IT CAN BE a very tricky decision to engage in seeking to identify the most outstanding of anything in any enterprise. It gets worse when the selection spans many different areas and over many different eras.
Today, I will throw myself into the bubbling cauldron and offer my position on the individual that I consider to be the most outstanding sportsman of all times. I will let the fire burn even hotter by unilaterally limiting the selection to be made from nine sports.
Let us begin with the sport that was not man-made but was presented to the world by God (okay, flog me for my view), cricket. It is generally accepted that Don Bradman is the greatest of all batsmen, although the record of Sachin Tendulkar is quite impressive.
In the area of bowling, we must consider Malcolm Marshall, Shane Warne and Dennis Lillee. All of these outstanding cricketers deserve much consideration. To me, however, the most outstanding cricketer the world has ever seen is Garfield Sobers. I stand by that.
In track and field, the great Jesse Owens who shamed Hitler while winning four gold medals in one Olympics stands out. We can also count Daley Thompson, Roger Bannister and many of the great African distance runners. Usain Bolt with a perfect Olympics record is supreme to me.
The world’s most popular sport, soccer, presents some interesting nominees. Maradona was a genius, but so was Eusebio. Contemporary soccer fans believe there is none better than Messi or Renaldo. I may be blinded by hero worship, but Pele stands on the mountain top.
Muhammed Ali and his philanthropy impacted more than any sportsman. I respect that. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Leonard and Rocky Marciano ruled the roost for a long time. How can one go undefeated in boxing? For this, Floyd Mayweather takes my vote on pure success.
I was once a competitive swimmer, and I am still enamoured with the sport. Once, no one could convince me that there was any better than Mark Spitz, not even the great Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan). But then came Michael Phelps, and he swam into immortality. The best!
Basketball predominates modern day discussion and television sports shows. It has given many great sportsmen. We can all see it in Bill Russell, Larry Bird (just ask New Englanders), Lebron James and Magic Johnson. To me, however, the greatest was Michael Jordan.
Ice hockey is a sport of immense skill. We can talk about Gordy Howe and Bobby Orr of past eras. Today, we are left to marvel at the achievements of Ovitchskin, Cosby and Messier. Despite the skills of these superheroes, none comes close to the greatest, Wayne Gretzky!
I am a big fan of American sports so the last two are a result of my parochial interests. American football is my number two sport and presents names like Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Reggie White. The great running back Jim Brown, however, stands out as the best ever.
In some sports, you must be able to hit, throw, catch and run with great effectiveness. Baseball is one such sport where we find Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Roger Maris, Ted Williams and a plethora of others. I, and maybe quite controversially so, select Barry Bonds as the best ever.
Each of the nine winners can make a great case for himself, but only one has had perfection at the highest level on multiple occasions. I have no option but to identify Usain Bolt as the world’s all-time greatest sportsman. Let the debates, disagreements and even criticisms, begin.
Jeff Broomes is an experienced educator, principal and community organiser who also served as vice-president of the BCA and director of the WICB. Email: unclejeff2@hotmail.com