It seems the U.S. has lost much of its appreciation of track and field, both for homebred athletes, and for those abroad such as Prerec,Sotomayor, Bubka and Guevara. No more summer meets on network t.v., no track stars on the Wheaties box (Jenner, Mathias, Bragg), and no Dream Mile coverage in ESPN the Magazine or "Sports Illustrated". This minimal coverage and fandom probably effects the regard track stars are held in,as witnessed by ESPN's list of the Top 50 North American athletes of the last century. I imagine sports journalists cast these votes. I particularly note that Carl Lewis garnered only the 12th most votes,Kersee was out of the Top 20 at #23,no U.S. decathletes were named among the top 50,and Jim Thorpe was # 7. Edwin Moses did not star in as many events as Thorpe, Lewis, Owens, Zaharias (# 10)or Kersee, but do you think his lengthy dominance merits a finish higher than 47th?
Sure, these things are subjective, and fame and impact (Ruth over Thorpe, no Rafer)were taken into account. But if impact counts, why Jackie Robinson,a stellar long jumper, great halfback, conference basketball scoring leader, and baseball All-Star at a position he learned at 28,out of the top 10 at number 15? Will track ever come back?
Bijan
1. Michael Jordan
2. Babe Ruth
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Jim Brown
5. Wayne Gretzky
6. Jesse Owens
7. Jim Thorpe
8. Willie Mays
9. Jack Nicklaus
10. Babe Didrikson
11. Joe Louis
12. Carl Lewis
13. Wilt Chamberlain
14. Hank Aaron
15. Jackie Robinson
16. Ted Williams
17. Magic Johnson
18. Bill Russell
19. Martina Navratilova
20. Ty Cobb
21. Gordie Howe
22. Joe DiMaggio
23. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
24. Sugar Ray Robinson
25. Joe Montana
26. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
27. Jerry Rice
28. Red Grange
29. Arnold Palmer
30. Larry Bird
31. Bobby Orr
32. Johnny Unitas
33. Mark Spitz
34. Lou Gehrig
35. Secretariat
36. Oscar Robertson
37. Mickey Mantle
38. Ben Hogan
39. Walter Payton
40. Lawrence Taylor
41. Wilma Rudolph
42. Sandy Koufax
43. Julius Erving
44. Bobby Jones
45. Bill Tilden
46. Eric Heiden
47. Edwin Moses
48. Pete Sampras
49. O.J. Simpson
50. Chris Evert
Sure, these things are subjective, and fame and impact (Ruth over Thorpe, no Rafer)were taken into account. But if impact counts, why Jackie Robinson,a stellar long jumper, great halfback, conference basketball scoring leader, and baseball All-Star at a position he learned at 28,out of the top 10 at number 15? Will track ever come back?
Bijan
1. Michael Jordan
2. Babe Ruth
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Jim Brown
5. Wayne Gretzky
6. Jesse Owens
7. Jim Thorpe
8. Willie Mays
9. Jack Nicklaus
10. Babe Didrikson
11. Joe Louis
12. Carl Lewis
13. Wilt Chamberlain
14. Hank Aaron
15. Jackie Robinson
16. Ted Williams
17. Magic Johnson
18. Bill Russell
19. Martina Navratilova
20. Ty Cobb
21. Gordie Howe
22. Joe DiMaggio
23. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
24. Sugar Ray Robinson
25. Joe Montana
26. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
27. Jerry Rice
28. Red Grange
29. Arnold Palmer
30. Larry Bird
31. Bobby Orr
32. Johnny Unitas
33. Mark Spitz
34. Lou Gehrig
35. Secretariat
36. Oscar Robertson
37. Mickey Mantle
38. Ben Hogan
39. Walter Payton
40. Lawrence Taylor
41. Wilma Rudolph
42. Sandy Koufax
43. Julius Erving
44. Bobby Jones
45. Bill Tilden
46. Eric Heiden
47. Edwin Moses
48. Pete Sampras
49. O.J. Simpson
50. Chris Evert
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