YCS Barroom Discussion: Athletes of Yesteryear

One of the best things to come of Favre's retirement has been the resurgence in interest in Bart Starr for the purposes of debating who truly was the best Packers quarterback ever. In my own opinion it's Favre, and it's not even close. But, that's just my opinion. Others feel it's Starr in a landslide, and it's certainly an argument with plenty of merit.

The problem with my position is that I'm not coming from an informed position (like most people when they discuss politics). Since I never saw Bart Starr lead the Packers, I don't have anything to weigh against what I've seen from Brett Favre (and for what it's worth, my old man saw Starr and Favre and also thinks Brett was better). Sure, there are statistics to compare, but the NFL in 1965 wasn't the same NFL as in 2008, and that's a fact. This, of course, is partly a good thing, because since I never saw Bart Starr play, I don't have any particular memories to overvalue in my subjective recollections. Overall, though, it's a shame, because my opinion comes from evidence that is, by nature, incomplete.

Anyway, the whole debate got me thinking: what players that you never got to watch would you most want to see play? Criteria are open: you didn't see the player because you were too young to really understand sports, they were retired before you were born or, in some cases, you just didn't care at the time but now regret your indifference. My list is below, and I implore our anonymous commenters and lazy staff members to share theirs in the comments.

1. Roberto Clemente, OF Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-1972)

This one is a personal choice, as Clemente is one of my favorite athletes of all-time regardless of the fact that I never got to see him play. A legendary hitter, I would have loved to see him hit but moreover am disappointed that I never got a chance to see him uncork one of his trademark throws from Right Field, where most experts say he had the best outfield throwing arm of anyone, ever. More than seeing him on the field, I wish I had been around to see the coverage of him, as he was somewhat underrated during his playing days and had constant gripes with the media due to perceived slights (similar to one of my favorite current athletes, Allen Iverson). David Maraniss' biography of him is one of my favorite books, he's a member of my all-time "dream outfield" along with Barry Bonds and the Mick (see below) and is the best person to ever play the game.

2. Jim Brown, FB Cleveland Browns (1957-1965)

An obvious pick for the simple reason that he's the person you HAVE to mention in any debate over the best running back of all time. While our generation might say Payton (though we didn't get to see his prime) or Barry Sanders, the over-40 crowd will insist that Brown was the best, hands down. Sure, he may have been playing against (ridiculously) inferior athletes, but his 5.2 career yards per carry go beyond mere athletic superiority. His personality makes him an intriguing athlete to have followed closely and overall, it would be worth it to feel confident in your claim about who the best running back is of all time.

3. Mickey Mantle, OF New York Yankees (1951-1968)

Another personal pick, Mantle is intriguing as much for his personality and lifestyle as for his prowess on the field. A notorious partyer, it would be incredible to follow this guy in the era of Deadspin and camera phones. Imagine, you're sitting there looking at a picture from a guy who saw him with three women in a bar the night before while as you stare at the computer he's out hitting two homers in a game with a presumably massive hangover. Many say he ultimately wasted some of his ability due to his heavy drinking and self-destructive personality, but he still managed to be one of the best of all time and would have been a kickass guy to read about on a daily basis.

4. Wilt Chamberlain, C Multiple Teams (1959-1973)

This one is a no-brainer. Think about it - every time Kobe or LeBron put up a 50+ point night, you get the obligatory reference to the Stilt's 100 point game on SportsCenter. The problem is, nobody freaking saw it. There is no video of the game and the only picture you ever see is Wilt holding that hilarious napkin-thing with "100" written on it. This one is more wishing to have seen the game itself than the guy's whole career, but still - it would have been incredible to have happened to have been in Hershey, PA on March 2, 1962 to see history.

5. Dick "Night Train" Lane, DB Multiple Teams (1952-1965)

Some will tell you he's the biggest cheapshot artist in football history, others will tell you he's the biggest badass that ever played. Either way, it would have been awesome to see this guy flying in from the secondary to clothesline the everloving shit out of some poor, unsuspecting running back that happened to stumble into his area of the field. The reason the rules were changed, Lane was such a badass that profootballreference.com lists him only as "Night Train" and not by his Christian name, Richard. That's fucking tough.