Pele - I don't watch soccer but, even decades after retirement, his impact in soccer (or football) is remembered. I played football first time when I was in college (JNTUCEK) and always loved the famous 'Bicycle Kick', which I never dared to try.
Michael Jordan - His nickname is "Air Jordan" and "His Airness" who redefined athleticism in basketball (side note, he owns over 1500 shoes). He's one of the most athletic people who changed the world. His dunks are really great in the history of basket ball. I tried dunks many times, I even could not jump a little.
Dhyan Chand - He was an Indian hockey player, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. Chand won 3 Olympic gold medals (1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin) and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1956.
Even today, Dhyan Chand remains a legendary figure in Indian and world hockey. His astounding skills have been glorified in various apocryphal stories and anecdotes. A number such legends revolve around the fact that Singh had a magical control over dribbling the ball.August 29, Chand's birthday, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India. The President gives away sport-related awards such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Some facts * While playing a hockey game, Major Dhyan Chand was not able to score a goal against the opposition team. After several misses, he argued with the match referee regarding the measurement of the goal post, and amazingly, it was found to not be in conformation with the official width of a goal post (as prescribed under international rules).
* After seeing his prolific play at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler offered Dhyan Chand, a Major in the British Indian Army, German citizenship and an offer to promote him to the rank of a Colonel (which Dhyan Chand subsequently refused).
* Tokyo Olympics officials once broke his hockey stick to check for a magnet. Embarrassed at finding nothing, they consoled themselves with the theory of glue.
Billie Jean King - Billie Jean King ( born November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. She is known for "The Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, in which she defeated 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men's singles champion.
Tiger Woods - Personal issues aside, this guy has redefined modern golf and whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated $90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010. When he plays at a tournament, he at least doubles the number of spectators.
Wayne Gretzky - is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. Nicknamed "The Great One," Gretzky is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the NHL,and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players and the NHL itself. Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season—a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 15 WHA/NHL seasons, 14 of them consecutive. Gretzky's jersey number, 99, has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.
Jackie Robinson - was the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.
Jim Thorpe - This guy is amazing! He played professional American football, baseball and basketball. If that wasn't enough, he won olympic gold medals in the decathlon and the pentathlon. One of the most versatile people who changed the world of sports.
Mohammed Ali - Arguably the greatest boxer of all time, is a former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After turning professional, he went on to become the first boxer to win the lineal heavyweight championship three times.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias - was an American athlete named by the Guinness Book of Records, along with Lottie Dod, as the most versatile female competitor.She played sports between the 1930-1950's when women weren't supposed to sweat. Played professional golf and won three gold medals in hurdles and the javelin. It was her spunk that put her on this list. She achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball, and track and field.
Source: www.google.co.in, http://en.wikipedia.or
