Who was the Best Two Sport Athlete?

[Diamond Jim]

Also played for and won an NBL title with the Rochester Royals.

Ahhhhhh yes, the Rochester Royals. The only team to have members in the NFL Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

[hancox]

You are all missing the best two sport athlete of all time, Jim Brown!

Indeed! Brown is in 2 halls of fame, for crying out loud! (Football and Lacrosse)

 

[salsadancer7]

Indeed! Brown is in 2 halls of fame, for crying out loud! (Football and Lacrosse)

Yeah, but if I am not mistaken, only one was a professional sport. The only player that was considered in the top of his league in 2 professional sports was Bo Jackson.

I could be wrong....

 

[raoul5788]

Yeah, but if I am not mistaken, only one was a professional sport. The only player that was considered in the top of his league in 2 professional sports was Bo Jackson.

I could be wrong....

Jackson was a slugger, and a pretty good one, but he wasn't at the top of anything in baseball except the strikeout lists and the excitement factor.
Bo Jackson Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

 

[salsadancer7]

Jackson was a slugger, and a pretty good one, but he wasn't at the top of anything in baseball except the strikeout lists and the excitement factor.
Bo Jackson Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

He was a very good fielder with speed and a strong arm...and consider a very good outfielder in his day. Strikeouts really don't mean much...and never has as long as you are/were a run producer.

 

[raoul5788]

He really wasn't that good of a fielder. He had great speed and a very strong arm, but he was as good as he was because he was such a great athlete, not because he was a great baseball player. Manny Ramirez had a much better fielding percentage and I think we can all agree that he was a below average fielder. Strike outs aren't that important as long as you produce. He averaged 97 rbi/year. A slugger should do better than that.

 

[salsadancer7]

He really wasn't that good of a fielder. He had great speed and a very strong arm, but he was as good as he was because he was such a great athlete, not because he was a great baseball player. Manny Ramirez had a much better fielding percentage and I think we can all agree that he was a below average fielder. Strike outs aren't that important as long as you produce. He averaged 97 rbi/year. A slugger should do better than that.

Well I guess that you base it on stats... I base on what I saw on a nightly basis.

 

[DodgerKing]

He really wasn't that good of a fielder. He had great speed and a very strong arm, but he was as good as he was because he was such a great athlete, not because he was a great baseball player. Manny Ramirez had a much better fielding percentage and I think we can all agree that he was a below average fielder. Strike outs aren't that important as long as you produce. He averaged 97 rbi/year. A slugger should do better than that.

Playing in a pitcher friendly park for poor teams with very few run producing situations, 97 RBI/yr is pretty damn good.

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[salsadancer7]

Playing in a pitcher friendly park for poor teams with very few run producing situations, 97 RBI/yr is pretty damn good.

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Good point. Bo had 4 out of 5 tools..the only thing he could not do is hit for average, though if you look at his BA, it went up by at least 9 points every year he played. And his so called fielding pct. being lower than Manny's...Bo would go after balls that Manny would not even try. He took chanced....Manny did not.

 

[raoul5788]

Good point. Bo had 4 out of 5 tools..the only thing he could not do is hit for average, though if you look at his BA, it went up by at least 9 points every year he played. And his so called fielding pct. being lower than Manny's...Bo would go after balls that Manny would not even try. He took chanced....Manny did not.

You are correct about his fielding compared to Manny's. I was using the numbers to prove a point, that you have to see a player to judge sometimes. I saw him play many times and I wasn't impressed by his fielding. He wasn't good at reading fly balls.

 

[salsadancer7]

You are correct about his fielding compared to Manny's. I was using the numbers to prove a point, that you have to see a player to judge sometimes. I saw him play many times and I wasn't impressed by his fielding. He wasn't good at reading fly balls.

Ok... And that's why sports forums are great...varied opinions.

 

[raoul5788]

Ok... And that's why sports forums are great...varied opinions.

Yup. BTW, I still say Jim Brown was a better, much better, two sports athlete compared to Bo. Now if Bo had played longer it might be a different story.

 

[salsadancer7]

Yup. BTW, I still say Jim Brown was a better, much better, two sports athlete compared to Bo. Now if Bo had played longer it might be a different story.

Jim Brown played only one sport at the professional level...if I am not mistaken, lacrosse did not have a professional league.

But I do think he is one of the greatest football players ever.

 

[satjay]

I was a fan of both Deon sanders and Bo Jackson, but Bo Jackson to me gets the nod, who else had better commercials then Bo knows.....

 

[raoul5788]

Jim Brown played only one sport at the professional level...if I am not mistaken, lacrosse did not have a professional league.

But I do think he is one of the greatest football players ever.

I didn't think it had to be professional sports.

 

[salsadancer7]

I didn't think it had to be professional sports.

That is how I am basing it on. If not, I would have gone with Jim Thorpe, hands down.