Mike & Mike: All sports GOAT career

[Senser81]

This morning Mike and Mike discussed who has had the greatest sports career and part of the requirement was you had to be accomplished in three areas at least. They used college, pro, coaching, exec, owner.

They discussed Larry Bird and whether he was it or at a minimum ahead of Jerry West. Its an interesting question. So few great players become great coaches, and so few great players make great GMs.

Mike and Mike are kind of retarded, so the names they threw out on the radio were pretty basic...Mike Ditka, Bill Russell (???), John Madden (???). They did mention Lenny Wilkens, and he's an interesting choice because he was a HOF player and a HOF coach, and IIRC he held the all-time record for coaching wins at one point.

One guy I thought of was Ozzie Newsome...great WR at Alabama, HOF TE for the Browns, and great GM in the NFL.

I think the best GOAT candidate for a sports career would be George Halas. He was a very good football player at Illinois (back when they were good), a good football player on the Bears/Staleys, one of the founders of the NFL, held the all-time coaching win record in the NFL, and was one of the top owners and IIRC the longest-tenured owner in NFL history.

[Champ]

Dick Lebeau

[Warner2BruceTD]

Michael Jordan & Isiah Thomas get an 'A' for effort. Can you think of any former great athletes who have failed as badly as these two clowns at every level above pro player?

This is harder than it seems. Nolan Ryan? Only two levels with him.

[EmpireWF]

For amateur into pro wrestling...Verne Gagne.

Would have said Bill Watts but he was split between football and wrestling before he went full-time into pro wrestling. So I think Gagne may be the best example available.

For straight amateur wrestling...(as far as collegiate, Olympic and then coaching greatness)

Dan Gable
Cael Sanderson

[Warner2BruceTD]

Yeah, Gagne was a bigger star than Watts in the ring and while Watts was a great booker, Gagne ran a successful money making territory for decades while Watts most successful run as a promoter was roughly 10 years or so.

Stu Hart would come the closest to Gagne, but again, not as good of an amateur, not as big of a star as a pro, and Stampede was not quite at the level of the AWA, although it did last just as long.

[Senser81]

For amateur into pro wrestling...Verne Gagne.

Would have said Bill Watts but he was split between football and wrestling before he went full-time into pro wrestling. So I think Gagne may be the best example available.

Where does Kurt Angle rate?

[Warner2BruceTD]

Where does Kurt Angle rate?

Angle was an Olympic gold medalist, and is considered an all time great as a pro in terms of workrate, so he reached the top of both pro and amateur.

He's never owned a promotion or held an exec spot.

[MvP]

Russell has a strange case. Two National Championships, 11 NBA Championships with 2 of those being as a player-coach.

[shag773]

Yeah, Gagne was a bigger star than Watts in the ring and while Watts was a great booker, Gagne ran a successful money making territory for decades while Watts most successful run as a promoter was roughly 10 years or so.

Stu Hart would come the closest to Gagne, but again, not as good of an amateur, not as big of a star as a pro, and Stampede was not quite at the level of the AWA, although it did last just as long.

I think you should throw Eddie Graham into the conversation here as well. Was a great tag team wrestler and ran arguably one of the hottest promotions in the country from Florida in the 70s and early 80's.

[EmpireWF]

I think you should throw Eddie Graham into the conversation here as well. Was a great tag team wrestler and ran arguably one of the hottest promotions in the country from Florida in the 70s and early 80's.

But he didn't have an amateur career. He became a pro as a teenager.

[Senser81]

Angle was an Olympic gold medalist, and is considered an all time great as a pro in terms of workrate, so he reached the top of both pro and amateur.

He's never owned a promotion or held an exec spot.

What about Captain Lou Albano?

[Senser81]

This is harder than it seems. Nolan Ryan? Only two levels with him.

They did mention Nolan Ryan on the show, but, as you said, Ryan does not have a managerial aspect. The John Madden mention was funny, because he had no pro career to speak of, went to a small college in California, and was never a GM or owner. But they said Madden qualified on three levels...coach, broadcaster, and video game character. If thats the case, then Larry Bird still beats Madden, because Bird was part of the greatest basketball video game ever made...

[Fappin Raptor]

Hockey wise, I'd say Steve Yzerman. His juniors career was good, 247 points over 166 games. Then obviously he had a great career in the NHL winning 3 Stanley Cups, 1 Conn Smythe, 10 All-Star games and 1 Gold medal with Canada. His exec career is still young but he has another Stanley Cup and a Gold Medal to his name in that department.

[G-men]

I think you have to throw Bob Hayes' name in there. Olympic Gold Medalist and HOF wide receiver.

I looked it up, and the only other person to be an Olympic Gold Medalist and a HOFer in a different sport in Jim Thorpe, who got gold in the pentathlon and decathlon, so maybe you put him in there too.

[CaribbeanJoseph]

I think you have to throw Bob Hayes' name in there. Olympic Gold Medalist and HOF wide receiver.

I looked it up, and the only other person to be an Olympic Gold Medalist and a HOFer in a different sport in Jim Thorpe, who got gold in the pentathlon and decathlon, so maybe you put him in there too.

Coaching, management?