Favorite New York athlete of all time and why

made me a Giants' fan. LT, Carl Banks, and Mark Bavaro.

The drama of 2007, the greatness of 2011, the toughness, the class - I know he drives us all crazy at times but I love the guy.

Honorable mention: O'Neill, Mattingly, Jeter, Mo, Bernie and Ewing.

Football - LT
Hockey - Bossy and LaFontaine tie.

Heroic player. Mo, YA, Derek, Messier, Brad Park, Willis, Clyde all in there.

Thats why...

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Strahan prior to him. Beckham Jr looks like he's next.

the Knicks and Rangers since the early '60s. Very hard to pick one. But if I had to, I think it would be Mariano Rivera, for the person as well as his greatness and consistency pitching.

LT, YAT.
Eli- I thought he'd be a great NYFG QB when he was a sophomore at Ole Miss;
LT-the man was a 1 man D;
YA-all the old guy did was throw TDs and win games, and that was with a D and OL that was near or at the end of their careers and running on reputation as much as on fumes.

Because he had a transformative impact on the game, the team and the region. Before my lifetime, Babe Ruth. I always liked reading about him when I was a kid and his records and lifetime numbers were a measuring stick for so long.

its going to be Yankees. and I know Jeter has seen his day in the sun for the past year, but damnit Jeter was my guy for years. love Jeter... and so did everyone else.

LT - greatest defensive player ever. Great athlete, relentless will win and dominate. Played at a high through great pain and delivered some of his most memorable great games while playing with injuries.

relentless will to win and dominate

Frank Gifford, Jackie Robinson, LT, Clyde, Seahorn, Homer Jones, Duke Snyder Willis Reed, Strahan, Eli

Football LT
Baseball Jeter
Hockey Bossy
Basketball Bernard King

Eli
Jeter
In that order

Eli Manning.

not just for his talent and achievements, but he was the epitome of serenity in the eye of the storm. And he was all class - by all accounts, at all times, not just when the cameras were on him

Others:

LT, Eli, Bavaro, Simms, Tiki, Jeter, O'Neill, Mattingly, Leetch, Messier, Graves, Lundquist, Ewing

Followed closely by Messier and Mo.

#7.....use to hit rocks from both sides in my backyard as a kid....

Seaver ,Daryl Strawberry and Phil Simms

Me too.

is the champion of champions. And I'm not a Yankees fan. The man exudes class and humility.

I've had many favorites - Bernie Williams, Donnie Baseball, Adam Graves, Phil Simms, LT, Mark Bavaro, Jessie Armstead, Ahmad Bradshaw, Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason.....but Mo stands above them all. He was the best at what he did by such a wide margin, and he did it with total class and humility.

But hard to say just one at 50 yrs old, about 45 years of memories. LT, Simms, Jeter, Munson, Seaver, Walt Frazier.

Simply the greatest.

No doubt about it, LT was my favorite as a kid. But the hookers and coke thing a while back was pretty unseemly even if it wasn't rape. Greatest football player ever - no doubt in my mind - but he's got some serious character issues.

Playing hockey growing up in CT I really loved Brian Leetch. Messier was a great Ranger but Leetch came up as a Ranager and he was every bit as important to the Cup as Mess.

Bernie is my favorite Yankee of all time. Seems like a good guy off the field.

Eli is such a great Giant. He's clutch as any athlete I've ever seen; pressure makes him better. He's won two incredible Super Bowls. He'll set every Giants passing record by the time he retires. He's a super high character guy - team guy all the way. Seems like a good family guy too. That NFC Championship game in San Fran - holly cow did Eli take a beating. Tough as nails. Eli is definitely my all time favorite NY athlete. Kills me when guys here give Eli shit b/c I don't think we'll see another QB as great as Eli for a very long time.

Not close.

Other Sports

Giants: Seubert
Yanks: Gehrig
Knicks: Starks

Game 6 of the 1994 semifinals against the Devils. Messier guarantees a win and backs it up with a hat trick.

#2 Armstead
#3 Messier/Tuck
#4 Bavaro

Eddie
Eddie

Gary Carter: Great player for that magical period for the Mets in the mid-to late 80's.

Now, Eli: no need to explain why.

Honorable mention: Bavaro.

He was my hero when I was young enough to believe in sports heroes.

LT
Mickey Mantle
Willis Reed
Hon Mention
Mariano, Simms, Frazier

Those two were my favorites through my early years and those memories of that time in my life remain my favorite. Sports were a little more special for me at that age

LT

Most admired:
Jim Bouton

Honorable Mention:
Frazier
Willis Reed
Ron Guidry
Chris Chambliss
Craig Nettles

I still cannot fathom how he could pay as little attention to taking care of his body as he did and still thoroughly dominate, both as an excellent pitcher and as the best power hitter of all time, measured by the difference between him and the next best in his era.

#2 LT, who changed Football more than anyone else I can think of single handedly changed a major sport.

My own private #3, Jimmy Jacobs, the greatest handball player ever, who was also an Acadamy Award winning boxing film director and co-manager of Mike Tyson back when he was still in his best period.

...he was both the most talented and the toughest player in the league. It wasn't fair to everyone who had to line up against him....and he was ours.

...
There are others which I did not list because I did not witness them playing.
Difficult questions, and no I did not follow the instructions as to why they were my favs...

In football Lt although he is such a putz. I'd throw in Rodney Hampton, Eli as well.

I used to love Walter Berry at St John's

Both are quiet, classy and tough as nails.

The only non NY athlete whom I would quit playing ball to watch on tv. The first player I ever witnessed transcending the game.

Followed closely by Strahan and Keith "The Hammer" Hamilton.

Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Keith Hernandez.

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1. Tom Seaver
2. Mark Bavaro
3. Mark Messier
4. LT
5. Mike Piazza

Paul O'Neill was my favorite player during the Dynasty years and then early/mid 00s I began to appreciate Mo's historic dominance and he became my favorite player on the Yanks.

But as year after year went by, the more I realized that Derek Jeter was simply the man. The best player on a Dynasty (Bernie/Mo/Jeter are tough to choose between, but he's my choice), the leader of the team since he was 21, a guy who handled the NY media and spotlight to perfection, a guy who was a perfect face to not only the team but the entire sport.

3600 career hits, 5 rings, countless legendary moments. Sucks that he's no longer going to be a Yankee.

Eli is right there. One more ring and he's 1st place easy.

Harry Carson

Class personified.

out of past Giants, I was a huge huge fan of Rodney Hampton. Other sports, I'd throw in Mike Tyson, Paul O'Neil, and Darryl Strawberry.

Eli and John Tavares to me are my current.

All time? Potvin, Bavaro and randomly Robin Ventura.

issues have been a huge disappointment to me.

Standouts for me are: John McEnroe, Chris Mullin, Mike Bossy, Bernard King, Bernie Williams, Bavaro, Mark Collins...

Don Mattingly...

my game after Andy. Being from Brooklyn I liked the old Dodgers

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Manning.

He has given me my greatest sports memories. Hes done it with class and style in the face of adversity. I laugh when people try to diminish his efforts in both superbowls runs...i realize that some people are just born haters. if you dont like Eli you really are just hating... Hes not a fantasy QB hes a real football quarterback.

Gehrig. Born a New Yorker. Lived a New Yorker. Made a huge contribution to the humane reform of the New York prison system in the two years between leaving the Yankees and dying a New Yorker.

Mo. Yogi.

Messier.

.

Eli

Eli
Messier
Willis Reed

I would say it's close between Eli Manning and Jason Sehorn.

Hands down. Eli Manning a close second

Baseball - Mookie Wilson
Football - Fran Tarkenton
Hockey - Ed Giacomin
Basketball - Julius Erving (the ABA NY Nets)

it would have to be #2. He was NY from the first day he set foot in Yankee Stadium and it a pleasure to have him representing my team for all those years. No one athlete in my lifetime epitomized the greatness of the franchise like Jeter. He is the DiMaggio of his day.
I loved LT, I loved Patrick, and I am a huge Islander fan but NY is a baseball town and Jeter is the king. Eli will always get respect but in a different sort of way. Jeter grew-up before our eyes on the biggest stage in the world and matured into everything we needed him to be. His absence will leave a gulf that might not be filled in my lifetime. (I can still hear Bob Shepard)

Mark Bavaro, Dave DeBusschere, Thurman Munson.

In comment 12112296 Scott in Montreal said:

Quote:

Harry Carson Class personified.

Couldn't agree more. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with him at a professional convention and thought of him as "most admired" but couldn't see him as best athlete.

should give consideration to Kareem (previously Lou) of Power Memorial.

The only way I could do it is if I picked my favorite from each sport then narrow it from there.

Baseball - I go back a ways. It would have to be Roger Maris. I idolized him when he was a Yankee and cried when they traded him.

Football - no ifs ands or buts, LT. What more can you say about what he meant to the Giants.

Basketball - Patrick Ewing. Hated him as a Hoya. Loved him as a Knick.,

Hockey - Steady Eddie Giacomin. He was the standard bearer for all other goalies who followed him as a Ranger.

And the winner is, LT. His impact was like no others in any of the four major New York sports.

.

He was so much fun to watch as a Knick along with Clyde.

Never been a Yankee fan, but Reggie Jackson was electrifying and Thurman Munson was tough as hell.

For football I'll go with Eli, LT and -- for his football accomplishments only, not his big mouth -- Tiki.

and quit all the equivocating you punks.

of LT

Grew up watching him, though I loved Simms too. As bad as this list is for me to write Eli at #3, I will be honest, he is a hair away from #1 for me.. I love 10ball

1. LT
2. Donnie Baseball
3. Eli
4. Jetes
5. Mo
6. Ewing

it starts and ends with the Yankee Trio of Mariano, Jeter and Posada. 3 guys I can use to show my son that there are good guys in sports and show him how you can still be loyal to a team.

Eli is up there as is Ewing and Bernard King. King might seem strange, but he's the first Knick I really wanted to watch and Ewing was the last.

I do have a soft spot for King Henrik, too.

this creates another question.....who was more valuable, Derek or Mo?

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having Jeter and Mo there at the same time. I think they were equally as valuable. Jeter was the cornerstone on the field and locker room while Mo was the finisher.

cared any less about who had class.

Baseball: Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry and then Arod
Football: LT
Hockey: Chris Chelios
Basketball: Larry Bird

Now that I'm no longer a child, I don't deify athletes, and couldn't pick a favorite if you paid me in any sport. I root for laundry exclusively - in all sports.

In comment 12112519 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

cared any less about who had class. Baseball: Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry and then Arod Football: LT Hockey: Chris Chelios Basketball: Larry Bird Now that I'm no longer a child, I don't deify athletes, and couldn't pick a favorite if you paid me in any sport. I root for laundry exclusively - in all sports.

whoops, Chelios and Bird are not NY athletes, obviously, but I don't root for NY teams in those sports.

In comment 12112447 Jay in Toronto said:

Quote:

should give consideration to Kareem (previously Lou) of Power Memorial.

r

I lived two blocks away from Power Memorial and often had to take the Amsterdam bus uptown for auditions held in the 72nd Street rehearsal hall. He saw me a number of times and, of course, how could you miss him. We got to talking and we asked one another about what was happening, etc. He liked school, he was smart and articulate for a kid that age. He loved hearing about auditions and the shows I had been in.

I was all baseball and football when I grew up but back then I think baseball was much bigger than football at least from my young and ignorant perspective.

Whenever we visited the grand parents my grandpa was always glued to a tiny B/W TV watching the Yankees. They didn't have Color TV back then.

Of all the players who have put on a NY uniforms (in the 60's to day) these guys just represented their respective franchise so well both on and off the grand stage. Clyde played the game to win and allowed the guys on the floor to excel even while remaining somewhat in the background. What can you say about the Sandman his list of outstanding performances could fill any street in NY.

I saw DR. J and LT live but the DR left town not his fault and as great as LT was his post career and secret career are not anything to bring pride to a franchise.

Harry Carson is also someone I would go to war with or for proudly any day or night. He was the silent killer while LT made all the splash hits but Carson was the Captain. Just for those who may not know this Bill Belichick calls him the best all around LB he ever coached.

There's something to that. Part of what hit me so hard was that Mo was the last of what I would consider my childhood heroes. I wasn't quite a child at the start of his career, but I wasn't quite a man yet either. I was 19 during the 1996 season when Mo's career took off. Looking at the list I made, Ahmad Bradshaw is the only player whose career started after my teen years. I doubt I'll ever get so attached to individual players like that again.

The guy was from another planet. The way he could run down runners from the back end was other worldly.

.

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In comment 12112737 Greg from LI said:

Quote:

There's something to that. Part of what hit me so hard was that Mo was the last of what I would consider my childhood heroes. I wasn't quite a child at the start of his career, but I wasn't quite a man yet either. I was 19 during the 1996 season when Mo's career took off. Looking at the list I made, Ahmad Bradshaw is the only player whose career started after my teen years. I doubt I'll ever get so attached to individual players like that again.

Agree completely. for me growing up it was all about the sports cards, jerseys, etc. and for me it was pre internet which made it more difficult or fun to try and collect stuff from your favorite players.

As you grow older, maybe it's a little cynical but you learn the majority of these guys don't care even a little bit about you, they care about money, themselves, their stats, maybe their teammates and winning, but not always.

So, I still have Giants and Mets gear, but I never get anything with a number on it and I really don't care even a little what these guys do off the field.

Jason Kidd - his years as point guard on Nets were unreal
Ahmad Bradshaw - for his toughness
Phil Simms - great memories
Don Mattingly - unstoppable

First, nobody played first base like Hernandez, then or since. He did things in the field that are still mind-blowing when I think of them. If you didn't see Hernandez play first in the mid-1980s, it's hard to even understand how unique he was. He wasn't doing what other people were doing, but better; he was playing an entirely different position.

They say Picasso, great as he was, didn't really have successors. The great painters who followed him didn't go down the trail he blazed. So it is with Hernandez as a first baseman. Nobody does what he did. He was unique. Which is a shame, I think.

Before Gary Carter joined the team, Hernandez even resumed the ancient tradition of the first baseman kind of handling the pitchers. That was somethin'.

Second, Hernandez was kind of a troubled guy -- some of that became public later -- and he brought more of himself onto the field than any other ballplayer I can remember. If you watched him, day after day, you could really see his personality, including some of the cracks. It was like a reality show shot at a distance.

In comment 12112447 Jay in Toronto said:

Quote:

should give consideration to Kareem (previously Lou) of Power Memorial.

Played versus Power when in La Salle... Walking into the gym his shirt was hung over the gym door, what an inspiration. Beat the crap out of Power also, LOL...
Back in 1970...

In comment 12112526 Montreal Man said:

Quote:

In comment 12112447 Jay in Toronto said: Quote: should give consideration to Kareem (previously Lou) of Power Memorial. r I lived two blocks away from Power Memorial and often had to take the Amsterdam bus uptown for auditions held in the 72nd Street rehearsal hall. He saw me a number of times and, of course, how could you miss him. We got to talking and we asked one another about what was happening, etc. He liked school, he was smart and articulate for a kid that age. He loved hearing about auditions and the shows I had been in.

Grew up on 67st and Amsterdam... You?

Baseball-- Mantle, Yogi, Munson, Jackson, Mattingly, Jeter, Rivera

Football-- Gifford, Shofner, Tittle, LT, Bavaro, Simms, Eli, and, soon to be, OBJ

Basketball-- Each Knick on early '70's team, Ewing

Hockey-- Gilbert,

that given Ewing was a great talent he didn't make the team as good as it should have been. I don't remember him ever making an outlet pass (probably did when I wasn't looking) and too many times saw him miss at the buzzer with three defenders on him rather than pass to a teammate. Maybe I expected too much, but I was always frustrated watching his play.

In comment 12112928 81_Great_Dane said:

Quote:

First, nobody played first base like Hernandez, then or since. He did things in the field that are still mind-blowing when I think of them. If you didn't see Hernandez play first in the mid-1980s, it's hard to even understand how unique he was. He wasn't doing what other people were doing, but better; he was playing an entirely different position. They say Picasso, great as he was, didn't really have successors. The great painters who followed him didn't go down the trail he blazed. So it is with Hernandez as a first baseman. Nobody does what he did. He was unique. Which is a shame, I think. Before Gary Carter joined the team, Hernandez even resumed the ancient tradition of the first baseman kind of handling the pitchers. That was somethin'. Second, Hernandez was kind of a troubled guy -- some of that became public later -- and he brought more of himself onto the field than any other ballplayer I can remember. If you watched him, day after day, you could really see his personality, including some of the cracks. It was like a reality show shot at a distance.

Good call.

Keith could really hit.

We did have to give up Dougie Sisk to get him (sarcasm on).

watching him as a kid was a real hoot.

During my years as an Islander season ticket holder I loved watching Bossy. And Bobby Nystrom-great brawler and great clutch goal scorer. And for his too brief career, Tucker Fredrickson- I think he was rated the top prospect at 6 positions when the Giants drafted him.