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The best who never won a ring
LandrysFedora
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in Sports Talk
There are many elite athletes who posted hall of fame careers but never won a championship. I will start with Dan Marino in football and Ted Williams in baseball. Who are some of your best who have never won it all?
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Barry Sanders
Tony Soprano..
Hockey:
Marcel Dionne
Pat LaFontaine
Football:
Barry Sanders and it's not even close.
you beat me to Marino. he was amazing
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I would say Karl Malone and Charles Barkley in basketball
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Marino was must see tv!
Earl Campbell
What a powerhouse Earl was! I always remember a play (vs Dolphins?) where he just went full bore helmet down destroying a would be tackler! I saw a documentary about him a few years ago on espn. He has been basically turned into a bed ridden cripple from all the years of punishment he took (and gave out) over, in my opinion, was a stellar career.
He was a nightmare to bring down, he could run right through you, and drag defenders with him.
That's that play I remember! Thanks for that!
You're welcome, I never get tired of watching that!
Barry Sanders
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Ted Williams immediately came to mind, and Marino is a good choice.
Some other good choices as well who are mentioned.
Fran Tarkenton
Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Ernie Banks, Alan Page, Adrian Peterson.
Ernie Banks wasn't too bad.
Ken Griffey Jrs name is not often brought up. He has to rank highly out of those baseball players who never won a ring
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Didn't Alan page have a knack for blocking field goals? For some reason I associate him with that.
Yes, he did block a lot of them. Check out a few of his youtube videos, he is one of the best defensive players EVER.
I was fairly young then but I do remember Page and Carl Eller on those purple people eater defenses.
You didn't want to be a Quarterback and have to pass because your team was behind against those guys!
I wish they would have recorded QB sacks back then. I am sure guys like Page and Decon Jones would have had a pile of them
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Not to mention QB hits & QB pressures...
If you look hard enough, you can find the unofficial numbers. Page is credited with 148.5 the highest for a Tackle and Eller is at 133.5 tied for 13th on the current all time official list. Jim Marshal had 127.
GOAT defensive line of all time I would say.
Deacon is at 173.5 and would/should be at #3.
It would seem to me that the numbers could be determined if the NFL would allow it. Spend the money you cheapskates!
I'll take the steel curtain.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
You can have them.
What a group they were! Mean Joe, LC Greenwood, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount among others! If not for that crew my Cowboys would have had another championship. Pure domination.
The "Purple People Eaters" stopped you a couple of times too.
I was referring primarily to the defensive line, but the Minnesota defense 1969-71 were #1 in points allowed all 3 years and #1 in yards given up twice and #2 once.
This is the best 3 year run of dominance that I could find in looking at the Cowboys, Steelers, Rams and Bears.
Vikings best 8 year stretch they averaged being 2nd in points allowed (2.4th to be exact), Steelers about #5 (4,75).
Best 10 year period had the Vikings at 4th best (better actually at 3.7) and the Steelers at 6th position (a bit worse at 6.5.)
VIKINGS BABY ALL THE WAY!
Indeed they did. Respect to Bud Grant and his teams of that era!
Lack of a running game killed the Vikings.
Franco Harris, Larry Csonka, were beasts! Vikings never really had great receivers either.
They also didn't play well in two SBs where they were the better team (imo) against KC and Oakland.
Did Chuck Foreman play for the Vikes? I do remember Ahmad Rashad at wr. He was pretty decent I think.
those are some very impressive numbers for sure. especially for a tackle. I wish the NFL would get on the ball and do that as well. maybe with the revenue from the new 17th game they can finally afford it
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I'll take the 76 Steelers defense over any of those Vikings defenses. They had 5 shutouts. In their last 9 regular season games they gave up a total of 28 points.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Yes, they did a very good job feasting on the middle to bottom teams in the league. Average record for those 9 teams was 6-8 and offense ranking was 17 out of 28 teams. Included in that list are the historically bad 1976 Bucs that went 0-14. Here is a quick snapshot of the opponents records and their offensive ranking
So what. 5 shutouts still impressive no?
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Yes, those two played for the Vikings and were great players!
Rashad didn't arrive in time for the best years of the defense.
Forman was completely stopped in his first two SBs. He was more of a pass catcher and not a guy like Csonka or Harris, who were beasts!
Five games isn't quite as good as TEN YEARS!
The Vikings were better.
CASE CLOSED!
Steelers were better, 4 Super Bowls. Nobody remembers 2nd place.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
That is because they had a better offense.
One more for the ignore list.
I am not fond of him - at all - but if Ted Williams is baseball’s most obvious example, fine but I think he’s 1-A and 1-B is Barry Bonds.
Again, ignoring the off the field stuff (impossible?) there may never me a more dominant non champion in sporting history.
The year he won the Belmont and Preakness...I mean hit 73 HR...he was just untouchable. It really seemed nothing could get past him.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
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It's had to argue against that Steelers D
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
You’ve said it here yourself. It’s what separates the men from the boys. You can be as great as you want during the regular season, but if you don’t perform well when it counts, then people won’t remember you. No one remembers 2nd place. That’s why the Steelers defense is held in higher regard than the Vikings.
Many here will tell you Bradshaw wasn’t better than Tarkenton, but what puts Terry over the top was his MVP like postseason performances.
Vikings not playing well in the postseason is huge when it comes to all time greatness, even though they were clearly one of the best.
I forgot Bonds. I think when you figure in baserunning and defense, he would rank above Teddy Ballgame as the greatest baseball player without a championship
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I like this Bonds record. He is the only player in the 500/500 club. And he is also the only member of the 400/400 club.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Ernie Banks and Barry Sanders
That is because they had a better offense.
One more for the ignore list.> @Justacommeman said:
Not really. Their TEAM was better than the Vikings, Not going to argue that point, but just looking at the defenses, it's a Vikings victory.
he was a remarkable combination of power and speed. I don't think anyone else in baseball could combine the two as well as Bonds. he also went 40-40 in the 96 season.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
His uncle, Willie Mays, was a better combination of both, I think.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
In Bill James' Power/speed statistic, the top 4 all time are here:
as far as straight speed, as in 40 yard dash times, I honestly don't know who would have been faster. I am sure it would have been close. I remember prime Bonds being very fast. I did not see prime Mays. I am sure the two would be within a few 10's of a second of each other.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I agree.
I recall seeing a big three interview with Willie Mickey and Duke and the topic of speed came up. Duke said ‘I’m out!’ to a great audience chuckle and Willie and Mickey both said that stealing was a little different back then and both felt that they left a lot of bags on the table in their careers. Not that guys didn’t but it wasn’t always something you went for on your own but rather waited for a manager to call for you.
Again, Bonds was a beast. No doubt.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest