Greatest Sportsmen of all Time/New Poll for top 5 to Agree on.

[stew]

if only you knew stew!

I have started posting simply saying "Reported" since the big "tout" debate!

I would not, and never have, reported anyone!

Each to their own!

Fair enough, made a call and got you now sideline.

[pintsofguinness]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

X 3

[gallsman]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

[pintsofguinness]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

probably more to do with him being a wife beater.

[The Real Laoislad]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

probably more to do with him being a wife beater.

Should someones private make a difference to them being regarded as a top Sportsman or not?

[pintsofguinness]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

probably more to do with him being a wife beater.

Should someones private make a difference to them being regarded as a top Sportsman or not?

well to me, if I was thinking of great sportsman I'd consider everything. 

Even if you want to leave out his personal life how can he be considered a top sportsman when he destroyed his career with drink and never really reached his potential.

[The Real Laoislad]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

probably more to do with him being a wife beater.

Should someones private make a difference to them being regarded as a top Sportsman or not?

well to me, if I was thinking of great sportsman I'd consider everything. 

Even if you want to leave out his personal life how can he be considered a top sportsman when he destroyed his career with drink and never really reached his potential.

I never said he was...
I do however think its unfair to judge who is or isn't a great sportsman by what type of person they are outside the sport.

[DennistheMenace]

Boxing
Sugar Ray Robinson
Ali
Joe Louis
Rocky Marciano

Football
Pele
(Discounted any player who took drugs like Maradona)

Basketball
Jordan

Golf
Tiger Woods
Jack Nicklaus

Tennis
Federer

Athletics
Bolt
Jesse Owens
Michael Johnson
Haile Gabrisellasie
Ed Moses

Cycling
Lance Armstrong

Swimming
Michael Phelps
Mark Spitz
Matt Biondi

Rowing
Steve Redgrave

Ice Hockey
Wayne Gretzky

[The Real Laoislad]

Football
Pele
(Discounted any player who took drugs like Maradona)

Rio Ferdinand will be gutted so

[Sandino]

To be the greatest sportsman of all time I think you would need to be the best in your choosen sport. George never made that level, again my opinion.

[Family guy]

Brian dooher at gaelc football

[Eastern_Pride]

I'm making a poll on this I need one person from 5 sports.......
This is the Provisional list: Top 5 we can agree on?


Pele
Michael Schumacher
Tiger Woods
Usain Bolt
Michael Jordan
Muhammed Ali
George Best

[stew]

Personal opinion I know but George Best should be nowhere near this list.

X 2

Why, 'cos he was a Prod?

probably more to do with him being a wife beater.

Should someones private make a difference to them being regarded as a top Sportsman or not?

well to me, if I was thinking of great sportsman I'd consider everything. 

Even if you want to leave out his personal life how can he be considered a top sportsman when he destroyed his career with drink and never really reached his potential.

He might not have pog but he was the worlds best player for quite a while imho. Her would have been a hero of mine and I was gutted to hear he was slapping the head off the wife, I am sure that was the drink as he was a gentle soul but that is no excuse. He was still one of the most exciting sportsmen of all time to watch and was a world class athlete in his own right.

Canavan to me is a bit of a G**** but he is in that class as well, absolutely sublime footballer and I think to be fair you have to set aside peoples shortcomings outside of the sport they played on a thread like this and judge them on their ability and performances.

Maurice Fitz is another genius, as good an athlete as I have ever seen.

[AZOffaly]

What's the criteria? Skill? Titles won? Athletic ability? How popular the sport is?

The horsey lads would tick all those boxes, but I reckon Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete I've seen, and he was undoubtedly a winner and had all the skills for basketball. The fact that he was good enough to be a professional minor league baseball player as well, albeit only for a short time, is another indication of his natural athletic ability.

[No way ref]

Daley Thompson and Jurgen the Kurgen