Number Game: Part II

Numbers Game: Part II

By: Barrett Elkins

I would like to send a special thanks to all of those who commented on my post last week. This week, there are some tough choices. I would like to apologize for missing an obvious pick last week (picking Chipper Jones over Pele). Let's see how I do this week.

No. 11 Mark Messier

Messier is one of the best hockey players of all time. He ranks second all time on the regular season scoring list, behind The Great One. He led two separate teams to the Stanley Cup and has had his jersey retired in two different cities. I would like to give him credit for every game I won on my Sega Genesis, too!

No. 12 John Stockton

While the obvious pick here would have been Bro Namath, John Stockton earned this choice. He leads the NBA in all time assists and steals. In a league where selfishness rules, Stockton made a Hall of Fame career out of playing defense and making his teammates better. Try and imagine Karl Malone without Stockton.

No 13. Wilt Chamberlain

With a career average over 30 points and over 22 rebounds per game, his statistics are better than most video games. His 100-point game is and will be the best of all time.  Normally, I try and leave out players with horrible moral standards unless they truly were the best of all time. In this case, I cannot turn my back on Wilt Chamberlain. 

No. 14 Pete Rose

Speaking of incredible moral standards, Pete Rose gets the green light for No. 14. He holds the record for all-time hits, games played and at-bats. He gave everything he had into every game, including All-Star games. Even though he bet on his own games, I hope he ends up in the Hall of Fame one day.

No. 15 Bart Starr

I don't know much about him, but I have heard nothing but praises. He won Championships in the NFL in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967. He was the MVP of the first two Super Bowl games. Anyone with that amount of staying-power deserves the choice here.

No. 16 Bro Montana

Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins and was MVP of three of them. He had ice in his veins and was known for his calm demeanor.  Not only was he an incredible quarterback, he was a better team leader.  He was a true Bro.

No. 17 John Havlicek

John Havlicek has given hope to every basketball player that is not a starter on his team. He is known as the best sixth man in the history of the game. Havlicek played for eight Celtic championship teams. Again, as much as I do not like Boston, I could not leave them off of this list either.

No. 18 Peyton Manning

Manning will prove to be one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and has done it all for one team. He is a true leader that knows the game and studies it more than his peers. Not only is he a great team leader, he is also great with the media and a true role model. I have to admit that I think he is a very funny guy too. I love his commercials.

No. 19 Johnny Unitas

To make Boston fans mad, I picked two quarterbacks from Indy directly following my pick from Bean-town.  Unitas was the first super-quarterback and is consistently used as a bar of comparison. He was the first player to throw for over 40,000 yards, but Chuck Norris refers to this as a slow Tuesday.

No. 20 Barry Sanders

Detroit fans can only reminisce of times with Barry Sanders. He was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the NFL. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first ten seasons. I remember growing up and watching him ever weekend (my dad is from Michigan). When asked how he ran so quickly, he responded with "if you were being chased by guys that big, you would run that fast too."

Please let me know if you agree with my picks this week.  I will be working on 21-30 for next week. There are some great athletes that I have to overlook with each of these picks. Which picks did I miss?

Numbers Game

Numbers Game

By: Barrett Elkins

For the next couple of posts of mine I am going to do something recommend to me by a colleague.  This colleague is not just a colleague, but a great former college soccer player from Bowling Green.  I use the word “former” because watching him walk around the office now (due to past soccer injuries) looks similar to my 95-year old grandmother.  Anyway, I am going to be breaking down the top 50 athletes to wear the numbers 1-50.  I will be writing me next piece on the numbers 11-20.  Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and some of the decisions were very tough, but came down to the players that I most enjoyed watching or hearing stories from family members who enjoyed watching them. 

I would like to recommend a great book on the subject called, Right On The Numbers, by Nino Frostino.

No. 1. Ozzie Smith

It is very fitting that The Wizard of Ozz is the first on this list.  I was born in St. Louis and grew up idolizing Smith.  Smith was arguably the best defensive shortstop of all time.  He won an incredible 13 Gold Golves and played 15 All Star games.  While he played his first season in San Diego, he was known as one of the best Cardinals of all time and had his number retired a year after his retirement.  (I still have an Ozzie Smith rookie card in mint condition.  Make me an offer!)

No. 2 Derek Jeter

I chose Derek Jeter as the best No. 2 because he has done a couple of things that I truly admire.  He has played under the microscope of New York City his entire career AND has remained a true role model (This has the potential to make me look dumb if he does not work out his new contract this offseason).  He might not be the best defensive shortstop, or even close on the list of Yankees, but he brings so much maturity and leadership to a team that he is worth every penny of his absurd contract (Don’t get me started on Alex Rodriguez). 

No. 3 Babe Ruth

The Sultan of Swat does not need much said about him.  All I am going to say about The Babe is that I lived with a guy from Boston one year, and I very thankful that Ruth was a Yankee.  While I will admit that Boston fans are some of the most loyal fans in the country, it is best for one’s mental health not be around one for a long period of time. 

No. 4 Lou Gehrig

There are many stories about why Wally Pipp was benched as the Yankees first baseman.  The most popular story is that Pipp came to the game that day with a headache.  Rather than play through it, he told his manager to give the young Gehrig a chance.  Whatever the reason was, Gehrig went on to play 2130 straight games for the Yankees.  Wally Pipp was traded to the Reds a couple of years later, and the rest, as they say, is history.  I still consider his retirement speech as one of the greatest of all time.  His attitude is one that should be admired by any athlete in any sport.  “Today, I consider myself, one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth.”

No. 5 Joe DiMaggio

As much as I wanted to stay away from just one sport, and especially a single team, I cannot help but picking DiMaggio over any No. 5 of all time.  Anyone who knows any history of baseball knows his impact on the game.  As much as I don’t like his personal life, I cannot take away what he did on the field.  His hitting streak will never be beaten.

No. 6 Bill Russell

Now I know I was not old enough to ever see him play, but this is a player whose numbers speak for themselves.  11 championships in 13 seasons is going to be tough to beat…ever.  He had seven games of over 40 rebounds (that is not a typo).  He makes it impossible to stay away from Boston with my picks.  He is not just a part of those 11 championships; he is the reason for the Celtics early dominance.

No. 7 Mickey Mantle

This was a tough choice for me over Peter Maravich, but Mantle earned my choice.  His seven World Series rings might have sealed the deal.  Or, it could have been the fact that he had to fill some of the biggest shoes in baseball history (taking over in center field after DiMaggio left), and rewriting the history books.  He was truly one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

No. 8 Cal Ripken Jr.

This was the toughest choice yet, but Ripken Jr. gets my vote because he is the perfect athlete.  Not only was he great on the field, he was always on the field.  His streak of consecutive games played will never be close to being threatened.  He was truly a team player and a player from which all athletes can learn.  His attitude remained consistent through decades and his work ethic is still admired by all.

No. 9 Ted Williams

Ted Williams, even being a member of the Red Sox, earned this spot.  He is arguably the best pure hitter that baseball has ever seen.  He won the Triple Crown twice in his career and finished up with a career average over .300.  His career could be summed up by his final plate appearance which he sent flying over the wall for his 521^st home run. 

No. 10 Chipper Jones

I will admit that recently I have been down on Chipper.  Chipper gets the nod for two reasons.  First, this is a choice over his entire career, not his previous season.  Secondly, I did not find anyone with the number 10 that jumped out at me (please feel free to let me know how wrong I am).  Chipper has been a huge contributor to ONE team his entire career and has proven that he can both hit for average and for power.  The home runs he has accumulated over the seasons have come at times when he had no power on either side of him and pitchers could have easily pitched around him. 

When I started this list, I wanted to stay away from just having one sport or team.  But after doing some research, I realized that there is a reason that baseball is considered America’s national past time.  Please feel free to show me where I am wrong.  I know picking Cal Ripken Jr. over Kobe might upset some people.  Anyway, 1-10 is complete, so I must leave you to start researching 11-20.  Have a great week!