Hockey:
Gordie Howe
Steve Yzerman
Nick Lidstrom
Sergei Federov
Vladimir Konstantinov

Soccer:
Pele

Basketball:
Lebron
Mark Price
Bill Laimbeer
Joe Dumars
Darryl Dawkins

Golf:
Moe Norman
Tiger
Jim Furyk
Gary Player

Weightlifting:
Vasili Alexeyev

I forgot hockey.

NHL:

Mario Lemieux
Steve Yzerman
Phil Esposito
Bobby Orr
Jamoir Jagr

Baseball:
Rocky Colavito
Joe Carter
Albert Belle
Jim Thome
Manny Ramirez

Football:
Jim Brown
Bobby Mitchell
Greg Pruitt
Jerry Sherk
Clay Matthews

Boxing:
Sugar Ray Robinson (thanks to Youtube)
Thomas Hearns
Alex Arguello
Roberto Duran
Larry Holmes

Basketball:
Wilt Chamberlain
Oscar Robertson
Jerry West
Elgin Baylor
Jerry Lucas

Hockey:
Gordie Howe
Bobby Hull
Bobby Orr
Gerry Cheevers
Wayne Gretsky


Golf:
Paula Creamer
Natalie Gulbis

Tennis:
Anna Kournikova
Maria Sharapova

Man............I want to add Larry Holmes to my original list. How the hell did I forget to include him?

Love your list ..Man I'm old ..lol , the original " The Rock "

NFL
Peyton Manning
Eric Metcalf
Deion Sanders
Brett Favre
Dan Marino

MLB
Derek Jeter
Ken Griffey Jr
Paul O’Neill
Omar Vizquel
Mariano Rivera

NBA
Michael Jordan
Reggie Miller
Larry Bird
Lebron James
Dirk Nowitzki

NFL - Clay Matthews ('78-'93)

Boxing - Ike Ibeabuchi / Andrew Golota

NBA - Dr. J

Men's Tennis - Ilie Nastase / John McEnroe

Women's Tennis - Gabriela Sabatini

Golf - Chi Chi Rodriguez

NFL:

Bernie Kosar
Roger Staubach
Dan Fouts
Barry Sanders
Joe Montana

NHL:

Darryl Sittler
Wendell Clark
Gretzky
Auston Matthews
Guy Lafleur



MLB:

Gary Carter
Tim Raines
Nolan Ryan
Ozzie Smith
Greg Maddux

NBA:
Jordan
Steve Nash
Reggie Miller
Kawhi Leonard
Mugsy Bogues

TENNIS:

John McEnroe
Roger Federer
Jimmy Connors
Stefi Graf
Martina Hingis

GOLF:

Tiger Woods
Mike Weir
Jack Nicklaus
Rory McIlroy
Nick Faldo

Going to go just one and not all sports

NFL: Otis Taylor
NBA: Bill Russel
MLB: Brooks Robinson
NHL: Vladimir Konstantinov
PGA: Charlie Sifford

All time athlete: Bo Jackson

NFL:

Josh Cribbs
Mike Vick
Jeremy Shockey

NBA:

Chris Paul
Blake Griffin
LeBron James

MLB:

David Justice
Mariano Rivera
Mike Mussina

NHL:

Pavel Bure
Roberto Luongo
Kelly Hrudey

Forgot about Josh Cribbs ugh

In the order I put them for each sport:

NFL:
Leroy Kelly
Ozzie Newsome
Brian Sipe


NBA:
Bill Russel
John Havelchek
Dave Cowans

MLB:
Willie Mays
Willie McCovey
Madison Bumgarner

NHL:
Bobby Orr
Phil Esposito
Gerry Cheevers


PGA:
Jack Nicolas
Arnold Palmer
Tom Watson

NFL

Jim Brown
Leroy Kelly
Dick Butkus
LeRoy Selmon
John Riggins...got to add Emmitt Smith

MLB
Mickey Mantle
Rocky Colavito
Bob Feller
Greg Maddux
Hank Aaron

PGA

Jack
Arnie
Tom Watson
Raymond Floyd
Tom Kite

LPGA

Annika Sorenstam
Julie Inkster
Pat Bradley
Lexi Thompson

Tennis

Jimmy Connors
Patrick McEnrow

Women
Chris Everett
Gabriella Sabatinni

NBA
Lebron
Oscar
Bill Walton
the Bird
Dave DeBussher
John Havlecheck

NASCAR

Jeff Gordon
Buddy Baker
Dale Earnhart...not Jr.
Bill Elliott

NHL

Bobby Orr

Wayne Grestky...the most dominant player in his sport ever...just look it up

Patrick Roy

Marty McSorley...got to give credit to the goons who protect guys like Gretskey.

Freddie Glover....Cleveland Barons back in the early 60's.

I will break mine down into who I liked when I was a kid, and who I like today.

NFL:

When I was a kid I was obsessed with Barry Sanders. I loved the Lions. Scott Mitchell, Herman Moore, Wayne Fontes coaching. They never really did anything but they were a fun team to watch. Barry was incredible. We will probably never see anything like him again, not only because of the abilities, but just the way the game is schemed and coached these days. For those that didn't get to see him, imagine Darren Sproles and USC Reggie Bush combined into an every down back.

I loved Jamir Miller too. He was the first guy on the new Browns that I took a liking too.

These days, there are a bunch of guys not on the Browns that I like/respect. Brady, Larry Fitz, Mike Thomas. Guys that bring it every single week.

I love Baker too. I know he's had his ups and downs, but I finally feel like we don't have to constantly talk about drafting another QB. I'm not saying he's locked in for the next decade, but I am excited to see how he develops moving forward.

MLB:

I loved Ken Griffey Jr growing up. I got to see him at the Muni and at Jacobs field several times. He was incredible to watch. I loved that '95 Tribe team too. Omar, Manny, Baerga, Sandy. I have never seen a cast of characters quite like that on a sports team.

These days I don't care that much for baseball. I don't like the system, I don't like how big market teams have a bigger margin for error because they can just cherry pick players from smaller markets, and just absorb the contract if the guy doesn't turn out. They keep trying these stupid new rules to make the game better, but it would really be much more interesting with a few less games and a hard cap like the NFL. Not going to happen. I watched zero baseball games last year. Other than Indians playoff games, I haven't watched playoff baseball since the Red Sox first title. I just don't care anymore.

NBA:

Back in the day I loved Shaq and Penny. I loved Mark Price just like every other Cavs fan probably did.

These days I still love Lebron. I'm not a Laker fan, but I will pull for him in the playoffs. I still love Kyrie. I don't really care about the things he says, he will always have a place in my heart for helping end the drought. And when he's healthy and on, he's electric. I love Dame Lillard. Luka Doncic is fun to watch. Greek Freak. NBA is in a pretty good place with guys like Lebron getting up there in age, they still have some really good young stars.

NHL:

I kind of bounced around as a kid with who I rooted for, but I loved Steve Yzerman. I thought he was exactly what a captain should be. Not the best player, but a guy who would battle. You could talk to a thousand hockey fans and nobody would have anything negative to say about the guy, he just brought it every single night.

I loved Martin Brodeur. Goalies pre 2000's could not hold up in today's game. The pace is faster, the equipment helps produce harder and more precise shots, and the athletes taking the shots are just better. Brodeur was kind of the in between, from the old days of the stand-up goalie, to the new butterfly/profly. He hung around longer than anyone thought, and even helped get a team to the cup in 2012 that really had no business being there.

I hated Patrick Roy but looking back I have respect for how dominant he was, and how intimidating he was with his game.

I also loved Ron Hextall because he knew every dirty trick in the book.

I loved Mike Richter. Still the coolest paint job for a mask.

There are so many great young players to watch these days. You can pick a team and find 4 or 5 really good players. The NHL is just loaded with talent. Nathan Mackinnon might be my favorite player to watch. Drew Doughty is another guy I have always respected. Not many D-men can do what he does. I love Carey Price, and when he's healthy, he's still a top dog. Connor McDavid is must-see-tv every time he takes the ice.

Soccer:

I didn't really watch much soccer when I was a kid. I have come around on the sport, but I don't have any players that I take a liking too that much. Messi is obviously great, and I try to watch, but outside of him, they don't stand out that much to me. I don't know the mechanics and fundamentals of soccer so its hard to really appreciate the guys who do more than just put the ball in the net.

Golf:

I'm a lefty myself so I always pull for Phil

You started off good, but you lost me at Baker. It got worse from there.

Just messing w/you, Sperg............but man, that was a crazy list.

My favorites are all players on teams I rooted for. Most are from late 60's early 70s.

NFL; Greg Pruitt, Brian Sipe, Milt Morin Leroy Kelly, Jerry Sherk

MLB; Ken Griffey SR , Dave Concepcion, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Tom Seaver

NBA ; Earl The Pearl Monroe, Walt Frazier, Dave Debussscher (sp) Willis Reed

Men's Tennis; I did not watch a lot but I always like Arthur Ashe because he acted classy. Did not like McEnroe or Conners. l also liked Bjorn Borg & Stan Smith

Women's tennis; This may be unusual but I liked Evonne Goolagong and I am sure I butchered her name. Also Martina Navratalova

I am considering starting a thread of naming a player you liked on a team you absolutely hate. Anyone like that idea. I never get over hating teams and occasionally I run across athletes I like or respect from those y=teams.

Jamir Miller was another one of my favorites. I remember being so down after he got hurt (IIRC in Minnesota during the preseason)

MLB:

Barry Larkin (my favorite athlete of all time)
Andrew Brown pitcher that was a part of the Milton Bradley deal from the Dodgers several years ago. (He's my younger brother)
Chris Sabo
Eric the Red
Paul O'Neil
Johnny Bench
Joe Morgan
Kenny Lofton

NFL:

Wizard of Oz
Earnest Byner
Webster Slaughter
Bernie Kosar
Frank Minnifield
Eric Turner
Joe Thomas
Eddie George
Terry Glenn
Cris Carter
Robert Smith
Orlando Pace
Bobby Hoying
(out of left field) Vinny Testaverde

NBA:

Kevin Johnson (Suns)
Larry Bird
Jim Jackson
Michael Redd
Vince Carter (got to see him play in High School)

Men's Tennis:

Borris Becker

Women's Tennis:

Stefi Graff

Soccer:

Brian McBride

Golf:

Jack Nicklaus
Anyone but Tiger Woods (I don't want him to ever overtake Jack's records)

Professional or College Coaches (any sport):

Jim Tressel
Marty Schottenheimer
Sparky Anderson
Jack McKeon
KC Jones

NFL:
Paul Warfield
Leroy Kelly
John Mackey
Mike Curtis
Greg Pruitt
Clay Mathews SR

MLB:
Mickey Mantle
Bobby Murcer
Catfish Hunter
Rod Carew
Ron Guidry
Paul O'Neill
Mariano Rivera
Derek Jeter
Ken Griffey JR

NHL:
Yvan Cournoyer
John Ferguson
Ken Dryden
Guy Lafleur
Bobby Hull
Stan Mikita
Gordie Howe
Dave Schultz

NBA:
Earl the Pearl
Oscar Robertson
Elvin Hayes
Wes Unseld
Michael Jordan
Dr. J.

Boxing:
Sugar Ray Leonard
Marvin Hagler
Tommy Hearns
Ray Mancini
George Foreman

Golf:

Greg Norman
Gene Littler
Ian Woosnan
Monty

Tennis:
Anna Kournikova
Maria Sharipova
Chris Evert

I completely forgot boxing.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler
Boom Boom Mancini
Roy Jones Jr.
George Foreman (early years only)

I only have a few.

NHL
Yzerman - someone above said it best. Model of what a captain should be.
Gordie Howe - Dude was a hockey player. Talented but tough/gritty.
Gretzky - on the other hand, apparently you can be so talented and smart to build a career like this w/o barely any of the physical measurables. Crazy
Pavel Datsyuk - dude is/was a magician with the puck. Simply unreal with the puck on his stick
Jagr - Might not have been the best leader, but I always laughed at the guy's attitude. A bit of a 'me' guy, especially for hockey, but I still loved him.
Richter - Amazing goalie, and kind of small (especially for a goalie). I always root for normal-sized goalies.
Ron Tugnutt - Had a brief period where he played really well, but I got to meet him shortly before. Dude is my size (tiny).

MLB:
Jimmy Piersall
Vic Power
Rocky Colavito
Ernie Banks
Willie Mays
Hank Aaron

Boxing:
Rocky Marciano
Floyd Patterson
Gene Fullmer
Cassius Clay

NFL:
Jim Brown
Leroy Kelly
Webster Slaughter
Paul Warfield
Brian Sipe
Bernie Kosar

NBA
Mark Price
Pete Maravich
Dr. J Julius Erving
Larry Bird

NFL Greg Pruitt
MLB Omar Vasquel
NBA Mark Price
NHL Super Mario
Boxing Sugar Ray Leonard

I should have added him to my list.

Beyond even the Hearns fight, I always remember the Mugabi fight when Hagler was hurt but won anyway.

And - I'm one of the few (I think) that believes he should have won the decision over Leonard.

I thought Hagler beat Leonard too.

Not me. Leonard outboxed Hagler and won, IMO.

Also, i have no affinity for draft dodgers.

I left off one of my favorite hockey players because I could not think of his name. Old age, I guess.

But, Sergei Fedorov was a favorite of mine. I don't know much about hockey, but I don't know if I ever saw a better pure skater than that dude.

Pro Football
JIM BROWN
Bobby Mitchell
Paul Warfield
Jerry Sherk
Gary Collins
Eric Metcalf
Clay Matthews

College Basketball
Bill Walton

Pro Basketball
Pistol Pete
The Big O

Baseball
1960 Cleveland Indians
Rocky Colavito
Sudden Sam
Roberto Clemente
Dave Parker
Pops Stargell

PGA
Arnold Palmer

Tennis
Jimmy Connors
Rod Laver
Ken Rosewall

Boxing
Ali
Roberto Duran

NHL
Yvan Cournoyer
Guy Lafleur
Mario Lemieux
Bobby Orr

We are old men.

Btw, the Ian Woosnam reference was cool.

[quote=lampdogg]We are old men.

Btw, the Ian Woosnam reference was cool. [/quote

AS an old Browns fans, we have had a lot more opportunities to have favorites. More good seasons to pick from also.