Let's list the most underrated athletes in sports history

galaxy27

Think about this one for a while.....I did. Moreover, don't just lazily toss out a name; state your case by pulling out a shovel and incorporating a few facts and figures. I'll lead off.

In my opinion, to say that this guy was/continues to be underrated would be a profound understatement. Heck, you rarely, if ever, even hear my nominee's name mentioned. I suppose an unassuming nature and 16 years of consummate professionalism is a recipe for relative obscurity, regardless of how many HOF-esque benchmarks are cleared.

The abridged resume:

Receiving yards (4th all time)
Receiving TDs (10th)
Receptions (7th)
4x Pro Bowler
SB Champ (XXXIV)


Be honest, if someone asked you to compile your own personal list of the top 25 NFL receivers of all time, would Isaac Bruce be on it?

BigRedMachine

As I started reading those stats, I thought the answer was going to be Marvin Harrison. Without looking, I'll bet his stats are similar.

miklia

great thread. there's a lot of surprises on this list. Larry Centers has more career catches than Steve Largent!

JoeBanzai

Baseballs Dick Allen comes to mind.

MGLICKER

Edwin Moses......look him up!

dontippet

I was going to answer the OP with the name Tim Brown.

TennisCoach

If I was putting together a list of most underrated players in sports history I would have to have Jimmy Foxx on that list. Whenever you see a broadcast of greatest players or a list of Baseball Greats his name doesn't come up nearly often enough. Foxx had a .325 lifetime batting average, 534 Home Runs, nearly 2000 RBI's, he was a 7 time All Star at the end of his career because they didn't have the game before then. And the clincher is that he has the 5th best OPS of All-Time. I have seen a few Greatest Players of All Time lists and they have him in the 30's, that's underrated.

Estil

Not sure if underrated is exactly the right word but how did Willie McCovey feel about the fact that he was a fine HOF player in his own right, but for much of his career he was just "that other Willie".

PSASAP

Hall of Famers, by definition, are not underrated.

Justacommeman

Whitaker and Trammell

MJ

PSASAP

The more I read about Ted Simmons and the career he had, the more I'm convinced he should be in the Hall of Fame. In 1973, he caught in 1355 innings, a staggering amount. In all he caught in 152 games and hit .310 with 192 hits and 91 RBI. His biggest misfortune was playing in the same era as Johnny Bench. Still, he was an 8 time All-Star and one of the best hitting catchers of all time.

AZDBzn2019

<< <i>Whitaker and Trammell

MJ >>




I would agree with this with a caveat. With these guys it's weird, you kind of actually have had to be in the local market to appreciate them. I guess it may be the same in all markets but with these two specific guys, even along with Molitor, it seems more prevalent. Maybe others are with me here, maybe not. I know what these guys did with their careers, but in relation to the sports cards side of this, pulling a Whitaker or Trammel card is like a common. When the card shows up in the pack, it's like nothing. I think, again, not being from the areas, and the fact that all should admit these guys were just snoozefest boring players in light of others, the hype was never there.

PowderedH2O

When Henry Ellard retired he was #3 All-Time in NFL Receiving yards. Even now, he is #10. He has virtually no chance at the Hall of Fame. He is pretty much completely forgotten. Compare Henry Ellard, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed by the numbers. Look at the total yards and then look at the yards per catch. How is it that Ellard doesn't even get a sniff, yet those two are in?

TennisCoach

Any player that is not recognized for how great a player they were in comparison to their peers can be viewed as underrated. Henry Ellard is a good pick as someone that was overlooked for just how good a receiver he was. Here are a few players that I feel were more talented then what was generally acknowledged. G Steve Hutchinson - Seahawks, WR Stanley Morgan, - Patriots, T Anthony Munoz - Bengals (I know he is in the HOF but he is viewed by many to be the 4th or 5th best tackle and I believe he belongs at #1 so he is underrated in my opinion) I realize some of us have a differing opinion on what it means to be underrated but to me its any player you believe should be viewed as greater than the general perception. For instance what if tomorrow every Baseball expert on the planet had Babe Ruth as the 8th best hitter of all-time, I think most of us would look at that and say he's underrated on that list. I view him as the greatest hitter of all time, but others may view Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron or Ty Cobb to be higher on their lists. Now do I think Babe Ruth is Underrated, no, because a lot of other people consider him to be among the greatest hitters ever. I know this goes against the conventional view of underrated players like ones that people think belong in the Hall of Fame but have not been voted in. Tim Raines comes to mind as a player where based on ability is deserving of the HOF (one of the Premier lead-off hitters in the history of MLB), but for his drug use a case could be made against induction. I know that several players already in the HOF have very troublesome pasts, but if they were up for induction and those troubles were widely known among the voters, many of them might not have been voted in. Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, and Sosa all have the stats for the HOF but in the minds of several voters are not deserving of induction based on a number of other issues.

However if you would like a list of players that fit the more conventional thinking of what it means to be underrated I can add to the discussion too. Steve Hutchinson, Stanley Morgan, Wes Chandler, Archie Manning (played on some terrible teams), Jim Hart, Sterling Sharpe- recently inducted in HOF but that guy was double teamed on every play and still managed to catch near 100 balls every year ( I view Sterling as the 5th best WR of all time but many others don't view him that high, I wonder what kind of numbers he could have put up with a Great QB throwing to him and a good complimentary WR and running game to help take away the double teams) Jay Novacek, Bryant Young, WR Rod Smith (he is kind of like Henry Ellard, really good WR that is seldom talked about) Tim Brown, London Fletcher, Clyde Simmons, Cliff Branch, Joey Browner, Kenny Easley, Neal Anderson, Jimmy Giles, Manny Fernandez, Irving Fryar, Fred Smerlas.

If you have read this far and want an opinion against conventional thinking, I feel Barry Sanders is underrated. How can Barry Sanders be underrated? Some experts have him as the 4th best back of all time and in my opinion he is #1. Barry played on some very bad Lions teams over the years and I have no idea how he managed to rush for that many yards. Sanders had some O-Lines that were so bad he should have had trouble breaking 1000 yards in a season and he managed to run for 1500+ behind some of those lines. If Barry ran behind some of the lines they had in Dallas during those years he may have eclipsed 2000 yards on more than one occasion. I may have to look it up but I think he ran for over 1000 yards every year he played. I know he had one year where he only played like 10 or 11 games, not positive he made 1000 that year but I think he did. I might view Walter Payton as a more complete back based on his extraordinary blocking ability. I also think Marshall Faulk was the best Receiver of any RB I have ever seen. Jim Brown and Bo Jackson may be the best athletes, but as a pure runner for handing the ball, making players miss, and if he gets by you he can take it to the house, I like Barry Sanders at the top of that list based on pure ability. Barry was also very strong for his size and with his low center of gravity could run through the arms of even the best tacklers in the NFL at times. I have seen him do a double jump cut making two defenders miss, break through two wrap up tackles, put a spin move on a defender leaving him grabbing air, and out run two defensive backs to the end zone all on the same play. Sometimes you forget that Barry was doing that against good NFL defenses and not just last place teams. Barry has put together more Jaw-Dropping highlight runs then any back I can remember and for those reasons I think he doesn't get all the accolades he deserves and is underrated by non-conventional terms. If you view that Great players cannot be underrated by conventional thinking I understand your position. I have listed a number of other players in this post for discussion that are perhaps more widely viewed as being underrated.

larryallen73

<< <i>Not sure if underrated is exactly the right word but how did Willie McCovey feel about the fact that he was a fine HOF player in his own right, but for much of his career he was just "that other Willie". >>




Though I am a Dodger fan I tend to agree about McCovey. He was a great player but was really overshadowed during his career. 500+ home runs back when it meant something!

larryallen73

<< <i>When Henry Ellard retired he was #3 All-Time in NFL Receiving yards. Even now, he is #10. He has virtually no chance at the Hall of Fame. He is pretty much completely forgotten. Compare Henry Ellard, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed by the numbers. Look at the total yards and then look at the yards per catch. How is it that Ellard doesn't even get a sniff, yet those two are in? >>



Ellard is an interesting one. As a Ram's fan I can't argue with you of course! His numbers do compare favorably with Reed and Carter. Reed was on some successful teams which helped him of course. Carter was a more visible player and also scored a lot more TD's so that helps him. You can definitely make a case based on stats though.

PowderedH2O

Have you seen him lately? If the Saints have an injury issue, they might want to suit him up (he's their receivers coach). He still runs and triple jumps and is even at 52 faster than half the receivers in the league.