Tag: Rod Laver

Great Athletes Who Thrilled Us and Enriched Our Lives

Crossposted at Daily Kos

If you’re a sports fan as I am of several sports, have you ever wondered who the greatest athlete ever was.  If so, who among the greatest was your favorite of all time?  

In late 1999, Sports Illustrated magazine held an awards ceremony to honor the ‘Sportsman of the Century.’  Among those honored in their respective sports were Muhammad Ali (Boxing), Jim Brown (Football), Wayne Gretzky (Hockey), Michael Jordan (Basketball), Babe Didrikson Zaharias (Best Female Athlete), Carl Lewis (Olympian), Jack Nicklaus (Golf), and Babe Ruth (Baseball).

“Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee”



Muhammad Ali aka “The Louisville Lip” knocks out Sonny Liston in the first round in their rematch fight in May 1965 in Lewiston, Maine to retain his World Heavyweight Boxing Crown (Photograph: Neil Leifer)