Montana was a quarterback who played the majority of his career for the San Francisco 49ers, before spending a year with the Kansas City Chiefs to see out his long and storied career. The American has a long list of achievements and honours to his name with the most impressive surrounding the Super Bowl which is a worldwide phenomenon. Montana contributed to four separate successes in the tournament, being named MVP on three of those occasions.
9 - Pele (Football)
The Brazilian is still widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all-time and actually ranks the highest among his professional peers within this list, above the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. Pele unfortunately passed away in late 2022, but will always be remembered for his contributions to the game with an unmatched goal record and many trophies in the cabinet.
8 - Bo Jackson (American Football and Baseball)
Incredibly, Jackson excelled in not only one sport at an elite level, but two. His short career in American Football saw him represent the Los Angeles Raiders from 1987 to 1990 as a running back as he won many individual awards within the sport. Alongside his career in the NFL, Jackson was a revelation in the world of Baseball in which he spent an eight-year professional career and even played in an All-Stars game in 1990 before retiring in 1994.
7 - Jim Thorpe (Athletics, American Football, Baseball and Basketball)
Not only did Thorpe thrive in both Baseball and American Football in a similar vein to Bo Jackson, but he also won two Olympic gold medals in Athletics. These titles were taken away from him initially due to a violation in rules prior to taking part in the Olympic Games, before they were then restored to him three decades after his death. Thorpe began his Baseball career in 1913 and continued this until 1919 while also kicking-off his American Football career in 1915 which ended in 1928.
6 - Babe Ruth (Baseball)
More than likely the most well-known Baseball player of all-time is a man that sadly passed away in 1948, which is now 75 years ago and just goes to show the impact he had during his time in the sport. Ruth's career in Major League Baseball last almost two decades and in that time he won the World Series on a staggering seven different occasions. With many other career honours under his belt, the icon of the sport was inducted into the Baseball Hame of Fame in 1936 shortly after he brought his career to a close.
5 - Michael Phelps (Swimming)
The most decorated Olympian of all-time is the former swimmer, who won a total of 28 medals during his career. 23 of those medals were gold which just goes to show how prolific a performer he was at his best. Add to this a total of 27 gold medals in the World Championships and there was really no competition within the sport of Swimming when Phelps was around. He cleaned up almost all medals in sight before bowing out in 2016.
4 - Usain Bolt (Athletics)
Bolt is looked upon as the greatest sprinter ever witnessed, with the Jamaican becoming a big name in the world of Olympics in Beijing in 2008 before going on to impress in the next two versions of the Olympic Games also. Across the three tournaments, Bolt won eight gold medals with the only one he missed out on being the 4 x 100 metre relay as his team was disqualified. The 37-year-old still holds the world record for the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x100 metres relay to this day.
3 - Wayne Gretzky (Ice hockey)
Hockey Hall of Famer, Gretzky, may be a slight surprise to come in at third in an all-time athletes list, but he did have an incredible career in his chosen field. That chosen field was Ice Hockey, in which he spent almost a decade with the Edmonton Oilers before spending time with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers to see out his playing days. His iconic number 99 shirt was retired across the entire sport upon his retirement in tribute to the Canadian.
2 - Muhammad Ali (Boxing)
With no real competition, Ali is regarded as the greatest Boxer of all-time as the man famous for saying: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," finishes second on this list. Ali won 56 of his 61 professional fights, with 36 being via knockout. With only five losses to his name, he is one of the most successful men to have ever graced the sport to this day. The light-heavyweight also won an Olympic gold medal among his many career achievements.
1 - Michael Jordan (Basketball)
The honor of being named the greatest athlete ever in this list is the former Chicago Bulls icon. Jordan is almost unanimously voted as the greatest Basketball player of all-time with his accomplishments speaking for themselves, with six NBA Championships among the best of them. His Cv is littered with personal accolades, but his six NBA Finals MVP awards to coincide with the six times he won the competition go a long way to tell you of the star Jordan was, not only in his sport, but on a global scale.
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