In part 1 and part 2 in this series, we started to look into one of the oldest and most speculated argument in sports. Who are the greatest players in their respective sports? Who are the G.O.A.T.’s? Sports fans are passionate creatures and their loyalty to players and teams can run very deep. When it comes to the G.O.A.T fans sometimes have to push their loyalties to the side and look at the bigger picture. As much as we might want to say that our favourite player on our favourite team is the greatest ever, it is essential that we take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

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There are so many factors that can play a part in why you might feel one player is greater than all the rest. Determining who is the best player that ever played a sport might come down to that player's statistics, their ability to win, the number of championships and even their big game performances. A fans appreciation for a player might depend on the era in which they played. Fans who grew up watching players 30 or 40 years ago might have a higher opinion of the stars from those days then they do for the more modern stars. This leads to further discussion and comparison of the players and arguments over the interpretation of these differences. The reality is fans opinions about who the greatest players of all time are is completely subjective. There is no hard and fast rule that helps point to the one true player. Everyone will feel differently and for a variety of reasons.

In our previous two posts, we discussed the G.O.A.T’s from NFL football, soccer, baseball, NBA basketball and boxing. The conversation in the comments section has been great. It is so much fun to read through and see the opinions and reasoning for your choices. I think what has intrigued me the most is how much the character of the player plays a part in your choices. I have read several times about how good a person was or what they did for people. Let's continue the banter and take a look at a few more sports and try to decide who is the greatest of all time.

Golf

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Golf might be one of the easiest sports to nail down who the G.O.A.T is but there are still some considerations that come into play when having this discussion. There are some fans who will tell you that it is all about championships. How many times did the golfer win a tournament? Even more importantly, how many major championships did they win? Winning a major in golf is considered one of the biggest accomplishments in golf. The reasons for this are that the major championships are played on some of the most difficult golf courses in the world. These are courses that can give even the pros a headache and be the cause of heartache and agony. The major championship tournaments are also the tournaments where all the best players in the world participate. Throughout the season players will pick and choose where and when they play so a regular PGA tournament might only have a handful or more of the most elite players. There are also tournaments in different places on the same weekend so players might be spread across different events. The major championships are played for the biggest prize money and the most notoriety so pretty much all the top players attend.

The four major championships include:

The Masters
The US Open
The PGA Championship
The British Open

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There are a few players who quickly get brought up when this discussion begins. You absolutely can’t have a discussion on the G.O.A.T in golf without first mentioning Jack Nicklaus. Jack Nicklaus re-wrote the record books when it comes to winning in the PGA. He set many records and still holds the record for the most major championship victories in PGA history with 18. A player that was also considered as one of the greatest was Arnold Palmer. Many say that if it wasn’t for Jack Nicklaus, Palmer would have been the one with all the records and glory. Palmer lost out to Nicklaus countless times. Then there are some of the greats of the past that come up like Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. These are players that put up incredible numbers of wins over their careers. Some fans would argue that they are better because they played without the technological advancements of golf equipment today.

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Then there is Tiger Woods. Woods was a golf prodigy from the age of 3 and he never disappointed from the moment he stepped onto a course for a professional tournament. He started winning tournaments and major championships at an unprecedented pace in his early years and was far and away the most dominant golfer in the world during his prime. Any time he played he was considered the favourite to win. He was able to complete not only a career slam but also won 4 majors in a row. The only other golfer to accomplish this feat was Jack Nicklaus. Tiger Woods seemed destined to break all of Nicklaus’s records with ease until he ran into some trouble with injuries and his personal life. He is still playing nut has not won a tournament in a very long time.

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Tennis

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When evaluating the G.O.A.T in tennis the criteria is very similar to those for golf. Players play in tournaments and wins are a great indicator of greatness. As in golf, there are 4 major championships in tennis that are considered to be the elite tournaments and the ones that separate the best from the rest. These are called Grand Slams in tennis. All the best players in the world attend those slams. A tennis tournament can be a gruelling two-week battle as players work their way through a field of 64 to compete in a championship match at the end.

The Grand Slam Championships include:

Wimbledon
The US Open
The Australian Open
The French Open

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When analyzing the greatest tennis players you need to look at both men’s and women’s tennis. In men’s tennis, there have been a lot of players who have done some great things on the court. Players like John Mcenroe and Jimmy Connors. These guys were considered warriors on the courts and won some of the most memorable matches in history. They were also prolific winners and both have over 100 career titles with 7 and 8 grand slams respectively. There are is Bjorn Borg who won a whopping 11 grand slams in his very short time on the pro tennis tour. Many feel that he still had some of his best years left when he retired and that he could have set even bigger records. Shortly after these players era Pete Sampras came along and re-wrote the record books in terms of winning grand slams at the time with 14.

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Even with all of these great players and more I haven’t even mentioned, we might be witnessing the most impressive era in men’s professional tennis ever. For the past two decades, tennis fans have been treated to the accomplishments of two of the most dominant players at any one particular time in history. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have made an all-out assault on the tennis record books as they have battled for tennis supremacy. Nadal has won 17 grand slams and is widely considered to be the best clay court player ever. His success at the French Open is a tribute to that. Federer has simply astonished with his amazing consistency and ability to win matches quickly on his way to a record-setting 20 Grand Slam wins. Even now, after 20 years on tour, these two men still compete at an extremely high level and are a threat to win at any tournament.
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In women’s tennis, there have been some great players along the way. Players that have set the standards high and continued to challenge the entire tour to be better. At one point it was players like Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf who were dominant forces. These women ruled the 80’s and early 90’s on the courts. Graf was the singles grand slam record holder until she was recently ousted from that spot by the female player who is widely considered the best there ever was. Serena Williams has been re-writing the record books ever since her and her sister Venus took the tennis world by storm. Not only does she hold the record for singles slam titles with 23, she also has won a combined 39 slam titles when you include her double victories. She is still just as dominating today as she was the day she turned pro.
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Stay tuned for the fourth and final installment of the G.O.A.T player series when we take a closer look at hockey, track and cricket. If there are any sports that have not been covered and you feel our attention should be drawn to them, mention them in the comments below. I know there are so many other sports that could be mentioned and discussed. That’s what makes this discussion so much fun. Just when you are done arguing about one sport, the discussion seems to start up about another. What do you think of the players mentioned above? Who have I missed on these lists? I look forward to hearing your comments.