Wrestling Forum banner

Rank These Three Sportsmen- Jordan, Ruth, and Ali

5K views 78 replies 19 participants last post by  Magic 
#1 ·
ESPN ranked the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century. The top 3 were;

1. Michael Jordan

2. Babe Ruth

3. Muhammad Ali


You might feel a different athlete should be somewhere in that top 3.

But what I'm asking is, how do you rank these 3 sportsmen against each other? Do you agree or disagree on how ESPN ranked them?


Jordan and Ali's careers have parallels.

-Both rose to the top and dominated. Ali won the Heavyweight title and defended it successfully over and over. Jordan had his first 3 peat.

-Ali was forced out of boxing before anyone defeated him for the title. Jordan took a year and a half off after his first 3 peat.

- Jordan was rusty when he came back midway through the regular season. The Bulls lost in the playoffs that season. When Ali came back, he just wasn't the same at first. He lost to Frazier and Ken Norton.

- Next season, Jordan and the Bulls started another 3 peat. Ali won rematches with Frazier and Norton, and then beat George Foreman, a monster, for the Heavyweight title.

-Jordan eventually retired and came back for 2 seasons. He was really good, but couldn't play at the level he did in the past. Ali retired, but came back for a match with Larry Holmes. Holmes embarrassed him and beat him soundly, giving Ali his only non-decision loss.

How do you rank Jordan, Ruth and Ali?
 
See less See more
#3 · (Edited)
Ruth
Jordan
Ali

People forget Babe was one of the best pitchers in baseball (led the AL in ERA as a 21 year old) when he became an outfielder full time. I think he still has some post season pitching records. An absolute beast.
 
#6 ·
Tough era. Walter Johnson, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, etc.
 
#7 ·
Damn, this tough

All three missed crucial time in their career being out. Jordan playing baseball, Ali in prison, and Ruth as a pitcher for his first few years.

Ruth wins from the aspect of revolutionizing his game as a pioneer and had he not been a pitcher at first his HR record would still stand. Jordan changed the game, but Bird and Magic saved basketball.

Ali wins for the fact of how long he stayed on top despite the toughest competition a sport has ever seen. His victory over Foreman is off the charts. That would damn near be like Jordan coming out of retirement and showing up LeBron in 2006 or so.

Comparing Ali to Ruth and Jordan in championships is apples to oranges, but between Ruth and Jordan, I give Jordan the nod because there is little doubt that had Jordan not retired that the Bulls would have won 8 straight.

When I ask myself the question as to whether or not these guys would be great in today's game Ali wind easily

Ruth's 714 home runs is probably the most long respected record in sport's history. DiMaggios 56 game hitting streak is the only one even close. Ruth's HR per at bat has only been beat by McGwire and that is tarnished and Ruth hit a ball 600ft. I don't think that has ever been beat though I know it was never measured and Mantle hold the official record at 565ft.

Jordan was possibly the most complete player in any sport as he great defensively as well.

Greatest moment is tough to call between Jordan's last shot to win VS Utah or Ruth's called shot

1.Ali
2.Ruth
3.Jordan
4.Gretzky
5.Montana
 
#10 ·
Ruth wins from the aspect of revolutionizing his game as a pioneer and had he not been a pitcher at first his HR record would still stand. Jordan changed the game, but Bird and Magic saved basketball.
I think Ruth's performance as a pitcher actually helps him when we're talking baseball GOAT. Dude had crazy pitching numbers and probably would have been a Hall of Famer on the mound if he hadn't been out of this world as a hitter. Nobody else in baseball ever excelled as a hitter and pitcher like Babe Ruth. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Ruth also the first huge sports megastar (at least in the US)? Even today, nearly 80 years after he last played, the name "Babe Ruth" is known by just about every American. And let's not forget that he hit more homeruns than entire teams! No athlete ever dominated the way Ruth did.

Jordan was THE man in the 80s and 90s. Magic and Bird got the ball rolling by making the NBA cool, but Jordan took it to a whole 'nother level. I was a Pistons, and later a Knicks fan, so you can imagine how I felt about Jordan at the time :lmao But that doesn't change the fact that he's the GOAT basketball player and the 2nd most iconic figure in the history of (US) sports.

Tbh, I know less about Ali than the other two, but I know he was a really, really big deal who was the clear top star during boxing's 60s and 70s peak.
 
#9 ·
What's the basis? Just ability? Or ability on and off the field/court/ring?

If you're talking STAR power, Ruth is out. He may have been huge in the United States, but baseball wasn't a global game in the 1910s and 1920s. His reach is too limited.

Jordan did have the world star factor. He was huge on the court, off of it he was the guy in the 1990s. No bigger sports name in the world than Michael Jordan during his time.

But, but if you want to talk about it all. It's Ali. Doing what he did with the name change, and just the spectacle he put on in the ring. From the U.S to Zaire to Philippines. That was impressive. Especially during the times of limited mass media. Jordan had the benefit of a global media. Ali, not exactly. Still put his name over the entire world.

Ali
Jordan
Ruth
 
#15 ·
What? Who doesn't know who Babe Ruth is? :jordan
 
#14 · (Edited)
World appeal doesn't mean anything if it's just US. Ruth's popularity is just a great as Jordan's. I'm ok with Jordan over Ruth. No big deal. Ali is the unquestionable no 1 in my view.

Ruth v Jordan...is Jordan still as revered as Ruth is now decades from now? A century from now? Ruth has endured.


Oh btw, Willie Mays > Babe Ruth as a player.
 
#17 ·
I'm sure there are millions on the planet earth who don't know who Babe Ruth is. I'm sure millions who don't know Jordan, Ali are as well. But if I were to guess, I'd say they're more well-known than Ruth.





That's boring. U.S is just, like, one country, man.

I cannot think that way. I gotta think of the world factor.

It took a lot of restraint for me not to put my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Michael Jordan as number one.
 
#18 ·
You can make a case that Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano were as good (if not better) than Ali.
 
#22 ·
Talking about hitting pitchers I firmly believe in his prime if Carlos Zambrano played everyday (well like DH'd) he would have had a solid hitting line. He had 23 homers in 709 career plate appearances. Guy could flat hit.

Greinke can as well.
 
#29 ·
#31 · (Edited)
1000% agree on Koufax. Maybe no pitcher better all time.

I'm 33 so remember Bo very well. Guy was like a God when I was growing up. He had it all. Could have been Jim Brown or Reggie Jackson if he committed to one of those sports full time.

Add Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers to that list. I've met Sayers and he is a class act.

I'm not a huge futbol guy (only really pay attention around World Cup time) but Messi is fucking incredible.
 
#32 ·
Sandy's numbers were amazing and outside of historians most consider Nolan to be so much better, but it's just not the case.Bo is quite possibly the best natural athlete ever. It's crazy to hear him talk about how little he ever practiced. Jim Brown is another great example, which made me think of Barry Sanders. If Barry and Emmitt had switched team and Barry had that offensive line and played as long as Smith did, it would have been unreal to even think about how many yards he could have rushed for
 
#33 · (Edited)
Lions fan here since 1989. I saw Barry Sanders play in college (Nebraska/Okie State) when I was 8 and was hooked. Played for some terrible teams and still got the Lions to the playoffs 5 times which is an accomplishment itself haha. I get in the Barry/Emmitt debate with Cowboys fans who are friends and family (I have LOTS of them) and Emmitt was great but he was no Barry.

There will never be another Barry.
 
#35 ·
#39 ·
I actually had this conversation the other day with my fellow borderline obsessive baseball fan friends. I think it's Pedro Martinez in 1999. Considering the era, league and ballpark he did it in....just bonkers what he did that year.
 
#55 ·
Even if it were true, there is no way I could ever admit that anyone from the Red Sox holds that distinction. My objectivity does have limitations. It's funny how I love The Yankees and Celtics, but hate the Red Sox and Knicks
 
#40 ·
Bo is probably the biggest "what might have been" of my lifetime. His popularity rivalled Jordan's for a minute there.

I was at Barry Sanders' last game :) I think it's also the last NFL game I ever saw live.

Koufax was amazing for like 5 years, but it was only 5 years. Maybe if he had hung around....

Jim Brown is another one who could have potentially set ridiculous video game-style records had he not retired after only 9 seasons.
 
#46 ·
Correct about Karelin.

Giants (with their backup QB) beating the Bills in SB 25 was a huge upset as well.
 
#47 · (Edited)
I know a lot more is factored in with Ali, Jordan, and Ruth when you think about being the greatest such as popularity, being a pioneer and so forth, but it is hard to say that anybody was more talented at their sport than Kerelin was at his, Anateur wrestling just isn't as popular, but to even fathom that someone went undefeated for 15 years and didn't even have a point scored against them for 6 of those years is hard to even wrap the mind around. I know Mayweather is undefeated, but it's not even close to how dominant Karelin was

Another thing about Gretzsky is the fact that he could have never scored a goal and would still own the scoring record on assist alone.
 
#48 ·
Baseball players today play against the best players, of any ethnicity, from different corners of the world. Babe Ruth played against white Americans and only white Americans. That has to give anyone pause when using his production as his legacy. You can't tell me if you plopped current Miguel Cabrera in Ruth's era and gave him a bat that he wouldn't be just as good or close to it.

Michael Jordan is perhaps the biggest asshole in the history of team sports and got out in just the nick of time. The Internet Era would have absolutely destroyed this guy with rampant stories of gambling, infidelity and otherworldly prickish behavior (the guy used to spit on pastries in crowded rooms so no one else could eat them). He also dominated an era in the NBA of which there are very intriguing arguments that it wasn't all that strong. Also the beneficiary of blatant officiating bias.

Ali, as a public figure, was simply awesome. A million times more guts than any sports star who has come since. Best heavyweight ever - period.
 
#49 ·
He also dominated an era in the NBA of which there are very intriguing arguments that it wasn't all that strong. Also the beneficiary of blatant officiating bias.
I agree with this on the all time level. I think if the 95 Bulls were put against the 85 Celtics or 86 Lakers that they would not see a 7th game with either of them.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top