Who's your Mount Rushmore of Boston Sports?

[Steve102]

This was in the Brady retirement thread, I felt it was worthy of it's own thread. For me, the first three faces are easy: Bill Russell, Tom Brady, Bobby Orr. After that, it gets tricky. Pedro was as dominant as there was, when he pitched it was electric at Fenway. David Ortiz was as clutch of a hitter as there ever was in a Red Sox uniform. They don't win '04, '07 and '13 without him. Ted Williams suffers from recency bias, but he was arguably the best hitter ever, a war hero, and an avid outdoorsman. To me, they rank at the top, and if I really think about it, Papi probably gets the nod, only because of the titles. If there's a fifth face, it's Larry Bird. He and Magic saved the NBA.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Rus
Orr
TB12
Papi

Championships matter.

 

[maust]

It's not in our grumpy New England nature to admit it but as sports fans we really have been blessed. When we put together our Mt Rushmore, think of the all time greats who don't make it. We have to leave some incredible players on the cutting room floor, not many places can kick the level of players Boston can to the curb getting it to 4. I'd put Boston's Sports Mt Rushmore up against anyone's.

Bill Russell, the greatest winner in North American pro team sports. If you saw him play you know he was the man.

Bobby Orr, easily the best defenseman and arguably the best player of all time. He re-defined his sport and remains its gold standard.

Tom F Brady, THE GOAT. No real argument can be made he isn't. Nuff said

Teddy Ballgame, the man who said; “All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street, folks will say, 'There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived'” and actually made it so.

IMO, the 'ring is the thing' argument loses steam in baseball. It is a game of individual accomplishments added together. How a player hits, pitches or fields isn't dependent on his teammates. YMMV

 

[Steve102]

IMO, the 'ring is the thing' argument loses steam in baseball. It is a game of individual accomplishments added together. How a player hits, pitches or fields isn't dependent on his teammates. YMMV

 

[yukon cornelius]

It's not in our grumpy New England nature to admit it but as sports fans we really have been blessed. When we put together our Mt Rushmore, think of the all time greats who don't make it. We have to leave some incredible players on the cutting room floor, not may places can kick the level of players Boston can to the curb.

Bill Russell, the greatest winner in North American pro team sports. If you saw him play you know he was the man.

Bobby Orr, easily the best defenseman and arguably the best player of all time. He re-defined his sport.

Tom F Brady, THE GOAT. No real argument can be made he isn't. Nuff said

Teddy Ballgame, the man who said; “All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street, folks will say, 'There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.'” and actually made it so.

I'd put our Sports Mt Rushmore up against anyone's

i'm with you on this one, i have them in two tiers:

Tier 1
Bill Russel - not only did he just win, but his legacy of combating racism transcends his on the court accomplishments

Ted - gave up 5 seasons in his prime, ended up being one of the greatest fighter pilots of his era (john glenn called him the best), and then just picked up where he left off......greatest hitter of all time

Tier 2
Orr - redefined the position, changed the game......his knees betrayed him, but he ushered in the modern era of hockey

Tom Brady - GOAT QB, just a winner, he is the poster boy for making the most of opportunity and getting it done when it counts



i think the real debate happens with 5, 6,7 & 8

 

[yukon cornelius]

the other debate:

Mt Rushmore of Boston coaches

Red
Bill


and then?

 

[maust]

the other debate:

Mt Rushmore of Boston coaches

Red
Bill


and then?

Realistically it's Red going away

BB

Art Ross

Terry Francona

 

[maust]

 

[foxboroughfraser]

Why is Russell number one? He isn't even the GOAT of his own sport.

 

[Steve102]

Why is Russell number one? He isn't even the GOAT of his own sport.

Oh yes he is.

 

[lancerman]

The only question is if you do Williams or Bird. Aside from that Russell, Orr, and Brady are ones you don't think about.

 

[Steve102]

Realistically it's Red going away

BB

Art Ross

Terry Francona

Obviously we aren't familiar with Ross, he is the winningest B's coach, so there's those numbers. Only one with 2 cups. I'd say Red, Tito, Bill, and I'd leave a big hunk to be determined. You could go with Joe Cronin or **** Williams.

 

[203Pat]

Rus
Orr
TB12
Papi

Championships matter.

I think this right here.

 

[Steve102]

Bill Russell trash talks in 2017:

 

[VectorPrime]

Four Heads: Brady in 2001, Brady in 2007, Brady in 2014, Brady in 2020

 

[Chevy]

Tier 1
Bill Russel - not only did he just win, but his legacy of combating racism transcends his on the court accomplishments

Not only did he combat it - he never lost his positive attitude. The man was a class act.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Obviously we aren't familiar with Ross, he is the winningest B's coach, so there's those numbers. Only one with 2 cups. I'd say Red, Tito, Bill, and I'd leave a big hunk to be determined. You could go with Joe Cronin or **** Williams.

Yea. Tito had more Red Sox success but **** Williams is probably the better manager. Not to mean Tito is a slouch.

 

[maust]

Obviously we aren't familiar with Ross, he is the winningest B's coach, so there's those numbers. Only one with 2 cups. I'd say Red, Tito, Bill, and I'd leave a big hunk to be determined. You could go with Joe Cronin or **** Williams.

Ross was the B's inaugural coach. The team won two Cups with him as a coach and another as a GM. Ross was a HoF'er and innovator. He designed the net the league used for @ 60 years and the puck it still uses.

In thinking of a Mt Rushmore of coaches, I obviously went with one from each sport. Perhaps that wasn't the intent of @yukon cornelius ? I'm gonna need a ruling on this.
TBH, given his impact on the team and sport and number of cups won, Ross was the only B's coach I'd consider.

 

[BTTA]

 

[maust]

Yea. Tito had more Red Sox success but **** Williams is probably the better manager. Not to mean Tito is a slouch.

What happened to 'championships matter'???
**** Williams had one 88+ win season here. He had zip for pressure on him with a hands off front office and owner. He did a good job but IMO gets viewed through those Impossible Dream glasses just a bit too much.

Tito had to ride herd on a friggin' circus.