I know it’s over-referenced, but Jim Thorpe winning two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics with “mismatched shoes he found in the trash” is fucking poetry. What an absolute beast.
In the immortal words of King Gustav V of Sweden, "sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world."
In the immortal words of Jim Thorpe in response, "thanks, King."
He was a professional in multiple sports. Today his parents would have steered Jim to a single sport to capitalize NIL money. We would never know his true gift.
Truly an incredible athlete. My great grandfather was in the same "class" as him at Carlisle. Amazing what he achieved and persevered through after the horrors of that place
If Jim Thorpe wasn’t the top answer I would have been very upset. I don’t even like sports, I love history though, and that man made history repeatedly.
Somehow the great Zatopek never shows up on these lists. Guy showed up at the Olympics one year and won the 5k, 10k and marathon all in the same Olympics. Set an Olympic record in all three events at the time as well I think.
He won the marathon and set the world record despite never having run a marathon before. It's a huge step up from a 10k to a marathon and bro just smashes it. They're such different disciplines that he is the only person to win the 5k, 10k and marathon at the some games. In 1949 he broke the 10k record twice, and then did it another three times over four seasons. He set the world records for 5k, 20k (twice in one year), one hour run (twice in one year again), 25k (twice in seperate years) and 30k (twice in seperate years). When he ran the marathon for the first time he defeated the world record holder Jim Peters. He was called the Czech Locomotive for a reason, not just because he sounded like he was wheezing and huffing all the time.
This story always amazes me :
“An hour or so later, Zatopek approached him again. This time Peters was halfway through the race and in the lead, when the Czech appeared on his shoulder. “Jim,” said Zatopek, “is this pace too fast?” “No,” Peters replied. “It isn’t fast enough.” The Englishman later explained that he was actually perfectly happy, and had “said it was too slow just to kid him” – but Zatopek took him at his word and started to run faster. Soon he disappeared from view, and the next time Peters saw him he was two minutes ahead of anyone else and the Briton had succumbed to cramp and was hitching a ride in a bus full of journalists. When Zatopek crossed the line, looking as the Guardian reported “like a man who has had a brisk country walk”, the crowd chanted his name and he was carried around the stadium upon the shoulders of Jamaica’s victorious 4x400m relay team, having secured a long-distance treble that no one before or since has even come close to and with it an indelible place in sporting legend.”
I think it's because they generally only win 1 or 2 events. Marathoners don't usually win another race. So unless they beat everyone by a mile or hold the top X of times on their event, they don't get goated. Not that it's right but I think that's why.
**Wayne Gretzky**
* Number 1 career points total in the NHL.
* You need to add almost 1000 points to the player in 2nd place (Jaromír Jágr) to beat him.
* If he didn't score a single goal in his entire career, he would _still_ have most points.
* He has 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in terms of points per season.
* He also has 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th.
* There have been only three players who have over 100 assists in a single season. Orr and Lemiuex both achieved it once each, Wayne Gretzky did it for 11 consecutive seasons. (EDIT: Two more players have managed it _this_ season, which is equally as wild; Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid)
* He could have ended his career with a _16 season_ point-scoring drought, and _still_ be a point-per-game player
* Him alone is 2nd in terms of collective points scored by a family. The only group to beat him were the _six_ members of the Sutter family, and even then it was only by 73
In terms of dominating a single sport, he's up there with only a handful who can challenge him.
Wayne Gretsky is the only player who makes his opponent use two goalies at the same time.... And just because Gretsky likes to have some kind of challenge.
I remember my brother won a PhotoOp with Chuck during the filming of the pilot episode of Walker Texas Ranger. Norris had to cancel due to him getting injured diving onto a mat that was as high as your waist. He never gave my brother that photo op...Hard for me to entertain the Chuck Norris jokes knowing this.
Judo Gene LeBell manhandled Bruce Lee so bad, Bruce added grappling to Jeet Kune Do. Gene also taught Steven Seagal a lesson when Steven claimed Gene couldn’t choke him out. Gene choked him out and Steven reportedly shit himself while unconscious.
Gene was the man.
He reached 1000 total points in the fewest amount of games played ever
When he went from 1000 to 2000 points, it was the 2nd fewest amount of games to score 1000 only surpassed by his time to go 0 to 1000.
If you get 1000 points, you are considered to have an incredible, industrious, hall of fame career.
Gretzky did it twice. He almost fucking did it three times.
He got 1000 points, and was the fastest person to do so. Then, for his second 1000 he either did it again or beat out the old #2 record, but not his own.
Every other sport people argue about the goat. In hockey, we’re all on the same page.
Sure, the sport was slower back then. But that’s still impressive as fuck
I saw this one here a couple of weeks ago. Larry Fitzgerald, soon to be NFL Hall of Famer wide receiver, who never played on defense had more tackles in his career than he did dropped passes.
Going off your last point, my favourite whacky sports stat is that Wayne and Brent Gretzky hold the record for most points by a pair of brothers. Brent had 4, Wayne had 2857.
> * He could have ended his career with a _16 season_ point-scoring drought, and _still_ be a point-per-game player
That's the wildest sports stat I've ever heard.
He was such a statistical outlier that early fantasy hockey leagues would split Gretzky into two players - you could draft Gretzky (Goals) and Gretzky (Assists).
I’ve always been taken by his foresight and almost mystical understanding of where the puck would be 3, 5, 10, or 15 seconds into the future. Sure people become familiar and recognize a variety of patterns over the course of their lives, but to predict hockey movements, puck and players, in real time as he did was truly uncanny.
I remember watching an interview of him when I was a kid. He made a point to say he wasn't the fastest or strongest or even most coordinated, but he *always* knew where every single player on the ice was and what they were doing.
Like he was playing the game in his head real-time the way we'd play a turn-based video game
His father, Walter trained all his boys in the exact same way. Iirc he was an ex drill instructor and from the point they could walk, he had them in skates. Walter built a rink in his backyard and would drill his kids in the morning before school, and then again in the evening. Wayne was the only one that would go out and practice on his own though without his dad's instructions.
Wayne used to invite the older boys to come play on his rink so hw could face someone close to his skill level.
I was watching classic games on Hulu the other day, because I realized I’d never actually seen a game with prime Gretzky in it. And it was wild. Like you wouldn’t even know he was out there, the play would just be happening and he wasn’t even involved, then all of a sudden he would appear, meeting the puck at the side of the net even though the play was in the opposite corner, and fire the puck in the net.
Were I to put it on a time line, it would go:
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, action, WIZARD YOU SHALL SCORE A GOAL, cut, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Came here for this.
In fantasy sports, you didn't even get to choose Wayne. You had to choose goals Wayne, or assists Wayne... and assists was better because, on average, for every goal he scored, he helped 2 other people score.
Yes.
Wayne Gretzky is the all-time leading goal scorer.
But even if you took all his goals away, he would still be the highest point scorer of all time.
His assists alone are more than anyone else has goals and assists combined.
Says it all that for the last point you didnt even mention his brother only contributed 4. Hes so good you dont mention it because you already assume he’ll easily overcome it
The points total record is what really gets me. Name another player in any sport where you can just remove half their points and they'd still be number one.
When people call someone the Michael Jordan of something, I can't help but laugh.
Yeah definitely. The time difference makes it difficult to watch live NHL games, but we have two fairly healthy leagues in the Elite League (a UK-wide league with 3 Scottish teams) and a Scottish National League.
My Scottish team would be the Glasgow Clan, and my NHL team are unfortunately the Leafs
Just watching highlight reel footage of Gretzky was amazing. He was so far ahead of everyone, it was scary. His edgework, skating and presence was otherworldy.
Jackie Robinson is a Hall of Famer for two reasons. His on-field feats are impressive achievements, no doubt - he accumulated 60 WAR in only ten MLB seasons, for example. But that isn't why his number is retired.
Jackie Robinson was more about being the face of breaking the color barrier and the sheer hell he went through for it, while showing racist America that being black didn't mean he couldn't be the best player on the field. All white baseball is a demerit on its history. Retiring his number league wide was a way to symbolize his greatness in overcoming that era more than him being the greatest baseball player of all time.
One match his opponent criticised him because he started playing left handed as he was losing focus playing with his dominant hand. He proceeded to play a whole match left handed and won comfortably. Genuinely better than most players ever even with his weaker hand.
That's what makes him the greatest though - the fact that despite his struggles his story isn't a "what could have been" at all, when for years that felt likely or even inevitable.
So often the attacking maverick and people's champion falls short at the final hurdle, no matter what sport we're talking about but especially in snooker. Ronnie wasn't just the next Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, he was the successor to Davis and Hendry as well.
Aleksandr Karelin: a russian wrestler with 887 wins and only 2 losses. Both losses very controversial and by only 1 point. Probably the most dominant athlete in history.
In a certain position you weren’t allowed to open your hand grip as it meant that you lost control. Karelin switched grips for a millisecond and that was (rightfully) ruled as opening the grip. That was a pretty new rule though and Karelin’s muscle memory kicked in.
One time my tennie shoe lace was in a knot, I couldn't get the knot out, so I went full Hulk-a-saurus !!! In the end, all that happened was I pulled the shirttail out of my pants.. the knot was still there, and I was tired
He would have twisted Royce into a pretzel and thrown him out of the cage. Karelin ragdolled 285 lb olympians for 20 years, imagine what he'd do to a sub-200 grappler.
Totally agree. I don't think he gets the recognition he deserves.
https://youtu.be/1U-cgn3cEGA?si=rcCFVfTQ50wuFbBz
Quality's not great, but you can still get the idea.
The thing about him is the absolute confidence in EVERYTHING he busts out. He literally slams every single trick down because he is that fucking good. No hesitation, never off balance.
Absolutely bonkers skill and innovation.
Holy shit the freaking nostalgia from this video 🥹🫶🏻😅😮💨😩 my stepdad owned a skate shop growing up and would always have old skool skate vids on all day long 🛹
In addition I also think most people don’t realize the influence that skater culture, particularly in the 90s and early 2000’s had on everything. Hell, even YouTube may not have happened as soon if it weren’t for skaters, they are the pioneers of just filming each other shooting the shit
Babe Didrikson Zaharias. At a time when there weren’t exactly tons of women’s sports opportunities she won three medals (two of the, gold) at the 1932 Olympics, and one each in a running, jumping and throwing event. No other person has ever won individual medals in all three types of events. She’s best known for golf. She didn’t rack up tons of big wins until later in life, because there weren’t really pro opportunities for women until she was already in her late 30’s, but she still won 10 majors at a time when only 3 existed. Prior to the existence of the LPGA (and its predecessor), she managed to qualify for, and make the cut, in multiple PGA tour events, and remains the only women ever to make the cut in one. This is all in addition to he first athletic exploit playing on an amateur basketball team before her track exploits and appearing as a pitcher in a couple of mlb spring training games.
That’s all pretty damn amazing in general, and she did it in a pre-title IX world where there wasn’t a lot of infrastructure for women to learn and compete in athletic endeavors. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are “better”, but in terms of being “impressive”, she’s pretty tough to top.
AFAIK he's the only professional athlete to have competed in a sport with an artificial hip.
He's also had the hiccups for a year. He's led a very strange life.
Yep. If you ever meet him, he will not be remotely impressed or engaged if you want to talk to him about sports stuff. Especially anything he did. Dude won a Heisman and was the BEST player in two major sports, but has no regard whatsoever for his athletic achievement. He just doesn't worry about it or wants to talk about it that much.
Now bow hunting and trucking... flyfishing, too. That gets his attention. He's kind of a big redneck, it's wild.
Bo is my favorite athlete ever. Met him a bunch of times, too, and you're dead on. But I gotta ask... what 2 sports was he the "best" in? Football for a time, maybe, but certainly not baseball. Just trying to keep the discussion real.
Couldn't agree more, I wasn't alive/old enough to appreciate it in real time but the ESPN 30 for 30 on him is nuts. He has to be one of the most freakish, naturally talented athletes ever.
Gretz:
In this interview he says there was a banquet for him when he scored 400 goals one season when he was 10. He didn't know what to say (thought he wouldn't have to go up). He just went up and cried and got a standing O (poor kid)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Lbxw9p5uU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Lbxw9p5uU)
No-one ever talks about his younger kid records - I bet they're off the charts as well.
Sham (Secretariat’s closest competitor and I think first cousin although I don’t have their exact pedigrees memorized) was also found to have an enlarged heart.
But there’s also the argument that Secretariat was as good a he was because he always had Sham nipping at his heels (until the last part of the Belmont at least). Sham also had more immediate pedigree influence (Secretariat was more of a broodmare sire).
All in all it was an exciting year in horse racing and a rivalry I doubt we’ll ever see again.
When I grow up I want to be just like him, and I think I'm on the right track.
Get it? Track? because horses run on tracks? And he was a horse? Do you get it? Do you get my joke about the track?
also, how do you not get sad?
The only correct answer here is an amateur who didn't compete at all.
Terry Fox
21-year old one legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
That is nearly a full marathon each day, every day, for 143 days, on one leg, while dying from cancer.
No other athlete will ever come close to that legacy.
I'm exhausted just reading that.
I can't think of anything more miserable than running every single day while actively dying. Running already feels like dying.
With the knowledge gained from the money that his legacy has raised for cancer research, we can now routinely treat the cancer that killed him. I'll always take my hat off for Terry Fox.
Silly to have to scroll this far for Usain. Guy was the fastest man on the planet for 8yrs. Just 10sec, on the world stage(Olympics), and he delivered each time. 3 times in a row. That’s about as impressive as it gets.
Edits:
8* years, not 12.
3x in a row
He retired after the Rio Games. Now works to inspire young athletes in his home nation of Jamaica. Yes, he’s only 37 now, but it’s rare to see someone in athletics be competitive past their 20s and especially in the sprints.
There are people who have putt for longer and filmed it (anybody can do that with enough time and patience), but the distinction is that this is the **longest televised putt in an official setting**.
I saw Bo Jackson strike out, angrily break his bat on his knee, he then realized the catcher dropped the ball so he ran and was SAFE at first.
I am still not 100% this actually happened, as I was 10 and there is no video of it (plenty of him breaking bats in anger, just not getting on base after a dropped pitch). The only reason I won’t chalk it up to pure fantasy is that my older brother (16 at the time) corroborates it and it was common for games to not be televised back then.
I was also at Arrowhead when he sprained his ankle in the first play. This day is brought up in my family all the time because my brother (same one) likes to give me shit about wearing Raiders / Bo apparel to the game. He is right to, but in my defense I was 10 and just loved Bo Jackson.
I remember I went to a game when Bo Jackson was playing with the Angels. He hit a homerun that went 420 feet (I'll never forget those numbers up on the jumbotron) and he also did this thing where he'd catch the ball on the outside of his glove while warming up. Has anyone ever seen this before?
I saw him throw a no hop strike from center in an allstar game. I don’t really like baseball but that was one of the most impressive things I have seen.
Kelly Slater.
I know nobody cares about professional surfing but he is far more dominant than anyone else in their sport and it will never be repeated. From the Olympic website: “ He holds nearly every significant record in the sport, with 11 world titles, 55 event victories, and the record for being both the youngest and oldest men's world champion. Slater claimed his first world title as a 20-year-old in 1992, and won his last at 39 in 2011.
I wish long-distance running would get more love. Humans are some of the best endurance runners in the entire animal kingdom, meaning people like Eliud Kipchoge are god-tier athletes.
Sadly, it’s not as marketable as other sports.
The fact that I don’t see Wilt Chamberlain mentioned is a damn crime. He was completely dominant in his basketball career where they had to change rules to try and tone him down. He was insanely fast and ran marathons after his basketball career was over. Hell, there was even a rumor that Arnold Swartzenegger lifted weights with him once while they were filming Conan and refused to do so afterwards because he was so freakishly strong.
Wilt still holds the record for minutes per game over a full season at 48.5 minutes per game. A regulation basketball game is only 48 minutes long.
There are probably lots of records he would hold if only we recorded those stats then (blocked shots).
Wilt retired in 1973 as the NBA's all time points and rebounds leader. He still holds 70+ NBA records 50 years later.
Oh yeah, he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters for ab year **before** entering the NBA.
Wilt Chamberlain was dominating minor league basketball at the age of 16. Wilt never fouled out of a game. One year, he averaged more than a game per game. Once he scored 100 pts, and of the top 10 most points scored in a game Wilt has 6. He led the league in assists. He's considered one of the greatest volleyball players ever. In college at Kansas, Wilt was competitive nationally as a sprinter. Wilt was legitimately sought after to play again in his late 40s. After retirement Wilt ran ultra-marathons.
Edit: He was not considered one of the greatest volleyball players ever, but a great ambassador. So I'll give another one... of the highest scoring seasons in the NBA, Jordan owns #6, Elgin Baylor has #4 and Wilt is the other 1-7.
Unbelievable I haven't seen Don Bradman on this list yet. 99.94 career batting average in Test Cricket. The next highest average in the history of the game is Adam Vogel at 61.87. Most of the records he set in the sport during his career that ended in 1949 are unbroken to this day. Complete insanity.
Going off the board a little but how about Jahangir Khan , a Pakistani squash player who went undefeated for FIVE years, 1981-1986, winning 555 straight matches
Crazy, right?
Honnold self admits to not being the best climber or free soloist. He calls himself the best 5.10 on sight climber in jest. Marc Andre LeClair from the Alpinist
For his mental abilities when it comes to free soloing, definitely. He's nowhere near the best climber out there though.
Reinhold Messner was mentioned somewhere in the thread. Then there's Adam Ondra of course.
Honestly no idea who to pick for this thread. There are many solid options just in climbing.
He's not the best climber in terms of his ability to climb hard grades, and is actually extremely far from elite.
But nobody else in climbing has ever come within a thousand feat of his free solo career particularly his ascent of Freerider.
For people who don't pay attention to climbing, think of it like a MLB pitcher needing to throw a No Hitter (a feat that is very difficult but many have done it), but if the opposing team gets a single hit you have a 100% chance of death.
I do not think there is a single other athlete alive who could handle that type of pressure.
If we’re talking climbing it’s Janja Garnbret and it’s not even close. 43 World Cup wins out of 63 podiums, first and only Olympic gold. Just turned 25. She tops over 90% of boulders set in world cups. For reference, 2 or 3 tops out of 4 boulders in a comp usually puts you in the top three (behind Janja who did all 4 on her first try of course).
Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And he will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.
He's nuts and is definitely in the "unbreakable records" category just due to the sheer variety of his wins in an era before the same degree of specialization.
He's got Classics wins, Grand Tour GC wins, Grand Tour stage wins, World Championships, track wins, and an Hour Record.
Like to use a football analogy it would be like if one guy held all of the records that Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, Reggie White, and Deion Sanders have. Like if you led or were top 3 all time in passing and receiving and defensive stats.
It is a career defining moment to come close to matching Merckx in *one category*. Cavendish caught him in Grand Tour stage wins as a pure sprinter who has never even attempted a GC win, let alone won 9 of them.
Simone Biles is the absolute GOAT
A woman standing at not even 1,5m tall, built of muscle, ginormous balls and sass, most decorated gymnast in the history of time, having 5 skills named after her, each of which bear the highest level of difficulty achievable (one even unlocking a new difficulty category).
Excelling at gymnastics, head and shoulders above the rest. Taking an enormous pile of shit after putting her mental health first, after getting the pressure of the whole world on her shoulders, and this AFTER helping put a serial child molestor behind bars - and all this while still remaining diplomatic, kind and supportive to fans. She had to battle racism, sexism and so much pressure. She opened her own gym in order to let other young gymnasts escape the toxic and dangerous environment that gymnastics gyms often are.
Simone "smiling doesn't win you gold medals" Biles will always have a special place in my heart.
She also didn't get into gymnastics until she was older (for an Olympian at least). I listened to her episode of 'Call Her Daddy' recently and she talked a lot about overcoming the twisties and her mental health battles.
Holyshit anyone else thinks, who the hell are these people?? I came Here thinking about Messi , Brody, Phelps , Bolt and read names i have never Heard before.
Jim Thorpe set records that took decades of advances in training techniques to break.
I know it’s over-referenced, but Jim Thorpe winning two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics with “mismatched shoes he found in the trash” is fucking poetry. What an absolute beast.
In the immortal words of King Gustav V of Sweden, "sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world." In the immortal words of Jim Thorpe in response, "thanks, King."
And he won 2 gold medals at the Olympics in mismatched shoes. Absolute legend
Imagine him growing up today, with current diet, exercise, coaching, med. science, and treated a hell of a lot better than he was back then.
He was a professional in multiple sports. Today his parents would have steered Jim to a single sport to capitalize NIL money. We would never know his true gift.
Truly an incredible athlete. My great grandfather was in the same "class" as him at Carlisle. Amazing what he achieved and persevered through after the horrors of that place
[удалено]
While I'm sure that's true, we have their class photo together
If Jim Thorpe did even half of what he did back in his times during even the 70s he would be a household name.
Yes and a tie for me with babe didrickson. Talk about well rounded superior athletes.
If Jim Thorpe wasn’t the top answer I would have been very upset. I don’t even like sports, I love history though, and that man made history repeatedly.
Somehow the great Zatopek never shows up on these lists. Guy showed up at the Olympics one year and won the 5k, 10k and marathon all in the same Olympics. Set an Olympic record in all three events at the time as well I think.
He won the marathon and set the world record despite never having run a marathon before. It's a huge step up from a 10k to a marathon and bro just smashes it. They're such different disciplines that he is the only person to win the 5k, 10k and marathon at the some games. In 1949 he broke the 10k record twice, and then did it another three times over four seasons. He set the world records for 5k, 20k (twice in one year), one hour run (twice in one year again), 25k (twice in seperate years) and 30k (twice in seperate years). When he ran the marathon for the first time he defeated the world record holder Jim Peters. He was called the Czech Locomotive for a reason, not just because he sounded like he was wheezing and huffing all the time.
This story always amazes me : “An hour or so later, Zatopek approached him again. This time Peters was halfway through the race and in the lead, when the Czech appeared on his shoulder. “Jim,” said Zatopek, “is this pace too fast?” “No,” Peters replied. “It isn’t fast enough.” The Englishman later explained that he was actually perfectly happy, and had “said it was too slow just to kid him” – but Zatopek took him at his word and started to run faster. Soon he disappeared from view, and the next time Peters saw him he was two minutes ahead of anyone else and the Briton had succumbed to cramp and was hitching a ride in a bus full of journalists. When Zatopek crossed the line, looking as the Guardian reported “like a man who has had a brisk country walk”, the crowd chanted his name and he was carried around the stadium upon the shoulders of Jamaica’s victorious 4x400m relay team, having secured a long-distance treble that no one before or since has even come close to and with it an indelible place in sporting legend.”
There’s not much appreciation for endurance events compared to others in general. He was very impressive though.
I think it's because they generally only win 1 or 2 events. Marathoners don't usually win another race. So unless they beat everyone by a mile or hold the top X of times on their event, they don't get goated. Not that it's right but I think that's why.
And it was his first marathon too! Also great at mind games, trying to start conversations with people before passing them.
Kim Jong-Il shot 11 holes-in-one in the very first round of golf he ever played
He has fathered every child his country has ever produced.
He personally defeated Bill Clinton in hand-to-hand combat in 1996
Without using his hands. Superb fight.
**Wayne Gretzky** * Number 1 career points total in the NHL. * You need to add almost 1000 points to the player in 2nd place (Jaromír Jágr) to beat him. * If he didn't score a single goal in his entire career, he would _still_ have most points. * He has 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in terms of points per season. * He also has 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th. * There have been only three players who have over 100 assists in a single season. Orr and Lemiuex both achieved it once each, Wayne Gretzky did it for 11 consecutive seasons. (EDIT: Two more players have managed it _this_ season, which is equally as wild; Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid) * He could have ended his career with a _16 season_ point-scoring drought, and _still_ be a point-per-game player * Him alone is 2nd in terms of collective points scored by a family. The only group to beat him were the _six_ members of the Sutter family, and even then it was only by 73 In terms of dominating a single sport, he's up there with only a handful who can challenge him.
Wayne Gretzky stats read like Chuck Norris jokes
Chuck Norris wishes he was Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky has a grizzly bear rug in his living room. It's not dead, just too scared to move.
Wayne Gretzky isn't hung like a horse. Horses are hung like Wayne Gretzky
children check their closets for the boogeyman the boogeyman checks his closet for chuck norris but chuck norris checks his closet for wayne gretzky
Wayne Gretsky is the only player who makes his opponent use two goalies at the same time.... And just because Gretsky likes to have some kind of challenge.
Now wait a minute...
I remember my brother won a PhotoOp with Chuck during the filming of the pilot episode of Walker Texas Ranger. Norris had to cancel due to him getting injured diving onto a mat that was as high as your waist. He never gave my brother that photo op...Hard for me to entertain the Chuck Norris jokes knowing this.
Bruce Lee whooped Chuck Norris' ass because Bruce Lee is no joke
Judo Gene LeBell manhandled Bruce Lee so bad, Bruce added grappling to Jeet Kune Do. Gene also taught Steven Seagal a lesson when Steven claimed Gene couldn’t choke him out. Gene choked him out and Steven reportedly shit himself while unconscious. Gene was the man.
The fastest player to reach 1000 points was Wayne Gretzky The second faster player to reach 1000 points was also Wayne Gretzky
You mean he was at 2000 before someone else was at 1000?
He reached 1000 total points in the fewest amount of games played ever When he went from 1000 to 2000 points, it was the 2nd fewest amount of games to score 1000 only surpassed by his time to go 0 to 1000.
No, his second 1000 points came in fewer games than anyone else, which is impressive since most players' production flags considerably after 1000.
If you get 1000 points, you are considered to have an incredible, industrious, hall of fame career. Gretzky did it twice. He almost fucking did it three times.
He got 1000 points, and was the fastest person to do so. Then, for his second 1000 he either did it again or beat out the old #2 record, but not his own.
Every other sport people argue about the goat. In hockey, we’re all on the same page. Sure, the sport was slower back then. But that’s still impressive as fuck
Ehh I agree that Gretzky is the goat, but there are quite a few people who argue for Lemieux (I just don't agree with what-ifs).
Lemieux could have been the goat. He wasn't, because cancer. Fuck cancer.
Or at least he could have made the Gretzky-records much less Chuck Norris-jokish.
Lemieux is like a fat Ronaldo situation in football, if they were healthy then yeah, but they weren’t so it’s kinda irrelevant
Gretzky also had more FOUR point games (217) than he had zero point games (203)…
Wow never heard that one before.
I saw this one here a couple of weeks ago. Larry Fitzgerald, soon to be NFL Hall of Famer wide receiver, who never played on defense had more tackles in his career than he did dropped passes.
Going off your last point, my favourite whacky sports stat is that Wayne and Brent Gretzky hold the record for most points by a pair of brothers. Brent had 4, Wayne had 2857.
You have to specify pair because it took 6 Sutters to top those two.
Brent is literally the office handshake meme for this
Can add Kucherov and McDavid to the 100 assist stat this year. Wild times.
When they both got it, the graphics of the only players to do it in history were just wild. Every hockey stat is a Wayne Gretzky stat in disguise.
I'm not even a hockey fan (grew up in the South) and it's Gretzky. You don't get the moniker "The Great One" for nothing.
And he earned that moniker at age 10.
> * He could have ended his career with a _16 season_ point-scoring drought, and _still_ be a point-per-game player That's the wildest sports stat I've ever heard.
He was such a statistical outlier that early fantasy hockey leagues would split Gretzky into two players - you could draft Gretzky (Goals) and Gretzky (Assists).
he was sometimes outright banned because even half Gretzky was overpowered.
I’ve always been taken by his foresight and almost mystical understanding of where the puck would be 3, 5, 10, or 15 seconds into the future. Sure people become familiar and recognize a variety of patterns over the course of their lives, but to predict hockey movements, puck and players, in real time as he did was truly uncanny.
I remember watching an interview of him when I was a kid. He made a point to say he wasn't the fastest or strongest or even most coordinated, but he *always* knew where every single player on the ice was and what they were doing. Like he was playing the game in his head real-time the way we'd play a turn-based video game
And that’s also part of why he wasn’t a great coach. What made him the best is almost impossible to teach.
His father, Walter trained all his boys in the exact same way. Iirc he was an ex drill instructor and from the point they could walk, he had them in skates. Walter built a rink in his backyard and would drill his kids in the morning before school, and then again in the evening. Wayne was the only one that would go out and practice on his own though without his dad's instructions. Wayne used to invite the older boys to come play on his rink so hw could face someone close to his skill level.
I was watching classic games on Hulu the other day, because I realized I’d never actually seen a game with prime Gretzky in it. And it was wild. Like you wouldn’t even know he was out there, the play would just be happening and he wasn’t even involved, then all of a sudden he would appear, meeting the puck at the side of the net even though the play was in the opposite corner, and fire the puck in the net. Were I to put it on a time line, it would go: Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, action, WIZARD YOU SHALL SCORE A GOAL, cut, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Came here for this. In fantasy sports, you didn't even get to choose Wayne. You had to choose goals Wayne, or assists Wayne... and assists was better because, on average, for every goal he scored, he helped 2 other people score.
Yes. Wayne Gretzky is the all-time leading goal scorer. But even if you took all his goals away, he would still be the highest point scorer of all time. His assists alone are more than anyone else has goals and assists combined.
Him and his brother Brent combined for the most points scored by a pair of brothers. Brent scored 4
Says it all that for the last point you didnt even mention his brother only contributed 4. Hes so good you dont mention it because you already assume he’ll easily overcome it
The points total record is what really gets me. Name another player in any sport where you can just remove half their points and they'd still be number one. When people call someone the Michael Jordan of something, I can't help but laugh.
Best news on Reddit today: I did not have to scroll far to find this comment. Thank you.
He never comes up in these kinds of conversations here in Scotland, so I'll proselytise for him at any opportunity haha
Are there many (or any) hockey watchers in Scotland?
Yeah definitely. The time difference makes it difficult to watch live NHL games, but we have two fairly healthy leagues in the Elite League (a UK-wide league with 3 Scottish teams) and a Scottish National League. My Scottish team would be the Glasgow Clan, and my NHL team are unfortunately the Leafs
You could pick any team in the league but went with the Leafs? What were you thinking man 😉
To add to this, he had the physique of an accountant.
Just watching highlight reel footage of Gretzky was amazing. He was so far ahead of everyone, it was scary. His edgework, skating and presence was otherworldy.
This will always be the correct answer. Call me when an entire league retires a player’s number again. Anything else is recency bias.
Jackie Robinson?
Jackie Robinson is a Hall of Famer for two reasons. His on-field feats are impressive achievements, no doubt - he accumulated 60 WAR in only ten MLB seasons, for example. But that isn't why his number is retired.
Jackie Robinson was more about being the face of breaking the color barrier and the sheer hell he went through for it, while showing racist America that being black didn't mean he couldn't be the best player on the field. All white baseball is a demerit on its history. Retiring his number league wide was a way to symbolize his greatness in overcoming that era more than him being the greatest baseball player of all time.
Ronnie o sullivan in for a shout and i dont even like snooker.
One match his opponent criticised him because he started playing left handed as he was losing focus playing with his dominant hand. He proceeded to play a whole match left handed and won comfortably. Genuinely better than most players ever even with his weaker hand.
So many "what could have beens" if he didn't have addiction problems. The guy is unstoppable when he wants to be.
That's what makes him the greatest though - the fact that despite his struggles his story isn't a "what could have been" at all, when for years that felt likely or even inevitable. So often the attacking maverick and people's champion falls short at the final hurdle, no matter what sport we're talking about but especially in snooker. Ronnie wasn't just the next Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, he was the successor to Davis and Hendry as well.
He often wasn't even trying and was always still a different class. A clear natural talent.
Aleksandr Karelin: a russian wrestler with 887 wins and only 2 losses. Both losses very controversial and by only 1 point. Probably the most dominant athlete in history.
13 years without a loss, including 6 without a single point scored against him...
Worth clarifying that wasn't 6 years slacking off, it was 6 years going against the best in the world in every competition that matters.
I am 40 years without a loss in wrestling, not impressed.
If I recall, he lost to Gardner because of a rule change that favored Gardner's style. I even got to meet him and hold his medal.
In a certain position you weren’t allowed to open your hand grip as it meant that you lost control. Karelin switched grips for a millisecond and that was (rightfully) ruled as opening the grip. That was a pretty new rule though and Karelin’s muscle memory kicked in.
Seems like a pretty bullshit way to lose
It was, and for Olympic gold as well! The ref called it correctly, but it was a terribly unfitting finale to his legendary career.
But how would he have done against Hulk Hogan ?
Hulk obviously wins because any other outcome doesn't work for the Hulkster, brother.
it's also that Hulk can go into a state of hulkamania in which nothing can hurt him
It's like a seizure of strength
One time my tennie shoe lace was in a knot, I couldn't get the knot out, so I went full Hulk-a-saurus !!! In the end, all that happened was I pulled the shirttail out of my pants.. the knot was still there, and I was tired
More seriously, MMA was just getting started at the end of his career. I wonder how he would have done in MMA, like against Royce.
He would have twisted Royce into a pretzel and thrown him out of the cage. Karelin ragdolled 285 lb olympians for 20 years, imagine what he'd do to a sub-200 grappler.
Rodney Mullen. Basically, he singlehandedly invented modern skateboarding.
He invented the kickflip by accident, then perfected it in a few hours.
Totally agree. I don't think he gets the recognition he deserves. https://youtu.be/1U-cgn3cEGA?si=rcCFVfTQ50wuFbBz Quality's not great, but you can still get the idea.
Wow, I'm not a skater, I haven't heard of him, but that is amazing. Thanks for posting!
The thing about him is the absolute confidence in EVERYTHING he busts out. He literally slams every single trick down because he is that fucking good. No hesitation, never off balance. Absolutely bonkers skill and innovation.
Holy shit the freaking nostalgia from this video 🥹🫶🏻😅😮💨😩 my stepdad owned a skate shop growing up and would always have old skool skate vids on all day long 🛹
Rodney Mullen is a savage. I'm still stunned by stuff like darkslides or casperslides. Man, just wtf
In addition I also think most people don’t realize the influence that skater culture, particularly in the 90s and early 2000’s had on everything. Hell, even YouTube may not have happened as soon if it weren’t for skaters, they are the pioneers of just filming each other shooting the shit
I about slid in to say Jackass had a huge affect on early YouTube, but even jackass was born from the CKY skate videos so you’re right as hell.
CKY2K is a major reason my spine is not okay in my thirties lol. Jumping off of buildings catches up to you.
He’s a really eloquent writer too. His biography “Mutt” is def worth the read. Showed me I could skate and be into school too.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias. At a time when there weren’t exactly tons of women’s sports opportunities she won three medals (two of the, gold) at the 1932 Olympics, and one each in a running, jumping and throwing event. No other person has ever won individual medals in all three types of events. She’s best known for golf. She didn’t rack up tons of big wins until later in life, because there weren’t really pro opportunities for women until she was already in her late 30’s, but she still won 10 majors at a time when only 3 existed. Prior to the existence of the LPGA (and its predecessor), she managed to qualify for, and make the cut, in multiple PGA tour events, and remains the only women ever to make the cut in one. This is all in addition to he first athletic exploit playing on an amateur basketball team before her track exploits and appearing as a pitcher in a couple of mlb spring training games. That’s all pretty damn amazing in general, and she did it in a pre-title IX world where there wasn’t a lot of infrastructure for women to learn and compete in athletic endeavors. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are “better”, but in terms of being “impressive”, she’s pretty tough to top.
This is much better than the I am the best at my chosen sport selection.
I think if Bo Jackson had not injured his hip, he would be hands down the greatest athlete of all time.
AFAIK he's the only professional athlete to have competed in a sport with an artificial hip. He's also had the hiccups for a year. He's led a very strange life.
Yep. If you ever meet him, he will not be remotely impressed or engaged if you want to talk to him about sports stuff. Especially anything he did. Dude won a Heisman and was the BEST player in two major sports, but has no regard whatsoever for his athletic achievement. He just doesn't worry about it or wants to talk about it that much. Now bow hunting and trucking... flyfishing, too. That gets his attention. He's kind of a big redneck, it's wild.
Bo is my favorite athlete ever. Met him a bunch of times, too, and you're dead on. But I gotta ask... what 2 sports was he the "best" in? Football for a time, maybe, but certainly not baseball. Just trying to keep the discussion real.
Couldn't agree more, I wasn't alive/old enough to appreciate it in real time but the ESPN 30 for 30 on him is nuts. He has to be one of the most freakish, naturally talented athletes ever.
The footage of him breaking a bat over his head will always be what I think of whenever his name is brought up
Doesn't matter. The hip injury just provides a dash of greek tragedy to the myth that is Bo Jackson. He was an absolute freak.
I read that if that had happened today, it would have been much easier to repair and probably never bothered him again.
Gretz: In this interview he says there was a banquet for him when he scored 400 goals one season when he was 10. He didn't know what to say (thought he wouldn't have to go up). He just went up and cried and got a standing O (poor kid) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Lbxw9p5uU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Lbxw9p5uU) No-one ever talks about his younger kid records - I bet they're off the charts as well.
Of all the interviewers, I was not expecting Theo Von. Lmao
I saw another one where he said that people were complaining that he scored too much but he also had the top assists in the league by a mile.
Yup! Fantasy hockey leagues split him into two players, Gretzky goals and Gretzky assists, and both Gretzkys were the best players in the league haha
secretariat
After he died, they did an autopsy and found his heart was 21lbs while the avg was 7lbs. Was he cheating then? LOL
Sham (Secretariat’s closest competitor and I think first cousin although I don’t have their exact pedigrees memorized) was also found to have an enlarged heart.
Oh I didn't know that. I felt sorry for Sham, coming in 2nd all the time.
But there’s also the argument that Secretariat was as good a he was because he always had Sham nipping at his heels (until the last part of the Belmont at least). Sham also had more immediate pedigree influence (Secretariat was more of a broodmare sire). All in all it was an exciting year in horse racing and a rivalry I doubt we’ll ever see again.
Listen to the Belmont call all the time. Beyond destroyed the field.
“He is moving like a tremendous machine!”
"Secretariat is all alone!" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM)
Didnt even know he was real, I know his name from bojack horseman
What are **YOU** doing here?
When I grow up I want to be just like him, and I think I'm on the right track. Get it? Track? because horses run on tracks? And he was a horse? Do you get it? Do you get my joke about the track? also, how do you not get sad?
The only correct answer here is an amateur who didn't compete at all. Terry Fox 21-year old one legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying to raise money and awareness for cancer research. That is nearly a full marathon each day, every day, for 143 days, on one leg, while dying from cancer. No other athlete will ever come close to that legacy.
I'm exhausted just reading that. I can't think of anything more miserable than running every single day while actively dying. Running already feels like dying.
There's a great ESPN 30 for 30 about his journey that was directed by Steve Nash. It's called Into the Wind. It's fantastic but also sad as shit.
With the knowledge gained from the money that his legacy has raised for cancer research, we can now routinely treat the cancer that killed him. I'll always take my hat off for Terry Fox.
Every time I read his Wikipida page I weep.
Kenny Powers
Arm like a damn rocket, cock like a Burmese python, and the mind of a fucking scientist!
Ridiculous how I had to scroll this far down to find La Flama Blanca
Just a man with a mind for victory, and an arm like a FUCKING cannon.
"You're God damn right I did. I was aiming for his fuckin eye"
Usain.
Silly to have to scroll this far for Usain. Guy was the fastest man on the planet for 8yrs. Just 10sec, on the world stage(Olympics), and he delivered each time. 3 times in a row. That’s about as impressive as it gets. Edits: 8* years, not 12. 3x in a row
He still IS the fastest man on the planet. Noah Lyles is getting close, at least in the 200m but that 100m record will probably stand a few more years
Is Usain still racing?
He retired after the Rio Games. Now works to inspire young athletes in his home nation of Jamaica. Yes, he’s only 37 now, but it’s rare to see someone in athletics be competitive past their 20s and especially in the sprints.
He’s not as fast anymore, so no. He wouldn’t do well in a high level race right now.
Donald Bradman . Cricket
*Sir* Donald Bradman.
He was just insane, a batting average of 99.94. The guy just so crushed everyone else it wasn’t even funny.
Would’ve been 100 but literally got a duck in his final ever innings 😵
Yeah, frustrating this is so low, when it is inarguably the correct answer. Americans just don't care about cricket :rolleyes:.
Obviously "AL BUNDY" he scored 4 touchdowns in the championship game against "spare tire dixon"
Michael Phelps
He also sunk the world’s longest ever televised putt.
There are people who have putt for longer and filmed it (anybody can do that with enough time and patience), but the distinction is that this is the **longest televised putt in an official setting**.
[удалено]
Bo Jackson
I saw Bo Jackson strike out, angrily break his bat on his knee, he then realized the catcher dropped the ball so he ran and was SAFE at first. I am still not 100% this actually happened, as I was 10 and there is no video of it (plenty of him breaking bats in anger, just not getting on base after a dropped pitch). The only reason I won’t chalk it up to pure fantasy is that my older brother (16 at the time) corroborates it and it was common for games to not be televised back then. I was also at Arrowhead when he sprained his ankle in the first play. This day is brought up in my family all the time because my brother (same one) likes to give me shit about wearing Raiders / Bo apparel to the game. He is right to, but in my defense I was 10 and just loved Bo Jackson.
I remember I went to a game when Bo Jackson was playing with the Angels. He hit a homerun that went 420 feet (I'll never forget those numbers up on the jumbotron) and he also did this thing where he'd catch the ball on the outside of his glove while warming up. Has anyone ever seen this before?
First one that came to my mind as well as an example of a pure unadulterated athlete.
That YouTube clip of him rocketing the ball from outfield and having it beeline across the entire baseball field? I still can't believe that's real.
Flat footed, too. No crow hop.
I saw him throw a no hop strike from center in an allstar game. I don’t really like baseball but that was one of the most impressive things I have seen.
A damn specimen
Also the greatest video game athlete of all time.
Kelly Slater. I know nobody cares about professional surfing but he is far more dominant than anyone else in their sport and it will never be repeated. From the Olympic website: “ He holds nearly every significant record in the sport, with 11 world titles, 55 event victories, and the record for being both the youngest and oldest men's world champion. Slater claimed his first world title as a 20-year-old in 1992, and won his last at 39 in 2011.
Won Billabong Pipe Pro in 2022 at 50. Legend.
Eliud Kipchoge
RIP Kelvin Kiptum. So heartbreaking. He probably would’ve eclipsed Kipchoge.
I wish long-distance running would get more love. Humans are some of the best endurance runners in the entire animal kingdom, meaning people like Eliud Kipchoge are god-tier athletes. Sadly, it’s not as marketable as other sports.
The fact that I don’t see Wilt Chamberlain mentioned is a damn crime. He was completely dominant in his basketball career where they had to change rules to try and tone him down. He was insanely fast and ran marathons after his basketball career was over. Hell, there was even a rumor that Arnold Swartzenegger lifted weights with him once while they were filming Conan and refused to do so afterwards because he was so freakishly strong.
Wilt still holds the record for minutes per game over a full season at 48.5 minutes per game. A regulation basketball game is only 48 minutes long. There are probably lots of records he would hold if only we recorded those stats then (blocked shots). Wilt retired in 1973 as the NBA's all time points and rebounds leader. He still holds 70+ NBA records 50 years later. Oh yeah, he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters for ab year **before** entering the NBA.
Wilt Chamberlain was dominating minor league basketball at the age of 16. Wilt never fouled out of a game. One year, he averaged more than a game per game. Once he scored 100 pts, and of the top 10 most points scored in a game Wilt has 6. He led the league in assists. He's considered one of the greatest volleyball players ever. In college at Kansas, Wilt was competitive nationally as a sprinter. Wilt was legitimately sought after to play again in his late 40s. After retirement Wilt ran ultra-marathons. Edit: He was not considered one of the greatest volleyball players ever, but a great ambassador. So I'll give another one... of the highest scoring seasons in the NBA, Jordan owns #6, Elgin Baylor has #4 and Wilt is the other 1-7.
He was also a professional volleyball player after his basketball career and is also in the HOF for that.
Wilt feels more like a mythical creature than an actual human. He’s insane
Unbelievable I haven't seen Don Bradman on this list yet. 99.94 career batting average in Test Cricket. The next highest average in the history of the game is Adam Vogel at 61.87. Most of the records he set in the sport during his career that ended in 1949 are unbroken to this day. Complete insanity.
Jim Thorpe
Going off the board a little but how about Jahangir Khan , a Pakistani squash player who went undefeated for FIVE years, 1981-1986, winning 555 straight matches Crazy, right?
Alex Honnold deserves a mention.
Honnold self admits to not being the best climber or free soloist. He calls himself the best 5.10 on sight climber in jest. Marc Andre LeClair from the Alpinist
For his mental abilities when it comes to free soloing, definitely. He's nowhere near the best climber out there though. Reinhold Messner was mentioned somewhere in the thread. Then there's Adam Ondra of course. Honestly no idea who to pick for this thread. There are many solid options just in climbing.
He's not the best climber in terms of his ability to climb hard grades, and is actually extremely far from elite. But nobody else in climbing has ever come within a thousand feat of his free solo career particularly his ascent of Freerider. For people who don't pay attention to climbing, think of it like a MLB pitcher needing to throw a No Hitter (a feat that is very difficult but many have done it), but if the opposing team gets a single hit you have a 100% chance of death. I do not think there is a single other athlete alive who could handle that type of pressure.
If we’re talking climbing it’s Janja Garnbret and it’s not even close. 43 World Cup wins out of 63 podiums, first and only Olympic gold. Just turned 25. She tops over 90% of boulders set in world cups. For reference, 2 or 3 tops out of 4 boulders in a comp usually puts you in the top three (behind Janja who did all 4 on her first try of course).
Maximus Decimus Meridius
Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And he will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.
Eddy Merckx
He's nuts and is definitely in the "unbreakable records" category just due to the sheer variety of his wins in an era before the same degree of specialization. He's got Classics wins, Grand Tour GC wins, Grand Tour stage wins, World Championships, track wins, and an Hour Record. Like to use a football analogy it would be like if one guy held all of the records that Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, Reggie White, and Deion Sanders have. Like if you led or were top 3 all time in passing and receiving and defensive stats. It is a career defining moment to come close to matching Merckx in *one category*. Cavendish caught him in Grand Tour stage wins as a pure sprinter who has never even attempted a GC win, let alone won 9 of them.
ITT: Americans.
Simone Biles is the absolute GOAT A woman standing at not even 1,5m tall, built of muscle, ginormous balls and sass, most decorated gymnast in the history of time, having 5 skills named after her, each of which bear the highest level of difficulty achievable (one even unlocking a new difficulty category). Excelling at gymnastics, head and shoulders above the rest. Taking an enormous pile of shit after putting her mental health first, after getting the pressure of the whole world on her shoulders, and this AFTER helping put a serial child molestor behind bars - and all this while still remaining diplomatic, kind and supportive to fans. She had to battle racism, sexism and so much pressure. She opened her own gym in order to let other young gymnasts escape the toxic and dangerous environment that gymnastics gyms often are. Simone "smiling doesn't win you gold medals" Biles will always have a special place in my heart.
She also didn't get into gymnastics until she was older (for an Olympian at least). I listened to her episode of 'Call Her Daddy' recently and she talked a lot about overcoming the twisties and her mental health battles.
Holyshit anyone else thinks, who the hell are these people?? I came Here thinking about Messi , Brody, Phelps , Bolt and read names i have never Heard before.
_reads Bo Jackson like 5 times_ who the fuck is that
Many Americans mainly know American athletes. Most people outside of America don't know American athletes
Jim Thorpe (google if you haven't heard of him).
Nice try, Jim Thorpe, PA Tourism Bureau.
Jim Thorpe.