Most dominant sports figures
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List Description
The following contains a list of the most dominant sports figures I have ever seen. I began my sports fandom in the 1970s, though I started following different sports at different times.
List
- Wayne Gretzky (Hockey) - particularly 1981-1990
- Tiger Woods (Golf) - particularly 1999-current
- Michael Jordan (Basketball) - particularly 1987-1998
- Barry Bonds (Baseball) - particularly 2000-2004
- Roger Federer (Tennis) - particularly 2004-current
- Jerry Rice (Football) - particluarly 1986-1995
- Martina Navratilova (Tennis) - particulary 1982-1987
- Steffi Graf (Tennis) - particularly 1988-1990; 1993-1996
- Mario Lemieux (Hockey) - particularly 1985-1997
- Annika Sorenstam (Golf) - particularly 1997-current
Offlist But Worthy Of Mention
- From baseball: Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Tony Gwynn, Roger Clemens
- From hockey: Ray Bourque, Nicholas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur
- From tennis: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Monica Seles, Serena Williams
- From golf: Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson
- From football: Brett Favre, Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis
- From basketball: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal
Notes
A highly personal list, I recognize, though I feel very strongly about my top 3. Greg Maddux, Brett Favre and Pedro Martinez were the toughest to leave out. I only considered the sports listed above, because they are the ones I followed most closely. I did not consider college sports.
Jack Nicklaus may have made the list had I been born earlier. His career of long-standing excellence also reminds me of some other stars I have a lot of respect for - Steve Yzerman, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens who didn't quite completely dominate their sports in a confined time period. I also did not list people who may have dominated their sport for one glorious season (Ron Guidry, Dwight Gooden, Mats Wilander).
Steffi Graf is an interesting case. Her reign was interrupted by the thoroughly dominating play of Monica Seles. Had Seles not been stabbed on court by a deranged Graf fan, Seles might indeed have been the most dominant women's tennis player ever.
Some people dominated an element of their sport - Tom Watson the British Open, Pete Sampras Wimbledon, Tony Gwynn, hitting for average. These folks couldn't quite rise to the top of the list because of this (awesome but) partial domination.
Gretzky was hands-down the most thoroughly dominating athlete I've ever seen. More so than Jordan. Tiger Woods, though, could challenge Gretzky some day, as could Roger Federer.
Date
This list was added on January 23, 2007.
