I collected some “Best Athletes of All Time” lists off the Internet and combined them into one list.  Because I only found a few such lists, I supplemented with sport-specific “Best Athletes” lists.  First, I organized the results by rank, that is, by the number of lists the athlete was on.  To see the list, go here.  Michael Jordan was on 33 of the lists I found, giving him the Number 1 spot.  The list below is organized by sport and within each sport by rank (the number of lists the athlete was on is in parentheses), and within rank by date of birth.  Where men and women both compete in the sport, but compete separately, I have separated the men and women.  Both meta-lists include athletes who were on at least three of the original source lists.

BASEBALL

Babe Ruth (US, 1895-1948) (on 29 lists)
Jim Thorpe (US, 1888-1953) (on 28 lists)
Jackie Robinson (US, 1919-1972) (on 20 lists)
Ted Williams (US, 1918-2002) (on 15 lists)
Willie Mays (US, 1931-2024) (on 15 lists)
Ty Cobb (US, 1886-1961) (on 10 lists)
Joe DiMaggio (US, 1914-1999) (on 10 lists)
Hank Aaron (US, 1934-2021) (on 10 lists)
Lou Gehrig (US, 1903-1941) (on 9 lists)
Deion Sanders (US, 1967- ) (on 9 lists)
Mickey Mantle (US, 1931-1995) (on 8 lists)
Sandy Koufax (US, 1935- ) (on 7 lists)
Cy Young (US, 1867-1955) (on 6 lists)
Derek Jeter (US, 1974- ) (on 6 lists)
Pete Rose (US, 1941-2024) (on 5 lists)
Honus Wagner (US, 1874-1955) (on 4 lists)
Walter Johnson (US, 1887-1946) (on 4 lists)
Rogers Hornsby (US, 1896-1963) (on 4 lists)
Stan Musial (US, 1920-2013) (on 4 lists)
Roberto Clemente (US/Puerto Rico, 1934-1972) (on 4 lists)
Satchel Paige (US, 1906-1982) (on 3 lists)
Josh Gibson (US, 1911-1947) (on 3 lists)
Bob Gibson (US, 1935-2020) (on 3 lists)
Alex Rodriguez (US, 1975- ) (on 3 lists)

FOOTBALL (American Football)

Jim Thorpe (US, 1888-1953) (on 28 lists)
Jim Brown (US, 1936-2023) (on 23 lists)
Bo Jackson (US, 1962- ) (on 21 lists)
Jerry Rice (US, 1962- ) (on 21 lists)
Joe Montana (US, 1956- ) (on 20 lists)
Tom Brady (US, 1977- ) (on 18 lists)
Walter Payton (US, 1954-1999) (on 13 lists)
Barry Sanders (US, 1968- ) (on 12 lists)
Lawrence Taylor (US, 1959- ) (on 11 lists)
Deion Sanders (US, 1967- ) (on 9 lists)
Peyton Manning (US, 1976- ) (on 8 lists)
Michael Vick (US, 1980- ) (on 7 lists)
Johnny Unitas (US, 1933-2002) (on 5 lists)
Dick Butkus (US, 1942-2023) (on 5 lists)
Harold “Red” Grange (US, 1903-1991) (on 4 lists)
Don Hutson (US, 1913-1997) (on 4 lists)
Brett Favre (US, 1969- ) (on 4 lists)
Drew Brees (US, 1979- ) (on 4 lists)
O.J. Simpson (US, 1947-2024) (on 3 lists)
John Elway (US, 1960- ) (on 3 lists)
Dan Marino (US, 1961- ) (on 3 lists)

BASKETBALL

Men
Michael Jordan (US, 1963- ) (on 33 lists)
Wilt Chamberlain (US, 1936-1999) (on 22 lists)
Earvin “Magic” Johnson (US, 1959- ) (on 18 lists)
LeBron James (US, 1984- ) (on 17 lists)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (US, 1947- ) (on 16 lists)
Larry Bird (US, 1956- ) (on 15 lists)
Bill Russell (US, 1934-2022) (on 14 lists)
Kobe Bryant (US, 1978-2020) (on 11 lists)
Oscar Robertson (US, 1938- ) (on 8 lists)
Julius Erving (US, 1950- ) (on 5 lists)
Jerry West (US, 1938- ) (on 4 lists)
Elgin Baylor (US, 1934-2021) (on 3 lists)

Women
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (US, 1911-1956) (on 21 lists)
Cheryl Miller (US, 1964- ) (on 8 lists)
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (US, 1963- ) (on 6 lists)
Sheryl Swoopes (US, 1971- ) (on 5 lists)
Lisa Leslie (US, 1972- ) (on 5 lists)

TRACK AND FIELD

Men
Jim Thorpe (US, 1888-1953) (on 28 lists)
Carl Lewis (US, 1961- ) (on 24 lists)
Usain Bolt (Jamaica, 1986- ) (on 22 lists)
Jesse Owens (US, 1913-1980) (on 20 lists)
Michael Johnson (US, 1967- ) (on 14 lists)
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia, 1973- ) (on 10 lists)
Paavo Nurmi (Finland, 1897-1973) (on 9 lists)
Daley Thompson (UK, 1958- ) (on 7 lists)
Sergey Bubka (USSR/Ukraine, 1963- ) (on 7 lists)
Edwin Moses (US, 1955- ) (on 6 lists)
Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco, 1974- ) (on 5 lists)
Roger Bannister (UK, 1929-2018) (on 4 lists)
Rafer Johnson (US, 1935-2020) (on 4 lists)
Al Oerter (US, 1936-2007) (on 4 lists)
Emil Zátopek (Czechoslovakia, 1922-2000) (on 3 lists)
Bob Mathias (US, 1930-2006) (on 3 lists)
Bob Beamon (US, 1946- ) (on 3 lists)
Tegla Laroupe (Kenya, 1973- ) (on 3 lists)

Women
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (US, 1911-1956) (on 21 lists)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (US, 1962- ) (on 20 lists)
Wilma Rudolph (US, 1940-1994) (on 7 lists)
Paula Radcliffe (UK, 1973- ) (on 4 lists)
Fanny Blankers-Koen (Netherlands, 1918-2004) (on 3 lists)
Joan Benoit Samuelson (US, 1957- ) (on 3 lists)
Marion Jones (US, 1975- ) (on 3 lists)

TENNIS

Men
Roger Federer (Switzerland, 1981- ) (on 25 lists)
Rafael Nadal (Spain, 1986- ) (on 11 lists)
Rod Laver (Australia, 1938- ) (on 8 lists)
Pete Sampras (US, 1971- ) (on 8 lists)
Björn Borg (Sweden, 1956- ) (on 6 lists)
Jimmy Connors (US, 1952- ) (on 5 lists)
Novak Djokovic (Serbia, 1987- ) (on 5 lists)
John McEnroe (US, 1959- ) (on 3 lists)

Women
Martina Navratilova (Czechoslovakia, 1956- ) (on 23 lists)
Serena Williams (US, 1981- ) (on 19 lists)
Steffi Graf (Germany, 1969- ) (on 13 lists)
Billie Jean King (US, 1943- ) (on 12 lists)
Chris Evert (US, 1954- ) (on 12 lists)
Althea Gibson (US, 1927-2003) (on 6 lists)
Margaret Court (Australia, 1942- ) (on 5 lists)
Monica Seles (Yugoslavia/Serbia, 1973- ) (on 5 lists)
Venus Williams (US, 1980- ) (on 5 lists)

SOCCER (Football)

Men
Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) (Brazil, 1940-2022) (on 30 lists)
Lionel Messi (Argentina, 1987- ) (on 17 lists)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 1985- ) (on 14 lists)
Diego Maradona (Argentina, 1960- ) (on 12 lists)
Zinedine Zidane (France, 1972- ) (on 12 lists)
Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima) (Brazil, 1976- ) (on 8 lists)
George Best (Northern Ireland, 1946-2005) (on 6 lists)
Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, 1947-2016) (on 6 lists)
Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira) (Brazil, 1980- ) (on 6 lists)
David Beckham (UK, 1975- ) (on 4 lists)

Women
Mia Hamm (US, 1972- ) (on 10 lists)
Michelle Akers (US, 1966- ) (on 4 lists)

BOXING

Muhammad Ali (US, 1942-2016) (on 31 lists)
Joe Louis (US, 1914-1981) (on 11 lists)
Sugar Ray Robinson (US, 1921-1989) (on 11 lists)
Mike Tyson (US, 1966- ) (on 10 lists)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (US, 1977- ) (on 7 lists)
Rocky Marciano (US, 1923-1969) (on 6 lists)
Jack Johnson (US, 1878-1946) (on 4 lists)
Jack Dempsey (US, 1895-1983) (on 4 lists)
Henry Armstrong (US, 1912-1988) (on 4 lists)
Manny Pacquiao (Philippines, 1978- ) (on 3 lists)

GOLF

Men
Tiger Woods (US, 1975- ) (on 26 lists)
Jack Nicklaus (US, 1940- ) (on 17 lists)
Bobby Jones (US, 1902-1971) (on 5 lists)
Ben Hogan (US, 1912-1997) (on 5 lists)
Arnold Palmer (US, 1929-2016) (on 5 lists)

Women
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (US, 1911-1956) (on 21 lists)
Annika Sörenstam (Sweden, 1970- ) (on 9 lists)
Althea Gibson (US, 1927-2003) (on 6 lists)
Kathy Whitworth (US, 1939-2022) (on 4 lists)

ICE HOCKEY

Wayne Gretzky (Canada, 1961- ) (on 27 lists)
Bobby Orr (Canada, 1948- ) (on 16 lists)
Gordie Howe (Canada, 1928-2016) (on 15 lists)
Mario Lemieux (Canada, 1965- ) (on 7 lists)
Maurice Richard (Canada, 1921-2000) (on 4 lists)
Bobby Hull (Canada, 1939-2023) (on 4 lists)
Sidney Crosby (Canada, 1987- ) (on 3 lists)

SWIMMING

Men
Michael Phelps (US, 1985- ) (on 25 lists)
Mark Spitz (US, 1950- ) (on 11 lists)
Ian Thorpe (Australia, 1982- ) (on 6 lists)

Women
Dawn Fraser (Australia, 1937- ) (on 4 lists)
Janet Evans (US, 1971- ) (on 4 lists)
Mary T. Meagher (US, 1964- ) (on 3 lists)

CRICKET

Don Bradman (Australia, 1908-2001) (on 10 lists)
Sachin Tendulkar (India, 1973- ) (on 7 lists)
Shane Warne (Australia, 1969- ) (on 5 lists)
Brian Lara (Trinidad & Tobago, 1969- ) (on 5 lists)
Sir Garfield Sobers (Barbados, 1936- ) (on 4 lists)
Viv Richards (Antigua & Barbuda, 1952- ) (on 4 lists)

AUTO RACING

Michael Schumacher (Germany, 1969- ) (on 8 lists)
Richard Petty (US, 1937- ) (on 4 lists)
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (US, 1951-2001) (on 4 lists)
Ayrton Senna (Brazil, 1960-1994) (on 4 lists)
Lewis Hamilton (UK, 1985- ) (on 4 lists)

CYCLING

Lance Armstrong (US, 1971- ) (on 8 lists)*
Eddy Merckx (Belgium, 1945- ) (on 6 lists)
Sir Chris Hoy (UK, 1976- ) (on 5 lists)
Eric Heiden (US, 1958- ) (on 4 lists)

GYMNASTICS

Nadia Comaneci (Romania, 1961- ) (on 14 lists)
Simone Biles (US, 1997- ) (on 7 lists)
Larissa Latynina (USSR/Ukraine, 1934- ) (on 3 lists)

MARTIAL ARTS

Bruce Lee (US/Hong Kong, 1940-1973) (on 10 lists)
Anderson Silva (Brazil, 1975- ) (on 3 lists)

SPEEDSKATING

Men
Eric Heiden (US, 1958- ) (on 4 lists)

Women
Bonnie Blair (US, 1964- ) (on 6 lists)

FIGURE SKATING

Sonja Henie (Norway, 1912-1969) (on 5 lists)
Peggy Fleming (US, 1948- ) (on 3 lists)

ALPINE SKIING

Men
Jean-Claude Killy (France, 1943- ) (on 5 lists)

Women
Lindsay Vonn (US, 1984- ) (on 3 lists)

WRESTLING

Dan Gable (US, 1948- ) (on 5 lists)
Alexander Karelin (Russia, 1967- ) (on 4 lists)

PRO WRESTLING

John Cena (US, 1977- ) (on 4 lists)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (US, 1972- ) (on 3 lists)

ROWING

Steve Redgrave (UK, 1962- ) (on 5 lists)

DIVING

Greg Louganis (US, 1960- ) (on 3 lists)

SKATEBOARDING

Tony Hawk (US, 1968- ) (on 8 lists)

SURFING

Kelly Slater (US, 1972- ) (on 4 lists)

FIELD HOCKEY

Dhyan Chand (India, 1905-1979) (on 3 lists)

HORSE RACING

Willie Shoemaker (US, 1931-2003) (on 3 lists)

* 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 included in the meta-list, I have decided to continue to include him.