nba (i'm a die hard celtics fan too)
60's - wilt (he really was better than russell)
70's - kareem (unstoppable offensively)
80's - magic (he could do more than bird, but it was close)
90's - mj
00's - kobe
mlb
60's - mays (better than aaron and i'm a braves fan too)
70's - morgan
80's - hendrson (both he and morgan produced runs at a very high rate)
90's - bonds
00's - can't pick between arod and albert
nfl -
60's - butkus (he was an animal who could change the game)
70's - oj
80's - too close for too many
90's - rice
00's - peyton manning
nhl
60's - hull
70's - orr (he really overlapped the late 60's and early 70's)
80's - wayne
90's - lemiuex
00's - ovechkin
60's - wilt (he really was better than russell)
70's - kareem (unstoppable offensively)
80's - magic (he could do more than bird, but it was close)
90's - mj
00's - kobe
mlb
60's - mays (better than aaron and i'm a braves fan too)
70's - morgan
80's - hendrson (both he and morgan produced runs at a very high rate)
90's - bonds
00's - can't pick between arod and albert
nfl -
60's - butkus (he was an animal who could change the game)
70's - oj
80's - too close for too many
90's - rice
00's - peyton manning
nhl
60's - hull
70's - orr (he really overlapped the late 60's and early 70's)
80's - wayne
90's - lemiuex
00's - ovechkin
These answers are the best players in most cases of their decades
but not necessarily the best stistically for one reason or another.
For example while Jim Brown most certainly was the best player in the 60s to play pro football there is a lot that can be said for Gayle Sayers who had his career shortened by injury.
Pick the best player of each decade
60's NFL Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers.
70's NFL OJ Simpson and Jack Ham (he has the career to proove it)
80's NFL Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor
90's NFL Reggie White
2000-2009 Peyton Manning and Tom Brady
MLB
60's MLB Hank Aaron (by a nose over others already mentioned)
70's MLB Joe Morgan
80's MLB Mike Schmidt
90's MLB Barry Bonds
2000's MLB Albert Pujols
NBA
1960's NBA Bill Bussell and Wilt Chamberlain (hard to leave out The Big O.)
1970's NBA Kareem and Dr J.
1980's NBA Magic and Bird (having seen a lot of both, Bird made
his teams better than Magic did his IMHO).
1990' NBA Michael Jordan with Hakeem Olajuwon a very close 2nd to Jordan who played in the 80s also)
2000's NBA Kobe with Duncan and Kevin Garnett worth a mention. Sorry Shaq.
NHL:
1960's NHL Jean Beliveau
1970's NHL Bobby Orr
1980's NHL Wayne Gretsky
1990's NHL Mario Lemiuex
2000's NHL Jerome Iginila and Alexander Ovenchkin
wil.
but not necessarily the best stistically for one reason or another.
For example while Jim Brown most certainly was the best player in the 60s to play pro football there is a lot that can be said for Gayle Sayers who had his career shortened by injury.
Pick the best player of each decade
60's NFL Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers.
70's NFL OJ Simpson and Jack Ham (he has the career to proove it)
80's NFL Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor
90's NFL Reggie White
2000-2009 Peyton Manning and Tom Brady
MLB
60's MLB Hank Aaron (by a nose over others already mentioned)
70's MLB Joe Morgan
80's MLB Mike Schmidt
90's MLB Barry Bonds
2000's MLB Albert Pujols
NBA
1960's NBA Bill Bussell and Wilt Chamberlain (hard to leave out The Big O.)
1970's NBA Kareem and Dr J.
1980's NBA Magic and Bird (having seen a lot of both, Bird made
his teams better than Magic did his IMHO).
1990' NBA Michael Jordan with Hakeem Olajuwon a very close 2nd to Jordan who played in the 80s also)
2000's NBA Kobe with Duncan and Kevin Garnett worth a mention. Sorry Shaq.
NHL:
1960's NHL Jean Beliveau
1970's NHL Bobby Orr
1980's NHL Wayne Gretsky
1990's NHL Mario Lemiuex
2000's NHL Jerome Iginila and Alexander Ovenchkin
wil.
The best football player all around played from 75-87 so gets totally omitted......
1975–1982
The Chicago Bears drafted Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft, as the fourth overall pick. During the 1976 NFL season, Payton rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. After the season, he was selected to play in the 1977 Pro Bowl, where he was declared the Pro Bowl MVP. The next year, he rushed for 1,852 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, becoming the league’s leading scorer for the season. He earned numerous awards that season, including the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America’s Most Valuable Player awards. His most memorable game of the 1977 NFL season was against the Minnesota Vikings on November 20. He rushed for a then-record 275 yards on 40 carries while combating the flu, breaking the previous record of 273 yards held by O.J. Simpson.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-11>[12]</SUP> By the end of the decade, Payton had received additional accolades for his exploits as a blocker, receiver, emergency punter, and quarterback.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-p34_3-4>[4]</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-CBH_4-6>[5]</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-12>[13]</SUP>
1975–1982
The Chicago Bears drafted Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft, as the fourth overall pick. During the 1976 NFL season, Payton rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. After the season, he was selected to play in the 1977 Pro Bowl, where he was declared the Pro Bowl MVP. The next year, he rushed for 1,852 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, becoming the league’s leading scorer for the season. He earned numerous awards that season, including the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America’s Most Valuable Player awards. His most memorable game of the 1977 NFL season was against the Minnesota Vikings on November 20. He rushed for a then-record 275 yards on 40 carries while combating the flu, breaking the previous record of 273 yards held by O.J. Simpson.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-11>[12]</SUP> By the end of the decade, Payton had received additional accolades for his exploits as a blocker, receiver, emergency punter, and quarterback.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-p34_3-4>[4]</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-CBH_4-6>[5]</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-12>[13]</SUP>
Players from the 90s and 00s played hundreds of games covering tens of thousands of hours. You really think anyone witnessed all of that to know the full differences between the players ... even stupider
When you understand a sport well enough you can form a well-thought out opinion without watching dozens of games every week -- which is virtually impossible to do anyways
Viejo dinosaur
I was just a kid in the 50s (born in 1948) but did see Ted play on several occasions at Fenway in the late 50s. He would get my vote for both the 40's and 50's for MLB.
Other sports
NFL: Gino Marchetti
NBA: Bob Cousy and George Mikan
NHL: Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard
wil.
PS. Jerry West is kind of like the Walter Peyton of the NBA. A truly great player but no place to add him, even Elgin Baylor might be deserving of a spot in the 60's but the big men dominated and Oscar Rorbertson defies description when it comes to the game he brought to the NBA in the 1960s. Unfortunately how can you overlook Wild (50 PPG in 1961) and Bill Russell 9 NBA titles in the 60's alone.
I had a difficult time placing Dr J also as he had some of his best years in the 80s but how could you take away Magic or LB? The Doctor was the primary player that pioneered today's game. The modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim.
I was just a kid in the 50s (born in 1948) but did see Ted play on several occasions at Fenway in the late 50s. He would get my vote for both the 40's and 50's for MLB.
Other sports
NFL: Gino Marchetti
NBA: Bob Cousy and George Mikan
NHL: Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard
wil.
PS. Jerry West is kind of like the Walter Peyton of the NBA. A truly great player but no place to add him, even Elgin Baylor might be deserving of a spot in the 60's but the big men dominated and Oscar Rorbertson defies description when it comes to the game he brought to the NBA in the 1960s. Unfortunately how can you overlook Wild (50 PPG in 1961) and Bill Russell 9 NBA titles in the 60's alone.
I had a difficult time placing Dr J also as he had some of his best years in the 80s but how could you take away Magic or LB? The Doctor was the primary player that pioneered today's game. The modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim.
FairWarning
I was a huge Mickey Mantle fan but unfortunately he couldn't match Ted Williams for greatness (forget the 40s as Mantle came up in 51) when they were at the peak during the years they avoided injurys for MM or the military service for TW. in the 1950s.
Take 1957 for example. That year Mantle won the AL MVP and Williams finished 2nd. Their stats (of course the Yankees won the pennant while the Red Sox finished 7th).
The Mick: 144 games 474 ABs 121 runs 173 hits 34 HRs 94 RBI 146 walks
.365 BA .512 OBP 665 SLG 1.177 OPS. Mickey was 26 years old. Mickey had his best year of his career as far as strike outs with wiffing only 75 times.
The Splendered Splinter: 132 games 420 ABs 96 runs 163 hits 38 HRs 87 RBI 119 walks .388 BA. .526 OBP .731 SLG 1.257 OPS. Ted was 39 years old. Williams only wiffed 43 times all season vs 38 homers. Named The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year.
You don't see many players with stats like those above anymore.
Some Ted Williams stats just from his games played in the 1950s that were outstanding. 1952 and 53 saw extremely (less than 50 games in the two years combined) limited action due to Korean Conflict.
Batting average:
1951 AL .318 (4th)
1954 AL .345 (2nd)
1956 AL .345 (2nd)
1957 AL .388 (1st)
1958 AL .328 (1st)
All Star Games in 50s
1950 (LF)
1951 (LF)
1953
1954
1955 (LF)
1956 (LF)
1957 (LF)
1958
1959
1959 (LF)
Slugging % in 50s
1951 AL .556 (1st)
1954 AL .635 (1st)
1956 AL .605 (2nd)
1957 AL .731 (1st)
1958 AL .584 (4th)
MVP Rankings in 1950s
1950 AL (21st )
1951 AL (13th )
1954 AL (7th)
1955 AL (4th)
1956 AL (6th)
1957 AL (2nd)
1958 AL (7th
OBPS
1951 AL 1.019 (1st)
1954 AL 1.148 (1st)
1956 AL 1.084 (2nd)
1957 AL 1.257 (1st)
1958 AL 1.042 (1st)
Runs scored
1951 AL 109 (3rd)
1954 AL 93 (9th)
1957 AL 96 (5th)
OBP
1951 AL .464 (1st)
1954 AL .513 (1st)
1956 AL .479 (1st)
1957 AL .526 (1st)
1958 AL .458 (1st)
Walks
1951 AL 144 (1st)
1954 AL 136 (1st)
1955 AL 91 (7th)
1956 AL 102 (3rd)
1957 AL 119 (2nd)
1958 AL 98 (3rd)
RBIs
1951 AL 126 (2nd)
1954 AL 89 (9th)
1955 AL 83 (10th)
1957 AL 87 (9th)
1958 AL 85 (8th)
Runs created
1951 AL 137 (1st)
1954 AL 126 (1st)
1955 AL 118 (4th)
1956 AL 121 (4th)
1957 AL 167 (2nd)
1958 AL 112 (4th)
Times on base
1951 AL 313 (1st)
1954 AL 270 (3rd)
1956 AL 241 (10th)
1957 AL 287 (2nd)
1958 AL 237 (6th)
Extra Base hits
1951 AL 62 (2nd)
1954 AL 53 (8th)
1955 AL 52 (7th)
1956 AL 54 (8th)
1957 AL 67 (3rd)
1958 AL 51 (8th)
ABs per HR
1951 AL 17.7 (2nd)
1954 AL 13.3 (1st)
1956 AL 16.7 (3rd)
1957 AL 11.1 (1st)
1958 AL 15.8 (7th)
There is more but I think you get the drift.
wil.
I was a huge Mickey Mantle fan but unfortunately he couldn't match Ted Williams for greatness (forget the 40s as Mantle came up in 51) when they were at the peak during the years they avoided injurys for MM or the military service for TW. in the 1950s.
Take 1957 for example. That year Mantle won the AL MVP and Williams finished 2nd. Their stats (of course the Yankees won the pennant while the Red Sox finished 7th).
The Mick: 144 games 474 ABs 121 runs 173 hits 34 HRs 94 RBI 146 walks
.365 BA .512 OBP 665 SLG 1.177 OPS. Mickey was 26 years old. Mickey had his best year of his career as far as strike outs with wiffing only 75 times.
The Splendered Splinter: 132 games 420 ABs 96 runs 163 hits 38 HRs 87 RBI 119 walks .388 BA. .526 OBP .731 SLG 1.257 OPS. Ted was 39 years old. Williams only wiffed 43 times all season vs 38 homers. Named The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year.
You don't see many players with stats like those above anymore.
Some Ted Williams stats just from his games played in the 1950s that were outstanding. 1952 and 53 saw extremely (less than 50 games in the two years combined) limited action due to Korean Conflict.
Batting average:
1951 AL .318 (4th)
1954 AL .345 (2nd)
1956 AL .345 (2nd)
1957 AL .388 (1st)
1958 AL .328 (1st)
All Star Games in 50s
1950 (LF)
1951 (LF)
1953
1954
1955 (LF)
1956 (LF)
1957 (LF)
1958
1959
1959 (LF)
Slugging % in 50s
1951 AL .556 (1st)
1954 AL .635 (1st)
1956 AL .605 (2nd)
1957 AL .731 (1st)
1958 AL .584 (4th)
MVP Rankings in 1950s
1950 AL (21st )
1951 AL (13th )
1954 AL (7th)
1955 AL (4th)
1956 AL (6th)
1957 AL (2nd)
1958 AL (7th
OBPS
1951 AL 1.019 (1st)
1954 AL 1.148 (1st)
1956 AL 1.084 (2nd)
1957 AL 1.257 (1st)
1958 AL 1.042 (1st)
Runs scored
1951 AL 109 (3rd)
1954 AL 93 (9th)
1957 AL 96 (5th)
OBP
1951 AL .464 (1st)
1954 AL .513 (1st)
1956 AL .479 (1st)
1957 AL .526 (1st)
1958 AL .458 (1st)
Walks
1951 AL 144 (1st)
1954 AL 136 (1st)
1955 AL 91 (7th)
1956 AL 102 (3rd)
1957 AL 119 (2nd)
1958 AL 98 (3rd)
RBIs
1951 AL 126 (2nd)
1954 AL 89 (9th)
1955 AL 83 (10th)
1957 AL 87 (9th)
1958 AL 85 (8th)
Runs created
1951 AL 137 (1st)
1954 AL 126 (1st)
1955 AL 118 (4th)
1956 AL 121 (4th)
1957 AL 167 (2nd)
1958 AL 112 (4th)
Times on base
1951 AL 313 (1st)
1954 AL 270 (3rd)
1956 AL 241 (10th)
1957 AL 287 (2nd)
1958 AL 237 (6th)
Extra Base hits
1951 AL 62 (2nd)
1954 AL 53 (8th)
1955 AL 52 (7th)
1956 AL 54 (8th)
1957 AL 67 (3rd)
1958 AL 51 (8th)
ABs per HR
1951 AL 17.7 (2nd)
1954 AL 13.3 (1st)
1956 AL 16.7 (3rd)
1957 AL 11.1 (1st)
1958 AL 15.8 (7th)
There is more but I think you get the drift.
wil.
