Best dual sport (track/football) athlete of all-time

[jhc68]

If the criteria is the BEST COMBO in track/football then Thorpe seems the clear #1 and Michael Carter second.

Then Bob Hayes and OJ in a tie for #3 (Hayes being clearly the better track performer - maybe the GOAT at 100 meters but OJ a WR holder in the short relay who also set the NFL season rushing record). Henry Carr should be close or even equal to the rest of this group.

Beyond them, how about Mel Renfro, Earl McCollough, Bo Roberson and James Lofton?

And if we include wistful notions about might-have-beens based on high school performances, it would have been fun to see Napoleon Kaufmann and Lynn Swann continue to compete in both sports.

[paulthefan]

Bill is right on Gault, Willie Gault was one of the very few that were the real deal on the football field and the track... WC at 4x1 with one of the most amazing 2nd legs I have ever seen.

[Cooter Brown]

And if we include wistful notions about might-have-beens based on high school performances, it would have been fun to see Napoleon Kaufmann and Lynn Swann continue to compete in both sports.

Add Roy Williams to the list...25'6", 6'10", 10.48.

[Mighty Favog]

How many athletes are both in the USATF Hall of Fame and made the NFL's 75-year anniversary listing of the 300 greatest players? Not many, and you're missing one: Al Blozis.

[dj]

How many athletes are both in the USATF Hall of Fame and made the NFL's 75-year anniversary listing of the 300 greatest players? Not many, and you're missing one: Al Blozis.

Sorry, but Blozis isn't in the T&F Hall of Fame.

He should be, but he isn't . . . yet.

[trackstar]

Hayes, definitely. In addition to winning gold and being a WR holder, he revolutionized football: the zone defense was created specifically to deal with his speed.

Thorpe was amazing for his time, but keep in mind that the NFL was in its fledgling days and was practically a minor-league sport back then. (Or perhaps a better analogy: it was the type of second-tier sport that track & field is now.) There were plenty of talented athletes who weren't the least bit interested in doing NFL because it paid so poorly and they moved on to the real world. Good example: A decade after Thorpe's career, Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Trophy and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. He said no thanks, and moved on to sportscasting and business.

[Cooter Brown]

There were plenty of talented athletes who weren't the least bit interested in doing NFL because it paid so poorly and they moved on to the real world.

My HS superintendent played for the Eagles for a couple of years but quit to get a teaching job since it paid more.

[Helen S]

There were plenty of talented athletes who weren't the least bit interested in doing NFL because it paid so poorly and they moved on to the real world.

My HS superintendent played for the Eagles for a couple of years but quit to get a teaching job since it paid more.

Ah, those were the days, when Amurica had it's head on straight and it's priorities in line!

[Old Miler]

Best dual sports (track/football) athletes of all time

Note that Willie Gault has returned to track as a Master, and is a 100/200 m age group record holder.

Also, don't forget two long-jumpers who were star wide receivers: Lynn Swan and James Lofton.

[trackstar]

Re: Best dual sports (track/football) athletes of all time

Also, don't forget two long-jumpers who were star wide receivers: Lynn Swan and James Lofton.

Lofton apparently really loves the LJ. Back in his playing days, he told a football magazine that he fantasized about running with the ball to the 10-yard line, leaping over a tackler, and landing in the end zone — and thus becoming the world's first 30-foot long jumper.

(I'm thinking that football in his hand would have thrown off his form a bit. Not to mention the crazed safety trying to rip his head off.)

[jhc68]

Not one of the top five, but Dennis Smith deserves to be part of the conversation.

[runforlife]

I give Thorpe full credit for being the clear better of the two in track and football.

He was also a national ballroom dancing champion.

[tandfman]

And, according to jimthorpe.org, his bowling average was over 200!

[Dizzy]

I'll go with parkerrcaly's original Top 5...except substitute OJ for Nehemiah...c'mon, Skeets was NOT a football player.

RN, if you're out there please forgive my negativity...woulda been nice to see you in LA84, but hey...a guy's gotta make a living, no?

[tandfman]

He might have been able to make a better living as a hurdler.