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Bo Jackson Greatest Athlete of All Time?

According to the sports science team at ESPN, the world's greatest 'athlete' is the multi-sport champion Bo Jackson. He was found to be the greatest ATHLETE (but not necessarily the greatest PLAYER).

The decision was based on a long process, combining viewer votes and the comparison of a range of scientific metrics, with the aim to determine the greatest athlete of all time, once and for all. How did they get to that conclusion?

Follow the process below, as step by step they narrowed down the nominees until only one remained - the Greatest of All Time (GOAT)! Just to be sure, they had another vote to see if they got it right - and yes, Bo Jackson won again.

The Process

The greatest athlete from each of 16 sports or sporting categories were selected, based on online voting of five or more nominees from a selection of sport or sporting categories. The winning athletes then went head-to-head in the bracket phase until only one remained.

Round One

The first round was completed in February 2013, with the winners from each sport or category selected by popular vote. The short-list for each category was created by ESPN, but the winner determined by public voting. As with all online voting of this sort, there is potential for bias with modern players understandingly getting more votes based simply on the voting audience having a greater understanding of them. It was not surprising that there seemed to be a US bias (a majority of visitors to the ESPN website would be from the US). Out of the 16 athletes chosen, there were 12 Americans (the rest: two Brazilians, one Swiss and Canadian). Also, only sports popular in the US were looked at, there are no handball, AFL or water polo players for example. With the categories of multi-sport and game-changers, in the end there were two representatives from baseball and the NFL.

The winners of each category were:

1. Basketball - Michael Jordan
2. Golf - Tiger Woods
3. Olympics - Michael Phelps
4. Combat - Anderson Silva
5. Boxing - Muhammad Ali
6. Endurance - Mark Allen
7. Multisport - Bo Jackson
8. Tennis - Roger Federer
9. Baseball - Willie Mays
10. Game Changers - Jackie Robinson
11. Soccer - Pele
12. Action - Tony Hawk
13. Track & Field - Carl Lewis
14. Ice Hockey - Wayne Gretzky
15. Football - Jim Brown
16. Autosports - Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Bracket Phase (1st round)

The preliminary public voting selected the greatest from each sport or category. The next (bracket) phase started on February 17, 2013. There was still a public vote, but this did not count towards selecting the winner. The winners of each match up was based on a unique metric devised by the ESPN sport science team, to determine which players will advance in the bracket. One-on-one match ups continue until a single winner is left, the Greatest Athlete of All Time!

Michael Jordan v Tiger Woods

This match up was won by Michael Jordan, based on his dominance in a range of categories in their metric. An understandable result, basketball requires such a bigger range of athleticism than in golf. Public voting also had Jordan ahead.

Michael Phelps v Anderson Silva

ESPN had Phelps winning this match up, with public voting also agreeing - after 15,206 votes Phelps had 61.1% of the votes. This must have been a close one, with the all-round athleticism required by Silva making him a great athlete, but he was beaten by Phelps based on his dominance in his sport.

Muhammad Ali v Mark Allen

Endurance athlete Allen is really no match for the self-proclaimed 'Greatest'. Both sports are considered amongst the toughest out there, but for Allen it is demanding just for his mental toughness and endurance - boxing has that plus more. Public voting also agreeing - after 2,342 votes Ali had 84.7% of the votes.

Bo Jackson v Roger Federer

All rounder Bo Jackson had his work cut out in this battle with Tennis star Federer. Bo narrowly beat Federer in the power metric, while Federer easily won in durability, and Bo in difficulty of sport. Playing at the highest level in two sports put Jackson ahead, winning overall by a small margin. Public voting also agreed - after 24,614 votes Jackson was well ahead with 72.4% of the votes.

Willie Mays v Jackie Robinson

This match up of two baseball players makes comparison easier. It was not an easy pick though, but possibly the greatest all-around baseball player Mays was hard to look past. After 7,705 votes Mays was well ahead with 69% of the votes. However, Sport Science, after applying its metrics, had Jackie Robinson as the better athlete. Although Mays was definitely a better baseball player, Robinson's prowess in multiple sports put him ahead.

Pele v Tony Hawk

The greatest football (soccer) player ever against a skateboarder? Tony hawk may be a great athlete, but I can't see him beating Pele. After 1,999 votes Pele was well ahead with 69.5% of the votes.

Carl Lewis v Wayne Gretzky

One of the greatest track and field athletes of all time came up just short of legendary ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

Jim Brown v Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Gridiron great Jim Brown went up against Dale Earnhardt Sr. in what turned out to be a one sided contest. Although motorsports has great physical and psychological demands, with Earnhardt having the top score in our nerve category, he was no match for the all-round athlete Brown. After 2,832 votes Brown was well ahead with 85.3% of the votes.

Bracket Phase (Qr Finals)

Michael Jordan v Michael Phelps

Unfortunately, the greatest swimmer is no match for the greatest basketballer, with Jordan easily advancing past Phelps in both the online vote (after 29,153 votes Jordan was well ahead with 73.9% of the votes) and with the Sport Science metric. Jordan outranked Phelps in nearly 60 percent of the categories in the metric.

Bo Jackson v Muhammad Ali

Being 'The Greatest' was not enough for Ali to get past Bo Jackson. The be a champion for such a long period in one of the most demanding sport was no match for Jackson's superiority in two sports, achieving the surreal MLB All-Star in 1989 and NFL Pro Bowler in 1990. The voters agreed - after 19,153 votes Jackson was well ahead with 80.2% of the votes

Jackie Robinson v Pele

When it comes to speed, agility and endurance, there two are closely matched. At one stage the online voters (after 2,505 votes) had Pele just ahead with 52.9 % of the votes, though it was Robinson who prevailed and went through to the semi final.

Wayne Gretzky v Jim Brown

Brown's multisport abilities helped set him apart from the hockey great. Not only was Brown maybe the best ever football player, he also played basketball and was so dominant in lacrosse too. Although Gretzky lead in the durability sport science metric, Brown was ahead in the power and versatility metric, and overall Brown scraped past Gretzky with a combined total of less than 2% higher.

Semi-Final Rounds

Bo Jackson v Michael Jordan

Both of these players have streamed into the semis, but unfortunately only one can advance. The multiple sport abilities of the athletes in this competition have given them the edge in previous match ups, and this is no exception. Jordan's six NBA championships and dominance in his sport was not enough. Bo Jackson squeaked past Michael Jordan, due in no small part to his incredible power and lightning quick reflexes. The voters agreed with the result - after 23,765 votes Jackson was well ahead with 76.1% of the votes.

Jim Brown v Jackie Robinson

Both Brown and Robinson excelled in more than one sport before earning legendary status in football and baseball respectively. The voters agreed with the result - after 4,494 votes Brown was well ahead with 63.2% of the votes

FINAL

Bo Jackson v Jackie Robinson

The Greatest Athlete of All Time title goes to Bo Jackson. This was based on the comparison of a range of sport science metrics. Even without the science, public vote had him well ahead - after 27,397 votes Jackson was well ahead with 79.5% of the votes.

The Unique ESPN Metric

ESPN Sport Science determined the Greatest Athlete of All Time (GOAT) using a unique metric that factored in attributes such as strength, power, speed, finesse, quickness, reaction time, endurance, durability, an athlete's resume, clutch performances, dominance, versatility, measurements, and the overall difficulty of their sport. Each athlete will be scored in each category, using a unique ranking metric that allows them to compare an athlete's ability to his peers and also to athletes from other fields.

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Related Pages

• results of the vote to determine the world's greatest 'athlete'
• lists of the greatest athletes in the world
• who really is the greatest athlete of all time?
• have your say of the fittest athlete

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Old Comments

• IF...Bo Jackson's career lasted long enough to accomplish great things, then I may agree. But as fast as he became famous, he was equally forgotten. He only played over 100 baseball games in 4 seasons, and averaged 77 games/yr over his 9 "so-called" years in the sport Nolan Ryan played 27 years. He played a total of 38 football games over 4 years (9.5 games/yr). Jim Brown only played 8 years. So...NO. Jackie Robinson was great simply b/c he was before his time. But you didn't even rank him as the greatest baseball player, which is the sport he played. Also, ESPN rated Boxing as the most difficult sport of around 50-60 major sports of today. So, I think a boxer should at least be in the final four. If you say Jackson, you have to mention Deion Sanders. But honestly, from the list you've whittled down, I must go with Michael Jordan. He dominated a sport for close to 2 decades, completely dominated it for a decade, and revolutionized the game to what it has become today. Then came back in 2001, at 40 years old, where he led his team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg), and winning 18 more games from the Wizards' previous year. So, while I think you have to say Marciano is the greatest boxer of all time, Ali is more athletic. And since boxing has been determined to be the most difficult sport, Ali has a dog in this fight. So my Finals includes Ali (as much as I hate to give him this recognition, or to give him recognition for anything because he was such an ignorant, racist, trouble-maker. And I'm not saying this because of his racism. He just happened to want to praise Allah at the same time he was asked to fight for the country that made him what he became. Then, as many, not all, but many do, he preverted the word of Muhammad from peace and love, to hatred and creating even more racial tension throughout a country that had been making progress due to noble men like MLK. Yet taken aback by people like Ali, or Cassius Clay, and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or Malcolm Little, or aka Malcolm X that simply worsened an issue that was getting better without him. This man even stole from his own "people" (Muslims). I mean, his own mentor, Elijah Muhammad, an African American religious leader who peacefully led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until 1975 stated, "Malcolm X got just what he preached", "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him", and "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."). SORRY!, I digress! But I'm saying either Clay or Jordan. (from boxer3420, Apr 2013)
• I agree that Bo Jackson is a great athlete (I'm a Raider fan) BUT of the Greatest Athlete ever? I was not around during Jim Thorpe's time and he's achievements speak for itself. He had speed, won gold medals at the Olympics, he was a great baseball and football player(Defense and offense, as well as a kicker,etc). They need to change that title to greatest player that's alive today. I am just tired of comparing modern players to players of the past. Today's voters will always be bias and the computers are bias because it's programed by today's participants. (from Orlando, Apr 2013)
• Bo Jackson never won championships in baseball or football, although they are team sports. Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics by far helped his team achieve more championships. I think Russell willed his team to many championships. Just my thought on the matter. (from Phil Darden, Mar 2013)
• A lot of people mistake 'greatest champion at their sport' vs. 'greatest athlete'.  Bo was so off the charts in virtually every aspect of athleticism it was jaw-dropping. There hasn't been a greater overall athlete since Babe Didrikson or Jim Thorpe, and even those are highly debatable. (from Chris Kelley, Mar 2013)
• Roger Federer by any metric, by any stretch of the imagination, by any yard stick what- so - ever. We may never witness such a legend to ever grace a sport ever again. Cherish him while he's still playing. Testament to Roger's greatness is the fact that most of these players are retired. On a side note- This is a completely biased American toss- up. (from Gaurav, Mar 2013)
• Jim Brown was more dominant in football than Bo ever was and he was one of the best at lacross in collage in his time. I think Jim Brown is number 1 and Bo comes in at 2 And Jordan comes in at 3. (from Joe Raines, Mar 2013)
• Jim Brown best by far (from hudson, Mar 2013)
• How the he'll did Gretzky lose to Jim brown?
• Jordan best of all time no questions asked (from Alex rose, Mar 2013)
• Gretzky's stats are out of this world compared to every other all time great at their respective sports (from matt561191, Feb 2013)
• Federer is the best ever. (from arijanci, Feb 2013)
• Roger Federer is the greatest of all time there will never ever be another athlete on and off the court like him (from susan bisceglia, Dec 2012)