Who’s the greatest athlete ever?

There’s an intriguing list of the world’s 50 greatest athletes ever compiled by Beckett Media and editor Meryl Schoenbaum explains that the selection process involved prioritizing criteria such as stats, pioneer attributes, game-changing and cultural impact and athleticism.

“Sports are a microcosm of life,” says Schoenbaum. “There are winners and losers, team players and egoists, ethical and unethical. So do you merely look at an athlete’s stats to determine who deserves the distinction of being called the ‘greatest?’ We concluded that sports stars should not be given a pass to perform at a lesser standard of character than anyone else. Some would argue that they should be held to an even higher standard considering the messages their actions send to their young, adoring fans.”

Surely, Beckett’s choice as the greatest athlete of all time will be challenged. But Schoenbaum makes a good case for Michael Jordan. The former Chicago and Washington cager was cited for playing on two US Olympic gold medal teams in 1984 and 1992 and on six Chicago NBA championship squads in 1991-93 and 1996-98. In 2009, Air Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Here’s how Schoenbaum justifies her selection:

“There are great athletes who excel at their sport. There are great athletes who are known for the medals they have won and their moments of glory. Then there are the legends, the ones whose talent and tenacity have improved not only their sport but all who have witnessed their determination to be the absolute best.

“Michael Jordan is that kind of athlete. The work ethic, the power, the drive that pushed him harder and farther than perhaps even he thought was not possible. He picked himself up from the floor to get back in the game countless times after the only way his opponents could stop him was to knock him down. His character and charisma had a ripple effect on his teammates, motivating them to raise the bar higher for themselves.

“To say that Jordan’s achievements are in the record book is an understatement; they are so vast, they could fill volumes. Among the standouts: 10-time league leader in scoring; the only player to win consecutive MVP awards in regular seasons and finals; five-time regular season MVP and the highest points-per-game average in NBA history.

“In 1994, the superstar athlete whose ethereal leaps inspired the nickname ‘Air Jordan,’ took a brief hiatus from basketball to try his hand at baseball, joining the Chicago White Sox’ minor league team as a homage to his late father who hoped he would someday become a baseball player. After a year, Jordan returned to the Chicago Bulls to finish out his stellar basketball career which ended in 2003. But there was one more statistic to be set by ‘His Airness’ before he left. During the last game of his career, on April 16, 2003, Michael Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates.”

Schoenbaum prefaces her choice with a description of “the greatest”: “Fire, water, earth ... air. The classic elements: the forces of nature. There is a saying about witnessing something extraordinary: ‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.’ If air is a force of nature, witnessing our choice for the greatest athlete of all defy the laws of gravity and inspire greatness in his teammates has been ... breathtaking.”

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Legendary basketball guru George Raveling

disagreed with the choice even as Jordan isn’t only a business associate with Nike but also a close personal friend. Raveling was on Bobby Knight’s coaching staff in 1984 when the US captured the gold medal at the Olympics with Jordan playing a starring role. In Raveling’s book, Jordan isn’t even his pick as the greatest basketball player ever – his choice is Wilt Chamberlain.

Raveling said there are more outstanding athletes than Jordan excelling in different sports. He didn’t single out his choice as the greatest athlete but among those whom he named as deserving of the recognition are Jim Thorpe, Bo Jackson, Jim Brown and Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

Thorpe won Olympic gold medals in pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics. He played major league baseball and professional football. In 1950, the Associated Press honored Thorpe as the greatest athlete of the half- century. In 1963, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Jackson played professional baseball and football. In 1989, he hit 32 homers and drove in 105 runs for the Kansas City Royals. When the baseball season ended, he joined the Oakland Raiders for their final 11 games. Brown was an exceptional athlete at Syracuse University and his sports were football, basketball, baseball, track and lacrosse. At Syracuse, he scored 43 points in one game, rushed for six touchdowns and was named to the All-American first team in lacrosse. He went on to post nearly every rushing record conceivable during his nine years with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. Zaharias was an All-American in basketball, won 10 major golf championships and claimed two gold medals (javelin, 80-meter hurdles) and a silver (high jump) at the 1932 Olympics. She was a six-time Woman Athlete of the Year. Zaharias also shone in diving, baseball, softball and bowling.

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After listing the 50 greatest athletes, Schoenbaum

names 10 athletes who almost make the cut. One of them is Manny Pacquiao. Schoenbaum has this to say about Pacquiao: “The list of accolades for this fearless force from the Philippines would make anyone’s head spin. He is the only fighter to be able to claim world championships in eight different weight divisions in which he has won 10 titles. He was named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization.” The nine others who nearly make the top 50 are Andre Agassi, David Beckham, Usain Bolt, Julius Erving, Brett Favre, Mario Lemieux, Lionel Messi, Martina Navratilova and Shaun White.

Here is Beckett’s list of the 50 greatest athletes, in order: Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Wayne Gretzky, Thorpe, Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Pele, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jackson, Carl Lewis, Gordie Howe, Bruce Lee, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Joe Montana, Zaharias, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jack Nicklaus, Ted Williams, Margaret Court, Diego Maradona, Brown, Mark Spitz, Deion Sanders, Walter Payton, Joe Louis, Emmitt Smith, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron, Laird Hamilton, Jerry Rice, Chamberlain, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Joe DiMaggio, Peyton Manning, Ty Cobb, Mark Allen, Royce Gracie, Jesse Owens, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Sandy Koufax, Cy Young and Lawrence Taylor.