141st Edition
The Three Greatest…
My son asked me an interesting question the other day that really got me thinking. He asked me who I thought were the three greatest American generals in WWII. As I pondered that question, it suddenly occurred to me that it might be an interesting series of questions for my blog. The three greatest generals, presidents, athletes, inventors, and so on. It would be a change of pace from some of my recent blogs. A bit on the lighter side, maybe even a welcome distraction from what (or who) is currently dominating the news. Most of the news today just makes me angry. Some of it by design, I imagine.
I’ve been intrigued by the notion of greatness most of my life. Quite frankly, I’ve dreamed of achieving some level of greatness as long as I can remember. God wired me that way, for reasons known only to him.
So here goes the first part of a series – The Three Greatest…
Let’s start with the three greatest athletes of all time.
How does one define athletic greatness? Extraordinary achievement, world records, and accomplishing something no one has done before are all part of it. Moreover, by being so much better than any other competitor during their career, their performances have remained remarkable and unforgettable well beyond their era. That is basically the criteria I used to select my three greatest athletes of all time.
Number three is Jim Thorpe. He won the decathlon and the pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. An accomplishment never again achieved by any athlete. Thorpe was also the first superstar in professional football. He also played professional baseball.
Number two is a woman – Babe Didrickson Zaharias. An outstanding track and field athlete, she won two gold medals in the 1932 Summer Olympics, the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin, in which she set a world record. Zaharias went on to be one of the pioneers of women’s professional golf and was the best golfer of her era. She also excelled in basketball and tennis.
Number one, the greatest athlete of all time, was a horse called Secretariat. The 1973 Triple Crown winner, the first in 25 years, and one of only 13 Triple Crown winners in over 150 years of thoroughbred horse racing. Secretariat still owns the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes track records. His length of victory in the Belmont, 31 lengths, has never been approached.
So, there it is. My list of the Three Greatest Athletes of all time. Here are a few honorable mentions in their respective sports:
Babe Ruth – Baseball
Wilt Chamberlain – Basketball
Usain Bolt – Track and Field
Jim Brown – Football and Lacrosse
Michael Phelps – Swimming
Bo Jackson – Football and Baseball
Jack Nicklaus – Golf
Muhammad Ali – Boxing
How did I do? Hopefully, this blog brought back some joyful memories, and even if you disagree, I hope it didn’t make you too angry…
Stay tuned to next week for the Three Greatest American Generals in WWII.
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.