Since we talked about it in class, thought I would pass along ESPN's list of the Top 10 Athletes of the 20th Century:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Babe Ruth
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Jim Brown
5. Wayne Gretzky
6. Jesse Owens
7. Jim Thorpe
8. Willie Mays
9. Jack Nicklaus
10. Babe Didrikson
http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/athletes.html
You will note that Babe Didrikson was the only female. Check out her bio and perhaps you will see why she earned a place on this list. It is particularly impressive since she died young and in the mid-1950s.
Also, wanted to point out that, for some reason, ESPN felt obliged to talk about her marriage and to make references to possible marital problems. They also seem to imply things about her sexual orientation. I am not finding any of this in the descriptions of the top ten male athletes even though there have certainly been rumors of marital problems with some of them (think Michael Jordan). I wonder how this is relevant to her being included on the list of top athletes?
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