America has over the years produced the best and most famous athletes in sports history. These American athletes have done so much that is worth mentioning.
Here are the Best five of America’s top-ranking athletes based on their on-field and off-field achievements.
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson. Photo/Desiring God
He was the first black baseball player of the twentieth century. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s unofficial colour barrier. He helped end the belief that professional sports should be segregated by race.
Robinson was the league’s Rookie of the Year and MVP in his first three seasons. He won six pennants and the World Series with the Dodgers (1955).
Robinson was a great all-around athlete. He was a standout running back at UCLA. He began on the varsity team.
After the 1997 season, Jackie Robinson’s #42 was retired. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal for his civil rights work.
Tiger Woods
Golf is more popular than hockey or soccer in America because of one individual; Tiger Woods. He became a legend as soon as he started playing.
With 14 major golf championships, he is undoubtedly the most successful golfer ever. Athlete of the Year four times and PGA Player of the Year nine times. By 24, he had hit the career Grand Slam.
A juvenile prodigy, Woods began golfing at two and appeared on The Mike Douglas Show. He was five when he made it to Golf Digest.
Woods is the world’s most marketable athlete. He has worked with Nike, Gatorade, American Express, Gillette Champions, General Mills, and GM. Gatorade Tiger, launched in March 2008, is his own brand of Gatorade.
The Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game series has been in development since 1999.
He was one of the first successful multi-racial athletes. Woods is a mix of Chinese, Thai, African American, Native American, and Dutch ancestry. He definitely ranks among the top American athletes.
Ali Muhammad
Muhammad Ali changed boxing like no other athlete. His name was as well-known across the world. Ali was gifted. He would forecast the round in which he would knock out his opponent. This was perceived as a sign of arrogance and competitiveness.
With his low hand position, Ali became the first boxer to use foot speed to dodge strikes. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” he said. To tire out his opponent, he perfected the “Rope-a-Dope.”
To date, Ali is the only heavyweight champion who has won three titles. He beat Sonny Liston in round 1.
To his credit, he won nine championship defences, defeating every other heavyweight of his period. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Decade.
Ali was the strongest fighter ever, pound for pound. Legendary for his pre-fight, combat, and post-fight psychology. His pure athleticism may be unrivalled in sport.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is the world’s most popular sportsman. He’s also one of the 20th century’s five most famous figures.
No other basketball player has achieved his level of achievement in recent memory. According to NBA.com. He is the 20th century’s greatest North American athlete.
His NBA career, particularly his high-flying leaping abilities, affected following generations immensely. He is one of sports history’s most advertised athletes. McDonald’s, Wheaties, and Hanes have all used him as a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.
Jordan was the best of the best in an era of unprecedented sports popularity. No athlete in any sport will ever match his popularity.
Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth. Photo/Biography
Babe Ruth was and is the most popular American athlete in professional sports history. It’s hard to imagine a world without his achievements and legacy.
Ruth is possibly the only athlete who can be classified as mythological in history. He was a sports celebrity par excellence. He was a superstar. Ruth transcended sports into the front pages of newspapers during the 1920s when sports were deemed the Golden Age of the Century. He created baseball America’s pastime.
He single-handedly made baseball a hitter’s game. He invented the home run, now the most thrilling sports play. He promised hospitalized children home runs. In the World Series, he pointed over the outfield fence to signify his next pitch.
He led the greatest team ever. The Yankees and Babe Ruth go hand in hand. The “House That Ruth Built” will forever be remembered. Babe Ruth will always be the face of the greatest sports franchise ever.
His tale is legendary. He was sent to St. Mary’s Industrial School as a child because he was wild. Then came baseball. Rather, Babe Ruth introduced baseball to the world.
Nothing beat Babe Ruth’s enthusiasm for a game, not Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, or even Brett Favre. He was a large, silly, sweet boy. He was appealing to both adults and children.
No athlete in any sport will ever match the fervour with which fans loved Babe Ruth. He could have run for President during the Depression and won.
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