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Most dominating athlete of all time?

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Acorn said:
Federer, Bjorg and Sampras were unplayable at times especially on grass.
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I wouldn't describe any of them as "dominant". Federer had Nadal and it's hard to be dominant when you're pretty officially someone's whipping boy, Bjorg had McEnroe, and Sampras had various shock defeats to middling players throughout his career. I don't think tennis as a sport lends itself very well to clear domination, because it's all about the margins. You have players who lead the field, and Federer, Bjorg and Sampras certainly did that very well, but "dominated" goes too far. The only truly dominant tennis player is Esther Vergeer.
 
dominating as in "(s)he always won first place, no matter what, over a relatively extended period of time"???
 
vcassano1 said:
To answer that in regards to Bradman. His batting average is 99.94 (that is per dismissal). Typically the great batsmen have averages of around 50. It varies depending on era, but for example, Kallis has 55.37, Tendulkar 53.78, Lara 52.88, Sangakkara 58 (still playing), and the next closest is 60.97. That is a 39 run difference per dismissal. That is huge.

But it isn't just the statistics that separate him. He played in an era where pitches were uncovered and therefore more difficult to bat on. They did not wear helmets or protective gear. Bats nowadays are bigger and the pitches smaller. Not as many games were played; therefore the best bowlers were fresher (although you could also argue that playing more games can fatigue the batsman, though surely less than it does bowlers).

On the other hand, modern professional cricket has made bowlers fitter and fielding better which theoretically makes it harder to score. More professional, technological analysis has given teams more information on opponents with which to get them out better.

Generally, though, it is easier than ever to be a batsman nowadays. Bradman was an anomaly. Look at this graph to see just how far in excess of everyone he is. That is across 137 years of Test cricket.

CricketBattingAverageHistogram.gif
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well explained. No one is ever getting that average again. To maintain a century average is incredible. The funny thing is, wasnt he dismissed for a duck on his last innings ever so he dropped from 100 to 99.94?
 
Shame on the guys naming Armstrong, the GOAT in cycling is and alway will be Eddy Merckx. You don't get nicknamed The Cannibal for nothing.


  • Most career victories by a professional cyclist: 525.
  • Most victories in one season: 54.
  • Most stage victories in the Tour de France: 34.
  • Most stage victories in one Tour de France: 8, in 1970 and 1974 (shared with Charles Pélissier in 1930 and Freddy Maertens in 1976).
  • Most days with the yellow jersey in the Tour de France: 96.
  • The only cyclist to have won the general classification, points classification and mountains classification in the same Tour de France (1969).
  • Most victories in classics: 28.
  • Most victories in one single classic: 7 (in Milan – San Remo).
  • Most victories in Grand Tours: 11

Wiki
Achievements

Can't wait for the first "yeah but doping" reply.
 
Mihku said:
Shame on the guys naming Armstrong, the GOAT in cycling is and alway will be Eddy Merckx. You don't get nicknamed The Cannibal for nothing.


  • Most career victories by a professional cyclist: 525.
  • Most victories in one season: 54.
  • Most stage victories in the Tour de France: 34.
  • Most stage victories in one Tour de France: 8, in 1970 and 1974 (shared with Charles Pélissier in 1930 and Freddy Maertens in 1976).
  • Most days with the yellow jersey in the Tour de France: 96.
  • The only cyclist to have won the general classification, points classification and mountains classification in the same Tour de France (1969).
  • Most victories in classics: 28.
  • Most victories in one single classic: 7 (in Milan – San Remo).
  • Most victories in Grand Tours: 11

Wiki
Achievements

Can't wait for the first "yeah but doping" reply.
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Yeah but doping. I mean, the 'Doping' section alone in his wiki article is longer than most articles on wikipedia!
 
I'm confused by all the Wilt and Ali mentions. Are people just being dazzled by the narrative and myths associated with them? Ali who basically got it as good as he gave it with Frazier, ducked a rematch with Foreman, and ended his career with several humiliating loses? Wilt who shrunk in the playoffs and was outshone by his contemporary rival Russell?
 
While I'd probably say Bradman.

It's worth noting he never would have come up against the sort of bowlers that Lara, Sachin, etc... did.
 
3Sixty said:
While I'd probably say Bradman.

It's worth noting he never would have come up against the sort of bowlers that Lara, Sachin, etc... did.
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Really?

Remember bodyline?

Still averaged over 50. Without helmets to boot.

Also had to play on uncovered pitches unlike Sachin and Lara, who played in an era where the pitches are way more batsmen friendly.
 
3Sixty said:
While I'd probably say Bradman.

It's worth noting he never would have come up against the sort of bowlers that Lara, Sachin, etc... did.
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Batting was crazy difficult back then especially with uncovered wickets. Bowler's weren't slouches either.

All the people listing: Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and American Football players must be having a laugh.
 
Sven Nys. A career that started in 1998 and will end in 2016. He dominated four generations of competition in cyclocross, he has more than 280 victories including two world championships, nine Belgian titles, and 29 league championships. There are three league championships each year, he has won all three in one year 5 times in a row. Nicknames include 'The Emperor' and 'The Cannibal from Baal'. He is also a three time Belgian champion in mountainbike. He is also doing it completely clean and while being the nicest guy you can imagine.

sven-nys-wint-in-kalmthout-id946706-1000x800-n.jpg
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There is of course also the real Cannibal. Eddy Merckx. A career from 1965 to 1978 which included five victories in the Tour de France, five in the Giro, one Vuelta, an hour record, victories in every major classic, three world championships, seven victories in Milan-Sanremo. Still considered the undisputed champion of the sport. He has 525 total victories.

Eddy_Merckx_Molteni_1973.jpg
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Phat Michael said:
well explained. No one is ever getting that average again. To maintain a century average is incredible. The funny thing is, wasnt he dismissed for a duck on his last innings ever so he dropped from 100 to 99.94?
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Yup, to Eric Hollies' off-spin. An England batting collapse (no changes there) prevented The Don getting a second innings.
 
The legend of the Don is better that he fell just short of 100. The 99.94 number is probably the most memorized number in cricket, and its such an odd number.

Australian mailing address of Australia post is PO Box 9994.
 
The Albatross said:
Bo Jackson didn't dominate any sports at any time in his professional career.

I posted this back on page 2. The short version of it is:

Bo Jackson had below average NFL numbers, and average MLB numbers except for 1 season where he was the ~15th best player in MLB that season.

Comparable NFL players today to Bo Jackson: Bilal Powell, Joique Bell, Lamar Miller. All three are actually better, and I don't think anybody in 20 years would ever say "wow, remember when Bilal powell was the most dominating athlete in the NFL?"
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what nfl numbers are you looking at for jackson? he certainly dominated when he played.
 
Sato Koiji said:
Sugar Ray Robinson

His welterweight stint is legendary. Greatest boxer that ever lived!
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It blows my mind that when boxing GOAT comes up all people ever do is screal ALI ALI. Yes he was great but Sugar Ray was something else entirely. I guess he needed a better publicist!
 
How can Graf be the most dominating athlete of all time when even within her own sport her record is worse than Navratilova's?
 
Crab said:
How can Graf be the most dominating athlete of all time when even within her own sport her record is worse than Navratilova's?
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1988 stands out as probably the best single year by a woman tennis player ever.

Australia, French, Wimbledon, US + Olympics. the hens teeth rare, GOLDEN SLAM.

apart from that. (shamelessly copied from wikipedia.)

Summary of career[edit]

Graf won seven singles titles at Wimbledon,

six singles titles at the French Open,

five singles titles at the US Open,

four singles titles at the Australian Open.

Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282–34 (89 percent) (87–10 at the French Open, 75–8 at Wimbledon, 73–10 at the US Open, and 47–6 at the Australian Open).

Her singles win-loss record was 900–115 (88.7 percent).


She was ranked World No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987 to March 1991, still the record in the women's game) and a record total 377 weeks overall. Graf also won 11 doubles titles.
 
Basileus777 said:
Dominated is a huge exaggeration. He eclipsed 800 yards from scrimmage once in his career. He was efficient with his carries, but not a dominant presence.
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yeah. he had 950 yards in 11 games. WHen he played he dominated. There is no other way around it.

hoos30 said:
Babe gets a huge asterisk for playing in the segregation era, but he does have dominating numbers.
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why should that be held against him? He also played when you could doctor the ball anyway you like.
 
So amazing that everyone is over looking Micheal Phelps he dominated everyone in the biggest stage in athletics lol

Michael%20Phelps%20with%2089%20gold%20medals.jpg

no big deal tho lol
 
Orr > Gretzky

He was a DEFENSEman that won scoring titles. He scored 120 points when the next best d-man scored 44 points, in a lower scoring era than the ridiculous 80's. He had Gretzky's offensive talent and he was great defensively and physically.

1971_bobby_orr-449x650.jpg
 
3Sixty said:
While I'd probably say Bradman.

It's worth noting he never would have come up against the sort of bowlers that Lara, Sachin, etc... did.
Click to expand...
It doesn't matter. He played during the body line Era and didn't play on doctored pitches like many of the subcontinent players did.

Didnt he also play during the war which disrupted his career further?

Someone needs to post the gif of him hitting the golf ball with the stick against the wall to practice.
 
I think the people who aren't saying Bradman just don't understand cricket or his dominance. Put it this way, imagine if there was an NBA player who averaged 60 points per game for his entire career... When Durant and lebron are hovering around 30...
 
revolverjgw said:
Orr > Gretzky

He was a DEFENSEman that won scoring titles. He scored 120 points when the next best d-man scored 44 points, in a lower scoring era than the ridiculous 80's. He had Gretzky's offensive talent and he was great defensively and physically.

1971_bobby_orr-449x650.jpg
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I had no idea Eli Manning was so graceful on skates.
 
Aleksandr Karelin , russian wrestler.
2d3f7cd7082f6ca3d8c38a8e84a62bfb929481c0.jpg


Olympic Games

Gold 1988 Seoul Super heavyweight
Gold 1992 Barcelona Super heavyweight
Gold 1996 Atlanta Super heavyweight
Silver 2000 Sydney 97 – 130 kg

World Championships

Gold Colorado Springs 1985 Up to 130 kg
Gold Vancouver 1987 Up to 130 kg
Gold Martigny 1989 Up to 130 kg
Gold Ostia 1990 Up to 130 kg
Gold Varna 1991 Up to 130 kg
Gold Stockholm 1993 Up to 130 kg
Gold Tampere 1994 Up to 130 kg
Gold Prague 1995 Up to 130 kg
Gold Wroclaw 1997 Up to 130 kg
Gold Gävle 1998 Up to 130 kg
Gold Athens 1999 Up to 130 kg

European Championships

Gold Malmo 1986 Up to 130 kg
Gold Kolbotyn 1988 Up to 130 kg
Gold Oulu 1989 Up to 130 kg
Gold Poznań 1990 Up to 130 kg
Gold Aschaffenburg 1991 Up to 130 kg
Gold Copenhagen 1992 Up to 130 kg
Gold Istanbul 1993 Up to 130 kg
Gold Athens 1994 Up to 130 kg
Gold Besançon 1995 Up to 130 kg
Gold Budapest 1996 Up to 130 kg
Gold Minsk 1998 Up to 130 kg
Gold Sofia 1999 Up to 130 kg
Gold Moscow 2000 Up to 130 kg
 
Phil taylor of course! 15 world championships.
Yes I know hes not an athlete, just thought I'd throw his name out.
 
Achilles, guy was mythic. He could run and catch stags at like age six.

[...]The term for such an athlete is apobatēs, meaning literally ‘he who steps off’. At the death-defying moment when he literally steps off the platform of the speeding chariot, the apobatēs is fully armed in the armor of a warrior. The various attested representations in the visual arts show the apobatēs armed with helmet, breastplate, shinguards, spear, sword, and shield. Weighed down by all this armor, the apobatēs must hit the ground running as he lands on his feet from his high-speed leap from the platform of his chariot. If his run is not broken by a fall, he continues to run down the length of the racecourse in competition with the other running apobatai who have made their own simultaneous leaps from their own chariots.
[...] http://chs.harvard.edu/wa/pageR?tn=ArticleWrapper&bdc=12&mn=2449
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Probably not the most dominating athlete, but Don Hutson's 1942 season is phenomenal. He had over 1200 yard receiving and 17 TDs in 11 games. This would be a standard Pro Bowl season by today's standards, but when you consider the next closest receiver had 571 yards and 8 TDs, that's ridiculous. By today's standards, that would mean a receiver would need close to 3000 yards and 30+ TDs to match the dominance of his season. On top of that, he held the TD record in the NFl for 44 years with 99 TDs, he was clearly ahead of his generation
 
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