Best Multi-Sport Athletes Of All Time

A significant percentage of professional athletes try several sports before committing to a single one. For example, in the US, the whole system is built so that the most talented and most athletic young people can try athletics in addition to at least the three major sports available to everyone.

These are baseball, American football, and basketball. Even in high school and university sports life, athletes can compete in several sports. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the list of best multi-sport athletes of all time mostly contains American sports stars.

Ronaldinho Loves a Hungarian sport!

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, or as the whole world knows him, Ronaldinho, was one of the most recognized football players in the world in the mid-2000s. As a brilliant midfielder, he helped bring Barcelona to the top, and as a team player, he won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious award. The soccer star grew up in a very poor environment as the youngest child in Porto Alegre. He and his brothers escaped from the difficulties of everyday life to soccer, and later they were able to get out of poverty thanks to this sport. 

However, football is not his only passion. Ronaldinho is working hard to make teqball an Olympic sport in 2028. He was the guest of honor at the European Teqball Tour tournament in Budapest, and at the event’s press conference, he also spoke about the ambitious goals of the sport. According to him, they are working on ensuring that teqball will get the recognition it deserves, starting with the 2028 Olympics. Check out teqball events at 22Bet Sportsbook!

Jackie Robinson – The Pioneer

Jackie Robinson is primarily known as a baseball player. Even those who are not fans of American sports could learn about his life in the 2013 biographical movie. Chadwick Boseman, who played him, became widely known thanks to this film. Robinson made history by being the first African-American player to play in the baseball league MLB, where in 1949, he also became the league’s MVP.

However, the star who graduated from the famous University of Los Angeles, not only excelled in the country’s favorite sport but people also considered him among the best in the university leagues in three other sports: American football, basketball, and athletics. For example, at the 1940 national athletics championship, he won the long jump competition with 758 centimeters. 

Babe Didrikson Zaharias – A woman ahead of her time

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is the only female athlete on our list, but she is the queen of sports. Let’s start with an interesting fact: she is the only athlete in world history who was able to win medals in three completely different athletic Olympic events, as well as setting three records! In 1932, she won the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin throw, and although Zaharias led for a long time, she missed out on first place in the high jump due to a judge’s decision.

This performance alone would have put her on our list, but Zaharias didn’t stop there and started a golf career after the Olympics. She did not stop until the Golf Hall of Fame, winning a total of 10 LPGA major championships. If it weren’t for her unfortunate illness and death, many would consider her the best female golfer of all time, perhaps the best female athlete who ever lived.

Best multi-sport athletes

Bo Jackson is one of the most athletic athletes of all time, having excelled in three sports at the collegiate level. Taking into account his speed, power of jump, and body weight, there can be no question that the player who weighed more than 100 kilos in his prime was something else. It’s no coincidence that in ESPN’s 2013 vote, the fans chose him as the best of all time! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RjFR-3GTRU

He defeated Roger Federer in the first round, the legendary Muhammad Ali in the quarterfinals, and even Michael Jordan in the semifinals. Although his professional career was extremely short due to injuries, after his dominant college years when he won the Heisman in 1985, Jackson played in both the MLB and NFL, where he was selected first overall in the 1986 draft!

The fact that he is still the only one able to be an All-Star in both sports answers the question of whether his professional career was successful. It is safe to say that he is one of the most outstanding athletes in American sports history. Also, interestingly enough, he was perhaps the biggest underachiever, who could have been among the greatest sports icons if those injuries had not intervened.

Best Multi-Sport Athletes

According to online sportsbook sites in the US, Jim Brown even surpassed Bo Jackson by being among the best in not three but four college sports. In addition to American football, in which he was the best college player in the country and in which he later became a professional.

Brown also excelled in basketball and lacrosse. In the former, he was his team’s top scorer, while in the latter, he ranked as the second-best player in the college leagues.

He could have chosen almost any sport for a professional career, but luckily he ended up as an American football player. He was the best rookie in his first year and later won the league MVP title three times. All this, combined with nine Pro Bowl selections and a championship with the Cleveland Browns team in 1964, means that today Brown is in the top 5 players in the sport. Perhaps only Tom Brady and Jerry Rice are considered better than him.

Jim Thorpe – A Legend

If there’s an athlete who would inspire similar jokes to Chuck Norris, it’s Jim Thorpe. His Olympic performance in 1912, during which he won both the pentathlon and the decathlon competitions, is perhaps the most incredible sports performance of all time to this day. He won eight of the 15 combined numbers, and no one could break his points record for more than two decades.

However, Thorpe was born for more and left athletics to head for the major leagues, where he was able to perform similarly. He spent thirteen years in the predecessor of the NFL, and seven seasons in the MLB.

Also, he played for two years as a professional basketball player, making him the only player in sports history to excel in three major American sports. As an athlete of Indian origin, people consider him a pioneer to this day, and his name is forever linked to his athletic versatility. Check out his legacy, the MLB World Series 2023 odds!

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