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the best athlete ever?

openendstraight

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Knowing what we now know, does anyone believe Bo was clean? Honestly?
The question was, who was the best athlete, not who do you think was the best clean athlete.

Having said that yes. If not he started in High School.

Jackson attended McAdory High School, where he rushed for 1,175 yards as a running back as a high school senior. Jackson also hit twenty home runs in twenty-five games for McAdory's baseball team during his senior season. He was also a two-time state champion in the decathlon

Not only that, but everyone of the players you suspect of taking PED's have one thing in common, they seem to never get hurt. Bo Jackson was fighting injuries since his Junior year at Auburn
 

njstone

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Hmm, tough one. I think that Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson were two of the most incredible and versatile athletes I've ever seen. I've also never heard anything of either of them regarding PEDs.
 

AlohaStyle

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Jim Thorpe was who I thought of immediately as the best athlete. Bo Jackson is definitely up there. I think Deion Sanders was a great athlete... he also played MLB. You can't argue how great Michael Jordan and Jerry Rice were for their sport, but I don't really consider them the best "athletes"... more like the best at their sport.

Don't laugh at me for this, but I consider Dave Winfield one of the best as well. In 2004, ESPN named him the third-best all-around athlete of all time in any sport. He was drafted 4th overall by the Padres AS A PITCHER.

Rather than put it in my own words, I will copy/paste this from sporthaven .com.

Bio:
Dave Winfield is the only athlete in history to be drafted by four different leagues. Winfield was a gifted athlete and upon graduating from Minnesota, he was drafted by teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football Association (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the American Basketball Association (ABA). Obviously, Winfield excelled in multiple sports, but upon becoming professional he decided to stick exclusively with baseball.

Winfield was born on October 3, 1951 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In basketball, he helped the Golden Gophers win their first Big Ten title in 53 years. However, it was on the baseball diamond that Winfield truly excelled. He led Minnesota to the College World Series in 1973 as both an outfielder and pitcher, and won World Series MVP for his pitching performance. Upon graduating from Minnesota in 1973, Winfield was drafted by the San Diego Padres (MLB), the Atlanta Hawks (NBA), the Utah Stars (ABA), and the Minnesota Vikings (NFL) even though he did not play college football
. Winfield picked baseball and the Padres, and began his professional career that very same year.
 

Thegreekone

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Lawrence Taylor above Sandy Kofax?

That list is ass.

Not one wrestler either.

Michael Jordan is not the greatest athlete ever. He changed pro sports and was a great competitor, but just ask the curve ball. He knows.
 
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From the world of endurance sports I'd suggest Mark Allen. He won the Hawaii Ironman, I think, 6 times. He was able to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bicycle 112 miles in the heat and humidity of Hawaii, and then run a 2:30:00 marathon. Pretty amazing!

As a pure runner, I would nominate Emil Zatopek, the Czech Olympian. In 1952 he won the 5000, 10,000 and marathon at a single Olympics. That would be unheard of today.
 
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strife

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Yeah bu
Bio:
Dave Winfield is the only athlete in history to be drafted by four different leagues. Winfield was a gifted athlete and upon graduating from Minnesota, he was drafted by teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football Association (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the American Basketball Association (ABA). Obviously, Winfield excelled in multiple sports, but upon becoming professional he decided to stick exclusively with baseball.

Winfield was born on October 3, 1951 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In basketball, he helped the Golden Gophers win their first Big Ten title in 53 years. However, it was on the baseball diamond that Winfield truly excelled. He led Minnesota to the College World Series in 1973 as both an outfielder and pitcher, and won World Series MVP for his pitching performance. Upon graduating from Minnesota in 1973, Winfield was drafted by the San Diego Padres (MLB), the Atlanta Hawks (NBA), the Utah Stars (ABA), and the Minnesota Vikings (NFL) even though he did not play college football
. Winfield picked baseball and the Padres, and began his professional career that very same year.
Yeah Winfield was great but is being drafted by four leagues really a good
benchmark? I mean Mickey McCarty was drafted by the NFL, NBA, ABA and MLB. Yeah exactly, Mickey who?
 
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I think Kelly Slater is a good choice. Problem is people who have never surfed dont realize how difficult it is or how much of a "sport" it really is when it comes to competitive surfing. I would also like to throw Pat Tillman's name out there. But I'm biased.

Also whoever said Marilyn Chambers; I like you!

Has anyone ever considered BODACIOUS? Only 10 rides out of 135 tries. One of those guys got full facial reconstruction for his efforts.
 
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From the world of endurance sports I'd suggest Mark Allen. He won the Hawaii Ironman, I think, 6 times. He was able to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bicycle 112 miles in the heat and humidity of Hawaii, and then run a 2:30:00 marathon. Pretty amazing!
You can't mention Mark Allen without Dave Scott. He was the first to pull 6 wins at the Ironman, and their competition against each other was legendary. However, Dave came out of retirement, AT 40 YEARS OLD, in 1994 and took SECOND place in the Ironman.

Think about that...anyone here think they could pull that off?

:rolling:
 

AlohaStyle

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Yeah Winfield was great but is being drafted by four leagues really a good
benchmark? I mean Mickey McCarty was drafted by the NFL, NBA, ABA and MLB. Yeah exactly, Mickey who?
I personally am not a big fan of Winfield, but I knew about his history and had to mention it... To get drafted by 4 professional leagues and end up being a hall of famer in the one you choose, that's pretty impressive if you ask me.
 
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