Growing up in the shadow of Anaheim Stadium, I was a huge Angels' fan. This is back in the early 70's. My favorite player was Nolan Ryan.

When my brother got out of the Army, he used to take me to Angels' home games whenever Ryan was pitching. We'd sit in the general admission seats. Upper deck, third base side, back when you could sit anywhere. Seats were only $2.

Ryan was amazing. I remember the year he threw his first two no-hitters, vs Detroit and KC. Unfortunately, they were both on the road.

My other favorite athlete was Payne Stewart. I don't know why, but I always felt like he was a friend. I remember being at work the day he died. I had never felt any emotion about the passing of someone I had never met before, but there was just something about him. I honestly felt like I lost a close friend that day.

I always liked Jack Nicklaus. I remember his incredible game when he won his last green jacket at Augusta. Almost everyone had him written off as a has-been at that point. Another favorite was Nolan Ryan. So much power and raw talent. I remember watching his last no-hitter and realizing about the same time as the announcers that it was possible with the way he was throwing that night.

Who is, or was, your favorite athlete?
 

Really hard to pick one favorite, but a couple I'm surprised haven't been mentioned yet..
Willie Mays, Pele, Walt Frazier, Dr J and one very special shout out ( as a lifetime Mets fan) to Bill Buckner😏

Joe Willie Namath
Jean Belleveau

The Great One- Roberto Clemente

Who is, or was, your favorite athlete?
 

Jim Kelly, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain.

Bo Jackson.

Brooks Robinson, third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles during the late 60's and 70's.
He could stop a rocket if it was fired at him.
I loved watching him dive to stop a hot grounder down the line and throw out the runner from his knees.
Also a great guy. I accidentally bumped into him in the hallway during Jr. High while he was visiting to give a talk about the dangers of smoking.
I looked up and said, "Hey, you're Brooks Robinson!"
He said. "That's right!, What's your name?,
I said "Steve, Sir."
He asked if I was a ball player and, what position did I play, and told me to "keep playing and maybe one day you'll be an Oriole."

My choice too!!!

That's a tough one. Bill Russell, Ted Williams, Larry Bird, Ali, Fedor Emelianenko, Tom Brady, and Troy Brown... and there's probably more if I think longer.

Overall it's Dan Gurney. He was, and still is, my all time sports favorite. I'm lucky in that I not only got to meet him, but work with him. I was also partial to Phil Hill, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart.

In baseball it was probably Mickey Mantle and football probably Johnny Unitas. I never got to see them play in person, but saw them often on tv back when the world was black and white. In soccer it was Pele...I got to see him play live in Hawaii back in the mid '70s. I really don't have favorites in the other sports.

That's easy: Ernie Banks. I admire lots of athletes but Ernie's been my favorite since the early '60s. My dad met Ernie and several other Cubs, and decsribed how nice Ernie was/is.

I'm too young to have seen Ernie play, but I have also met him several times, and every time I go away feeling the same--he's a genuinely nice person who absolutely loves the game of baseball. Easily the coolest "famous" person I've ever met.

No question, Kirk Carruthers, Linebacker, FSU, 1988-1991. He was about 5'11" and maybe 200 lbs, but he played linebacker at Florida State. He had 16 solo tackles in one game.

Johnny Unitas
Roger Staubach--exciting to watch, because of his scrambling abilities...

My interest in football died, pretty much with the retirement of Landry, even though I wasn't really a fan of the Cowboys...

Baseball--
Yogi Berra
Mickey Mantle
Sandy Koufax
Ozzie Smith
Lou Aparicio
Ernie Banks
Cal Ripken
Honus Wagner
...and the Great Willy Mays

Also, the greatest athlete of all-time, Jim Thorpe...(unless one counts Ty Cobb, which I don't)

Plus, many, many more...