OT: Boston GREATS top 10

[State]

1. Orr
2. Russell

Or switch ‘em. Nuff said.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Everyone on that list won at least one championship in Boston except Williams and Bourque. Bourque should be 10, Williams 9.

The thread is Boston Greats, not Most Championships. If it were the latter, there's 6-8 Celtics we can put at the top of the list. Ted Williams is in the top tier of any Greatest list.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Arguably the greatest hitter doesn’t put him ahead of un-arguably the greatest QB

That's debatable. Is Babe Ruth ahead of TB? It's tough to compare different sports so I prefer to put them in tiers, and both TB and TW are both in a very short Tier-1 list.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

1. Orr
2. Russell

Or switch ‘em. Nuff said.

Williams and Brady are right alongside those 2.

 

[Boomer B]

1. Brady
2. Russell
3. Orr
4. Williams
5. Bird
6. Ortiz
7. Bourque
8. Gronk
9. Pedro
10. Havlicek

 

[State]

1. Russell
2. Orr
3. Brady
4. Williams
5. Bird
6. Ortiz
7. Havlicek
8. Gronk
9. Bourque
10. Hannah/McHale

It breaks my heart not to have the Splendid Splinter in the top three.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Ted Williams is arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history. He spent 5 years of his prime as a fighter pilot in war when he was averaging 35-40 HR's a year. He definitely would have hit > 700 HR's, is the last guy to hit over .400 for a season, and had a .344 career batting average.

Brady is the statistical leader in every quarterbacking category / stat.

 

[jmt57]

McDavid?

McDavid isn’t top 5 yet

Tier 1

Gretzky
Orr
Lemieux
Howe

Tier 2

Jagr
Crosby
Richard
Messier
McDavid
Yzerman
Lafleur
Bourque
Lidstrom
Sakic

Excellent list, though I might add Bobby Hull somewhere. There was a time when he and Howe were considered to be the best hockey players ever. Led the league in goals scored seven times.

Does Phil Esposito perhaps make it to the end of Tier 2? His scoring dropped off when he was traded to the Rangers, but before that he was unstoppable, leading the NHL in goals scored six consecutive times. Scored 126 points in a season when nobody else had ever hit triple figures.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Williams would have caught the GOAT of his sport.

Brady is the undisputed GOAT of his sport.

How can you argue Williams over Brady?

because he put off his career, on two separate occasions to fight for his country = GOAT

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Ted Williams is arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history. He spent 5 years of his prime as a fighter pilot in war when he was averaging 35-40 HR's a year. He definitely would have hit > 700 HR's, is the last guy to hit over .400 for a season, and had a .344 career batting average.

Yes, you can optimistically Ted Williams’s numbers and fill in those years. Brady still belongs ahead of him.

 

[Boomer B]

because he put off his career, on two separate occasions to fight for his country = GOAT

You can’t argue what he would have done. Williams is an all-timer and #4 on my list, but no one considers him the best MLB player ever. Titles matter as well.

 

[Boomer B]

Excellent list, though I might add Bobby Hull somewhere. There was a time when he and Howe were considered to be the best hockey players ever. Led the league in goals scored seven times.

Does Phil Esposito perhaps make it to the end of Tier 2? His scoring dropped off when he was traded to the Rangers, but before that he was unstoppable, leading the NHL in goals scored six consecutive times. Scored 126 points in a season when nobody else had ever hit triple figures.

Ya, there’s others in tier 2 like Hull and Espo. Didn’t even touch the goalies yet.

 

[NE_Zealot]

Yaz was a better player than Papi, change my mind

 

[TommyD4207]

Yaz was a better player than Papi, change my mind

 

[bormio]

Why is Cousy ahead of Hondo?

For those who remember, Havlicek rivaled Bird's greatness.

Too many people now never saw him play. Cousy had more of a post career presence in Boston. Hondo is one of the all time greats

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

1. Scott Secules
2. Alla Abdelnaby
3. Ras - i Dowling
4. Jody Reed
5. Greg Kite
6. Big Baby Davis
7. Tom Brady
8. Len Bias
9. Michael Bishop
10. Donald Hayes

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

Top tier: Williams, Russell, Brady, who are top 6 across all cities/all sports/all time (only Ruth-Jordan-Gretzky compare)
2nd tier: Bird, Orr, Pedro, which as I write this sounds ridiculous to call any of them 2nd tier
3rd tier: Hondo, Papi, Gronk, Hannah, Yaz, McHale
note: within a tier, no particular order

Bobby Orr isn't on no second tier. Total disrespect in a sport that is played way different that today. Orr is no lower than 2.

 

[Bobby T]

I think Yaz better overall player but Ortiz through sheer clutchness changed the culture of the Red Sox. A Sox fan under the age of 35 has a vastly different perception of that team than someone my age. Mostly thanks to Ortiz. I have no problem with him here. As much as I love Pedro I think I would swap him out for 8. Also no love for Hannah or Espisito? We have a great list as a city though I wonder what some others would look like…. Especially if LA and NY had to ride with only 4 teams.

 

[bormio]

I think Yaz better overall player but Ortiz through sheer clutchness changed the culture of the Red Sox. A Sox fan under the age of 35 has a vastly different perception of that team than someone my age. Mostly thanks to Ortiz. I have no problem with him here. As much as I love Pedro I think I would swap him out for 8. Also no love for Hannah or Espisito? We have a great list as a city though I wonder what some others would look like…. Especially if LA and NY had to ride with only 4 teams.

Boston’s list is insane. New York has Ruth and Taylor - but hockey or basketball? LA has Koufax and Kobe/Jabbar/Johnson (do James and Gretzky count?). But football? Boston weakest entry is baseball - with the greatest hitter of all time.

 

[TommyD4207]

I think Yaz better overall player but Ortiz through sheer clutchness changed the culture of the Red Sox. A Sox fan under the age of 35 has a vastly different perception of that team than someone my age. Mostly thanks to Ortiz. I have no problem with him here. As much as I love Pedro I think I would swap him out for 8. Also no love for Hannah or Espisito? We have a great list as a city though I wonder what some others would look like…. Especially if LA and NY had to ride with only 4 teams.

I'm not under 35.

Ortiz is not just a better player than Yastremski, he's a dramatically better player, it's really not even close. Yaz got into the hall on longevity. And Pedro Martinez is the best pitcher to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, and that's not really even close either. Clemens was really good at times, but Pedro was dominant against juiced players.