Best player you ever SAW play...

[AppGuy04]

Who is the best player at any sport that you ever saw live and in person?

I saw Michael Jordan in an exhibition game one year at the Dean Smith Center. Other than that, I'd say Chipper Jones when he played in the minors for the Durham Bulls

[TypicalTribe]

Baseball - Pedro Martinez - 17 K, one-hitter at Yankee Stadium in 1999
Hockey - Gretzky
Football - Jerry Rice
Basketball - Jordan
Golf - Tiger

[OL FU]

Baseball - Saw Hammerin' Hank about 80 times during the 60's
Hockey - Gretzky (I don't know much about Hockey but even my uneducated eyes could tell he was superior to anyone else on the ice.)
Golf - Nicklaus and Palmer ( both after their better days)
Basketball - Saw Jordan and Magic. (an acquaintance of mine was a ticket broker in LA and gave me seats behind the bench and more importantly behind Dianne(sp)Cannon:D )

[Gil Dobie]

Jordan, Magic, Gretzky, Lemieux, Favre, Montana, A-Rod, Griffey Jr, Reggie Jackson

[GannonFan]

I saw Kobe in high school as both a junior and senior - unbelievable talent. Saw Tiger at Bethpage as well.

[MYTAPPY]

Favre
Reggie White
Dale Murphy
Shaq
Tiger
Andruw Jones
Troy Aikmen
etc....

[SunCoastBlueHen]

I think this would be more interesting if we listed people we saw play BEFORE they became big stars (most of us here have attended a lot of Pro events and could make a lengthy list).

Football -

Rich Gannon, Napolean Macallum, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Pederson, Wayne Chrebet (all at Delaware Stadium and I'm sure I'm missing some good ones)

Baseball -

I played against:

Delino Deshields - spent his best years as 2nd baseman for Montreal
Pedro Swann - Had a little bit more than a cup of coffee with the Braves
Derrick May - Played RF for the Chicago Cubs in the early 90's

I coached Little League against Kevin Mench who is currently with the Texas Rangers. I still remember well the grand slam he hit off of my little brother to win a game. :)

I saw Johnny Damon when he played "A" ball with the Wilmington Blue Rocks...

[AppGuy04]

I played against Josh Hamilton in high school. He beaned me in the arse one game. Probably the most talented player I have ever seen, but he had/has way too many issues. Could have been the next great outfielder, but blew it. Still see him every now and then around Raleigh. Can't miss him now that his whole body is covered in tattoos.

[griz37]

Saw Shaq play in the '92 NCAA tournament. I remember one time he dunked & when LSU finally got possesion back & took the ball down court the backboard support was still rattling & shaking the hoop.

[AmsterBison]

Dunno if Lance Armstrong qualifies as a player, but he's definitely an athlete. I saw him win his first and his last Tour.

[MYTAPPY]

I watched Dexter Coakley every saturday while I was a freshmen at App.
Never saw him in person while with Dallas or St. Louis. Any word on if he is definitly done for his carrer?

[SunCoastBlueHen]

I played against Josh Hamilton in high school. He beaned me in the arse one game. Probably the most talented player I have ever seen, but he had/has way too many issues. Could have been the next great outfielder, but blew it. Still see him every now and then around Raleigh. Can't miss him now that his whole body is covered in tattoos.

His is truly a very sad story (obviously covered very well here in the Tampa Bay area). Ironically, the Rays drafted Hamilton over Josh Beckett because they were concerned with Beckett's potential personality issues. Hamilton was advertised as a straight laced, can't miss prospect. It just goes to show what can happen to a kid who was overly restricted by his parents once he get off on his own in the real world.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

I forgot Basketball -

I saw Ralph Sampson, Malik Rose and "Speedy" Claxton all play against the Hens. I was just a young kid when UVA visited Delaware with Sampson on the team and the SOB refused to sign an autograph for me.

[ChickenMan]

football... Jim Brown
hockey... Wayne Gretzky
basketball... Wilt Chamberlain
baseball... Willie Mays

[UNH 40]

Larry Bird
A-Rod
Tom Brady

[grizband]

Basketball - Charles Barkley
Baseball:
Ken Griffey Jr. (with the Mariners)
Derek Jeter
Mariano Rivera
Mark McGwire
Football - Shaun Alexander

[GeauxLions94]

Football - Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett, Roger Staubauch (against the Saints in the Dome)

Baseball - Ryne Sandberg (in his last game at Dodger Stadium), Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, Darryl Strawberry (in the Astrodome after being called up to the Mets)

Basketball - Saw Steve Francis and Ron Artest in the NCAA Tournament one year. Walked right past Julius Erving on the same night

[HiHiYikas]

Saw and interviewed Tim Duncan during his senior year at Wake Forest. Saw Brett Favre lose to the Panthers at a Monday Night game back in 2000 at Erikson Stadium. Brad Hoover stole the show that night.

I've seen too many great baseball players to count since I started visiting ballparks back in 1996. Albert Pujols is probably the best of the bunch. Saw Pedro vs. Clemens at Fenway back in 2001, with neither figuring in the decision. Rookie Alfonso Soriano popped a ball over the Monster to account for the winning run. Have always wanted to see see Randy Johnson and Juan Pierre, but haven't yet.

I saw Cal Ripken, probably the best player of my generation, in the first game I ever attended. Five years later I saw the 2nd-to-last game he ever played. Never got to see Mark McGwire or Tony Gwynn.

I would hope that guys like Chris Shelton, Nick Markakis, and Kris Harvey are on my list one day. Those are a few of the guys I've seen at A-ball level or even high-school or junior college.

[FargoBison]

Baseball- A-Rod, Pedro, Santana, Vlad, Ichiro, Manny, David Ortiz, Cal Ripken, Kirby Puckett, and Rivera.

Basketball- Kevin Garnett

[65 Pard]

Gretzky was so far above his peers that they changed a rule because of him. No one has dominated any sport the way he did, not even Jordan...I had to good fortune to see Gretzky play a few times...

Other than that, I saw Bill Bradley singlehandedly carry Princeton to an OT win at LC in the old Alumni Gymnasium...

[GannonFan]

Gretzky was so far above his peers that they changed a rule because of him. No one has dominated any sport the way he did, not even Jordan...I had to good fortune to see Gretzky play a few times...

Other than that, I saw Bill Bradley singlehandedly carry Princeton to an OT win at LC in the old Alumni Gymnasium...

They changed a few rules because of Wilt Chamberlain too.

[OL FU]

I think this would be more interesting if we listed people we saw play BEFORE they became big stars (most of us here have attended a lot of Pro events and could make a lengthy list).

Football -

Rich Gannon, Napolean Macallum, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Pederson, Wayne Chrebet (all at Delaware Stadium and I'm sure I'm missing some good ones)

Baseball -

I played against:

Delino Deshields - spent his best years as 2nd baseman for Montreal
Pedro Swann - Had a little bit more than a cup of coffee with the Braves
Derrick May - Played RF for the Chicago Cubs in the early 90's

I coached Little League against Kevin Mench who is currently with the Texas Rangers. I still remember well the grand slam he hit off of my little brother to win a game. :)

I saw Johnny Damon when he played "A" ball with the Wilmington Blue Rocks...

Good idea. Nolan Ryan pitching for the single A Greenvile Mets.

[AppGuy04]

His is truly a very sad story (obviously covered very well here in the Tampa Bay area). Ironically, the Rays drafted Hamilton over Josh Beckett because they were concerned with Beckett's potential personality issues. Hamilton was advertised as a straight laced, can't miss prospect. It just goes to show what can happen to a kid who was overly restricted by his parents once he get off on his own in the real world.

To be honest, Josh was a nice guy, he just fell in with the wrong crowd, and that huge signing bonus of his didn't help matters, he and his parents wasted it away

[89Hen]

Have seen lots of pros, but one mention for a man among boys would be David Robinson while he was at Navy. Had to pretend to be in the pep band at UD to get into the game. Single-handedly took Navy to the Elite 8 that year.

[NoCoDanny]

John Elway
Wayne Gretzky

and overall athlete Bo Jackson

Watching Bo Jackson run over Rick Dempsey of the Orioles at home plate was the most devestating hit I've ever seen live.

[dbackjon]

Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

[Grizo406]

Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris.

[Ivytalk]

In baseball, Mike Schmidt of the Phillies. Maybe the best all-around third baseman ever.

In I-AA football, Carl Morris of Harvard. That guy could catch anything thrown his way.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

In baseball, Mike Schmidt of the Phillies. Maybe the best all-around third baseman ever.

:nod: My Childhood hero. My bedroom as a kid was decorated almost entirely with Mike Schmidt memorabilia. :nod:

My dad would take me Phillies games at the Vet a couple of times a month and I could never figure out why my hero was being boooed. What's wrong with people in Philly anyway?

[DuckDuckGriz]

Okay I'm pretty young so you'll have to give me a break here.

Golf -- Jack Nicklaus (Traditions Senior PGA Classic)
Baseball -- Randy Johnson (Ariz), Barry Bonds(SF), Jason Giambi (Oak), Sammy Sosa (Chi)
Football -- (not NFL all-star yet, but) Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart

[mikebigg]

My freshman year at Grambling, Walter Payton came to Grambling. We had future NFLers Gary "Big Hands" Johnson, Robert Barber, Mike St Clair on the defensive line, Robert Pennywell at LB, James Hunter, Mike Harris at db and several guys who played in the CFL on defense.... All game long, the student body and GSU fans were screaming "Get Him, Get Him, Hit that futha mucka!" Payton only had about 69 yards rushing but every carry was a highlight reel. I never seen one guy play so hard, take so many hits (and dish them out) in a football game (before or since).

Rice was good too...and had his share or highlights. But Walter Payton was the man!

[eagleskins]

NFL-Ben Rothleisburger
Boxing-Bernard Hopkins
MLB- Cal Ripken
NBA-Steve Nash

[nevadagriz]

Shaq @ 92' tournament and sheryl swoopes. Never been more impressed with two athletes.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

- Carmelo Anthony against Rutgers in his final home game in 2003
- Mike Schmidt, i was really young
- Cal Ripken Jr., my childhood hero
- Richard Hamilton against Syracuse in '99
- I also played against Gerry McNamara ('Cuse), Chevy Troutman (Pitt) and Darrell Blackman (N.C State) in HS

[ngineer]

I can't make a decision. Being my age (54) I've seen some great ones. In order of my favorites, not necessarily in terms of greatest athlete:
1. Willie Mays
2. Jim Brown
3. Wayne Gretsky
4. Gordie Howe
5. Sandy Koufax

[blackfordpu]

Nolan Ryan

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Nolan Ryan

When I was a kid, I saw Nolan Ryan vs. Steve Carlton at the Vet in Philly. If I remember right, the Phils won 1-0 and the game lasted just a little more than an hour and a half. One of the best righties of all time vs. one of the best lefties. :nod:

[blur2005]

NBA - Michael Jordan...though he was with the Wizards...but still, it's Jordan
MLB - Greg Maddux w/ the Braves (he even homered the game I saw him pitch)
College football - Michael Vick...did a ridiculous somersault into the end zone for a TD in the game I went to.
College basketball - no clue, seen a lot, but no one sticks out

[gokats85]

NFL: Roger Staubach, Bob Hayes, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett
NBA: George Gervin, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J
MLB: Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Barry Bonds, Lou Brock, Roger Clemens
Golf: Tiger Woods, John Daly (hey, the dude's a freak when it comes to driving a golf ball!), Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh