Wednesday, October 3, 2007

All-Time Top 20 Two Sport Athletes

1.a. Jim Thorpe - Pick any two. He played Pro Football, Baseball and Basketball. Oh, and he was an Olympic gold medalist in the Pentathlon and Decathlon
1.b. Jackie Robinson - A Legend. The fact that he broke baseball's Color Line is just one of the many things he'll be remembered for.
  • Pac-10's leading scorer in basketball.
  • National long jump champion.
  • All-American running back at UCLA.
3. Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson - College sprinter and first man named an All-Star in Pro Football and Pro Baseball - Bo knows athleticism.4. Jim Brown - Pro Football and College Lacrosse Hall of Famer.


5. Deion Sanders - College sprinter and Pro Football and Baseball - Only man to appear in both World Series and Super Bowl.


6. Wilt Chamberlain - Pro Basketball Hall of Famer and College High Jump Big Eight Champ at Kansas.

7. Michael Jordan - Pro Basketball Legend and Minor League Baseball Lemon.
8. Shawn White - Carrot Top lookalike and Olympic and X-Game gold medalist in snowboarding and skateboarding.

9. Dave Winfield - Baseball Hall of Famer and only man drafted by four leagues (MLB, NBA, ABA and NFL).
10. Bob Hayes - Pro Football and Olympic Sprinter. He once held the title of world's fastest man.11. Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Won three Olympic gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the Heptathlon and Long Jump. All-American basketball player for the UCLA Bruins.
12. John Elway - Pro Football Hall of Famer and Minor League Baseball draft pick.
13. Tom Glavine - Future Pro Baseball Hall of Famer and NHL draft pick.
14. Sheila Young - Two-time double world champion in two sports: Speed Skating and Cycling.
15. Hale Irwin - Pro Golf and All-American College football player.
16. James J. Jeffries - Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Amateur Tack & Field star.
17. Brian Jordan - Pro Football and Baseball player.
18. Svetlana Feofanova - Olympic Gymnastics and Pole Vaulter.
19. Charlie Ward - Pro Basketball and College Football player (1993 Heisman Trophy winner).
20. Bob Golic - Yes, the same guy from Saved By The Bell: The College Years. He was a three-time NFL Pro Bowler and two-time Heavyweight Wrestler at Notre Dame.

Missed the Cut: Marion Jones*, Raghib Ismail, Jeremy Bloom, Julius Peppers, Todd Helton, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Quinton McCracken.

I'm sure I left someone OUT. Tell me Who?

25 comments:

Chris Hatfield said...

Does dogfighting count? If so, Vick was certainly a two-sport star.

And what, no love for Paul Raymond?

On a serious note, while not necessarily worthy of the list itself, Danny Ainge merits mention, having played three years for the Blue Jays before jumping into a long NBA career.

Brandon said...

Shawn White? Two different events in extreme sports. If you believe snowboarding and skateboarding are indeed two different sports, then CARL LEWIS has to be on your list.

9 Gold Medals. Including Golds in the 100m, 200m and Long Jump. That alone should get him on the list but not a lot of people know he was actually drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. There was some guy named MJ who played his same position anyways.

But back to Shawn White. I'm not sure if his events don't fall under one sport, that being extreme sports. If we let him stay on the list. They Dan O'Brian (remember then Dan & Dave commercials).

But CARL LEWIS has to be on the list.

Brandon said...

Damn... I forgot AI too.

Allen Iverson.

Many who are familiar with Virginia HS Football say he was a better QB than Vick. Check his YouTube HS video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCAkVvNFk-0

And check him dribbling a football...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyHWyRka8to

Also... Deion Sanders was an All-State basketball player too... but you said this is a two sport list. Just thought I'd throw that in there too.

Justin said...

Hatty, your comments are duly noted. Ainge definitely deserves mention on the honorable mention list.

Brandon, you are right about Carl Lewis, I had no idea he had been drafted by the Bulls, albeit in the 10th round. Nevertheless, he deserves to be in the top 10.

Moving on... I don't think you understand just how good Shawn White is at what he does.
Check him out at 11 years old: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UYxY1LL3AUk
And I know y'all have some mountains in Seattle, so you should know that snowboarding and skateboarding -- although both involve boards -- are unequivocal two different SPORTS.

AI couldn't make the list because being a high school football star doesn't give him enough merit. I only considered Olympic, Amateur, College and Professional participants.
Had he gone someone other than Georgetown, such as Texas or Florida, and played both sports, he'd definitely qualify in my top 10.

Whom did you vote for?

Brandon said...

Bo Jackson is the best athlete ever.

Jim Thorpe had the best multi-sport career ever.

I voted for Bo though.

P.S. Paul Raymond is the DeSean Jackson of the Ivy League for those who don't know. Other Sport: Track - Ivy Indoor Sprint Champ

Chris Hatfield said...

Snowboarding and skateboarding are definitely two different sports. However, many track and field athletes do sprint events and the long jump. Sprinting events involve running fast with good technique. The long jump involves doing that, then jumping.

Snowboarding and skateboarding, on the other hand, are very different: they take place on two different surfaces, the physics are much different, in one you're binded to the board whereas you aren't in the other, etc. For evidence, see how many other athletes excel at both - none.

Got one more for you who should probably be in the top 10, definitely in the top 20:

Babe Didrikson Zaharias - gold in 80m hurdles and javelin, silver in the high jump at '32 olympics. All-American in basketball. US women's amateur golf champion,

Justin said...

Chris, nice find on the Babe. That's taking sports knowledge to a Schwab-like level.

Brandon said...

Okay... Shawn is in.

Just wondering though...

What about a cornerback. The skills needed to cover and tackle are different.

What about a tight end? The skills needed to block and run routes/catch are different.

What about a all baseball players? The skills needed to play their defensive position and hit are different.

What about a basketball player? ETC ETC ETC.

Where do we draw the line? Those examples are the different aspects of a position but based on how "different" the activities/actions/motions are, are they considered different?

Anonymous said...

Two solid guys you forgot. Tony Gwynn, HOFer and pg for sand diego state i believe. And Kenny Lofton, pg for Arizona. Both should make the list way before that carrot top nerd.

mgard84 said...

Sthephen Neil plays NFL for the New England Patriots, also NCAA D 1 National champ in Wrestling. never played a down in college.

Justin said...

Billy you're absolutely right. Gwynn deserves to be on the list, I'd rank him 13th, right after John Elway.

Kenny also deserves to be on the list. But in good conscience I couldn't put him ahead of Brian Jordan, so I'd rank him 18th.

Sthephen Neil is also a good selection that I missed. I think he deserves to be in the honorable mention list.

Truth/aka Harvard Killer said...

no girls or wierd sports
no jim brown, i dont count lacrosse, think about it lacrosse is a speed game played by white athletes, thats like the nfl with white rbs and wrs and dbs
if the lacrosse players at brown played the football team in basketball they would lose 100-0

No spring champions and football players they go hand in hand. If you are fast you are going to be good at football unless you are a terrible athlete

No girls b/c lack of competition.

No x games snowboarding, that is just stupid.

Charlie Ward should be way higher up.
Gates should be on the list
Tony Gonzalez
My top 10
Robinson
Thorpe
Bo Jackson
Deion
winfield
5
Charlie Ward
Lofton
Gwynn
Tony Gonzalez
Elway
10
Aikman
Gates
Brian Jordan
Danny Ainge
Jordan Iverson - on pure potential as football players MJ sucked in baseball
they would have been very good college football players

Unknown said...

What about one in the present time who is still active? His name is Mark Hendrickson!!

NBA:

Philadelphia 76ers (1996–1997)
Sacramento Kings (1997–1998)
New Jersey Nets (1999)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2000)
New Jersey Nets (2000)

Career stats
Points 381
Assists 63
Rebounds 316


Major League Baseball career
Hendrickson made his major league debut for the Blue Jays on August 6, 2002, against the Seattle Mariners as a reliever. It was a rather bleak first appearance. He worked 1/3 of an inning and allowed 5 runs. The Jays stuck with him and he made his first career start on September 7 against the Boston Red Sox, pitching 5 scoreless innings in a game the Jays lost 4–1. His first victory came in his next start, on September 14 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, when he worked six innings, allowed one run and the Jays won 8–4.

He returned to the rotation at the start of the 2003 season and stayed there all year, accumulating a 9–9 record with a 5.51 ERA in 30 starts, with one complete game shutout. Hendrickson is the only pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history to hit a home run, which he did against the Montreal Expos on June 22, 2003.

On December 14, 2003, he was traded by the Blue Jays along with Sandy Nin to the Colorado Rockies for Justin Speier. The Rockies immediately flipped him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Joe Kennedy. He became a regular member of the Devil Rays' rotation, accumulating records of 10–15 (4.81 ERA) in 2004, 11–8 (5.90 ERA) in 2005, and 4–8 (3.81 ERA) in the first half of 2006.

He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 27, 2006, along with catcher Toby Hall in exchange for Dioner Navarro, Jae Weong Seo and minor league outfielder Justin Ruggiano. He immediately joined the Dodgers' starting rotation, but ineffectiveness caused him to be moved to the bullpen for the end of the season, where he was more effective. His final 2006 numbers with the Dodgers were 2–7, 4.68 ERA in 18 appearances, 12 as a starter. In 2007, he was both a starter and a reliever for the Dodgers, showing more effectiveness out of the bullpen. Hendrickson was not offered a contract by the Dodgers and became a free agent on December 12, 2007.


Hendrickson at Florida Marlins Fan Fest 2008.On January 16, 2008, Hendrickson signed a one-year, $1.5 million dollar contract with the Florida Marlins. On June 9, 2008, Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 600th home run of his career off a fastball thrown by Hendrickson in the 1st inning of a 9–4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

On July 7, the Marlins announced that Hendrickson, along with Ryan Tucker, would be moved to the bullpen to make room in the rotation for Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad.[5]

Hendrickson is notable for his size, at 6' 9". The only players in Major League Baseball as of 2008 who are taller than Hendrickson are Jon Rauch, at 6'11", and Randy Johnson, Andrew Sisco, and Chris Young, who are each 6'10". However, where Johnson is a power pitcher with an overpowering fastball and hard-cutting slider, Hendrickson is more of a groundball pitcher, with a fastball in the high 80s and a decent 12–6 curveball. Hendrickson also has a 10–4 slider, but his slider only reaches the high 70s to low 80s and has significantly less movement than Johnson's. Thus, when Hendrickson has success, it is due to control, movement, and location and not power.

On December 31, 2008, Hendrickson signed a one-year deal for the 2009 season with the Baltimore Orioles. He is set to be a long releiver or a starter depending on the Orioles future moves concerning the rotation.

dblur_2000 said...

Don't forget Dave DeBusschere, who started for the Knicks and Pistons and was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever, and also pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

And how about Gene Conley, MLB pitcher with a few teams (Red Sox, et al) and bench player with the Boston Celtics?

Like Bo and Deion, they played both sports at the same time.

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Coach Pete said...

Gene Conley pitched for the Braves in the 1950's when they were very strong & also played with the Celtics-'nuff said there. Chuck Connors, The rifleman, played for both the Dodgers & Celtics before going Hollywood. Jim Nance & Curly Culp were both NCAA hwt champs in wrestling as well as All Pro football players, Culp at Arizona State & Nance at Syracuse

Trish Stratus said...

I think they are more like legendary.

Dennis said...

With some of the athletes listed here, to not throw Bronko Nagurski into the mix is a crime. NFL Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (wrestling, not entertainment....). 3 NFL Championships, NFL's 1930's All-Decade Team, NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, uniform number retired by the Chicago Bears, NFL Alumni Order of the Leather Helmet, 4 NWA World Heavyweight Championships, 3 'State' World Heavyweight Championships, 1 World Tag-Team Championship. Defeated Lou Thesz (perhaps the greatest wrestler ever) in the days when wrestlers were fighting for more than bragging rights.

Shawn White? I know 9 year olds who can snowboard and skateboard.

80sfootball said...

Nice. Here are some 2 sport NFLers/boxers from the 1980's: http://www.80sfootball.com/home/football-players-turned-boxers-multi-professional-sport-foot.html

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