Wayne Gretzky is NOT One of the Greatest Athletes of All Time

We get comments all the time stating that we are idiots for [including, excluding] a particular items on a list or ranking a particular item so [high, low] and because of it, the list in question [is not accurate, is biased, sucks].

As stated before, these inaccuracies and biases are simply part of the system and hopefully over time they will naturally correct themselves.

Unfortunately, on our list of the Greatest Athletes of All Time, this philosophy seems to be failing. And while we are not going to adjust the numbers to try righting the wrongs we perceive on the list, we do want to clean our hands of the list. In our minds, what you see on that list is not the intention of the list and the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of you guys out there.

As stated quite explicitly in the list description, the list of Greatest Athletes of All Time is to determine which people possess the greatest share of all the traits such as speed, quickness, strength, coordination, stamina, etc. that define athleticism. It is not supposed to be a list of the people who are the best at their individual sport which is what is has devolved into being.

Honestly folks, Wayne Gretzky the fourth greatest athlete of all time? Who are you kidding? While there is little doubt that Gretzky was one of if not the best hockey players ever, he did not reach such lofty heights because of athleticism. Gretzky was 6 foot nothing and 180 pounds. He was never even the top athletic specimen on his own team. There were always people who skated faster and shot harder. Gretzky got by on intelligence and knowledge of the game. If you put Gretzky on the list of greatest athletes of all time, then you might as well include Garry Kasparov on the list too.

And Gretzky isn’t the only one on the list we take objection too. How about Lance Armstrong? Even after the list description explicitly singles him out as NOT one of the greatest athletes of all time, he still comes in a 16. And why? Because he is a highly accomplished cyclist who also ran a marathon? I’m sorry, but just because he was a great cyclist does not make him a great athlete. Compared to other sports, cycling is extremely one dimensional. And running a marathon? LOTS of people run marathons. In fact over 800 people who ran the NYC marathon with Armstrong had faster times and they didn’t have a camera crew and or expert team of pace setters helping them along.

But why stop there. The list keeps going. How about:

Nolan Ryan - If Armstrong doesn’t belong on the list because he is a one dimensional athlete, then how in the world does Nolan Ryan make the list? It’s hard enough rationalizing adding a person to the list based purely on their skills as a baseball player. Adding a player who plays one highly specialized position every fifth game is even harder.

Michael Johnson - Same rationale as above. Michael Johnson does one thing very well; he runs very fast for short distances. But that's not really enough. By comparison, along with being one of the greatest running backs of all time, NFL Hall of Famer Herschel Walker also competed in the bobsled even in the 1992 Winter Olympics, is a sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, and ran the 100m in 10.22 seconds. Michael Johnson's personal best at the 100m is 10.09 seconds. So is 13 hundredths of a second really enough to make him the second greatest athlete of all time?

Reinhold Messner – On the list because he was the first to climb all 14 of the highest mountains on earth and because he is the only person to climb Everest solo with supplemental oxygen: two accomplishments that make him a star in the Guinness Book of World Records but not a great athlete. Others have climbed all 14 peaks and many more have climbed Everest without oxygen.

James J. Braddock – Great story, yes. A greatest athlete of all time? Hardly. Braddock was a heavyweight title holder for a couple of years in the mid 1930’s and ended his career with a record of 51 wins and 26 losses. He is one of a hundred other boxers who have held the title and not even close to the upper echelon of that list.

Tiger Woods – On the list because he dominates the sport of golf. Really? Do we need to say anything more here. He is a great athlete because he is able to perform better than physical specimens like Colin Montgomerie and John Daly?


Basically what we are seeing is that people are being added to the list based on popularity or dominance in a particular sport. But it is not a list of the favorite athletes or most dominant athletes. It is a list of the greatest athletes. Unfortunately, however, it is not being treated as such and as a result, the validity of the list results is regrettable.

Posted April 8, 2007 by admin in response to the list of Greatest Athletes of All Time.

Comments on Wayne Gretzky is NOT One of the Greatest Athletes of All Time

“Wow...your rationale is so logical. I hope that all people make their way to this blog before they complain.”

Christian.H.Mills

“o yeah he is”

anonymous

“How can you possibly say that Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong are not two of the greatest athletes of all time????Both show incredible levels of strength, agility and speed in their given sports. Your rationale is pathetic”

steve07

“Gretzky is undoubtably the greatest athlete in history. He has big cahunas too!”

anonymous

“Isn't it enough that he scored more than 200 points in a season? Do you expect him to score 300 points? Get a Life!”

anonymous

“so i know that everybody who looks at this site is biased for basketball, baseball or football, i am fan of all sports, but i have to say that wayne gretzky is one of the greatest athletes of all time, i'm blown away by the ignorance that people have to say that he is not of the best. Hockey is possibly the hardest professional sport to play, like basketball you are constantly working and moving, the season is one of the longest seasons of all profesional sports, going from october until june, and unlike basketball it also has an extreme physicaly punishing aspect to the game, football is the only sport that surpasses hockey in the night in and night out hits you take. Not only that but there few other athletes who have changed the record book of their respective sports like wayne gretzky did, and his most of his records still stand! One would be suprised to learn how much skill is actually involved in being a good goal scorer in hockey. Wayne Gretzky is undoubtably one of the greatest athletes of all time”

anonymous

“I must disagree. If a guy that plays a major sport is TWICE as good as everyone else who ever played (more assists than anyone else ever has POINTS), then you must be saying that NO hockey player is an athlete. I hope you're not saying that.”

anonymous

“Screw You!
Wayne is the the best hockey player ever and best athlete”

jamie30jamer

“Hockey is a sport of exhaustion not sitting and hitting a golf ball anyone can do that even a 90 year old loser with no backbone”

anonymous

“hockey players are not athletes”

anonymous

“I think that people should put Bo Jackson at number 1 because he played arguably the hardest position in 2 professional sports, baseball and football.”

waterboy51

“my only comment is that if you ever played soccer and knew of pele and what he did in his career, there would be no doubt in any of your minds that he is the greatest athlete of all time. he scored over 1200 goals in his career in about 1300 games. he helped brazil win three world cups and is considered a national treasure of brazil. he is unquestionably ranked #1 in the world in soccer by fifa, and many other pollers. mohammed ali paid tribute to him at his final game at meadowlands stadium before he retired from the cosmos. think about this. he was the hero of the world of soccer from his first entrance onto the world cup at age 17 where he scored 6 goals and inspired his team to win until today he is the ambassador of soccer. his name means king. pele is king.”

anonymous

“Wayne Gretzky was a great, great player but he isn't even close to the top of my list of the most exciting players I ever saw play a sport. Lets be honest, he was the Larry Bird equivalent to hockey. Great passer and great scorer but that alone doesn't lift me off my seat. The Michael Jordan of Hockey was Bobby Orr. More people saw Wayne Gretzky play than saw Booby Orr so most people are blind to what Bobby Orr did. I have been watching sports for 40 years and my list of most exciting lift me off my seat and leave me in awe:

Michael Jordan
Bobby Orr
Dr. J
Barry Sanders
Tiger Woods
Bo Jackson
Roberto Duran
Bjorn Borg
Deon Sanders
Roger Clemens”

anonymous

“There is another issue with the list not just that 1 dimensional athletes (And Mainly US athletes) are pushing up into the list. And that is the use of the term "All Time"

Surely there were people who were athletes before the 1900's. Surely some of the greatest athletes of ALL TIME come from before the 1600's even. What about some of the Gladiators of their time?

If you say "Yeah but we judge them we have no records and there is no recordings of their feats" then you are 100% correct. But you must also admit that its not only possible but incredibly probably that comparitively athletes from before the 1800's would make this list if we knew about them.

You can't keep touting this as the greatest athletes of ALL TIME. Because you can't possibly think that all of the greatest athletes of all time come from the last 150 years. That's stupid.”

anonymous

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