10 Greatest American Athletes of All Time

10 Greatest American Athletes of All Time

The “Big Four” among popular sports in the U.S. are American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. By Tim Wang –Wikipedia

Sports are an important part of the culture of Americans. The most popular sport include American football, boxing, basketball, tennis, auto racing, field hockey, and lacrosse.

Here are the 10 greatest celebrated American athletes of all time

1. Bo Jackson-Baseball player

Bo Jackson, 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, at the NCAA Honors Celebration in San Antonio, Texas. By U.S. Army Materiel Command(AMC Photo by Chris Putman) – Wikipedia

Vincent Edward ”Bo” Jackson was born on November 30, I962. He is a retired  American professional baseball and football player.   He is the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major  American sports. His elite achievements in multiple sports have given him the reputation of being one of the greatest athletes of all time.

In 1985, he won the Heisman Trophy, which is a prize awarded to the most outstanding collegiate football player in the United States. In football, he played as a running back and left field, and also the designated hitter.  His professional baseball career and his NFL career came to an end due to his hip which was severely impaired. He is said to have run a 40-yard dash in 4,12 seconds which is still the fastest verifiable 40-yard dash time ever to be recorded at any NFL Combine.

2. Serena Williams-Tennis player

Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981. She is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked singles world no.1 by the Women’s Tennis Association for 319 weeks, which also includes a joint-record 0f 186 consecutive weeks, and yet finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. 

Serena Williams still dominates on the tennis court over 15years into her career. She has won 23 Grand Slam titles at least three times, 72 Women’s Tennis Association titles, and four Olympic Gold medals. Therefore she is regarded as the greatest athlete of all time in America and also worldwide.

3. Lebron James-Basketball player

Lebron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He was born on December 30, 1984. His nickname is “King James”. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time since King James has won four NBA Championships, four NBA MVP awards, Four Finals MVP awards, three All-Star MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals.

In 2021 he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary team, and also he has been selected an NBA All-Star 18 times, All-NBA Team 17 times and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times.

4. Allyson Felix-Track and field athlete

Allyson Michelle Felix is an American Track and field athlete. She was born on November 18.1985. She specialized in the 200 meters sprint from 2003 to 2013 and she, later on, shifted to the 400 meters sprint. Her races include the 100 meters, 4×100 meter relay, and 4×400 meters relay.

Felix currently holds the title of the most decorated athlete, male or female in world athletics championship history with18 career medals, 7 from individual events, and 11 from team relays. 

5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee-  Track &field athlete

Jackie Joyner-Kersee at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics, By Erik van Leeuwen, attribution: Erik van Leeuwen , Wikipedia

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is a retired American track and field athlete. She was born on March 3, 1962. She is ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon and long jump. She is an active philanthropist in children’s education, racial equality, and women’s rights. She is also a founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.

She is one of the famous athletes to overcome severe asthma. She has won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals. Joyner was voted by Sports Illustrated for Women magazine as the greatest female athlete of all time.

6. Floyd Mayweather-Boxer

Floyd Mayweather was born on February 24, 1997. He is an American boxing promoter and a former boxer. He started his boxing career in 1996 and retired in 2017.  He retired with an undefeated record and won fifteen major world championships from the super featherweight to the light-middleweight. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series called The Money Team Racing.

In 2016, ESPN ranked him as the greatest boxer of the  25years and as of May 2021, BoxRec ranked him as the greatest boxer of all time. He is considered to be the best defensive boxer in history and also the most accurate puncher.

7. Lindsey  Vonn-Ski Racer

Lindsey Caroline Vonn was born on October 18, 1984. She is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. In 2019 she announced her retirement citing her injuries. The injuries caused her to miss several seasons including the 2014 and 2013 seasons. 

She is among the six women to have won World cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing. She is one of the most successful American ski racers and is also regarded as one of the greatest of all skiers.

8. Kobe Bryant-Basketball player

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, and died on January 26, 2020, along with his daughter in a helicopter crash in Calabash California. He was an American professional basketball player. He spent his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a shooting guard.

In 2020, he was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2018 he won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Short Film for the film Dear Basketball 2017. He is considered the greatest basketball player of all time.

9. Jim Thorpe-Athlete

Photograph of Jim Thorpe while playing for the Canton Bulldogs, By unattributed – Heritage Auctions, Public Domain- Wikipedia

James Francis Thorpe was born on either May 22 or 28 1887 and he died on March 28 1953 after suffering a heart failure. He was married three times and he had eight children. He grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Indian Territory which is the U.S. State of Oklahoma. He attended Carlisle Indian Industrial school, where he became a two-time All-American for the school’s football team.

Thorpe was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist and a member of Sac and Fox Nation. He was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United State in the Olympics. He also played American Football, professional baseball, and basketball. 

10. Babe Ruth Jr-Baseball player

Ruth during batting practice in 1916.By Charles M. Conlon- Wikipedia

George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr was born on February 6, 1985, and later on, he died on August 16, 1948,  after suffering from cancer. He was nicknamed ”The Bambino” and ”The Sultan of Swat. He was an American professional baseball player. His career in the Major League was spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 to 1935. He started his MLB  career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He achieved his fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.

He is considered one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and he is also regarded by many to be the greatest ballplayer of all time. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, as one of its first five inaugural members.