In your opinions, who do you think was the greatest athlete of all time? Pele? Roger Federer? Michael Jordan? Mine vote goes to Jim Thorpe.



The guy was a stud. Was an all-around player: a star in all 3 major American sports.

- He played American football (it was really Rubgy-like in those days), baseball, and got two gold medals in the Olympics.

- In college he played RB, DB, K, and P.

- In a few track meets in college the guy was his colleges whole track & field team.

- He broke his college's high jump record in his first try.

- He set a record in the olympics at the decathlon, when he never officially did a decathlon before.

- His olympic records stood for decades.

- He's in the college and pro football hall of fames.

- Not to mention the U.S. Olympic and the Track and Field hall of fames

- Was coached by the famous Pop Warner.

- He played 6 years of Major League Baseball, and a few more in the minors.

- Thorpe founded professional football.

- Played 12 seasons of pro football.

- He ran, recieved, passed, and played DB in the pros. . . .while coaching.

- He even played a little basketball, with a traveling team.

- Was named the best athlete of the first half of the 20th century.

- And the athlete of the century by ABC

BUMP THIS BABY We are talking based on overall athletic ability. Don't say someone b/c he/she dominated his/her sport most effectively. A case could me made Jim Brown. . . .



- Arguably the greatest American football player ever.

- Greatest lacrosse player ever (w/o question).

- Started on Syracuse basketball team (scored 15/game sophomore, 2nd highest on team).

- Decided to try the American decathalon on a kind of whim.  Finished 5th in the country.

6'02", 230;  18-inch neck, 32-inch waist.  And this is before weight-training and modern nutrition.

Bo Jackson anyone?



- Bo Jackson, the best of the 2 sport modern day athletes.

- Ran a 4.12 40-yard dash in 1986 combine. MLB All-Star Game MVP 1989. Also selected to the NFL pro bowl.

- What other guy with his speed could hit a 475 ft home run?

- Won Heisman Trophy.

- Was strong enough to pop his own hip back into place after it came out of the socket.

- Only American football player to have 2 runs of 90 yards or more ever, despite being a backup & only playing four years in the NFL.

- Was still able to be a very-good baseball player with a fake hip.

- Before he went to college he was offered a $250,000 contract by a professional baseball team.

- Ran a 100 yard dash in high school in 10.39, while weighing 200 pounds.

my candidate no.1 - Sergei Bubka

Sergei Bubka (born December 4, 1963) is a retired Ukrainian pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991. He is widely regarded as the best pole vaulter ever and one of the best athletes of modern times.

Bubka won 6 consecutive IAAF World Championships, an Olympics gold and broke the world record for men's pole vaulting 35 times (17 outdoor and 18 indoor records). He was the first to clear 6.0 metres and the first and only (as of January 2007) to clear 6.10 metres (20 feet).

He owns the current outdoor world record of 6.14 metres on 31 July 1994 in Sestriere, Italy and the current indoor world record of 6.15 meters on 21 February 1993 in Donetsk, Ukraine.