Mr Green’s Hall of Fame: Greatest Sportsmen
History has seen many great athletes, which begs the question – what makes a great athlete?
Innate abilities are believed to have very little to do with exceptional athletic talent, but psychological qualities such as drive, confidence, focus, determination and emotions appear to play an important part in the equation. Perhaps there is no formula for greatness after all.
Though, one things is certain. There’s power in people who dream big, try and work hard. So Mr Green would like to like to take this opportunity to honour three sportsmen that not only embody greatness, but have moved mountains and inspired generations across the globe.
Muhammed Ali
By the time Muhammed celebrated his 18th birthday he had already won 6 Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union National title and the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Once Muhammed Ali became a heavyweight he quickly turned into the icon we are all familiar with today. Ali is known to be one of the most strategically savvy athletes of all times. Using words as weapons in the ring, he could trash-talking an opponent out of their game. It’s hardly surprising that Ali was crowned heavyweight champion three times.
Lebron James
You might ask yourself ‘is he even human’? Lebron James was shoved into the spotlight at 17, graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and had his High School Basketball games aired on ESPN. Dubbed ‘The Chosen One’ by ESPN and James has without a doubt lived up to, and exceeded, the publication’s lofty expectations.
At age 18 he was already titled an NBA superstar! Jame’s athletics abilities are one-of-a-kind, almost superhuman. Whilst your average NBA player takes 13 strides to get from one end of the court to the other, James pulls it off in 9. Using his 6’8’’ frame to his advantage, James sprints at 20 mph.
James has already played 5 NBA Finals and won two championship titles. Still in his prime, James has a very bright future ahead…and we can’t wait to see how his athletic career turns out.
Babe Didrickson Zaharias
All around talent Babe Didrickson Zaharias is universally regarded as the greatest female athlete of all-time. Her athletic accomplishments are never-ending, but what’s even more admiring, Didrickson mastered not just one sport, but many different ones.
With a total of 41 LPGA events and 11 majors under her belt, Didrickson’s most accomplished domain was golf. She was also the first woman to ever apply for the US Open, however her application was rejected because of her gender. Though there was no bringing her down, in 1932 she won two gold medals at the Olympics and set the world record in the 80 meter hurdles and in the javelin throw. Unfortunately her career was short lived as she died of colon cancer at age 45.
