You know what’s cool about older famous athletes?

[NEforceUConn]

Famous old timers that I never have seen or heard play that most people know and love (from books).

Ty Cobb
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Knute Rockne
Red Grange
Sachael Paige
Bob Cousy
Johnny Egan
Walt Drapo
Ben Hogan
Hobbie Baker (?)
Christy Mathewson
Cy Young
The Babe

I guess for me it’s mostly baseball. I am having a hard time thinking of bb players because I go back to viewing John Wooden so that doesn’t count for me. Can’t think of any prior famous bb players (right now - ha)

How great were these players that they are still remembered (I hope)

I wonder how many players over the last 50 years will be remembered in 100 years?

 

[MDHuskFan]

Idk if all these guys are known & loved

Ty Cobb is one of the scummiest dudes in sports history

 

[Scoe]

Not an athlete but I say Bob Marley.

 

[JCSuperstar]

So, to answer the question posed in the OP, what's cool about older famous athletes is that you've heard of them?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Ehh, the greats from every generation will stand out. I’ve got a nephew that is a Red Sox fan and rocks a Pedro jersey. He was not born when Pedro retired.

Separate but a somewhat related discussion I’ve had with friends before is what we’ve started to call the JJ Watt effect. The vast majority of mostly older folks will never accept a current player as an all time great. Any time there was an article written about Watt’s historical dominance, you could be 100% sure the comments section was filled with some version of “overrated. He’s not even close to as good as (insert player from prior generation)”. It happens with basically every modern great in any sport and I’m sure if you went back to Lawrence Taylor’s playing days, you have some old timer sitting at the bar telling anyone who will listen that he’s not as good as Dick Butkus.

 

[gtcam]

The cool thing about these athletes is that they were extremely good and successful and afforded future generations to read about their accomplishments. Scum or not scum they were talented and were able to exhibit their trade.

 

[NEforceUConn]

So, to answer the question posed in the OP, what's cool about older famous athletes is that you've heard of them?

I guess I’m interested in what a 30+ old BYer, born in 1980’s/1990’s who was too young to see a Jerry West, Bill Russel type player. Who do they fondly remember from books/internet?

Also perhaps with this subject the Debbie Downers will keep their negativity away, but this is the BY.

 

[Husky68]

Idk if all these guys are known & loved

Ty Cobb is one of the scummiest dudes in sports history

Ty Cobb: The truth about the greatest baseball player of all time.

Maybe there is more to the story.

 

[dvegas]

The fact you can't spell Walt Dropo's name correctly should trigger immediate banishment from the Boneyard. Sacrilege

 

[NEforceUConn]

The fact you can't spell Walt Dropo's name correctly should trigger immediate banishment from the Boneyard. Sacrilege

Guess a Debbie Downer has arrived.

 

[jpeakin]

Ty Cobb: The truth about the greatest baseball player of all time.

Maybe there is more to the story.

The media fabricating a story? Surely you jest.

 

[storrsroars]

The fact you can't spell Walt Dropo's name correctly should trigger immediate banishment from the Boneyard. Sacrilege

Hey, you can't spell "Duke"!

 

[storrsroars]

Could've sworn I posted something on this a couple hours ago. Anyway, that post was about Cy Young and how in hell didn't his arm fall off? I know pitches were much slower back then and the curve wasn't used much until Mathewson, so probably a lot less shoulder and elbow strain, but dayum, Young threw more than 7300 innings over 22 years. That's 314 innings per year. He had five years where he threw more than 400 innings. Wonder if the guy could even lift a beer mug with his throwing hand.

In comparison, Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 seasons and only threw an average of 199 innings per year. And he was considered indestructible.

 

[cohenzone]

Interesting that you included Johnny Egan who was not nearly as widely well known as the others on your list. Egan went to my high school (Weaver) 6 years before me and his family lived a few blocks up my street. I never saw him play in person but several times on TV when he played at PC and as a pro where he had a pretty modest career. His college career was fabulous.

Good shooter, great handle and passer and very quick. His senior year he led Weaver to an unbeaten season winning both the state title and the great old New England Tournament where he made both ends of a game tying 1+1 after stealing the ball with a few seconds left. He and Weaver went nuts in OT with Egan setting a tournament game scoring record. Game was on local radio.

 

[Kolumbo]

I heard Ty was not well liked

 

[Dove]

Idk if all these guys are known & loved

Ty Cobb is one of the scummiest dudes in sports history

What did he do to you?

 

[Scoe]

I would say Lou Gehrig was more liked than Babe Ruth.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Guess a Debbie Downer has arrived.

Funny, I was thinking that it was cool that older famous athletes who people only know of from reading about them never complain about people misspelling their names. They don't even mind if you call them late for dinner.

Not an athlete but I say Bob Marley.

Sure, he's a fictional character, but what about Jacob Marley?

 

[dvegas]

Not an athlete but I say Bob Marley.

There's a back story, the cancer that eventually killed Mighty Bob started in his big toe. The doctors wanted to amputate, Bob said no, "U can't cut parts off the Rasta." In reality, he loved football (aka soccer), scrimmaged with guys on the Jamaican national team, knew he couldn't play without a big toe. Or maybe it's just the ganja talking.....

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

There's a back story, the cancer that eventually killed Mighty Bob started in his big toe. The doctors wanted to amputate, Bob said no, "U can't cut parts off the Rasta." In reality, he loved football (aka soccer), scrimmaged with guys on the Jamaican national team, knew he couldn't play without a big toe. Or maybe it's just the ganja talking.....

Not to further derail this but anyone who is a reader should check out A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James which is a dramatized account of post-colonial Jamaica centered around the attempted assassination of Bob and the fallout that is one of the best pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. It is a truly astounding accomplishment.

 

[Improviser]

Idk if all these guys are known & loved

Ty Cobb is one of the scummiest dudes in sports history

He attacked a persistent heckler in the stands, punching and kicking the heckler. The heckler had lost 8 fingers from an industrial accident, couldn't defend himself, and got quite a beating from Ty Cobb.

The heckler did this for 4 straight games when Detroit came to New York so Ty had enough. Not sure if the heckler came to any more games to see Ty after that.

1912 suspension of Ty Cobb - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Improviser]

I would say Lou Gehrig was more liked than Babe Ruth.

That movie Pride of the Yankees was some movie with the clips of Babe Ruth, Manger McCarthy and other Yankees then playing.

Actually, until his diagnosis of ALS became known, if you can believe the movie, he got booed by the fans when he whiffed at the plate and lost his co-ordination.

 

[John]

Patches O'Houlihan

 

[visitor123]

I guess I’m interested in what a 30+ old BYer, born in 1980’s/1990’s who was too young to see a Jerry West, Bill Russel type player. Who do they fondly remember from books/internet?

Also perhaps with this subject the Debbie Downers will keep their negativity away, but this is the BY.

I fit in your demographic so let me answer your question.

Basketball: Wilt, Pistol Pete, Kareem, Dr. J, Bill Russell
Baseball: Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle
Football: Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor (I watched football while he was still playing, but as a kid in that era it was all about Cowboys/49ers and I only heard his name a lot after he retired)
Tennis: Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg
Hockey: Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Darryl Sittler, Ken Dryden (I was in Canada for a while)
Golf: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player (I probably did watch them play on TV the senior tour, Lee Trevino too)
Soccer: Van Basten, Pele, Maradona, Platini, Beckenbauer, Cruyff

I mainly follow basketball/soccer for context. I would say I started watching/paying attention in 1993.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I fit in your demographic so let me answer your question.

Basketball: Wilt, Pistol Pete, Kareem, Dr. J, Bill Russell
Baseball: Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle
Football: Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor (I watched football while he was still playing, but as a kid in that era it was all about Cowboys/49ers and I only heard his name a lot after he retired)
Tennis: Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg
Hockey: Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Darryl Sittler, Ken Dryden (I was in Canada for a while)
Golf: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player (I probably did watch them play on TV the senior tour, Lee Trevino too)
Soccer: Van Basten, Pele, Maradona, Platini, Beckenbauer, Cruyff

I mainly follow basketball/soccer for context. I would say I started watching/paying attention in 1993.

This is a terrific list, and full validation of @NEforceUConn 's original conception for this thread.

I'm also enjoying the various digressions & diversions as a nice change of pace leading up to a Saturday night tip-off.

Here's a favorite from before my time...