Coolest athlete of all time

[Laloosh]

Try not to be cool with the name, "Magic Johnson"... Just try.

 

[RiverDog]

Steve Largent.

Here's how he's 'cool': Lester Haynes, an All Pro DB for the Raiders who's motor mouth trash talking bothered even his teammates, said that he thought Largent was deaf as he could never get him to even look his direction, until Largent burned him for a 30 yard reception then after Haynes tackled him, got up laughing at him.

Now is that 'cool' or what?

It was Lester HAYES & Mike HAYNES, iirc.

Thanks for the correction. That's what I get for trusting a faulty memory.

 

[kigenzun]

Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox, aka 'The Splendid Splinter.'
Naval Aviator, AND Marine Corps, Veteran of both WWII & Korea, 2-time Triple Crown winner, avid fisherman, and the last man to hit .400.

In my mind "The Greatest Hitter of All Time..."; I mean, He wrote the book on hitting... Now that's cool! :th2thumbs:

 

[RiverDog]

Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox, aka 'The Splendid Splinter.'
Naval Aviator, AND Marine Corps, Veteran of both WWII & Korea, 2-time Triple Crown winner, avid fisherman, and the last man to hit .400.

In my mind "The Greatest Hitter of All Time..."; I mean, He wrote the book on hitting... Now that's cool! :th2thumbs:

Good choice. Williams had 5 years during the prime of his career taken from him due to military service. Man, how times have changed!

 

[m0ng0]

Ric Flair

 

[Smelly McUgly]

When I was a kid, I always thought Bo Jackson was the coolest athlete. Haven't really thought of athletes in those terms since then.

I was waiting to see how long it took someone to mention Bo Jackson. I was six years old or so when he caught that baseball at the warning track and ran right up the wall instead of crashing into it. That made me a fan. Then, playing as him in Tecmo Super Bowl made me a fan for life. I even got over him trucking the Boz and that being shown as a highlight in perpetuity in about two seconds. That's how cool he was.

 

[Tical21]

Jordan
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Ali
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Everybody Else

 

[twisted_steel2]

Try not to be cool with the name, "Magic Johnson"... Just try.

Oh I could do it, easy


PS Bruce Lee, nice choice

 

[Seahawks Guy]

I always loved George Foreman.

He learned how to fight in the Job Corps...yeah that's right, the freaking JOB CORPS!

The guy was an underrated beast when he was younger...destroying top boxers like Frasier and Norton within just a few rounds. He also stood up to peer pressure when he was 19 by waiving an American flag after winning the gold medal in the Olympics after other contestants did the black power salute in defiance to the USA.

Then, he comes back at age 45 to win the heavyweight title again! I mean, seriously at 45 years old he is still punching people hard and they are still getting knocked out. That says a lot about how hard this guy could punch. I know a lot of boxing fans are all about strategy and craft...but me..I like to see a knock-out...I like to see guys getting hit in the face really hard and going down. That's what's fun and exciting to me about boxing, and Foreman brought that excitement.

 

[The Radish]

I always loved George Foreman.

He learned how to fight in the Job Corps...yeah that's right, the freaking JOB CORPS!

The guy was an underrated beast when he was younger...destroying top boxers like Frasier and Norton within just a few rounds. He also stood up to peer pressure when he was 19 by waiving an American flag after winning the gold medal in the Olympics after other contestants did the black power salute in defiance to the USA.

Then, he comes back at age 45 to win the heavyweight title again! I mean, seriously at 45 years old he is still punching people hard and they are still getting knocked out. That says a lot about how hard this guy could punch. I know a lot of boxing fans are all about strategy and craft...but me..I like to see a knock-out...I like to see guys getting hit in the face really hard and going down. That's what's fun and exciting to me about boxing, and Foreman brought that excitement.

Foreman was really a jerk in his younger boxing years. Clear up through losing to Ali. Then he came back, as a great guy, talked to the media and people, and is now known as a great guy. We all love him now. The highest paid athletic for about 15 years in a row from selling those grills. One year when our esteemed golfer made $88 million, George made $109 million.

Ted Williams was the biggest jerk in sports to this day. The people hated him, his team mates hated him, and the newspapers hated him.

The only reason he got press was the fact he is the greatest hitter of all time. Can't argue that, no one else has hit .400 for a season, tho many have tried.

:les:

 

[CPHawk]

I think they asked for coolest, not the most bitter for no reason.

Jordan
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Ali
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Everybody Else

 

[Smelly McUgly]

In that case, Jordan is incredibly bitter. See his HOF acceptance speech.

Jordan was a great player obviously, but he does not come off as "cool" to me. You wouldn't see Muhammad Ali or Bo Jackson starring in a movie with Bugs Bunny, would you? Don't get me wrong, I love Space Jam, but Jordan did not come off as "cool" in that movie or ever, really, as great an athlete as he was.

Bill Murray came out of that movie looking cool as hell, though.

 

[Happypuppy]

The great Muhammad Ali. Everyone pales by comparison. He helped polarize a nation about Vietnam. Striped of his title for political reasons , wins it back twice.

Brought back boxing from the back page to the front page. He was a my hero growing up and nothing but respect for the man today.

 

[Seahawks Guy]

Foreman was really a jerk in his younger boxing years. Clear up through losing to Ali.:

Really? I've watched a lot of footage of Foreman on and off the ring in his younger years and have read a lot about him and I have never seen any evidence that he was a jerk. I've heard a few people claim that before, but never any examples. Foreman himself admits that he was brash and unrefined when he was younger, but you also have to consider that he went through a major religious transformation so his idea of a jerk would likely be different than ours....although I've never heard him use that word to describe himself.

You may very well be right of course. So if you have any examples, please share them.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Ric Flair

Master of the self inflicted face plant, lol.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Ok, I'll say it. Russell Wilson. I know it's still early in his career, but no matter the criteria or how one defines it... Russell Wilson is the epitome of cool. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82421 There's enough known about Wilson to trust that he will not veer off course.

Thanks, Russell. You have quickly become arguably the coolest athlete ever to play for the coolest franchise (no question about it) in any sport.

That's how I define cool.

 

[ZorntoLargent]

Can't believe no one has mentioned the kid, Ken Griffey Jr. Everyone loves that guy. Don't matter what team you rooted for.

My first choice.

 

[dontbelikethat]

Jamal Crawford, Will Conroy or Russell Wilson for me.

 

[Seaman]

Wilt Chamberlain was so, so cool... So was Dr. J.
Nowadays, David Ortiz and Felix Hernandez fit the bill.

 

[dunceface]

Jordan.... it's gotta be the shoes