Here is my meta-list of the Best Athletes of ‘all time’, which means in this case, from the end of the 19th Century to the present.  I collected numerous lists of best athletes overall, regardless of sport. I also included sport-specific “Best Athletes” lists.  I tried to include an equal number of lists per major sport to avoid tipping the balance in favor of some sports and away from others.  The results are relatively diverse, with many different sports and countries represented, although the majority of athletes on the list are male and most are from the U.S.  The results are below: all the athletes on at least three of the original source lists.  Athletes who are on the same number of lists are listed in order of their dates of birth.  I have included photos of the athletes. I have tried to find photos of the athletes engaged in the act of playing their sport, while trying to avoid staged or posed shots. (For more information, see Note on Photos, below.)  For a ‘Best Athletes’ list organized by sport, but without photos, go here.

On 27 “Best Athletes” Lists
Michael Jordan (US, 1963- ) – Basketball, Baseball

Kirthmon Dozier/Associated Press

On 25 Lists
Muhammad Ali (US, 1942-2016) – Boxing

Associated Press.

On 24 Lists
Babe Ruth (US, 1895-1948) – Baseball

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

On 23 Lists
Wayne Gretzky (Canada, 1961- ) – Ice Hockey

ESPN

On 22 Lists
Jim Thorpe (US, 1888-1953) – Football, Baseball, Track & Field
Associated Press, IOC/Getty Images

Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) (Brazil, 1940-2022) – Soccer (known as football outside the U.S.)

On 21 Lists
Jim Brown (US, 1936-2023) – Football (known as American football outside the U.S.)

Associated Press 

Carl Lewis (US, 1961- ) – Track & Field

Roger Federer (Switzerland, 1981- ) – Tennis

AAP/Dave Hunt

On 20 Lists
Tiger Woods (US, 1975- ) – Golf

Getty Images

Michael Phelps (US, 1985- ) – Swimming

On 19 Lists
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (US, 1911-1956) – Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field, Diving

Wilt Chamberlain (US, 1936-1999) – Basketball

NBA Photos/NBAE/Getty Images

Martina Navratilova (Czechoslovakia, 1956- ) – Tennis
Tony Triolo/Sports Illustrated

Bo Jackson (US, 1962- ) – Baseball, Football

Lonnie Major/Getty Images

On 18 Lists
Jackie Robinson (US, 1919-1972) – Baseball

Associated Press

On 17 Lists
Jesse Owens (US, 1913-1980) – Track & Field

AP Photo

Joe Montana (US, 1956- ) – Football

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Jerry Rice (US, 1962- ) – Football

Getty Images

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (US, 1962- ) – Track & Field

Getty Images

Usain Bolt (Jamaica, 1986- ) – Track & Field

On 15 Lists
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (US, 1947- ) – Basketball

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Earvin “Magic” Johnson (US, 1959- ) – Basketball

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

On 14 Lists
Jack Nicklaus (US, 1940- ) – Golf

AP Photo

Bobby Orr (Canada, 1948- ) – Hockey

Montreal Gazette/Montreal Star

Serena Williams (US, 1981- ) – Tennis

celebritynetworth.com

Lionel Messi (Argentina, 1987- ) – Soccer

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

On 13 Lists
Larry Bird (US, 1956- ) – Basketball

George Long/WireImage

Nadia Comaneci (Romania, 1961- ) – Gymnastics

AP Photo

On 12 Lists
Ted Williams (US, 1918-2002) – Baseball

AP/Ted Sande

Willie Mays (US, 1931- ) – Baseball

Loomis Dean/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Bill Russell (US, 1934-2022) – Basketball

Getty Images

Michael Johnson (US, 1967- ) – Track & Field

Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

Tom Brady (US, 1977- ) – Football

LeBron James (US, 1984- ) – Basketball

USATSI

On 11 Lists
Gordie Howe (Canada, 1928-2016) – Ice Hockey

Denis Brodeur/Getty Images

Billie Jean King (US, 1943- ) – Tennis

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Walter Payton (US, 1954-1999) – Football

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

Chris Evert (US, 1954- ) – Tennis

Barry Sanders (US, 1968- ) – Football

AP Photo/Duane Burleson

Steffi Graf (Germany, 1969- ) – Tennis

Chris Eason

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 1985- ) – Soccer

On 10 Lists
Joe Louis (US, 1914-1981) – Boxing

Costa/News

Mark Spitz (US, 1950- ) – Swimming

Rich Clarkson/WireImage.com

Diego Maradona (Argentina, 1960- ) – Soccer


Zinedine Zidane (France, 1972- ) – Soccer

On 9 Lists
Ty Cobb (US, 1886-1961) – Baseball

Sporting News

Lou Gehrig (US, 1903-1941) – Baseball

Charles Conlon/Sporting News

Joe DiMaggio (US, 1914-1999) – Baseball

Reuters

Sugar Ray Robinson (US, 1921-1989) – Boxing

PA Photos /Landov

Bruce Lee (US/Hong Kong, 1940-1973) – Martial Arts

From The Big Boss (1971), directed by Wei Lo and Chia-Hsiang Wu

Mike Tyson (US, 1966- ) –Boxing

Deion Sanders (US, 1967- ) – Football, Baseball

Randy Pench, Associated Press

Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia, 1973- ) – Track & Field

Wikipedia Commons

Rafael Nadal (Spain, 1986- ) – Tennis

ESP

On 8 Lists
Paavo Nurmi (Finland, 1897-1973) – Track & Field


Don Bradman (Australia, 1908-2001) – Cricket

Hank Aaron (US, 1934- ) – Baseball

AP Photo

Lawrence Taylor (US, 1959- ) – Football

Stephen Dunn/Allsport

Cheryl Miller (US, 1964- ) – Basketball

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Lance Armstrong (US, 1971- ) – Cycling*

Getty Images

Mia Hamm (US, 1972- ) – Soccer

On 7 List
Mickey Mantle (US, 1931-1995) – Baseball

Daily News

Sandy Koufax (US, 1935- ) – Baseball


Oscar Robertson (US, 1938- ) – Basketball

AP Photo

Rod Laver (Australia, 1938- ) – Tennis

AP Photo

Wilma Rudolph (US, 1940-1994) – Track & Field

Getty Images

Tony Hawk (US, 1968- ) – Skateboarding

Michael Schumacher (Germany, 1969- ) – Auto Racing

Annika Sörenstam (Sweden, 1970- ) – Golf

Travis Lindquist/Getty Images

Pete Sampras (US, 1971- ) – Tennis


Peyton Manning (US, 1976- ) – Football


Kobe Bryant (US, 1978- ) – Basketball

On 6 Lists
Cy Young (US, 1867-1955) – Baseball

Public Domain

Rocky Marciano (US, 1923-1969) – Boxing

Herb Scharfman /UPI

Althea Gibson (US, 1927-2003) – Tennis, Golf

Keystone

Edwin Moses (US, 1955- ) – Track & Field

AP Photo

Sergey Bubka (USSR/Ukraine, 1963- ) – Track & Field

Bonnie Blair (US, 1964- ) – Speedskating

Tom Lynn /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

Mario Lemieux (Canada, 1965- ) – Ice Hockey

Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar (India, 1973- ) – Cricket


Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima) (Brazil, 1976- ) – Soccer

PA

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (US, 1977- ) – Boxing
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Michael Vick (US, 1980- ) –Football

Sean Gardner/Reuters

Ian Thorpe (Australia, 1982- ) – Swimming

Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP

On 5 Lists
Bobby Jones (US, 1902-1971) – Golf

Arnold Palmer (US, 1929-2016) – Golf

Walter Iooss, Jr./SI

Johnny Unitas (US, 1933-2002) – Football

http://sports-kings.com

Pete Rose (US, 1941- ) – Baseball

AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy

Dick Butkus (US, 1942- ) – Football

Jean-Claude Killy (France, 1943- ) – Alpine Skiing


Eddy Merckx (Belgium, 1945- ) – Cycling

George Best (Northern Ireland, 1946-2005) – Soccer

Irish Star/Irish Daily Star

Dan Gable (US, 1948- ) – Wrestling

Julius Erving (US, 1950- ) – Basketball

Jimmy Connors (US, 1952- ) – Tennis

Björn Borg (Sweden, 1956- ) – Tennis

Walter Iooss, Jr.

Daley Thompson (UK, 1958- ) – Track & Field

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (US, 1963- ) – Basketball

Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images

Lisa Leslie (US, 1972- ) – Basketball

Monica Seles (Yugoslavia/Serbia, 1973- ) –Tennis

Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco, 1974- ) – Track & Field


Derek Jeter (US, 1974- ) – Baseball

Venus Williams (US, 1980- ) – Tennis


Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira) (Brazil, 1980- ) – Soccer

On 4 Lists
Honus Wagner (US, 1874-1955) – Baseball

http://www.thesportsfanjournal.com

Jack Johnson (US, 1878-1946) – Boxing

Walter Johnson (US, 1887-1946) – Baseball

Sports Illustrated

Jack Dempsey (US, 1895-1983) – Boxing

Rogers Hornsby (US, 1896-1963) – Baseball

AP Wirephoto

Harold “Red” Grange (US, 1903-1991) – Football

Sonja Henie (Norway, 1912-1969) – Figure Skating


Henry Armstrong (US, 1912-1988) – Boxing

Ben Hogan (US, 1912-1997) –  Golf

AP Photo/stf

Don Hutson (US, 1913-1997) – Football

AP Photo/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Stan Musial (US, 1920-2013) – Baseball


Maurice Richard (Canada, 1921-2000) – Ice Hockey


Roger Bannister (UK, 1929-2018) – Track & Field

Getty Images

Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico, 1934-1972) – Baseball

Walter Iooss, Jr.

Rafer Johnson (US, 1935-2020) – Track & Field


Al Oerter (US, 1936-2007) – Track & Field

Dawn Fraser (Australia, 1937- ) – Swimming


Jerry West (US, 1938- ) – Basketball

George Long/Getty Images

Bobby Hull (Canada, 1939- ) – Ice Hockey

Chicago Tribune

Kathy Whitworth (US, 1939-2022) – Golf


Margaret Court (Australia, 1942- ) – Tennis

AFP/Getty Images

Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, 1947-2016) – Soccer


Eric Heiden (US, 1958- ) – Speedskating, Cycling


Steve Redgrave (UK, 1962- ) – Rowing

Michelle Akers (US, 1966- ) – Soccer

Alexander Karelin (Russia, 1967- ) – Wrestling

© Lars Nyberg

Shane Warne (Australia, 1969- ) – Cricket


Brian Lara (Trinidad & Tobago, 1969- ) – Cricket

Janet Evans (US, 1971- ) – Swimming

Sheryl Swoopes (US, 1971- ) – Basketball

Paula Radcliffe (UK, 1973- ) – Track & Field


David Beckham (UK, 1975- ) – Soccer

Sir Chris Hoy (UK, 1976- ) – Cycling

On 3 Lists
Satchel Paige (US, 1906-1982) – Baseball

AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman

Josh Gibson (US, 1911-1947) – Baseball

© Bettmann/CORBIS

Fanny Blankers-Koen (The Netherlands, 1918-2004) – Track & Field

Emil Zátopek (Czechoslovakia, 1922-2000) – Track & Field

Getty Images

Bob Mathias (US, 1930-2006) – Track & Field


Willie Shoemaker (US, 1931-2003) – Horse Racing

John Swart/AP Photo

Elgin Baylor (US, 1934-2021) – Basketball

Getty Images

Bob Gibson (US, 1935-2020) – Baseball

Sir Garfield Sobers (Barbados, 1936- ) – Cricket

Richard Petty (US, 1937- ) – Auto Racing

Bob Beamon (US, 1946- ) – Track & Field


O.J. Simpson (US, 1947- ) – Football

Peggy Fleming (US, 1948- ) – Figure Skating


Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (US, 1951-2001) – Auto Racing

Donald Miralle /Allsport

Viv Richards (Antigua & Barbuda, 1952- ) – Cricket

Back Page Images / ASP / BPI

Joan Benoit Samuelson (US, 1957- ) – Track & Field

Janet Knott/Globe Staff

John McEnroe (US, 1959- ) – Tennis

Ayrton Senna (Brazil, 1960-1994) – Auto Racing

Greg Louganis (US, 1960- ) – Diving


John Elway (US, 1960- ) – Football


Dan Marino (US, 1961- ) – Football


Mary T. Meagher (US, 1964- ) – Swimming


Brett Favre (US, 1969- ) – Football

Kelly Slater (US, 1972- ) – Surfing

Bernard Rabejac-Quiksilver

Tegla Laroupe (Kenya, 1973- ) – Track & Field

(c) Agentur Diener/Rudolf Schmied

Alex Rodriguez (US, 1975- ) – Baseball


Marion Jones (US, 1975) – Track & Field

John Cena (US, 1977) – Wrestling (WWE)

Manny Pacquiao (The Philippines, 1978- ) – Boxing

Drew Brees (US, 1979- ) – Football

Lewis Hamilton (UK, 1985- ) – Auto Racing

Note about the photos:  I think we all agree that lists are more interesting when they include some visuals.  To that end, I have tried to obtain public domain photos for the athletes, but because I think action shots say ‘athlete’ much more than posed publicity head shots, many of the photos I have found are copyrighted.  I have included the source and photographer’s name, if available, for each copyrighted photo.  I believe that my use of these photographs is permissible under the doctrine of fair use and for educational purposes, so I have not undertaking the time-consuming process of asking for permissions from each copyright owner.  Furthermore, my use of these photos is strictly non-commercial.  If you own the copyright to one or more of the photos and have any concerns about their use on this site, please contact me directly by leaving a comment.  If you believe I need permission to use the photo, I hereby request permission.

* Note re: Lance Armstrong: None of the “best athletes” lists made after 2013 include Lance Armstrong’s name, which is likely a result of the revelations that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs.  Because his name is on eight lists made before that date and those lists are inlcuded in the meta-list, I have decided to continue to include him.