Poll: Jordan is history's greatest sports star

The debate is legendary – who is the greatest sports star of all time? A new Harris Poll of 2,293 American adults found the answer: Michael Jordan.

Jordan, former Tar Heels star, Chicago Bulls phenom and current Charlotte Bobcats general manager, was followed by Tiger Woods at number two and Babe Ruth at number three.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,293 adults, of whom 1,494 follow at least one sport, surveyed online between October 5 and 12, 2009 by Harris Interactive.

The man who called himself “the greatest”, boxer Mohammed Ali is number 4, while quarterback Brett Favre is number five on the greatest sport star list.

Next on the top ten are another quarterback, Joe Montana at number 6 and hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky at number 7. There is still another quarterback, Peyton Manning , tied for number 8 along with baseball’s Ted Williams. Finally, tied for number 10 are baseball’s Hank Aaron and basketball phenomenon LeBron James. The top ten list (actually 11 because of the tie for number 10) includes 3 baseball players, 3 football players and two basketball players.

Greatest baseball player

Each sport is different, so each sport has different players that are deemed the greatest. As the World Series gets underway, the New York Yankees can claim two of the top five greatest baseball players – number one, Babe Ruth and number five, Lou Gehrig. Sandwiched in between these two Yankee legends are Hank Aaron at number two, Willie Mays at number three and Ted Williams at number four.

Greatest football player

When it comes to greatest football player, number one on the list is someone who keeps trying to retire, but keeps staying in the game, Brett Favre. Next is running back and actor Jim Brown followed by 49ers quarterback Joe Montana at number three. Chicago Bears running back Walter “Sweetness” Peyton is number 4 on the greatest football player list and one of Joe Montana’s key receivers on the 49ers, Jerry Rice rounds out the top five.

Greatest basketball player

He’s number one on the overall list, so it’s no surprise that Michael Jordan is considered number one on the greatest basketball player list. The rivalry extends beyond the hard court as the Lakers star Magic Johnson and Celtics star Larry Bird come in next at number two and three respectively. Rounding out the top five greatest basketball stars are Wilt Chamberlain, who started his professional career with the Harlem Globetrotters at number 4 and Celtics’ great Bill Russell at number five.

Greatest golfer

For years, the debate has been Tiger Woods versus Jack Nicklaus. And, Tiger wins as he is considered the greatest golfer of all time followed by Jack at number two. The great Arnold Palmer is number three on the list followed by Phil Mickelson and then Bobby Jones at number 5.

Greatest tennis player

With the recent win at Wimbledon, Roger Federer became the all time Grand Slam winner with 15, beating Pete Sampras’ 14 wins. And, Federer is also considered the greatest tennis players of all time followed by Pete Sampras at number two. Jimmy Connors is number three and Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras’ greatest rival is number four on the list of greatest tennis players of all time. Rounding out the top five is Arthur Ashe.

About the survey

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States October 5 and 12, 2009 among 2,293 adults (aged 18 and over) of whom 1,494 follow at least one sport. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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