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Greatest Individual Athlete Tournament: The Championship Match

gearhead | 7/18/07215

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Greatest Individual Athlete Tournament: The Championship Match Photo

This is it. After 103 votes in the Final Four, the GIA is down to two. Either Muhammad Ali or Jim Thorpe will be crowned the greatest athlete ever from an individual sport. It's not a surprise that these are the two finalists. Both Ali and Thorpe have long since reached mythic status.

To refresh your memory on these two's accomplishments (not that many need refreshing), here are the one paragraph bios I wrote for each of them prior to the tournament. Starting with Ali.

Ali needs no introduction. The iconic boxer first hit the scene as Cassius Clay, winning Olympic gold at the 1960 Games in Rome. A few years into his pro career, Clay “shocked the world,” defeating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in 1964. He shortly changed his name to Muhammad Ali and announced his membership in the Nation of Islam. Three years later, Ali would be banned from boxing and stripped of his title for refusing to go to Vietnam. Upon being allowed to return to the ring, Ali would lose to Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century, but rebounded to beat Frazier twice more, including the Thrilla in Manila. In between, he regained the heavyweight championship by defeating George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. Ali would lose and regain the title once more before retiring. Despite a body ravaged from Parkinson’s disease, Ali remains one of the most beloved and respected athletes in the world, to say the least.

And Thorpe:

Jim Thorpe made his mark in team sports, but what he did by himself was pretty amazing as well. Thorpe was born in what is now Oklahoma, but after running away from home multiple times, was sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. At Carlisle, Thorpe became famous as a football player. However, he was also the school’s best track athlete, at times being the sole member of the team at meets. Thorpe competed in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics, winning eight of fifteen individual events and winning both golds easily. Legend has it that the King of Sweden said “You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world,” to Thorpe went presenting him with medals. Of course, those medals would be stripped a year later when it was found out Thorpe had played baseball for money a few years ago (the medals were restored in 1983). Now a professional, Thorpe would play pro football and baseball for many years, but unfortunately died penniless in 1953. Still, Thorpe has his place among the greatest athletes ever.

Voting for the championship will close at 4:00 next Wednesday. In between, it's time to decide the winner of the tournament, and decide who FanIQ is the greatest individual sport athlete.

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Greatest Individual Athlete Tournament: Championship

Read the Article: Greatest Individual Athlete Tournament: The Championship Match

GIA Introduction

This is it. The championship match. Who is the greatest individual sport athlete, Muhammad Ali or Jim Thorpe? You decide.

Featured by:

CriticalFanatic at 7/18/07 9:58PM
| Closed on 07/25/07 at 04:00PM
FanIQ Pts? No | Sports | Multiple Choice Opinion Poll

277 Fans
41%	a. Ali
59%	b. Thorpe

	&nbp;
TOP COMMENT
#21 \| 502 days ago Pat (+)	CMAC wrote: I think fighting is a good determination of who the better athlete was (pound for pound of course). It takes a little bit of speed, athleticism, strength, AND talent. So that is how I came to the conclusion that Ali was the better athlete. +6 Hmmm...a couple things... You said "pound for pound". Their weight isn't even close, and no one ever really saw Thorpe fight, nor did he train anywhere near as much or as hard as Ali, if at all. And it would actually be detrimental to Thorpe's athletic goals if he were to train to fight at anywhere NEAR the level of Ali. Ali can do the following things better than Thorpe: Box Thorpe can do the following things better than Ali: Run (any distance) Throw a football Throw a baseball Catch a football Catch a baseball Hit a baseball Kick a football Play basketball Broad Jump High Jump Pole Vault Shot Put Throw a javelin Throw a discus I think it's quite clear that while Ali was certainly the better fighter, Thorpe was unquestionably a greater athlete. Thorpe
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215 Comments \| Sorted by Most Recent First \| Red = You Disagreed
Vote for your favorite comments. Fans decide the Top Comment (3+ votes) and also hide poor quality comments (4+ votes).
#1 \| 504 days ago WhoDey (+)	+2 C'mon people... Thorpe was amazing, not that Ali wasn't, but all I have to say is "wow." Thorpe
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#2 \| 503 days ago Pat (+)	+5 Ali was a boxer. No more, no less. A boxer. A great boxer, but still only a boxer. Jim Thorpe was a LOT more than that. Thorpe
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#3 \| 503 days ago desertrat (+)	Pat wrote: Ali was a boxer. No more, no less. A boxer. A great boxer, but still only a boxer. Jim Thorpe was a LOT more than that. +2 Agree 100% with Pat and WhoDey on this one. Thorpe was great at everything and I'm sure he could kick some ass too. Thorpe
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#4 \| 503 days ago TardyTurtle (+)	+1 its gotta be Thorpe......what didn't he do? Thorpe
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#5 \| 503 days ago Rockchawk13 (+)	+4 I imagine Thorpe could have been a great boxer also if he wasn't so busy with silly things like the Olympics, Baseball and Football. Thorpe
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#6 \| 503 days ago chris14madren (+)	+1 Let's see who would win in a fight. Ali
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#7 \| 503 days ago Pat (+)	chris14madren wrote: Let's see who would win in a fight. +3 Yeah...because that's all that matters, right? I bet that means Ali was smarter, too, right? I mean...since fighting proves superiority and everything... Thorpe
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#8 \| 503 days ago RenegadeLG (+)	(Edited by RenegadeLG) Pat wrote: Yeah...because that's all that matters, right? I bet that means Ali was smarter, too, right? I mean...since fighting proves superiority and everything... I realize you're a psuedo-Bostonian, but surely you understand there's more to determining somebody's intelligence than their race. Ali was and still is an extremely intelligent and poignant individual. It's a shame his chosen calling is the reason he can't express himself like he used to. Thorpe
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#9 \| 503 days ago Pat (+)	RenegadeLG wrote: I realize you're a psuedo-Bostonian, but surely you understand there's more to determining somebody's intelligence than their race. Ali was and still is an extremely intelligent and poignant individual. It's a shame his chosen calling is the reason he can't express himself like he used to. +4 Whattttttt? How did you manage to bring race into this? I was merely pointing out the foolishness of the guy's comment, because his apparent justification for voting for Ali was "Let's see who would win in a fight." Since (in my opinion) "who would win in a fight" is hardly the determining factor in deciding who was the better individual athlete, especially between a boxer and a track/baseball/football star. And since apparently winning a fight would automatically make Ali the better athlete in that persons mind, I was just wondering if intelligence, and other qualities could also be determined by who would win a fight between the two. I mean...if the winner of the fight is the greater athlete by default, then he must be better in pretty much every aspect, right? Because after all...violence IS the answer. My basic point was that his statement was ridiculous and ignorant. And it's exactly why, when I was giving reasons for Chuck Liddell being more "Now" than Earnhardt Jr, I NEVER once mentioned that Liddell could beat Jr in a fight. It was obviously true, but it's completely irrelevant. Chuck and Ali are fighters, Jr is a driver and Thorpe played various sports. I still have no idea where you pulled the race card from... Thorpe
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#10 \| 503 days ago desertrat (+)	RenegadeLG wrote: I realize you're a psuedo-Bostonian, but surely you understand there's more to determining somebody's intelligence than their race. Ali was and still is an extremely intelligent and poignant individual. It's a shame his chosen calling is the reason he can't express himself like he used to. +1 I wonder if you've heard that Ali's IQ was less than 60, far below average which is between 85-115. I have no idea why you brought race into this, but as far as intelligence goes, he wasn't all that bright. Thorpe
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#11 \| 503 days ago RenegadeLG (+)	desertrat wrote: I wonder if you've heard that Ali's IQ was less than 60, far below average which is between 85-115. I have no idea why you brought race into this, but as far as intelligence goes, he wasn't all that bright. Was that an approximation or was he actually tested? He wasn't educated, and thus wouldn't fair very well IQ wise. However, like I said, he was very poignant and profound and intelligent by a different standard. I'd take quotability over book smarts when it comes to athletes. He wasn't a college professor, after all. Thorpe
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#12 \| 503 days ago Pat (+)	RenegadeLG wrote: Was that an approximation or was he actually tested? He wasn't educated, and thus wouldn't fair very well IQ wise. However, like I said, he was very poignant and profound and intelligent by a different standard. I'd take quotability over book smarts when it comes to athletes. He wasn't a college professor, after all. We're still wondering why you brought race into this... Thorpe
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