Most Popular Boston Athletes Ever

[Pats1989]

With the SB hoopla in full gear, I wanted to change things up a bit. We know who some of Boston's greatest athletes ( Orr, TB, Russell, Bird, Ted Williams) are historically. Who would you say the top five most popular ( Not necessarily best) athletes are?

My list:
1. Brady:
2. Bird:
3. Russell
4. Orr
5. Papi.

 

[Nunchucks]

What Russell did was amazing. He is absolutely number 1. He doesn't get the hype because he did it before many of us were old enough to remember. Russell should be number 1

 

[borisman]

Brady is the best QB of all-time (and probably only behind Jim Brown as best football player ever). Russell is close second for me.

1. Brady (TB12!!)
2. Russell (how many rings?!)
3. Bird (if not for injuries that further diminished his athleticism, he'd be tied for #2)
4. Orr (just wow on skates!)
5. Williams (ahead of Papi) He was GOD for what seems like forever.

Others in the running: Papi, Pedro and Flutie (a Boston athlete at BC)

 

[stevedogc]

going by popularity, Id have to put Orr higher. Id say he and Brady are 1a and 1b. hard to compare the popularity of a current player and one who's hayday was 40+ years ago. Orr was just before my time, but I grew up playing hockey and it was amazing to hear people talk about Orr the way they did.

 

[bormio]

Most popular is not the best. Russell was not most popular - especially at the time. Bird was up there, but I always thought was a little too distant to be really beloved. I can't decide between Orr and Brady - everyone wanted their kid to be those 2 guys.

 

[bormio]

going by popularity, Id have to put Orr higher. Id say he and Brady are 1a and 1b. hard to compare the popularity of a current player and one who's hayday was 40+ years ago. Orr was just before my time, but I grew up playing hockey and it was amazing to hear people talk about Orr the way they did.

Bobby Orr was absolutely adored.

 

[Bruins29]

Skating Rinks were built all over Greater Boston because of Orr. He not only changed the game but changed the landscape. Obviously with the world it is today guys like TB and Papi are going to have move proof of their popularity because of social media the internet etc. There was just a newspaper back in the day off all the other guys on the list.

I would have to go Orr over TB as far as popularity given the circumstances of the eras they played in.

One thing I will say, as far as the Mt Rushmore of Boston Sports legends I think if TB gets #5 he vaults over Orr into 2nd place. May be there already...

 

[Bruins29]

Brady is the best QB of all-time (and probably only behind Jim Brown as best football player ever). Russell is close second for me.

1. Brady (TB12!!)
2. Russell (how many rings?!)
3. Bird (if not for injuries that further diminished his athleticism, he'd be tied for #2)
4. Orr (just wow on skates!)
5. Williams (ahead of Papi) He was GOD for what seems like forever.

Others in the running: Papi, Pedro and Flutie (a Boston athlete at BC)

What does best have to do with it? If this is a popularity list it fails. It fails as a best list too.

 

[IllegalContact]

Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think it depends on your age. As someone in their mid-40s, the most popular athletes in my lifetime are.....

-Brady
-LB (Bird, not Lyndon Byers)
-Orr
-Pedro
-Papi
-Gronk
-Yaz
-Neely
-Raymond Jean
-Clemens
-Bruschi

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe

Most unpopular.

 

[1960Pats]

Orr vs TB is a tossup for most popular. Both are as popular away from the game as they are as players.

Bill Russell is the greatest player of all time in all sports and not just in Boston.

 

[1960Pats]

The 2nd draft of the most popular Boston athletes to me:

1a - Brady gets the top because of years service.
1b - Orr.
3 - Bird
4 - Gronk, and he's rising fast.
5 - Troy Brown, my favorite Pats playah evah but not as popular as Gronk.
6 - Tedy Bruschi.
7 - Ray Bourque.
8 - Pedro, the best pitcher in MLB history.
9 - Johnny 'Pie' McKenzie.
10a - Flutie.
10b - Mike Eruzione.

 

[jimnance]

If you're going by who were the most popular"during their era", I've been told Rocky Marciano was easily #1 in New England, ahead of Ted and the very young Russell in the 50s. So he would have to be at least top 7. I was a liitle kid in the 50s so, I don't remember. In my lifetime TB is easily #1, Larry #2. Papi #3, Orr#4. #5 is a close call with Russell, Yaz, Hondo. I love Tedy but he's not in the top 10.

 

[BobDigital]

Tough question. TB12 is the most popular athlete i have personally seen (I watched Bird but was not old enough to really get how popular he was.

The New England area has so many GOATs

I will so though Russel is a great player I hesitate to call him the GOAT like i do with Brady/Orr. It was such a different league and he dominated over such comparatively weak competition in his day.

I am not trying to take away from anything he did cause it was amazing but I wonder if he was put in the 70s or 80s if he could have achieved close to half as much.

 

[1960Pats]

If you're going by who were the most popular"during their era", I've been told Rocky Marciano was easily #1 in New England, ahead of Ted and the very young Russell in the 50s. So he would have to be at least top 7. I was a liitle kid in the 50s so, I don't remember. In my lifetime TB is easily #1, Larry #2. Papi #3, Orr#4. #5 is a close call with Russell, Yaz, Hondo. I love Tedy but he's not in the top 10.

Darn! How could I forget Hondo. I have to go back and edit my edited list, which is more of a list of those more popular to me.

I'm older than you (amazing eh?) and I was lucky enough to be able to get a ride from my dad to Everett and a train that for 25 cents would take me to the Gahden. Then for 1 dollar I could get in and slide down into an empty seat (plenty of them back then) and watch Bill Russell and the Celts play. Boston was more of a hockey town back then if I remember correctly.

Rocky was my dad's favorite boxer but mine was 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler. I couldn't stand Muhamed Ali (then Cassius Clay) because he was the original trash talker. I didn't like that crap then and I didn't like it when Bird did it either. I still don't care for it but it's so prevalent it can't be avoided.

I would definitely include Tedy. There weren't many Pats that were more popular than he was. My 3 would be Brady, Gronk and Troy Brown.

 

[1960Pats]

Tough question. TB12 is the most popular athlete i have personally seen (I watched Bird but was not old enough to really get how popular he was.

The New England area has so many GOATs

I will so though Russel is a great player I hesitate to call him the GOAT like i do with Brady/Orr. It was such a different league and he dominated over such comparatively weak competition in his day.

I am not trying to take away from anything he did cause it was amazing but I wonder if he was put in the 70s or 80s if he could have achieved close to half as much.

Yours is the common misconception of people who aren't old enough to have seen Russell play. There were less teams and the talent was far less watered down than it is now. In his last season as a player/coach in 1968-69, the Celts won game 7 vs LA with Wilt, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. There were only 14 teams in the NBA at that time.

If you look at the success of the Pats prior to Russell's arrival and immediately after he left you can see exactly how much of a difference he made. The same was true with any team he was on, from college to the Olympics and finally at the pro level for many years.

 

[mosslost]

What Russell did was amazing. He is absolutely number 1. He doesn't get the hype because he did it before many of us were old enough to remember. Russell should be number 1

he also did it when there just 8 teams in the league roughly. And you only had one round in the playoffs, then the Finals.

 

[mosslost]

Brady is the best QB of all-time (and probably only behind Jim Brown as best football player ever). Russell is close second for me.

1. Brady (TB12!!)
2. Russell (how many rings?!)
3. Bird (if not for injuries that further diminished his athleticism, he'd be tied for #2)
4. Orr (just wow on skates!)
5. Williams (ahead of Papi) He was GOD for what seems like forever.

Others in the running: Papi, Pedro and Flutie (a Boston athlete at BC)

LOL those rings look they came from Woolworth's or something

 

[Pats1989]

Folks the question isn't " Greatest" Boston athlete. It's whose " most popular". Orr was a better hockey player than Brady was football player. However Brady is and will be more popular going forward.

Ortiz is probably more popular than McHale. Yet McHale was better at his sport than Ortiz at baseball.