Who is, or was, your favorite athlete?

[HHP]

I just can't believe nobody has named Hulk Hogan.

[flaggerphil]

Oh, wait...I forgot...

Hulk Hogan!!

[Bluepoet]

I always think of the Hulkster as being a performance artist/comedic actor/physical comedy choreographer...but, yeah, he's very athletic, too...

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by kscobie8

Cal Ripken Jr.


Bel isi,
-kyle

Cal played with heart and I'm sure he was a great role model for so many people. I have no idea where he is now ... is he still in baseball?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by HHP

One of my all time favorites is one most never heard of, Jochen Rendt. He drove for Lotus in the sixties.

On one of the rare occasions a Formula One race was on TV, Wide World of Sports was carrying the 1970 Monaco GP. Its a tight street circuit and late in the race, Sir Jack Brabham had a major lead and was cruising to a win. Back in the pack, Rendt just decided to go for broke and was driving like a maniac, drifting through the turns, making wild passes.The cameras picked up on the charge and started to cover him and in a few laps, it was clear he was going to catch up to Brabham. Brabham couldn't see him coming in his mirrors as the course is so tight and there were no radios so his team couldn't warn him.

Rendt showed up out of nowhere, pressured Brabham into an error in the final turn, and passed Brabham on the last lap to win. Haven't seen a better F1 drive before or since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2v4A_y4VI

I remember Rendt very well and agree an extraordinary driver.

For me though no question Jean Claude Killy one of only two men in history to win gold metals in all three Olympic alpine events Slalom, Giant Slalom and Downhill .

Lesser known is that Killy also helped revolutionize ski racing technique and would forever change ski racing and by default recreational skiing technique in general
Prior to Killy most racers skied in variation of the Austrian "Wedeln" Tony Sailer the other man to win the skiing triple gold and like Stein Erickson pictured below just free skiing



Killy and the French started using a technique that became known as "The Jet Turn" and proved it superior by dominating both the late 60s Olympics and the newly formed World Cup. Killy skied with skies apart no shoulder rotation and would crank back on the ski tails at the transition start of the turn and that would cause them to "Jet" forward increasing the speed
Killy starting a jet

Killy finishing the turn

[kscobie8]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Cal played with heart and I'm sure he was a great role model for so many people. I have no idea where he is now ... is he still in baseball?

I'm think he owns or co-owns a minor-league team or two. I know he's done some sportscasting since his retirement, and does a lot with local kids leagues. I doubt he'll ever not have anything to do with baseball.


Bel isi,
-kyle

[D. Shelton]

Julius Erving

[RichM752]

Hands down. Willie Mays.

[blue]

This was before we knew just how much PEDs were used by the soviets.

Alexander Karelin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9MDNMIbwOE

[Heroditus]

Bob Uecker

[XYRN]

I'm not a huge sports buff, I don't know the names of all the 'greats', but in my own experience, one of my favorite baseball players is Jim Thome, who has been on many teams in his 21 yr career but I learned of him when he was on the Twins.
(Who currently stink like wet dog, but that's another story.)



Career statistics
Batting average .276
Hits 2,328
Home runs 612
Runs batted in 1,699

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by XYRN

I'm not a huge sports buff, I don't know the names of all the 'greats', but in my own experience, one of my favorite baseball players is Jim Thome, who has been on many teams in his 21 yr career but I learned of him when he was on the Twins.
(Who currently stink like wet dog, but that's another story.)



Career statistics
Batting average .276
Hits 2,328
Home runs 612
Runs batted in 1,699

Jim Thome is one of those "quiet" guys who towards the end of his career you looked at his stats and said ... "Wow, I didn't realize he has 600 home runs." (I said that myself). He seems like a classy guy too. I'm glad you brought him up.

[Telejonz]

Pro surfer Kelly Slater

[sfden1]

What, no 49's fans here? I've never been a big football fan, but Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were a thrill to watch, and both were class acts as well.

[Dru Edwards]

Talk about heros, I'm watching the Red Sox - Cardinals World Series pregame show now and in Fenway Park Mariano Rivera (NYY) just got an award. Fantastic that a player in such a long standing heated rivalry can be honored in the "other" ballpark.