NFT: Who is your NYC born athlete "Mount Rushmore"?

Born in Brooklyn.... He's in definitely

Long time ago, but a solid candidate.

John McEnroe.

. . .

history of NY athletes, Mike Tyson?

Probably 4 athletes throughout eternity from NYC who knock him off.

Gehrig and Tyson would round out a solid 4.

While technically some other guys, like A-Rod and Jordan, for example, were born here, since they didn't really grow up here, I'll exclude them from my list. I guess that alters the list to "born and bred".

Joe Torre?

They're the only ones in that sport.

King needs to be in the conversation. Hall of Famer. I'm not sure if he would crack the top 4, but definitely the top 10.

than Koufax. Koufax did dominate the position as no very few others in the history of the game, but it really was only for a short period of time.

Manny Ramirez, Hank Greenberg, Whitey Ford, Rod Carew, Phil Rizzuto....

Not too many football players. Lyle Alzado, I think....

/end thread

Elliot & Vinny Testaverde are also homegrown football players.

He went to the same high school as my cousin, Sewanhaka in Floral Park.

#endthread

you would have thought Marbury and/or Kenny Anderson were destined for this list. They are way down.

Manny was born in the Dominican Republic.

Proehl baby! Bronx NY!

Here you can see the best NFL players by birth city
Link - ( New Window )

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could I forget this guy?

I believe he was born in Brooklyn & moved to Elmont early on. I could be mistaken though.

I just know where he went to high school.

Can you list all of the NY born athletes ever. Thanks.

Smith ... Shooting guard from Houston Rockets!

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Phil Rizzuto....

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In comment 11645791 yatqb said:

Quote:

They're the only ones in that sport.

How soon people forget Nick Fotiu.

But he moved away at a young age.

How about not knowing the extensive history of boxing in NY? Benny Leonard, Barney Ross, Gene Tunney and Jake LaMotta would all come ahead of Tyson on the NYC Born Mount Rushmore.

born around the corner from my grandfather on east 95th street and went to school with my great uncle Lorenzo who was the same age. His numbers speak for themselves. The iconic speech is the cherry on top.

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Whitey, a guy from Queens, has the record for the greatest # of career wins and was an huge NYC personality. The Chairman of the Board has got to make Rushmore.

Scooter, a Brooklyn fella, has often been underrated, particularly because people are unaware of his career achievements, 1950 AL MVP, 4-time All Star, 7 World Series Rings. He is also a wonderful and much-beloved NYC character.

Thank you, whoever mentioned ARod.

Can anyone name any other handball player who came out of NYC?

Lou was a New York-born saint. His accomplishments were amazing. Head over to BaseballReference.com and spend some time just reviewing his stats. Your jaw will be in your lap.

Just look at his Triples. Holy shit!

Carmelo?

Because his softball leagues are serious.

I immediately thought John McEnroe

Lifetime triple slash of .313/.412/.605, wOBA of .453 and a two-time MVP. Also was the first major league player to be drafted leading up to WWII, missing most of the 1941 season after being drafted in 1940. Discharged from the Army on December 5, 1941, he volunteered again a few days later after the attack on Pearl Harbor, again being the first major league player to do so. Also, while most baseball fans know the story of Sandy Koufax refusing to play on Yom Kippur, Greenberg did the same thing 30+ years earlier.

NICKY

was from The Bronx.

Ford or McEnroe. I love Rizzuto, but I'm not sure he should make the cut over a number of superior athletes.

And a source of ethnic & religious pride for me and my family. I know it meant a lot to my father, who was a sworn atheist, when Greenberg refused to play on Yom Kippur.

I'd add that they would need to have played in New York and won championships in NY. That would limit it to Koufax, Ford, McEnroe, LaMotta, Rizzuto, and maybe Dick McGuire.

I'd have to put McEnroe in for Tennis...but in terms of who you'd want etched in stone on a mountain, the Scooter cuts a more dignified image than that naughty Johnny Mac. I mean, there's McEnroe and there's Arthur Ashe...born in Richmond, but revered right here in NYC. Ashe just underscores that Johnny Mac isn't mountain-worthy. The other nominees are legends in their game.

around the block from the Testaverdes.

We don't have many sports legends to claim. He's ours! We put up a damned statue! (that is a really, really terrible statue. Seriously, look at this thing:)



He looks like he's threatening those kids, and they're raising their arms in self-defense.

The Babe
Jackie Robinson
Arthur Ashe/Billie Jean King
Dr. J/Bill Bradley
Jim Thorpe (NY Giants baseball)

So it has to be Kareem really do not see an argument even for anyone else.

A guy from nearby Summit, NJ who was one of the best all-around athletes ever is Willie Wilson.