Top N. American athletes of the century


Below are biographies of great athletes of the 20th century, as selected and profiled by ESPN as part of the SportsCentury retrospective:

ESPN SPORTSCENTURY: GREATEST ATHLETES
Rank:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Babe Ruth
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Jim Brown
5. Wayne Gretzky
6. Jesse Owens
7. Jim Thorpe
8. Willie Mays
9. Jack Nicklaus
10. Babe Didrikson
11. Joe Louis
12. Carl Lewis
13. Wilt Chamberlain
14. Hank Aaron
15. Jackie Robinson
16. Ted Williams
17. Magic Johnson
18. Bill Russell
19. Martina Navratilova
20. Ty Cobb
21. Gordie Howe
22. Joe DiMaggio
23. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
24. Sugar Ray Robinson
25. Joe Montana
26. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
27. Jerry Rice
28. Red Grange
29. Arnold Palmer
30. Larry Bird
31. Bobby Orr
32. Johnny Unitas
33. Mark Spitz
34. Lou Gehrig
35. Secretariat
36. Oscar Robertson
37. Mickey Mantle
38. Ben Hogan
39. Walter Payton
40. Lawrence Taylor
41. Wilma Rudolph
42. Sandy Koufax
43. Julius Erving
44. Bobby Jones
45. Bill Tilden
46. Eric Heiden
47. Edwin Moses
48. Pete Sampras
49. O.J. Simpson
50. Chris Evert
51. Rocky Marciano
52. Jack Dempsey
53. Rafer Johnson
54. Greg Louganis
55. Mario Lemieux
56. Pete Rose
57. Willie Shoemaker
58. Elgin Baylor
59. Billie Jean King
60. Walter Johnson
61. Stan Musial
62. Jerry West
63. Satchel Paige
64. Sammy Baugh
65. Althea Gibson
66. Eddie Arcaro
67. Bob Gibson
68. Al Oerter
69. Bonnie Blair
70. Dick Butkus
71. Roberto Clemente
72. Bo Jackson
73. Josh Gibson
74. Deion Sanders
75. Dan Marino
76. Barry Sanders
77. Cy Young
78. Bob Mathias
79. Gale Sayers
80. A.J. Foyt
81. Jimmy Connors
82. Bobby Hull
83. Honus Wagner
84. Man o' War
85. Maurice Richard
86. Otto Graham
87. Henry Armstrong
88. Joe Namath
89. Rogers Hornsby
90. Richard Petty
91. Bob Beamon
92. Mario Andretti
93. Don Hutson
94. Bob Cousy
95. George Blanda
96. Michael Johnson
97. Citation
98. Don Budge
99. Sam Snead
100. Jack Johnson
Alphabetical
Aaron, Hank (14)
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem (26)
Ali, Muhammad (3)
Andretti, Mario (92)
Arcaro, Eddie (66)
Armstrong, Henry (87)
Baugh, Sammy (64)
Baylor, Elgin (58)
Beamon, Bob (91)
Bird, Larry (30)
Blair, Bonnie (69)
Blanda, George (95)
Brown, Jim (4)
Budge, Don (98)
Butkus, Dick (70)
Chamberlain, Wilt (13)
Citation (97)
Clemente, Roberto (71)
Cobb, Ty (20)
Connors, Jimmy (81)
Cousy, Bob (94)
Dempsey, Jack (52)
Didrikson, Babe (10)
DiMaggio, Joe (22)
Erving, Julius (43)
Evert, Chris (50)
Foyt, A.J. (80)
Gehrig, Lou (34)
Gibson, Althea (65)
Gibson, Bob (67)
Gibson, Josh (73)
Graham, Otto (86)
Grange, Red (28)
Gretzky, Wayne (5)
Heiden, Eric (46)
Hogan, Ben (38)
Hornsby, Rogers (89)
Howe, Gordie (21)
Hull, Bobby (82)
Hutson, Don (93)
Jackson, Bo (72)
Johnson, Jack (100)
Johnson, Magic (17)
Johnson, Michael (96)
Johnson, Rafer (53)
Johnson, Walter (60)
Jones, Bobby (44)
Jordan, Michael (1)
Joyner-Kersee, Jackie (23)
King, Billie Jean (59)
Koufax, Sandy (42)
Lemieux, Mario (55)
Lewis, Carl (12)
Louganis, Greg (54)
Louis, Joe (11)
Man O' War (84)
Mantle, Mickey (37)
Marciano, Rocky (51)
Marino, Dan (75)
Mathias, Bob (78)
Mays, Willie (8)
Montana, Joe (25)
Moses, Edwin (47)
Musial, Stan (61)
Namath, Joe (88)
Navratilova, Martina (19)
Nicklaus, Jack (9)
Oerter, Al (68)
Orr, Bobby (31)
Owens, Jesse (6)
Paige, Satchel (63)
Palmer, Arnold (29)
Payton, Walter (39)
Petty, Richard (90)
Rice, Jerry (27)
Richard, Maurice (85)
Robertson, Oscar (36)
Robinson, Jackie (15)
Robinson, Sugar Ray (24)
Rose, Pete (56)
Rudolph, Wilma (41)
Ruth, Babe (2)
Russell, Bill (18)
Sampras, Pete (48)
Sanders, Barry (76)
Sanders, Deion (74)
Sayers, Gale (79)
Secretariat (35)
Shoemaker, Willie (57)
Simpson, O.J. (49)
Snead, Sam (99)
Spitz, Mark (33)
Taylor, Lawrence (40)
Thorpe, Jim (7)
Tilden, Bill (45)
Unitas, Johnny (32)
Wagner, Honus (83)
West, Jerry (62)
Willimas, Ted (16)
Young, Cy (77)
By Sport
Baseball (23*)
Football (20*)
Track/Field (12*)
Basketball (11)
Tennis (8)
Boxing (7)
Hockey (6)
Golf (6*)
Horse Racing (5)
Auto Racing (3)
Swimming/Diving (2)
Speed Skating (2)

* Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders counted as baseball and football. Babe Didrikson counted as track and field and golf. Jim Thorpe counted as baseball, football, and track and field.