Mount Rushmore in Sports

To steal Meowgi's idea

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Jim Thorpe
Muhammed Ali

all bigger then the games they played - Ali and Ruth were no brainers

I debated Jordan/Chamberlain

 

I forgot about Tiger - but Thorpe is a compelling story

Ruth
Ali
Tiger
Jordan

Jim Thorpe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk) from Oklahoma: Wa-Tho-Huk) (May 28, 1888 – March 28, 1953[1]) was an American athlete. Considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, played American football collegiately and professionally, and also played professional baseball and basketball. He subsequently lost his Olympic titles when it was found he had played two seasons of minor league baseball before competing in the games (thus violating the amateur status rules). In 1978, Thorpe was given his own national holiday, which is still celebrated on May 28.

Thorpe was of mixed Native American and white ancestry. He was raised as a Sac and Fox, and named Wa-Tho-Huk, roughly translated as "Bright Path". He struggled with racism throughout much of his life and his accomplishments were publicized with headlines describing him as a "Redskin" and "Indian athlete". He also played on several All-American Indian teams throughout his career and barnstormed as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of Native Americans.

Thorpe was named the greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century by the Associated Press (AP) in 1950, and ranked third on the AP list of athletes of the century in 1999. After his professional sports career ended, Thorpe lived in abject poverty. He worked several odd jobs, struggled with alcoholism, and lived out the last years of his life in failing health. In 1983, thirty years after his death, his medals were restored.