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Who were the greatest?

As we approach the end of our artificially measured century, it is natural to look back and take that different measure: that of the athletes who rose to the very top of their respective sports and are considered the best.

In choosing these exceptional men and women, we arbitrarily set a limit of 100, a nice round figure that matches the years considered. It would have been easy to select more: the tough part was to keep the number down to a practical list.

It is a list we know will not satisfy everyone (maybe not anyone).

But we have drawn on the expertise, experience and insight of the sports writers and photographers who have reported on these athletes for the worlds largest and most prestigious international news agency, The Associated Press.

Among our criteria was to look globally. Here are not only the greatest Americans who have thrilled spectators over the decades, but superstars from all over the world. Yes, theres Muhammad Ali. But theres also Nadia Comaneci, and Jean Claude Killy. Theres Hank Aaron, but Sonja Henie and Paavo Nurmi, too.

Another goal was to include many different sports, not only the major ones. Yes, theres baseball, football, and basketball. But theres also skating and auto racing and track.

And we insisted on searching the distant past as well as more recent history. Michael Jordan, of course. But we cannot forget Jim Thorpe too.

One thing that we did not want to do was rank them. In some way, each and every one listed in this unique compilation is No. 1 Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain, Jesse Owens, Rocky Marciano, Jackie Robinson, Rod Laver, Pele, Wayne Gretzky, Wilma Rudolph, and all the others between these covers.

This volume with its admittedly debatable choices recalls for us, in stories and superb photographs, the athletes and their accomplishments, the most memorable spors figures and feats of a century. ... Read more

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Whether it’s smashing a home run, heaving a touchdown pass, or scoring the game-winning goal, fans love watching their favorite stars. With incredible photos and lists of stats, fans will love seeing the world’s best athletes and their amazing achievements up close.

... Read more

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Sports Leaders & Success chronicles how 55 celebrated athletes and coaches rose to the top of their games, uncovering methods that can be adapted to any competitive environment and translated into success. Building on the popular and respected Investor's Business Daily "Leaders & Succes" section, this inspirational, results-focused book examines:

• How basketball legend John Wooden won an unsurpassed 10 of 12 NCAA Championship titles
• How Mia Hamm's committment made her the all-time leading scorer in women's soccer
• How Michael Jordan's dedication won him the NBA scoring title a record 10 times

Customer Reviews (2)

Only for the ultimate sports fans/lovers
If I counted it right, this book had covered great sportsmen/women/coaches from baseball, basketball, tennis, football, track, skating, golf, cycling, wrestling, boxing, racing, gymnastics, hockey....For a true sports enthusiast,it's interesting to know who's who through individual 3 to 4 pages of introduction to sports heros. However, being somebody who loves only tennis, basketball and soccer, I can hardly enjoy the whole book at all when most of the passages are stories of sports I am ignorant of. On the other hand, the success formulas of them are quite similar, as summarized in the first page as IBD's 10 secrets to success, including

1. how you think is everything. Always be positive. Beware of a negative environment
2. decide upon your true dreams and goals
3. take action
4. never stop learning
5. be persistent and work hard
6. learn to analyse details
7. focus your time and money
8. dont be afraid to innovate, be different
9. deal and communicate with people effectively
10. be honest and dependable, take responsibility

In short, if you are an "ultimate" sports fan/lover, you might like and enjoy this book. If you are not, please give it a pass.

Quibbles about which 55 but none about their worthiness

Only a brave soul presumes to offer a list of the "greatest," whatever the category. What we have here is a collection of material from Investor's Business Daily's "Leaders & Success" section which focuses on 55 "top sports leaders & how they achieved greatness." Being somewhat of a listmaniac myself, I am always curious to see who makes a given list and who doesn't. Here's the problem which I as well as all other list compilers really cannot solve: Whom to replace? In this volume, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson are mentioned only briefly. Should one or both replace Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, or Babe Didrikson Zaharias? What about Sam Snead who isn't even mentioned, nor are several great athletes in other sports such as Wilt Chamberlain, Jack Dempsey, Lou Gehrig, and Pete Sampras? Re the list of 55, should Chamberlainreplace Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (yes), Dempsey replace Jersey Joe Walcott (yes), Gehrig replace Jim Thorpe (at least in the baseball section, yes), and Sampras replace Ivan Lendl (yes)? Oh well. All 55 are worthy. Perhaps the most important differentiator is leadership. Even then, I have some disagreements. To repeat, oh well. This is the IBD's list, not mine.

All that said, I enjoyed reading this book. It is filled with relevant information and makes a strong case for certain qualities of character which usually enable those who possess them to succeed, whatever the field of competition may be. For example, "they work hard, they're driven to achieve, they're fiercely determined [Dempsey once said that champions get up when they can't] and they also have a singular approach that sets them apart from the competition." String together a series of adjectives associated with the 55 and you also have a respectable list of what success in other areas requires: studious, focused, stubborn, resourceful, tenacious, passionate for competition, self-assured, mentally as well as physically fit, obsessed with winning (or not losing), fearless, and proud.

The material is organized within six Parts:

Insisting on the Best (e.g. Mays, Hamm, McEnroe, Ted Williams)

Clearing the Toughest Hurdles (e.g. Heiden, Thorpe, Ronaldo, Owens)

Putting the "Work" in "Work Ethic" (e.g. Lewis, West, Erving, Armstrong)

Learning How to Be the Greatest (e.g. Navratilova, Shoemaker, Louis, Spitz)

Without Risk, There Is No Success (e.g. Jackie Robinson, Phil Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Rickey)

Fine-Tuning Focus Yields Excellence (e.g. Auerbach, Jordan, Paige, and Gretzky)

The profiles which I enjoyed most were of those about whom I knew little (if anything) previously. For example, George Haines, Erik Weihenmayer, Jackie Stiles, Peggy Fleming, Paula Newby-Fraser, and Nadia Comaneci. Those who share my high regard for this book should check out Michael Mandelbaum's The Meaning of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See When They Do as well as Rosabeth Moss Kanter's Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A good book for children as it points out how some of the best ahtletes struggled to achieve their greatness
While there will always be some dispute about the top 20 athletes of the 20th century, there can be no dispute about the accomplishments of these people. The 20 listed in the book are:

*) Muhammad Ali
*) Jim Brown
*) Wilt Chamberlain
*) Nadia Comaneci
*) Babe Didrikson Zaharias
*) Wayne Gretzky
*) Michael Jordan
*) Jackie Joyner-Kersee
*) Carl Lewis
*) Willie Mays
*) Joe Montana
*) Martina Navratilova
*) Jack Nicklaus
*) Jesse Owens
*) Pele
*) Jackie Robinson
*) Bill Russell
*) Babe Ruth
*) Pete Sampras
*) Jim Thorpe

Some of the people, such as Jackie Robinson, are in this list for greatness that went beyond his statistics in his sport. Unlike the records of others, his will stand forever with no hope of anyone else ever breaking it. However, for some of the others, the word dominance simply is not enough to describe their actions. Babe Ruth hitting more home runs than many other teams in the majors, Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game and averaging over 50 points a game for a season and Babe Didrikson Zaharias being the sole member of a track team and winning a championship are some examples.
This is an excellent book for children as it presents some of the amazing feats of people we call athletes. In many cases it also demonstrates that the best athletes play all aspects of their game very well and many struggled and worked hard to achieve their greatness.
... Read more

Product Description
Every Chicago fan knows that the only thing better than watching sports is arguing about them-picking the best, the worst and who will come out on top. And no city tears its sports teams apart like we do in the Windy City!

Veteran Chicago sportswriter John "Moon" Mullin takes you inside the 100 best debates in Chicago sports. Covering the Bears, Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and beyond, every question you want to debate is here-as well as a few surprises.

Arguments include:

Customer Reviews (1)

Good idea, but....
As a Chicago sports fan, I enjoyed this book, but when I rated it I tried to step back from being a Chicago fan to being a sports fan.Some folks outside of Chicago might enjoy this book, but not many.Even those in Chicago will only be marginally interested.Let's face it, sports radio is the real venue for these types of arguments, not books.

Still, if you're a Chicago sports fan, you'll enjoy Mullin's book.You'll find things to argue with (and that's the point) and you'll find things you'll agree with, and you'll remember things that'll still drive you nuts, like 1984, 2003...oh, who am I kidding?All of Cubs history will drive you nuts, unless, of course your a Sox fan.Some of the debates are boring, such as which golf courses are best and what killed tennis in Chicago, but all in all it's interesing.But, like I said, these are arguments better heard on the radio.

The organization of the book was nice - no debate will take more than a few minutes to read, so it's easy to pick it up for only a few minutes a day and read a complete section.

I can't disagree with most of Mullin's arguments, but I do take issue with a few of his comments:
1) He calls Nolan Ryan an "over-hyped sham" - Ryan won over three hundred games with some of the worst teams in MLB.He could have won 370, possibly 400, if he had ever played for a decent team.For instance, he had the best ERA one season but finished 7-17.
2) He says Ted Lyons won "only" 260 games.Only 260?That's a huge total.
3) Sosa's 66 home runs are only "marginally more" than Hack's 56.If by marginally you mean only a month's total (in a six month season), then I guess you're right.

But really, aren't those arguments what make sports fun? I recommend this book for Chicago sports fans, but I can't give it a high rating, because there's nothing particularly original about it and it won't reach much of an audience outside Chicago. ... Read more

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Profiles the lives and careers of Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, George Foreman, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Jack Johnson, Rocky Marciano, John L. Sullivan, and Mike Tyson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great For The Boxing Fan Age 9 & Up
Great For The Boxing Fan Age 9 & Up

This is a quick read and a short book - probably take you an hour - tops - it's only 48 pages.

Ron Knapp takes a few pages per boxer to give you a very brief outline of the boxer and his career.

Great for the boy or girl (or even adult) just getting interested in boxing - gives you a very rough draft of 10 of the greatest boxers - and I think can serve as an inspiration on who to learn more about.

Not necessarily for the boxing fan that's been a student and/or a fan of the sweet science, although it would make a funny gift for them - hey - it's got 10 pictures.

This is really a great book for - and geared toward the pre teen (or even teen) interested in boxing and/or boxers - the book say ages 9 and up - and depending on the reader could go younger and older.
... Read more

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Profiles ten successful managers in professional baseball: Felipe Alou, Bobby Cox, Leo Durocher, Rube Foster, Tommy Lasorda, Connie Mack, Billy Martin, Joe McCarthy, John McGraw, and Casey Stengel. ... Read more

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Profiles ten notable women figure skaters in American history, including Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, and Kristi Yamaguchi. ... Read more

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Profiles the lives and careers of Red Auerbach, Chuck Daly, Alex Hannum, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, John Kundla, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Bill Russell, and Rudy Tomjanovich. ... Read more

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Profiles the lives and careers of Chris Edwards, Matt Mantz, Fabiola Da Silva, and other professional in-line skaters who perform ariel flips, spins, and jumps. ... Read more

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Highlights the lives and careers of ten winners of the Heisman trophy: Marcus Allen, Tim Brown, Ernie Davis, Tony Dorsett, Doug Flutie, Eddie George, Archie Griffin, Paul Hornung, Barry Sanders, and Roger Staubach. ... Read more