Throwdowns > Closed

Marlins Fan said 09/18, 01:08 AM
This is fairly difficult. There are countless athletes I would've liked to have seen compete and narrowing down the list to three has been hard to say the least. Regardless, it's done and for my first pick I'm going to go with Gale Sayers of the Chicago Bears.

Sayers is relatively young enough to probably have been seen by many FN'ers, but I'm 31 and Sayers' NFL career was long over by the time I was born. Sayers played from 1965-1971 but his prime is generally considered to be 1965-1967, or his first three years in the NFL. Sayers injured his knee in 1968 and apparently was never the same player thereafter, sadly diminishing what was once a very promising career.

But I would've loved to have seen those first three years of Sayers' career.

As a rookie Sayers scored a then-record 22 TDs. He also set an at-the-time record with 2,272 all-purpose yards.

His second year brought less TDs (12) but more all-purpose yards, a new record of 2,440.

Sayers' third year was more of a time-share (no clue why) and Sayers finished with lesser stats, but was still an electric player.

But Sayers' reputation as the "best gridiron dancer ever" is why I would've liked seeing him.

Marlins Fan said 09/18, 11:08 PM
Ok, for pick number two I'm turning to America's pastime. Baseball. Sweet, sweet baseball. And this is where I flip flopped the most about who to use in this TD. Because I've always yearned to see Willie Mays, and I really wanted to pick him. But I can't. There's one baseball player I can't justify picking ANYBODY over, and that's

Babe Ruth.

George Herman Ruth, Jr. The Babe. The Bambino. The Sultan of Swat. Jack Dunn's Baby.

Call him whatever you will, Babe Ruth is the one athlete I would've loved to see the most. There is never going to be another player like him. everyone knows about Ruth's accomplishments at the plate, but he was also a great pitcher, finishing his career with a record of 94-46 and a dazzling 2.28 ERA. Ruth also finished his career with a WHIP of just 1.159. He wasn't much of a strikeout pitcher but he sure was an effective one.

And at the plate... oh my. One of the best ever, if not the best. MLB's TRUE homerun king. Amazing hitter. Just phenomenal.

And the best part is he looked more like you or I than like any of today's athletes. Ruth was an average Joe's hero, and I'm sad I missed him.


Good luck, Nerby!

Marlins Fan said 09/20, 02:35 AM
For my third selection I too am borrowing from the game of basketball. I thought about this one for a long time because there are many old school players I would've enjoyed seeing, but in the end there was really only one choice. The third athlete I wish I could've seen is Pete Maravich.

When I was a kid I read Pistol Pete's book. Between the different stories I read in the book concerning Pete's prowess with the ball and other stories passed on through the years by former teammates/coaches/opponents etc, there is no shortage of accolades. Maravich was known as "the best ball-handler of all time", according to John Havlicek. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame called Maravich "perhaps the greatest creative offensive talent in history" upon his induction.

Besides Maravich's peerless ball handling skills and supreme vision on the court, he was also a prolific scorer. Pete played three years in college, leading the NCAA in scoring each year and finishing with a cumulative 44.2 PPG scoring average, before the introduction of the 3-point line, where many shots originated.

I would've loved watching Pete during the prime of his collegiate career.

GL, Nerby!