The 4 most iconic names

lightningboy

Sports cards aside, who are your 4 representatives for the 4 major Sports? We all have several runners up, but just name the singular player. For me, baseball and basketball were the easiest with Ruth and Jordan. Hockey was a little tighter, but I'm taking Gretzky. Football is the tough one. Sticking to my rules of not mentioning a runner up, I'm going with Jim Brown over a current QB or 4 time Super Bowl winning WR.

Who do you have?

Brick

Ruth
Brown
LeBron
Gretzky

lightningboy

You're killing me Brick, being from Chicago.

frankhardy

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jerry Rice

JKT

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Tom Brady (always toughest to appreciate a player during his twilight years....)

GreenSneakers

All good suggestions but the truly Iconic names are:

Baseball: Rusty Kuntz (Mets)
Football: Lucious Pusey (linebacker, eastern illinois)
Basketball: Akok Akok (current 5 star high school player has narrowed choices to G'town, Syracuse, Providence, Uconn, Pitt)
Hockey: Hakan Loob (Calgary Flames)

Bonus:

Soccer: Andreas Ivanschitz (Australia)
NASCAR: Dick Trickle

lightningboy

I guess iconic can mean different things to different people

Tomi

Ruth
Jordan
Orr
Brown

frankhardy

@GreenSneakers said:
All good suggestions but the truly Iconic names are:

Baseball: Rusty Kuntz (Mets)
Football: Lucious Pusey (linebacker, eastern illinois)
Basketball: Akok Akok (current 5 star high school player has narrowed choices to G'town, Syracuse, Providence, Uconn, Pitt)
Hockey: Hakan Loob (Calgary Flames)

Bonus:

Soccer: Andreas Ivanschitz (Australia)
NASCAR: Dick Trickle

Another bonus:

Horse Racing - Hoof Hearted (say it real fast)

CARDSANDCOINS

Rumeal Robinson
RAY CARRUTH
BOB PROBERT
Ed Bouchee

jordangretzkyfan

Like the question...

Ruth
Jordan
Gretzky
Brady

In that order and without question. All set the standard for their sports and won multiple titles. They are the gold standard for what they do. The only other that belongs in their class is Ali.

Bear48

Ruth
Jordan
Gretzky
Brown

ElvisP

Koufax
Chamberlain
Gretzky
Unitas

Huskies11

Griffey
Jordan
Gretzky
Brady

SDSportsFan

For me it is:

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
and..........

George Halas

Steve

craig44

jordan
ruth
brady
orr

Mickey Mays

@GreenSneakers said:
All good suggestions but the truly Iconic names are:

Baseball: Rusty Kuntz (Mets)
Football: Lucious Pusey (linebacker, eastern illinois)
Basketball: Akok Akok (current 5 star high school player has narrowed choices to G'town, Syracuse, Providence, Uconn, Pitt)
Hockey: Hakan Loob (Calgary Flames)

Bonus:

Soccer: Andreas Ivanschitz (Australia)
NASCAR: Dick Trickle

I knew Dick Trickle, he raced on a small dirt track in Norway Michigan in the late 1970's. Sad end, he called the police, told them where they would find his dead body, then killed himself.

1951WheatiesPremium

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Lawrence Taylor

lightningboy

Love seeing Taylor get some respect. First time and maybe only time I can think of that a team didnt focus on containing an offensive (QB, RB or WR) player when you played a team. You had to figure out a way to keep him out of your backfield to have a shot against the Giants.

3stars

Interesting that only football has very little agreement. Jordan, Gretzky and Ruth seem to be the big three, but for football there is no "one"

1951WheatiesPremium

By the way, Lawrence Taylor in Super Techmo Bowl is up there for greatest video game athlete incarnation of all time. Snap, sack, snap hit for loss, snap sack. Punt. Hand off to Dave Megget. Repeat.

Ah, the good old days...

GreenSneakers

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
By the way, Lawrence Taylor in Super Techmo Bowl is up there for greatest video game athlete incarnation of all time. Snap, sack, snap hit for loss, snap sack. Punt. Hand off to Dave Megget. Repeat.

Ah, the good old days...

Tecmo Bo > Tecmo LT

ClockworkAngel

Yah football doesn’t really have that one guy, which is interesting considering the other 3 are fairly obvious.

If there’s one guy I’d pick it’s Peyton Manning. He’s still everywhere even in retirement. He has the likability factor too.

rbsalezman

Baseball: Jackie Robinson
Basketball: Magic Johnson
Football: Jim Thorpe
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

waxman2745

@ClockworkAngel said:
Yah football doesn’t really have that one guy, which is interesting considering the other 3 are fairly obvious.

If there’s one guy I’d pick it’s Peyton Manning. He’s still everywhere even in retirement. He has the likability factor too.

"Nationwide is on your side."

RookieHOFers

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jim Brown

perkdog

Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady

GoDodgersFan

Really good discussion.

Near consensus on Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky. The football icon is all over the map with Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, and etc.

lightningboy

Now you see why I had a tough time in my original post, when it came to football.

Darin

@ClockworkAngel said:
Yah football doesn’t really have that one guy, which is interesting considering the other 3 are fairly obvious.

If there’s one guy I’d pick it’s Peyton Manning. He’s still everywhere even in retirement. He has the likability factor too.

Except for that female trainer he allegedly sat on naked in college. I don't think the likability factor is there for her.

Tecmo Boil

@GreenSneakers said:

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
By the way, Lawrence Taylor in Super Techmo Bowl is up there for greatest video game athlete incarnation of all time. Snap, sack, snap hit for loss, snap sack. Punt. Hand off to Dave Megget. Repeat.

Ah, the good old days...

Tecmo Bo > Tecmo LT

Gretzky
Jordan
Ruth
QB Eagles