Phil Taylor should not be mentioned in the same breath as several of the others named in this thread. That said, Tiger Woods and Muhammad Ali are fair shouts.
Personally, I don't think it is possible to name ONE sportsman as the best ever, as there are too many factors to consider and every sport is different - if we had someone who was that good at three different sports, fair enough, but obviously, that's not the case. Anyway, I'm going for the Top 4 IMHO but clearly people may disagree. The first three are relatively easy for me, but I will add a note to the 4th, because a number of people have chosen Sachin Tendulkar and I want to show why that is clearly wrong. So, in NO particular order, I have:
1). Muhammad Ali (despite one poster's pathetic little snipe at him)
2). Tiger Woods
3). Michael Jordan
and
4) Don Bradman.
I kept Bradman separate because of the few that named Tendulkar - look at just a few stats and then tell me that Tendulkar is above Bradman!! Sorry but No way, Jose!
Test average: Bradman 99.94, Tendulkar 56.94.
* Bradman averaged over a 100 in 7 different calendar years – Tendulkar in 2.
* A ton for Bradman every 1.79 Tests – Tendulkar every 3.47.
* A ton for Bradman every 2.41 Test innings – Tendulkar every 5.06.
* Double centuries: Bradman 12 frm 70 cmpltd inns – Tendulkar 6 from 258.
* Triple centuries – Bradman 2, Tendulkar 0.
* Bradman: Centuries in 6 successive Tests – Tendulkar: 2 in successive Tests 6 times.
* 1,000 Test runs – Bradman 13 Tests, Tendulkar 28 Tests.
* Fastest to 2,000 – Bradman in 22 Tests, closest George Headley 32, Tendulkar 44.
* Fastest to 3,000 – Bradman 33, closest Weekes 51, Tendulkar 67.
* Fastest to 4,000 – Bradman 48, closest Sutcliffe 68, Tendulkar 86.
* Fastest to 5,000 – Bradman 56, closest Jack Hobbs 91, Tendulkar 103.
* And fastest to 6,000 – Bradman 68, closest Gary Sobers 111, Tendulkar 120.
So, Bradman it is, guys. Tendulkar is world class, but not Number 1. Sobers, which someone else wrote, doesn't even come close.
