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ESPN Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century

We have a list of the top North American athletes of the 20th Century, according to ESPN. See how many you can name.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 6, 2019
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First submittedJuly 22, 2011
Times taken36,919
Average score23.0%
Rating3.69
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#
Sport
Athlete
1
Basketball
Michael Jordan
2
Baseball
Babe Ruth
3
Boxing
Muhammad Ali
4
Football
Jim Brown
5
Hockey
Wayne Gretzky
6
Track & Field
Jesse Owens
7
Many Sports
Jim Thorpe
8
Baseball
Willie Mays
9
Golf
Jack Nicklaus
10
Many Sports
Babe Zaharias
11
Boxing
Joe Louis
12
Track & Field
Carl Lewis
13
Basketball
Wilt Chamberlain
14
Baseball
Hank Aaron
15
Baseball
Jackie Robinson
16
Baseball
Ted Williams
17
Basketball
Magic Johnson
18
Basketball
Bill Russell
19
Tennis
Martina Navratilova
20
Baseball
Ty Cobb
21
Hockey
Gordie Howe
22
Baseball
Joe DiMaggio
23
Track & Field
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
24
Boxing
Sugar Ray Robinson
25
Football
Joe Montana
26
Basketball
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
27
Football
Jerry Rice
28
Football
Red Grange
29
Golf
Arnold Palmer
30
Basketball
Larry Bird
31
Hockey
Bobby Orr
32
Football
Johnny Unitas
33
Swimming
Mark Spitz
34
Baseball
Lou Gehrig
35
Horse
Secretariat
36
Basketball
Oscar Robertson
37
Baseball
Mickey Mantle
38
Golf
Ben Hogan
39
Football
Walter Payton
40
Football
Lawrence Taylor
41
Track & Field
Wilma Rudolph
42
Baseball
Sandy Koufax
43
Basketball
Julius Erving
44
Golf
Bobby Jones
45
Tennis
Bill Tilden
46
Speed-Skating
Eric Heiden
47
Track & Field
Edwin Moses
48
Tennis
Pete Sampras
49
Football
O.J. Simpson
50
Tennis
Chris Evert
#
Sport
Athlete
51
Boxing
Rocky Marciano
52
Boxing
Jack Dempsey
53
Track & Field
Rafer Johnson
54
Diving
Greg Louganis
55
Hockey
Mario Lemieux
56
Baseball
Pete Rose
57
Jockey
Bill Shoemaker
58
Basketball
Elgin Baylor
59
Tennis
Billie Jean King
60
Baseball
Walter Johnson
61
Baseball
Stan Musial
62
Basketball
Jerry West
63
Baseball
Satchel Paige
64
Football
Sammy Baugh
65
Tennis
Althea Gibson
66
Jockey
Eddie Arcaro
67
Baseball
Bob Gibson
68
Track & Field
Al Oerter
69
Speed Skating
Bonnie Blair
70
Football
Dick Butkus
71
Baseball
Roberto Clemente
72
Baseball/Football
Bo Jackson
73
Baseball
Josh Gibson
74
Baseball/Football
Deion Sanders
75
Football
Dan Marino
76
Football
Barry Sanders
77
Baseball
Cy Young
78
Track & Field
Bob Mathias
79
Football
Gale Sayers
80
Auto Racing
A.J. Foyt
81
Tennis
Jimmy Connors
82
Hockey
Bobby Hull
83
Baseball
Honus Wagner
84
Horse
Man o' War
85
Hockey
Maurice Richard
86
Football
Otto Graham
87
Boxing
Henry Armstrong
88
Football
Joe Namath
89
Baseball
Rogers Hornsby
90
Auto Racing
Richard Petty
91
Track & Field
Bob Beamon
92
Auto Racing
Mario Andretti
93
Football
Don Hutson
94
Basketball
Bob Cousy
95
Football
George Blanda
96
Track & Field
Michael Johnson
97
Horse
Citation
98
Tennis
Don Budge
99
Golf
Sam Snead
100
Boxing
Jack Johnson
+1
Level 24
Jul 22, 2011
Sammy Baugh was a football player, not a basketball player....duh
+1
Level ∞
Jul 23, 2011
Fixed the errors. Thanks!
+5
Level 63
Jul 24, 2011
I remember hating this list at the time ESPN came out with it for many reasons. One was that it seemed to make little sense on who they considered to be North American and who they considered not to be (Navratilova became an American citizen after the start of her career and won a lot of her titles before the change), another was that it has horses on the list. Lastly was that, at the time, I was angered by the fact that Wayne Gretzky was lower than he should have been, and that Babe Ruth should have been #1, being farther ahead of the 2nd best baseball player during his day than Jordan ever was ahead of the #2 basketball player. I just figured Jordan got it because he was alive and because his playing days had just ended, making the memory of him fresh. I DO consider Jordan the greatest NBA player ever, just that the distance between him and the #2 all-time b-ball player is, in my estimation, smaller than between Ruth and the #2 in baseball and Gretzky and #2 at hockey.

My top 5 would look like this:

1.) Rut

+2
Level 69
Aug 2, 2018
I think no players were more dominant in their sport in the 20th century than Nicklaus and Gretzky. Nobody came close to those two in that time frame. I don't think Ruth was that much better than Gehrig (consider his numbers if he hadn't gotten ALS), Williams (several years missed for the war), Mantle, Cy Young, Walter Johnson and Willie Mays. I'd put Jordan ahead of Ruth in terms of dominance also.
+6
Level 88
Jan 9, 2019
If you go by stats, the cricketer Don Bradman is the greatest sportman of all time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman#World_sport_context
+1
Level 62
Apr 29, 2020
With Ruth, you've got to consider his pitching stats as well as his offensive numbers
+1
Level 61
Dec 24, 2019
The fact that they included horses and only 6 hockey players total (no goalies and only one defenseman?) was ridiculous. Also, yeah, the statistical difference between Gretzky and everyone else in hockey history is unreal. ESPN has always given hockey short shrift.
+1
Level 63
Jul 24, 2011
Cont:

1.) Ruth

2.) Gretzky

3.) Jordan

4.) Jim Brown

5.) Ali

+3
Level 84
Nov 14, 2014
You might need to take it up with ESPN. This is just a quiz based on their rank, you know.
+3
Level 69
Aug 2, 2018
I'd go Secretariat, Gretzky, Nicklaus, Brown and Jordan. Ali was a good boxer but mainly was known for fighting the draft and having a huge mouth. I'll give him credit for standing up for civil rights but the way he treated his opponents was shameful and if I did the same thing I'd be hounded off the face of the Earth. Calling Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom. Calling Foreman a gorilla. He took trash talking public and to an all time new low.
+3
Level 69
Aug 2, 2018
Secretariat won the Triple Crown and still holds the time records in all three races 45 years later. There has never been a horse that could have beaten him in those races. The fact that Sham so gallantly tried is a testament to him.
+1
Level 88
Jan 10, 2020
Still, it has to hurt to be one of the 3 people below the last horse on the list, Citation. Jack Johnson at #100 seems a little low on the list too.
+1
Level 22
Jun 16, 2012
when did they publish this list?!
+1
Level 66
Aug 2, 2018
Does it matter, given that it is "of the 20th Century"?
+4
Level 50
Jan 24, 2013
I'm stunned that Nolan Ryan isn't on the list...
+1
Level 53
Feb 22, 2013
He was one of the first names I typed!
+1
Level 67
Jun 21, 2013
The fact that he only won 32 more games than he lost has something to do with it. Compare that to Koufax' 165-87 record.
+1
Level 69
Aug 2, 2018
Nolan Ryan is the Joe Namath of baseball...big recognition but really not that good overall. Sure Ryan could strike out batters like no one else and he has all those no-hitters but he was never even the best pitcher on any team he played for. Mets--Seaver, Koosman, Gentry and McGraw were better. Angels--Tanana was better when they played together. Astros--maybe Ryan in 1981 but Niekro, Sutton, Ruhle and Scott overall performed better. Rangers--Brown and Guzman, even Witt sometimes. Ryan's an all time great but nowhere near the top ten in baseball.
+1
Level 17
May 28, 2013
how is cy young 77th
+2
Level 86
Nov 11, 2013
Seriously NONE of the distance runners of the 60s and 70s? No Steve Prefontaine, Jim Ryun, Frank Shorter, Gerry Lindgren, Billy Mills?
+2
Level 80
Mar 20, 2014
38/100 - not bad for an Englishman who would walk past Wayne Gretzky and Joe Montana in the street and not recognise them. I did see Dr J in the street once though - shook his hand. Massive, massive hand that it was!
+2
Level 83
Apr 28, 2014
Wish I had read the instructions more carfully. I kept putting in Laver, Rosewall, Pele, etc.
+1
Level 68
May 20, 2014
Keep in mind the list is almost 15 years old.
+1
Level 66
Aug 2, 2018
Relevance, given that the 20th century was over when it was made?
+1
Level 66
Jan 12, 2019
Opinions change with time, even once all the records from that era are set in stone. Still, I haven't seen anyone bring up specific rankings that would have changed based on this, so I'm not sure what their point is either.
+1
Level 77
Jun 14, 2014
Not really caring about sports I got 16 and am surprised it was better than almost 40% of people. I could've maybe gotten 10 more had I remembered everyone I know. Got at least 5 people by guessing common surnames :)
+1
Level 27
Jul 13, 2014
Wow ... weird list
+2
Level 44
Nov 14, 2014
Can Joyner be acceptable for Joyner-Kersee?
+2
Level 75
Dec 30, 2016
+1
+1
Level 65
Nov 30, 2014
I'm assuming that many people, including me, got Rafer, Michael, and Jack Johnson because they typed "Johnson" for Magic or Walter.
+1
Level 66
Apr 3, 2018
That seems very likely. On the other hand, I got Magic while I was guessing Jack Johnson (I saw an open spot for a boxer and had already guessed most of the other big names). I'd have gotten Magic eventually, but definitely not Rafer or Michael.
+1
Level 86
May 23, 2018
*raises hand*
+1
Level 85
Sep 15, 2022
Elan, are you saying Jack Johnson isn't a BLAZINGLY OBVIOUS choice in the world of boxing?
+2
Level 46
Jan 27, 2015
Surprised Joe Namath made the list. Somehow missing the cut: Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Randy Johnson, Bob Feller, Mike Schmidt, Jim Courier, Al Unser and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
+1
Level 46
Jan 27, 2015
Correction Sr.
+2
Level 75
Apr 1, 2015
How many of these people have won the Presidential Medal of Freedom or had a stadium named after them? Arthur Ashe should be on this list.
+1
Level 84
Jun 17, 2017
Nile Kinnick has a stadium named after him, but he's not on the list. Ashe won 3 Grand Slams (which is 4 more than I ever would've won), but in the all-time category, that's not all that dominant. Ashe was great, and as a kid, I always rooted for him over obnoxious players like Connors and Nastase, but much of the recognition he got came for work he did after his playing days were over with is Foundation to battle AIDS. Tragically dying young doesn't raise someone's athletic prowess. (see Kinnick)
+1
Level 69
Jan 11, 2019
He was the first black player to win a slam. But hey, Mcenroe won more than twice what ashe did and he didn't make the list either lol
+1
Level 75
Jan 11, 2019
I grudgingly agree with you if they only used the playing stats. For me, other things can enter into whether or not a person should be considered great. Ashe broke the color barrier for tennis, just as Robinson did for baseball. It is believed he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion - so sad.
+2
Level 80
Jul 7, 2015
I tried Gretsky twice and never thought to use a z.
+3
Level 21
Aug 29, 2015
surprised tyson isn't there
+6
Level 52
Oct 18, 2015
Baseball is not sport.
+5
Level 39
Aug 19, 2016
LOL whatever dude. Try playing the sport for once and you'll be surprised.
+4
Level 84
Jun 17, 2017
Uh, oh, looks like somebody needs attention. Go play buzkashi, or whatever it is that you consider to be an athletic activity.
+4
Level 61
Sep 7, 2017
Typical Soccer fan. Baseball is the hardest sport to play.
+4
Level 66
Apr 3, 2018
What a ridiculous claim. Baseball is more of a sport than half the sports on this list at least. If there's anything on this list that isn't a sport, it's auto racing.
+1
Level 69
Nov 21, 2022
What an ignorant thing to say
+2
Level 69
Jan 28, 2016
Why is Bobby Fisher not included? Is chess not considered as Sport?
+3
Level 66
Apr 3, 2018
I wouldn't call it one.
+4
Level 86
May 23, 2018
It's typically not, at least in the U.S. Chess is a game but not a sport. The physical component of chess is too insignificant.
+2
Level 66
Jan 11, 2019
It's "FisCher".
+1
Level 69
Nov 21, 2022
no, who would consider it a sport?
+2
Level 62
Apr 2, 2016
As a non-American, I have not heard of most of these people, and a few more that I have heard of weren't on here, so it's perhaps not a very good list from an internationally famous perspective. I also can't believe that I didn't realise "Horse" meant an actual horse. I assumed it just meant equestrian as a sport because all the other clues are specific sports and types of sports.
+2
Level 75
Dec 31, 2016
I thought Navratilova was Czech. No, wait - American. No, wait - Czech-American.
+2
Level 55
Apr 3, 2018
Nice to see Jim Thorpe still rates high. In a national sportswriters poll in 1950, Thorpe was ranked as the #1 athlete in the first half of the 20th century.
+1
Level 58
Apr 18, 2018
29/100 Got about half of those by just writing common US last names :)
+1
Level 69
Aug 2, 2018
Wow, Joe Namath is one I'd not have included. It was tough remembering all the way back to the 20th century. No Woods, James, Brady, Manning.
+2
Level 66
Jan 12, 2019
Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Peyton and Eli Manning all have most or all of their athletic accomplishments in the 21st century. Archie Manning, while apparently well respected, does not have the numbers to rate a place on this list. I don't know who James is.
+1
Level 53
Dec 24, 2019
lebron
+3
Level 69
Aug 11, 2018
Wow, could this list BE any more bereft of estrogen? Where are Mia Hamm, Flo-Jo, Mary Lou Retton, Wilma Rudolph, and Nancy Lopez – huh, ESPN? (I'm sure they're reading after Okoye called them out, just above.)
+1
Level 72
Nov 6, 2018
52. I could have used more time. So many names...
+1
Level 37
Jan 9, 2019
Bradman should be included. He is the best cricketer in history of cricket.
+2
Level 59
Jan 11, 2019
As far as I'm aware, he wasn't North American... Read the instructions at the top.
+1
Level 66
Jan 11, 2019
Blanda? An average player who just played forever.
+2
Level 61
Jan 11, 2019
I see a lot of American football players, not football players
+4
Level 46
Jan 11, 2019
American football is still football, you know what it means, you know what it is.
+3
Level 70
Jan 11, 2019
Only read the headline. Got to number 4, and as Pelé, Maradona, Van Basten and Cruyff did not work, I just gave up...

Totally forgot, that Football is something you play with your hands in the US :)

Lesson learned. Read the description!!!

+1
Level 64
Jan 11, 2019
Bjorn Borg was the first tennis player to win five Wimbledon finals in a row.
+3
Level 71
Mar 17, 2021
He was also very Swedish
+1
Level 62
Jan 12, 2019
American football not football.
+1
Level 65
Jan 14, 2019
John Mcenroe!?!!
+3
Level 61
Mar 22, 2019
North American as in USA and Canada obviously, for some reason. As there are no Mexican or other North American athletes in the list.
+1
Level 53
Dec 24, 2019
No goalies, which is probably the hardest position to play in all of sports? Ok.
+1
Level 82
Apr 29, 2020
If I were voting on this list Tiger Woods would definitely be on my ballot.
+3
Level 82
Apr 29, 2020
I got more than half which I feel is probably too much.
+3
Level 56
Apr 29, 2020
got to number 4, saw 'football,' spent ages typing pele, maradona etc, saw 'north american,' skipped
+2
Level 48
Apr 29, 2020
Yeah the list should be "Top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century"
+1
Level 48
Apr 29, 2020
Not biased at all! It's not like cricket is the 2nd most popular sport on the planet but somehow has 0 athletes on here, Donald Bradman anyone? Statistically speaking one of the best athletes to ever play any sport.
+2
Level 71
Mar 17, 2021
He was also Australian and therefore does not qualify as North American
+2
Level 20
Aug 27, 2020
The fact that Mike Tyson isn't in this list officially makes this list trash. But yet again what do you expect from ESPN.
+1
Level 83
Oct 8, 2021
Ali 56-5 = 3rd

Marciano 49-0 = 51st

+2
Level 85
Sep 15, 2022
With all due respect to the boxers on this list (great warriors each and all), it is ABSURD not to include Sugar Ray Robinson, the Middleweight Champion for whom the term "pound for pound" was coined.

Also, for those who have rightly observed that the term "North American" doesn't seem to include a large swath of North American athletes, I would also advocate for the inclusion of Roberto Duran, the great champ from Panama who was to the lightweight division what Ali was to the heavyweight division.

+1
Level 67
Oct 3, 2022
Very wishy-washy in terms of which controversial figures were included and which were excluded. I can only imagine Barry Bonds was left out due to the 'roids allegations and Mike Tyson because of his violent tendencies, but other people with high-level controversies like Pete Rose and O.J. Simpson (!!) were let in?
+1
Level 25
Dec 18, 2022
Where are Jim Ryun, Nolan Ryan, Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Mike Tyson, Barry Bonds, Sugar Ray Robinson, Donald Bradman, Garfield Sobers, Pele, Mia Hamm, and so many other extraordinary athletes. And why are some of the ones on here replacing them
+1
Level 73
Feb 13, 2023
Wow, that was a workout. I scored 62/100, but I still missed so many obvious names. Thanks for the quiz!
+1
Level 76
Sep 15, 2023
got beamon because of the jon bois bob-umentary :D