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Best Sports Figure Born in Each SEC State
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:22 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:22 am
Below is my list for the best athlete/figure from each SEC State
1. Alabama: Hank Aaron or Willie Mays
2. Arkansas: Scotty Pippen or Sonny Liston
3. Georgia: Ty Cobb or Bobby Jones or Jackie Robinson
4. Louisiana: Peyton Manning or Bill Russell
5. Mississippi: Walter Payton or Jerry Rice
6. Tennessee: Reggie White or Ric Flair
7. South Carolina: Kevin Garnett or Joe Frazier
8. Kentucky: Muhammad Ali or Man o' War
9. Florida: Deion Sanders or Chris Evert
10. Oklahoma: Jim Thorpe or Mickey Mantle
11. Texas: Earl Campbell or Ben Hogan
12. Missouri: Yogi Berra
Some of these are tough picks, and other greats weren't even listed. I tried to pick the people who were icons too
1. Alabama: Hank Aaron or Willie Mays
2. Arkansas: Scotty Pippen or Sonny Liston
3. Georgia: Ty Cobb or Bobby Jones or Jackie Robinson
4. Louisiana: Peyton Manning or Bill Russell
5. Mississippi: Walter Payton or Jerry Rice
6. Tennessee: Reggie White or Ric Flair
7. South Carolina: Kevin Garnett or Joe Frazier
8. Kentucky: Muhammad Ali or Man o' War
9. Florida: Deion Sanders or Chris Evert
10. Oklahoma: Jim Thorpe or Mickey Mantle
11. Texas: Earl Campbell or Ben Hogan
12. Missouri: Yogi Berra
Some of these are tough picks, and other greats weren't even listed. I tried to pick the people who were icons too
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 10:50 am
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Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:23 am to VFL67
Jesse Owens probably deserves some mention for Alabama. Guy dominated and basically gave Hitler the middle finger in doing so despite his country not treating him a whole lot better at the time.
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 9:28 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:24 am to Dawgs2122
yeah thats a good call. totally forgot about him
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:32 am to VFL67
I would argue that Bo Jackson, Satchel Paige, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis were better and more influential than Hank Aaron. Willie Mays was the best all around baseball player of all time so you have to keep him on the list.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:36 am to VFL67
I would have Dizzy Dean from Arkansas, but I am not very familiar with the talent the state has produced.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:37 am to VFL67
Oklahoma is Jim Thorpe. Arguably one of the best if not the best athlete in history
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 9:38 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:40 am to captdalton
quote:
I would argue that Bo Jackson, Satchel Paige, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis were better and more influential than Hank Aaron. Willie Mays was the best all around baseball player of all time so you have to keep him on the list.
Idk Hank Aaron broke the home run record in the deep south and was applauded for it. He is also the greatest Braves player in history, which is the primary MLB team for the South. I wouldn't argue against for any of the ones you just listed being on the list, except Bo Jackson
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 10:51 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:42 am to Allyn McKeen
Maybe Brooks Robinson from Arkansas
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:42 am to VFL67
How the frick do you not list Nolan Ryan?
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:46 am to VFL67
quote:
Louisiana: Peyton Manning
Not a guy I'd ever consider in the conversation for best athlete.
Mondo Duplantis is definitely in the conversation.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:54 am to clamdip
Texas would be Nolan Ryan, Earl Campbell, or George Foreman.
Ben Hogan is also up there. I'm just not a golf fan.
Ben Hogan is also up there. I'm just not a golf fan.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 9:58 am to VFL67
quote:
Louisiana: Peyton Manning or Bill Russell
Apollo Creed
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:02 am to Dawgs2122
quote:
Guy dominated and basically gave Hitler the middle finger
With wrong sized borrowed shoes because his were stolen.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:03 am to VFL67
quote:
8. Kentucky: Muhammad Ali or Man o' War
Ali is a good due to the popularity but I'd argue Mary T. Meagher is up there as well.
Olympic medalist swimmer in the butterfly stroke
Qualified for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow at 16 years old, but did not compete due to the US boycott
1984 Los Angeles
Gold in 100m Butterfly
Gold in 200m Butterfly
Gold in 4x100 Relay
1988 Seoul
Silver in 4x100 Relay
Bronze in 200m Butterfly
At the time only the 3rd woman in history to quality for 3 Olympic games. When she retired, she had won 24 US national swimming titles.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:03 am to Ourichie
quote:
Oklahoma is Jim Thorpe. Arguably one of the best if not the best athlete in history
This. The man was the purest athlete to ever walk the earth and play organized sports.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:07 am to VFL67
Don Hutson.
Pine Bluff.
Pine Bluff.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:10 am to VFL67
quote:
I wouldn't argue for any of the ones you just listed being on the list, except Bo Jackson
Carl Lewis holds the all-time Olympic record for gold medals by a male track and field athlete with 9.
Joe Louis is universally regarded as the second greatest heavy weight boxer of all-time behind only Muhammed Ali. Louis was the heavyweight champion for 11 consecutive years and retired with a record of 66-3, 52 via knockout.
Satchel Paige’s professional career spanned 5 decades. He played his first professional negro league game in 1926 at age 20. He retired from the MLB in 1965. He did not make his MLB debut until 1948. He was 42 years old. He played 17 seasons in the MLB, playing his last game at age 59. He finished with a MLB record of 124-82, an era of 2.82, and over 1500 strikeouts. When he was in the negro league he would regularly have his infield sit down behind him and strikeout the side. Had he played in the MLB his entire career he would be recognized as the greatest pitcher in history. Possibly the greatest player of all time. He holds the record for being the oldest MLB rookie. He is credited with 2,000 victories in 2,500 starts in his career across all various leagues. Historians believe he threw around 55 career no-hitters.
If anyone does not have the actual achievements, it is Bo Jackson. He is not a top 100 mlb or nfl player. His inclusion would be based on his potential, derailed by injury, highlights and his “bo knows” marketing campaign.
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 10:15 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:10 am to hogminer
Dizzy Dean.
Torii Hunter.
Lou Brock.
Torii Hunter.
Lou Brock.
This post was edited on 6/9/26 at 10:14 am
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:26 am to VFL67
hopefully someone makes this list for b10 schools so Missouri is shown
Posted on 6/9/26 at 10:29 am to Dawgs2122
quote:
and basically gave Hitler the middle finger in doing so despite his country not treating him a whole lot better at the time.
This is such a played out narrative. America treated Jesse Owens far worse than Hitler did.
Owens is directly quoted saying Hitler treated him with more respect than Roosevelt did lmao
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