A few months ago I posted my choices as the 100 greatest boxers using a system I set up to grade all of the boxers in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
I liked it, but when I ran through some modern boxers they just scored way too high because of all the additional weight classes and sanctioning bodies. There is just a pea soup of champions today.
So I reworked it. Boxers still score points based on wins, but I had to do some additional breakdowns for era.
It's still based on a 60 fight career so fighters who fought more than 60 fights had their point totals divided and fighters who fought less than 60 points had their non-title fights multiplied.
In any era, a world title win against a Hall of Famer was worth 100 points with a knockout being an additional 25. For the 1983 on era a world title fight is one for a WBA, WBC or IBF belt. If they were knocked out they had five points deducted.
The oldtimers who won world title fights before 1963 (fewest divisions and usually only one recognized world title holder) received 80 points. Knockouts were worth an additional 20 points. Getting knocked out was a -10.
Wins over Hall of Famers in non-title bouts or lesser title fights (WBO, IBU, whatnot) earned 70 points. A KO is a plus 17.5 and getting KO'd is a negative 12.5.
Then it gets messy. World title wins in the WBA-WBC only era of 1963-1982 is worth 60. A pre-1963 lesser title fight (European or just one of the N.Y. bodies) is worth 40. The modern 1983 plus title wins are worth 35. The 1963-1982 lesser title fights (NABF etc.) drop to 30. WBO or IBC titles from 1983 on are worth 25 points and the stepping stone titles from 1983 on (WBU, IBU and all the rest are worth 15.
Non title fights -- after they've been adjusted for the 60 fight total -- are worth 10 with a KO an additional 5 points. Getting KO'd in a non-title bout takes 25 points off your score.
You get a career score -- which helps guys like Ricardo Lopez and Rocky Marciano -- where wins are worth 25 points, draws 12.5, KOs 6.25 and getting KOd a negative 8.25.
You take all of those points and then divide by 60 for a score.
Now, at this point a few boxers seemed out of place. Several fighters with less than 30 fights scored awfully high and a few that accomplished major wins over all-time greats seemed low.
So I adjusted points downward for fighters with fewer than 30 fights and created a bonus system based on quality wins.
My original score treated wins over Hall of Famers evenly and truthfully there are a lot of weak hall of famers. Why is Lew Jenkins or Fritzie Zivic in the hall of fame? Without the bonus system, a knockout win over Sammy Mandell in a title fight had the same weight as Joe Frazier's KO of Muhammad Ali.
I took the top 125 scorers on the unadjusted list and gave fighters points for wins over those fighters. So a win over the top ranked golfer in any fight would be an additional 125 points, the second fighter on the list would be worth 124 and so on. The bonus points were one-time additions. You didn't get the points each time you beat the fighter and you just needed one win over a great even if you lost five other times (Jake LaMotta's 1-5 mark against Sugar Ray Robinson).
The bonus points painted a truer picture. Sugar Ray Leonard, who fought relatively few title fights because of a mid-career eye injury but scored victories over Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, jumped up the rankings considerably.
One thing to remember is boxers can gain or lose points even after they retire. Take Leonard and Hagler for example. Both defeated Thomas Hearns by knockout. Those wins are worth 43.75 points right now (35 for the victory, 8.75 for the knockout). Thanks to Hearns' comeback this decade, he is not in the Hall of Fame. Of course, he's a shoe-in. Once he is elected, the wins by Hagler and Leonard will be worth 125 points (100 for the win and 25 for the knockout).
With the all-time standings so close once you get past the top four boxers, those extra points will be enough for Hagler and Leonard to move past several boxers.
The best part is that I can keep the rankings up to date with each fight. There are several fights in the coming months that will affect the rankings and I'll update the list after each.
This post is long enough. I'm going to post my greatest 100 boxers over the next four days. I'll begin with No. 25 down to No. 1.
Rank, fighter, years, country, points
25. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-07, U.S., 53.998
24. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 54.110
23. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 54.210
22. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 55.300
21. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 55.391
20. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 55.620
19. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 56.066
18. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 56.382
17. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 57.253
16. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.954
15. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 58.743
14. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.871
13. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 59.017
12. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 59.526
11. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 59.653
10. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 59.879
9. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 60.008
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 60.416
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 61.664
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 62.715
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.793
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 75.382
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.451
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 84.329
1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 85.805
I'll admit there are some head scratchers in here. Ezzard Charles at No. 11? He had 25 losses, but he lost 13 of his last 23 fights at the end of his career after losing to Rocky Marciano. He also was knocked out by Jersey Joe Walcott.
Still, he was a very light heavyweight, usually fighting between 175 and 190 pounds, and he took on the best of his day early and often. He was 15-2 against Hall of Fame fighters in non-title or lesser title fights and he had bonus point wins over Joe Louis and Archie Moore.
Aaron Pryor at No. 12 also seems high. Few mention prior when they talk about the best fighters of the 1980s and 1990s. The conversation usually revolves around Hearns, Leonard and Hagler.
But Pryor had a great career record -- 39-1 with 35 KOs -- and a perfect 12-0 mark with 10 knockouts in title fights. Three of those knockouts were bonus point wins over Antonio Cervantes and Alexis Arguello.
The top two actually changed places after the bonus points were figured in. Joe Louis was well ahead of Muhammad Ali thanks to his 26-1 record in world title fights, but only one of Louis' wins was over a fighter in the top 125 of my unadjusted rankings. And even that fighter, John Henry Lewis, deserves an asterisk. Lewis was at the end of his career, had eye injuries and only fought Louis because Joe knew he needed a final payday before retiring.
Ali, on the other hand, scored wins over Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Floyd Patterson and great light heavyweights Bob Foster and Archie Moore. Ali didn't even get bonus points for his shocking wins over Sonny Liston. Liston is highly regarded but had so few title fights -- four total -- that he didn't make the unadjusted top 125.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Furyk moves up while falling short
Jim Furyk's second straight second place finish helped him jump five spots in the Ultimate Golf Playday. Only the top 72 -- 18 foursomes -- so you won't see U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera. His win pulled him up to No. 177, just behind the immortal Dick Metz.
Tiger Woods' second place finish allowed him to pick up more points, but his mad dash to overtake Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer has lost a little steam.
Here are the 72 greatest men golfers ever. Active golfers are in bold.
Rank, player, years, points
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2007, 693.17
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
7. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
8. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
15. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
20. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
21. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
22. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
27. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
28. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
30. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
34. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
35. Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
37. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
38. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
40. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
44. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
45. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
46. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
47. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
48. Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
49. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
50. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
51. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
52. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
53. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
54. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
55. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
56. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
57. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
58. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
60. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2007, 180.45
61. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
62. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
63. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
64. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
65. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
66. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
68. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
70. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 166.50
71. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
72. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Tiger Woods' second place finish allowed him to pick up more points, but his mad dash to overtake Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer has lost a little steam.
Here are the 72 greatest men golfers ever. Active golfers are in bold.
Rank, player, years, points
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2007, 693.17
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
7. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
8. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
15. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
20. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
21. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
22. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
27. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
28. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
30. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
34. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
35. Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
37. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
38. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
40. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
44. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
45. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
46. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
47. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
48. Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
49. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
50. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
51. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
52. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
53. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
54. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
55. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
56. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
57. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
58. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
60. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2007, 180.45
61. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
62. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
63. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
64. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
65. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
66. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
68. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
70. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 166.50
71. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
72. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sunday, June 10, 2007
No major movement in women's all-time golf tourney
Suzann Petterson's LPGA title moved her into 80th place in the Ultimate Women's Golf Tournament. She still has a ways to go to move into the top 48 and appear here.
In fact, very few of the big names scored. Karrie Webb finished second but still trails Annika Sorenstam by a large margin for No. 2.
Lorena Ochoa, who is ranked No. 1 but still yet to win a major title, is 61st.
Here are the updated rankings with active players in bold.
Rank, golfer, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2007, 474.80
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 458.05
6. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2007, 285.03
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 266.30
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 134.08
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
41. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
42. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
43. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
44. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
45. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
46. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
47. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
48. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
In fact, very few of the big names scored. Karrie Webb finished second but still trails Annika Sorenstam by a large margin for No. 2.
Lorena Ochoa, who is ranked No. 1 but still yet to win a major title, is 61st.
Here are the updated rankings with active players in bold.
Rank, golfer, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2007, 474.80
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 458.05
6. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2007, 285.03
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 266.30
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 134.08
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
41. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
42. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
43. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
44. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
45. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
46. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
47. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
48. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
Nadal keeps Federer at No. 5
Rafael Nadal jumped six spots in the Men's Ultimate Tournament Standings and kept Roger Federer, momentarily at No. 5, in the rankings.
Still, if Federer were to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which he's done the past three years, he'll motor all the way to No. 1.
At least for today, though, it was Nadal making the major move. The updated standings after the French. Active players are in bold.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 596.00
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2007, 231.00
17. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
18. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
19. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
20. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
21. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
22. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
Still, if Federer were to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which he's done the past three years, he'll motor all the way to No. 1.
At least for today, though, it was Nadal making the major move. The updated standings after the French. Active players are in bold.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 596.00
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2007, 231.00
17. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
18. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
19. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
20. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
21. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
22. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
Henin closing in on best of her generation
Justin Henin's sixth major title, and fourth French Open, means she's clearly the best clay court player of her generation. While she is closing in on Venus Williams and Martina Hingis, she's still a few titles from moving past Serena Williams in the Ultimate Woman's Tennis Tournament rankings.
Here are the top 32 women players of the Open Era after the French Open. Active players are in bold.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 491.50
9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 413.50
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 380.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
19. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 165.00
21. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 158.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
23. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
24. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
25. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
Here are the top 32 women players of the Open Era after the French Open. Active players are in bold.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 491.50
9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 413.50
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 380.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
19. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 165.00
21. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 158.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
23. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
24. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
25. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Roger roars past McEnroe
Another major victory, another player passed in the all-time tennis tournament. Roger Federer's 10th major title -- out of 11 finals -- moved him past John McEnroe.
If Federer wins another title this year, he'll pass Connors. Two more this year would move him past Lendl. If he wins the Grand Slam, he'll move to No. 1 and may move the point total so high, no one can reach it.
Here are the updated standings (active players in bold):
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 562.50
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 163.00
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
If Federer wins another title this year, he'll pass Connors. Two more this year would move him past Lendl. If he wins the Grand Slam, he'll move to No. 1 and may move the point total so high, no one can reach it.
Here are the updated standings (active players in bold):
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 562.50
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 163.00
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
Saturday, January 27, 2007
So Serena is not done yet
Serena Williams' dismantling of Maria Sharapova may have been the most dominant performance by a woman I've ever seen. This was after Sharapova looked like her power was going to lead her to a dominant run this year.
Instead, Williams blew her right off the court. It makes you wonder how many titles she could have had now had she concentrated more on tennis and how many more she'd like to win. It seems the only thing stopping her is health and dedication.
With the win, Williams moved up one spot in the ultimate women's tennis tournament and widened her lead as the best player of this generation, while Sharapova moved up several despite the disheartening defeat.
Active players (Venus Williams included) are in bold:
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 491.50
9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 411.00
12. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 350.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 158.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
23. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
24. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
25. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
Instead, Williams blew her right off the court. It makes you wonder how many titles she could have had now had she concentrated more on tennis and how many more she'd like to win. It seems the only thing stopping her is health and dedication.
With the win, Williams moved up one spot in the ultimate women's tennis tournament and widened her lead as the best player of this generation, while Sharapova moved up several despite the disheartening defeat.
Active players (Venus Williams included) are in bold:
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 491.50
9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 411.00
12. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 350.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 158.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
23. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
24. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
25. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Pound for pound, the greatest 100 boxers ever
For my ranking of the greatest boxers in history, I deviated from my systems in the other sports that are set up to incorporate current results. What you'll find below are the 100 greatest boxers inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Boxing today has too many divisions and champions today to keep up with unless you are really a hardcore fan. I plan on updating my standings each year when the newest edition of The Boxing Register is updated. The Register has the records and opponents of the more than 200 fighters in the IBHOF.
So while you will see fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler in the rankings, you won't see Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield or Bernard Hopkins. Hearns, Holyfield and Hopkins aren't eligible and Duran was just announced as an inductee. His results will be in the next Register and Duran will take his place somewhere in the rankings.
How did I rank the fighters? Weighting their victories and then dividing the points by a set number of fights to take away the advantage fighters who fought relatively few times had in my system over the old timers who stepped into the ring hundreds of times.
Basically, I gave fighters points -- or deducted in cases of when they were KO'd -- for wins over certain level of fighters.
First, a fighter received a score for his overall record, all wins and KOs worth the same, regardless of quality.
Then I broke the wins down in four ways:
Title fights against fellow Hall of Famers
Other title fights
Non title fights against Hall of Famers
All other bouts
Originally, I was going to give 6 points for a title win over Hall of Famers, plus 3 points if won in a knockout, 3 points (+1.5 for knockouts) for other title fight wins as well as non title fights against Hall of Famers and 1 point (+.5 for knockouts) for all other fights.
I had to tweak the original plan because of the growing number of divisions over the years. It is far easier for fighters today to line up championship fights because there are 17 weight divisions today versus the eight of much of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. There are several IBHOF members from the early part of 20th century who never received even one title shot.
Title fight victories in matches before 1950 was increased to 4.5 points with 2.25 points for a knockout. Championship wins from the 1950s through the 1970s was moved up to 3.75 with 1.875 for KOs and title wins from the 1980s and on are worth the 3 points.
I also had to tweak the heavyweight division. Since the growing number of weight classes had zero affect on the heaviest division, title wins for heavyweights has two breakdowns -- 3 points for wins from 1980 on and 3.75 points for wins before 1980. The change there is more a result of the multiple licensing bodies. Before 1980, there generally was just one champion. Today, there are four.
I also created a 4.5 point division in the heavyweight division for Black Heavyweight title fights. In the days of Jim Jeffries, Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, several great black heavyweights were forced to fight each other time and again because no one would risk the heavyweight title against them. Was Dempsey really better than Harry Wills. We'll never know for sure.
How does it breakdown? Let's look at two Hall of Fame middleweights, Carlos Monzon and Jake LaMotta.
LaMotta ran up a career record of 83-19-4 with 30 KOs and he was knocked out 4 times. I took his winning percentage and converted his record to what it would have looked like with 60 fights. LaMatta would have been 47-11-2 with 17 knockouts while being KO'd twice. That scored him 55.472 points. Monzon's record (87-3-9-59-0) would have boiled down to 53-2-6 with 36 knockouts, giving him 73.3 points. Power punchers, because of the bonus points, are going to have an advantage in my system, as well they should. A KO is always more definitive than even the most dominant decision.
Next, fighters earned points for the quality of competition. LaMotta was 1-1 against Hall of Famers in title fights with 1 KO while getting stopped once. He scored 8.5 points in those matches in my system. Monzon was 5-0 with 4 KOs, giving him 42 points.
LaMotta was 2-0 in his other title fights in the 3.75 a win era, while Monzon was 11-0 with 7 KOs in the same era where each win was worth 3.75 points. LaMotta received 9.375 points while Monzon scored 54.375 for those wins.
In matchups with Hall of Famers in non-title fights, LaMotta went 4-5 with all fights going the distance. He scored 12 points in those fights. In my system, a fighter does not lose points with a loss unless he is knocked out. He just gets zero points, which drives his average down. Fighters with large loss totals generally don't score well unless they had many, many quality wins.
Monzon, as is increasingly common in the modern era, did not face a Hall of Famer in a non-title bout.
Finally, I boiled a fighter's record in all other fights down to the 60 fight average, deducting the quality fights. So Monzon, who fought 16 title fights, had 44 matches against non-Hall of Famers in my system. He was 71-3-9 in those matches in his career and that was whittled down to 38-2-5 with 25 KOs, which earned him 52.747 points in those matches.
LaMotta had 13 fights either for the title or against Hall of Famers leaving him 47 matches out of 60 against "others." His career record in those matches was 76-13-4 and whittling that down to 47 would have given him a 38-7-2 record with 14 knockouts. That was worth 41.946 points.
To come up with a final score, simply add up all those points and divide by 60. LaMotta scored 127.29 points for a 60-fight score of 2.122. You won't see him in my top 100 despite the fact "Raging Bull" is so critically acclaimed.
Monzon scored 222.46 points for a final 60-fight score of 3.708. He is one of the top fighters ever.
Each year, there will be some fluctuations in scores as more fighters are added to the Hall. For example, Marvin Hagler's greatest win -- the knockout of Tommie Hearns -- earned him 4.5 points so far -- 3 points for the post 1980s title fight win and a 1.5 point knockout bonus.
When Hearns is elected to the Hall, Hagler's point total for that fight doubles. He'll get six points for a title fight win over a Hall of Famer and 3 points for the knockout.
Without using further space, here's my top 100 fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame:
Rank, Boxer, Years, Total points, Classes
100. Fighting Harada, 1960-70, 2.435, Bantam/Fly
99. Ismael Laguna, 1961-71, 2.438, Lightweight
98. Pancho Villa, 1919-25, 2.442, Flyweight
97. Laszlo Papp, 1957-64, 2.448, Middleweight
96. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, 2.452, Lightweight
95. Sugar Ramos, 1957-72, 2.457, Featherweight
94. Young Stribling, 1921-33, 2.459, Heavyweight
93. Paul Berlenbach, 1923-33, 2.464, Light heavyweight
92. Ken Buchanan, 1965-82, 2.471, Lightweight
91. Harry Wills, 1910-32, 2.473, Heavyweight
90. Jack Dillon, 1908-23, 2.477, Light heavyweight
89. Pipino Cuevas, 1971-89, 2.487, Welterweight
88. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, 2.496, Welterweight
87. Marcel Thil, 1920-37, 2.519, Middleweight
86. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, 2.527, Jr. Lightweight
85. Tony Zale, 1934-48, 2.537, Middleweight
84. Jack Delaney, 1919-32, 2.537, Light heavyweight
83. Tommy Gibbons, 1911-25, 2.555, Heavyweight
82. Freddie Miller, 1927-40, 2.555, Featherweight
81. Bobby Chacon, 1972-88, 2.573, Jr. Light/Feather
80. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, 2.578, Jr. Welterweight
79. Charles "Kid" McCoy, 1891-16, 2.583, Middleweight
78. Ingemar Johansson, 1952-63, 2.584, Heavyweight
77. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, 2.591, Middleweight
76. Packey McFarland, 1904-15, 2.599, Lightweight
75. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, 2.602, Jr. Mid/Welter/Jr. Welter
74. Kid Chocolate, 1928-38, 2.608, Jr. Light/Feather
73. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, 2.638, Lightweight
72. Joe Jeannette, 1904-19, 2.643, Heavyweight
71. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, 2.650, Middleweight
70. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, 2.662, Light heavyweight
69. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, 2.667, Middle/Jr. Mid
68. Barry McGuigan, 1981-89, 2.674, Featherweight
67. Edwin Rosario, 1979-97, 2.675, Jr. Welter/Light
66. Jose Torres, 1958-69, 2.688, Light heavyweight
65. Carlos Palomino, 1972-98, 2.701, Welterweight
64. Daniel Zaragoza, 1980-97, 2.701, Jr. Feather/Bantam
63. Harry Greb, 1913-26, 2.711, Middleweight
62. Jeff Chandler, 1976-84, 2.716, Bantamweight
61. Freddie Steele, 1928-41, 2.719, Middleweight
60. Sonny Liston, 1953-70, 2.728, Heavyweight
59. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, 2.731, Light heavyweight
58. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, 2.732, Featherweight
57. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, 2.756, Flyweight
56. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, 2.761, Middle/Welter
55. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, 2.766, Bantamweight
54. Gene Fullmer, 1951-63, 2.768, Middleweight
53. Bob Fitzsimmons, 1883-14, 2.800, Heavy/Lt. Heavy/Mid
52. Ruben Olivares, 1965-88, 2.800, Feather/Bantam
51. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, 2.861, Heavyweight
50. Jeff Fenech, 1984-96, 2.862, Feather/Jr. Feather/Bantam
49. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, 2.874, Jr. Welter/Light/Feather
48. Ike Williams, 1940-55, 2.903, Lightweight
47. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, 2.915, Flyweight
46. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, 2.955, Heavyweight
45. Johnny Coulon, 1905-20, 2.965, Bantamweight
44. Abe Attell, 1900-17, 2.978, Featherweight
43. Bob Foster, 1961-78, 2.980, Light heavyweight
42. Terry Norris, 1986-98, 2.986, Jr. Middleweight
41. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, 2.993, Heavyweight
40. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, 2.997, Jr. Light/Feather
39. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, 3.013, Heavyweight
38. Tommy Burns, 1900-20, 3.035, Heavyweight
37. Mike McCallum, 1981-97, 3.051, Lt. Heavy/Middle/Jr. Mid
36. Willie Pep, 1940-66, 3.066, Featherweight
35. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, 3.098, Featherweight
34. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, 3.119, Featherweight
33. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, 3.136, Lightweight
32. Barney Ross, 1929-38, 3.138, Welter/Jr. Welter/Light
31. Archie Moore, 1936-63, 3.171, Light heavyweight
30. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, 3.180, Lt. Heavy/Sup. Mid/Middle/Jr. Mid/Welter
29. George Foreman, 1969-97, 3.186, Heavyweight
28. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, 3.188, Middleweight
27. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, 3.196, Heavyweight
26. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, 3.201, Featherweight
25. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, 3.205, Feather/Bantam
24. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, 3.234, Jr. Flyweight
23. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, 3.246, Heavy/Lt. Heavy
22. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, 3.250, Heavy/Lt. Heavy
21. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, 3.269, Jr. Flyweight
20. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, 3.269, Feather/Bantam
19. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, 3.297, Jr. Welterweight
18. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, 3.356, Middleweight
17. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, 3.360, Jr. Light/Feather
16. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, 3.370, Jr. Welter/Light
15. James Jeffries, 1896-10, 3.371, Heavyweight
14. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, 3.399, Welterweight
13. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, 3.429, Bantamweight
12. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, 3.470, Jr. Welterweight
11. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, 3.470, Bantamweight
10. Joe Gans, 1891-09, 3.599, Lightweight
9. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, 3.648, Heavyweight
8. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, 3.650, Light/Jr. Light/Feather
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, 3.708, Middleweight
6. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, 3.723, Jr. Bantamweight
5. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, 3.973, Jr. Light/Feather/Jr. Feather
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, 4.150, Middle/Welter
3. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, 4.345, Heavyweight
2. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, 4.346, Welter/Light/Feather
1. Joe Louis, 1934-51, 4.865, Heavyweight
I'll admit there are a few headscratchers in here. Wilfredo Gomez No. 5 all-time. Well, he had a stellar record, 44-3-1 with 42 knockouts and the knockouts pushed his score upward. Plus, he was a remarkable 21-3 with 19 knockouts in title fights.
Henry Armstrong over Sugar Ray Robinson? Armstrong was just 3-3 in Hall of Fame title fights while Robinson was 10-5-1. But Armstrong was 19-0-1 with 16 KOs in his other title fights and 6-2 against Hall of Famers in non-title bouts. Robinson was 7-2 in his other title fights and although he was 11-1 against Hall of Famers in non-title bouts, he had just one KO in those fights.
There were several heavyweight surprises. Liston is below Floyd Patterson, who he crushed twice, because those were his only title fight wins. Patterson had several defenses before running into Liston.
Jack Dempsey is very low at No. 42 (behind Ezzard Charles and Tommy Burns), while Jack Johnson finished even worse at No. 52, while Jim Jeffries was No. 15.
Dempsey held the heavyweight title but defended it few times. He only had 10 fights for titles or against Hall of Famers. Johnson also was hurt by inactivity -- once he won the title he refused to defend it against fellow black Hall of Famers Sam Langford, Harry Wills or Joe Jeannette -- but also a poor overall record. Johnson lost 13 fights and was knocked out seven times, dragging down his score. Some of those may have been dives. In fact, there are lots of curious losses among these fighters that may have been gangster influenced. I can't judge those. I just added up the points.
Burns is a special case. Lightly regarded by most, he was a very active champion -- if only to keep Johnson off his tail -- with a 11-1 record in title fights with nine KOs.
Marciano never lost and he had a fine record in his title fights and fights against Hall of Famers -- 8-0 with 7 KOs. He just didn't fight enough of them. Rocky had the top career score of any figher -- 86.3 with Galaxy next at 84.7 -- but his point total from title fights ranked just 45th. If he had stuck around long enough to beat Patterson and Liston, he would have been able to move into the Ali, Louis point totals.
Boxing today has too many divisions and champions today to keep up with unless you are really a hardcore fan. I plan on updating my standings each year when the newest edition of The Boxing Register is updated. The Register has the records and opponents of the more than 200 fighters in the IBHOF.
So while you will see fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler in the rankings, you won't see Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield or Bernard Hopkins. Hearns, Holyfield and Hopkins aren't eligible and Duran was just announced as an inductee. His results will be in the next Register and Duran will take his place somewhere in the rankings.
How did I rank the fighters? Weighting their victories and then dividing the points by a set number of fights to take away the advantage fighters who fought relatively few times had in my system over the old timers who stepped into the ring hundreds of times.
Basically, I gave fighters points -- or deducted in cases of when they were KO'd -- for wins over certain level of fighters.
First, a fighter received a score for his overall record, all wins and KOs worth the same, regardless of quality.
Then I broke the wins down in four ways:
Title fights against fellow Hall of Famers
Other title fights
Non title fights against Hall of Famers
All other bouts
Originally, I was going to give 6 points for a title win over Hall of Famers, plus 3 points if won in a knockout, 3 points (+1.5 for knockouts) for other title fight wins as well as non title fights against Hall of Famers and 1 point (+.5 for knockouts) for all other fights.
I had to tweak the original plan because of the growing number of divisions over the years. It is far easier for fighters today to line up championship fights because there are 17 weight divisions today versus the eight of much of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. There are several IBHOF members from the early part of 20th century who never received even one title shot.
Title fight victories in matches before 1950 was increased to 4.5 points with 2.25 points for a knockout. Championship wins from the 1950s through the 1970s was moved up to 3.75 with 1.875 for KOs and title wins from the 1980s and on are worth the 3 points.
I also had to tweak the heavyweight division. Since the growing number of weight classes had zero affect on the heaviest division, title wins for heavyweights has two breakdowns -- 3 points for wins from 1980 on and 3.75 points for wins before 1980. The change there is more a result of the multiple licensing bodies. Before 1980, there generally was just one champion. Today, there are four.
I also created a 4.5 point division in the heavyweight division for Black Heavyweight title fights. In the days of Jim Jeffries, Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, several great black heavyweights were forced to fight each other time and again because no one would risk the heavyweight title against them. Was Dempsey really better than Harry Wills. We'll never know for sure.
How does it breakdown? Let's look at two Hall of Fame middleweights, Carlos Monzon and Jake LaMotta.
LaMotta ran up a career record of 83-19-4 with 30 KOs and he was knocked out 4 times. I took his winning percentage and converted his record to what it would have looked like with 60 fights. LaMatta would have been 47-11-2 with 17 knockouts while being KO'd twice. That scored him 55.472 points. Monzon's record (87-3-9-59-0) would have boiled down to 53-2-6 with 36 knockouts, giving him 73.3 points. Power punchers, because of the bonus points, are going to have an advantage in my system, as well they should. A KO is always more definitive than even the most dominant decision.
Next, fighters earned points for the quality of competition. LaMotta was 1-1 against Hall of Famers in title fights with 1 KO while getting stopped once. He scored 8.5 points in those matches in my system. Monzon was 5-0 with 4 KOs, giving him 42 points.
LaMotta was 2-0 in his other title fights in the 3.75 a win era, while Monzon was 11-0 with 7 KOs in the same era where each win was worth 3.75 points. LaMotta received 9.375 points while Monzon scored 54.375 for those wins.
In matchups with Hall of Famers in non-title fights, LaMotta went 4-5 with all fights going the distance. He scored 12 points in those fights. In my system, a fighter does not lose points with a loss unless he is knocked out. He just gets zero points, which drives his average down. Fighters with large loss totals generally don't score well unless they had many, many quality wins.
Monzon, as is increasingly common in the modern era, did not face a Hall of Famer in a non-title bout.
Finally, I boiled a fighter's record in all other fights down to the 60 fight average, deducting the quality fights. So Monzon, who fought 16 title fights, had 44 matches against non-Hall of Famers in my system. He was 71-3-9 in those matches in his career and that was whittled down to 38-2-5 with 25 KOs, which earned him 52.747 points in those matches.
LaMotta had 13 fights either for the title or against Hall of Famers leaving him 47 matches out of 60 against "others." His career record in those matches was 76-13-4 and whittling that down to 47 would have given him a 38-7-2 record with 14 knockouts. That was worth 41.946 points.
To come up with a final score, simply add up all those points and divide by 60. LaMotta scored 127.29 points for a 60-fight score of 2.122. You won't see him in my top 100 despite the fact "Raging Bull" is so critically acclaimed.
Monzon scored 222.46 points for a final 60-fight score of 3.708. He is one of the top fighters ever.
Each year, there will be some fluctuations in scores as more fighters are added to the Hall. For example, Marvin Hagler's greatest win -- the knockout of Tommie Hearns -- earned him 4.5 points so far -- 3 points for the post 1980s title fight win and a 1.5 point knockout bonus.
When Hearns is elected to the Hall, Hagler's point total for that fight doubles. He'll get six points for a title fight win over a Hall of Famer and 3 points for the knockout.
Without using further space, here's my top 100 fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame:
Rank, Boxer, Years, Total points, Classes
100. Fighting Harada, 1960-70, 2.435, Bantam/Fly
99. Ismael Laguna, 1961-71, 2.438, Lightweight
98. Pancho Villa, 1919-25, 2.442, Flyweight
97. Laszlo Papp, 1957-64, 2.448, Middleweight
96. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, 2.452, Lightweight
95. Sugar Ramos, 1957-72, 2.457, Featherweight
94. Young Stribling, 1921-33, 2.459, Heavyweight
93. Paul Berlenbach, 1923-33, 2.464, Light heavyweight
92. Ken Buchanan, 1965-82, 2.471, Lightweight
91. Harry Wills, 1910-32, 2.473, Heavyweight
90. Jack Dillon, 1908-23, 2.477, Light heavyweight
89. Pipino Cuevas, 1971-89, 2.487, Welterweight
88. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, 2.496, Welterweight
87. Marcel Thil, 1920-37, 2.519, Middleweight
86. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, 2.527, Jr. Lightweight
85. Tony Zale, 1934-48, 2.537, Middleweight
84. Jack Delaney, 1919-32, 2.537, Light heavyweight
83. Tommy Gibbons, 1911-25, 2.555, Heavyweight
82. Freddie Miller, 1927-40, 2.555, Featherweight
81. Bobby Chacon, 1972-88, 2.573, Jr. Light/Feather
80. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, 2.578, Jr. Welterweight
79. Charles "Kid" McCoy, 1891-16, 2.583, Middleweight
78. Ingemar Johansson, 1952-63, 2.584, Heavyweight
77. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, 2.591, Middleweight
76. Packey McFarland, 1904-15, 2.599, Lightweight
75. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, 2.602, Jr. Mid/Welter/Jr. Welter
74. Kid Chocolate, 1928-38, 2.608, Jr. Light/Feather
73. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, 2.638, Lightweight
72. Joe Jeannette, 1904-19, 2.643, Heavyweight
71. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, 2.650, Middleweight
70. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, 2.662, Light heavyweight
69. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, 2.667, Middle/Jr. Mid
68. Barry McGuigan, 1981-89, 2.674, Featherweight
67. Edwin Rosario, 1979-97, 2.675, Jr. Welter/Light
66. Jose Torres, 1958-69, 2.688, Light heavyweight
65. Carlos Palomino, 1972-98, 2.701, Welterweight
64. Daniel Zaragoza, 1980-97, 2.701, Jr. Feather/Bantam
63. Harry Greb, 1913-26, 2.711, Middleweight
62. Jeff Chandler, 1976-84, 2.716, Bantamweight
61. Freddie Steele, 1928-41, 2.719, Middleweight
60. Sonny Liston, 1953-70, 2.728, Heavyweight
59. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, 2.731, Light heavyweight
58. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, 2.732, Featherweight
57. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, 2.756, Flyweight
56. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, 2.761, Middle/Welter
55. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, 2.766, Bantamweight
54. Gene Fullmer, 1951-63, 2.768, Middleweight
53. Bob Fitzsimmons, 1883-14, 2.800, Heavy/Lt. Heavy/Mid
52. Ruben Olivares, 1965-88, 2.800, Feather/Bantam
51. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, 2.861, Heavyweight
50. Jeff Fenech, 1984-96, 2.862, Feather/Jr. Feather/Bantam
49. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, 2.874, Jr. Welter/Light/Feather
48. Ike Williams, 1940-55, 2.903, Lightweight
47. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, 2.915, Flyweight
46. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, 2.955, Heavyweight
45. Johnny Coulon, 1905-20, 2.965, Bantamweight
44. Abe Attell, 1900-17, 2.978, Featherweight
43. Bob Foster, 1961-78, 2.980, Light heavyweight
42. Terry Norris, 1986-98, 2.986, Jr. Middleweight
41. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, 2.993, Heavyweight
40. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, 2.997, Jr. Light/Feather
39. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, 3.013, Heavyweight
38. Tommy Burns, 1900-20, 3.035, Heavyweight
37. Mike McCallum, 1981-97, 3.051, Lt. Heavy/Middle/Jr. Mid
36. Willie Pep, 1940-66, 3.066, Featherweight
35. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, 3.098, Featherweight
34. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, 3.119, Featherweight
33. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, 3.136, Lightweight
32. Barney Ross, 1929-38, 3.138, Welter/Jr. Welter/Light
31. Archie Moore, 1936-63, 3.171, Light heavyweight
30. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, 3.180, Lt. Heavy/Sup. Mid/Middle/Jr. Mid/Welter
29. George Foreman, 1969-97, 3.186, Heavyweight
28. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, 3.188, Middleweight
27. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, 3.196, Heavyweight
26. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, 3.201, Featherweight
25. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, 3.205, Feather/Bantam
24. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, 3.234, Jr. Flyweight
23. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, 3.246, Heavy/Lt. Heavy
22. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, 3.250, Heavy/Lt. Heavy
21. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, 3.269, Jr. Flyweight
20. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, 3.269, Feather/Bantam
19. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, 3.297, Jr. Welterweight
18. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, 3.356, Middleweight
17. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, 3.360, Jr. Light/Feather
16. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, 3.370, Jr. Welter/Light
15. James Jeffries, 1896-10, 3.371, Heavyweight
14. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, 3.399, Welterweight
13. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, 3.429, Bantamweight
12. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, 3.470, Jr. Welterweight
11. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, 3.470, Bantamweight
10. Joe Gans, 1891-09, 3.599, Lightweight
9. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, 3.648, Heavyweight
8. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, 3.650, Light/Jr. Light/Feather
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, 3.708, Middleweight
6. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, 3.723, Jr. Bantamweight
5. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, 3.973, Jr. Light/Feather/Jr. Feather
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, 4.150, Middle/Welter
3. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, 4.345, Heavyweight
2. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, 4.346, Welter/Light/Feather
1. Joe Louis, 1934-51, 4.865, Heavyweight
I'll admit there are a few headscratchers in here. Wilfredo Gomez No. 5 all-time. Well, he had a stellar record, 44-3-1 with 42 knockouts and the knockouts pushed his score upward. Plus, he was a remarkable 21-3 with 19 knockouts in title fights.
Henry Armstrong over Sugar Ray Robinson? Armstrong was just 3-3 in Hall of Fame title fights while Robinson was 10-5-1. But Armstrong was 19-0-1 with 16 KOs in his other title fights and 6-2 against Hall of Famers in non-title bouts. Robinson was 7-2 in his other title fights and although he was 11-1 against Hall of Famers in non-title bouts, he had just one KO in those fights.
There were several heavyweight surprises. Liston is below Floyd Patterson, who he crushed twice, because those were his only title fight wins. Patterson had several defenses before running into Liston.
Jack Dempsey is very low at No. 42 (behind Ezzard Charles and Tommy Burns), while Jack Johnson finished even worse at No. 52, while Jim Jeffries was No. 15.
Dempsey held the heavyweight title but defended it few times. He only had 10 fights for titles or against Hall of Famers. Johnson also was hurt by inactivity -- once he won the title he refused to defend it against fellow black Hall of Famers Sam Langford, Harry Wills or Joe Jeannette -- but also a poor overall record. Johnson lost 13 fights and was knocked out seven times, dragging down his score. Some of those may have been dives. In fact, there are lots of curious losses among these fighters that may have been gangster influenced. I can't judge those. I just added up the points.
Burns is a special case. Lightly regarded by most, he was a very active champion -- if only to keep Johnson off his tail -- with a 11-1 record in title fights with nine KOs.
Marciano never lost and he had a fine record in his title fights and fights against Hall of Famers -- 8-0 with 7 KOs. He just didn't fight enough of them. Rocky had the top career score of any figher -- 86.3 with Galaxy next at 84.7 -- but his point total from title fights ranked just 45th. If he had stuck around long enough to beat Patterson and Liston, he would have been able to move into the Ali, Louis point totals.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Babe Ruth was a myth part one: How major were the major leagues?
You hear all the time how expansion has diluted the pitching in the major leagues. People wistfully point to the years when there were just 16 teams and talk about how tough Babe Ruth had it in his day.
The truth, though, today it is nearly twice as hard to reach the major leagues as it was for the Babe.
In 1920, Ruth's first season with the New York Yankees, the Census Bureau totaled the U.S. population at 106 million. The male population through the decades has roughly been about 49 percent so there were about 52 million males in the U.S. at that time.
There were 16 teams in the major leagues with 25-man rosters, meaning at any one time, there were 400 major league jobs.
Of course, in 1920, blacks weren't allowed in the major leagues, meaning about 5.2 million males out of the original 52 million were ineligible.
So essentially, you had 400 jobs for about 47.8 million white men and boys which equals 117,000 men per major league roster spot.
Today, there are 30 major league teams and 750 major league positions, so the number of openings has nearly doubled.
The U.S. population, though, nearly tripled. In 2000, there were 281 million people in the U.S., including 34.7 million blacks, which now can play in the major leagues. Again estimating the male population at 49 percent, there were roughly 137.9 million males eligible for those 750 big league jobs. That equals about 184,000 per big league roster spot.
The expansion in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, actually helped bring that number down. The toughest Census year to reach the bigs, when looking at just the U.S. population, was 1960 when there was still just the 16 teams and 400 positions available for a male (both black and white) population of 87.9 million. That meant there was one major league spot for every 220,000 males.
Today, if you wanted to make it as easy to reach the majors as it was back in the Babe's day, you'd need to add 16 more teams. At 46 major league teams, there'd be a spot for every 119,900 men.
Of course, the major leagues are more international than ever before and taking that into consideration shows it's never been more difficult to reach the bigs.
Here is a list of the percentage of international players making their big league debuts in each decade. The 2000s data is through the 2005 season.
Year, total new players, international players, pctg.
1900s -- 1,081 new players, 51 foreign players, 4.7 percent.
1910s -- 1,534 new players, 40 foreign players, 2.6 percent.
1920s -- 1,203 new players, 17 foreign players, 1.4 percent.
1930s -- 1,037 new players, 19 foreign players, 1.8 percent.
1940s -- 1,166 new players, 50 foreign players, 4.3 percent.
(Color bar falls in 1947)
1950s -- 1,076 new players, 84 foreign players, 7.8 percent.
(Boston Red Sox last team to integrate in 1958)
1960s -- 1,246 new players, 139 foreign players, 11.2 percent.
1970s -- 1,312 new players, 138 foreign players, 10.5 percent.
1980s -- 1,457 new players, 191 foreign players, 13.1 percent.
1990s -- 1,877 new players, 418 foreign players, 22.3 percent.
2000s -- 1,200 new players through 2005, 320 foreign players, 26.7 percent.
In 1920, major league players almost entirely came from the U.S., Canada and Cuba. If you added the white populations of Canada -- which was 90 percent white -- and Cuba -- just 39 percent white -- to the U.S., you had 51.2 million men for 400 positions or one roster spot for every 127,948 males.
The 1930s saw the beginning of the Venezuelan influx. Once the color line fell, players from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic -- both overwhelmingly black countries -- began making the majors in the 1960s and 1970s. Mexicans didn't start signing with major league organizations in any real numbers until the 1970s and the 1990s and this decade have seen the coming of the Japanese.
Today, the 30 teams and 750 major league spots are being fought over by players from seven predominant countries with a combined male population of 287.3 million. That's one big league roster spot for every 383,170 males.
To get that number back to the ratio of 127,948 in Babe's day of 1920, you'd need 90 teams.
The major leagues have never been more major.
The truth, though, today it is nearly twice as hard to reach the major leagues as it was for the Babe.
In 1920, Ruth's first season with the New York Yankees, the Census Bureau totaled the U.S. population at 106 million. The male population through the decades has roughly been about 49 percent so there were about 52 million males in the U.S. at that time.
There were 16 teams in the major leagues with 25-man rosters, meaning at any one time, there were 400 major league jobs.
Of course, in 1920, blacks weren't allowed in the major leagues, meaning about 5.2 million males out of the original 52 million were ineligible.
So essentially, you had 400 jobs for about 47.8 million white men and boys which equals 117,000 men per major league roster spot.
Today, there are 30 major league teams and 750 major league positions, so the number of openings has nearly doubled.
The U.S. population, though, nearly tripled. In 2000, there were 281 million people in the U.S., including 34.7 million blacks, which now can play in the major leagues. Again estimating the male population at 49 percent, there were roughly 137.9 million males eligible for those 750 big league jobs. That equals about 184,000 per big league roster spot.
The expansion in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, actually helped bring that number down. The toughest Census year to reach the bigs, when looking at just the U.S. population, was 1960 when there was still just the 16 teams and 400 positions available for a male (both black and white) population of 87.9 million. That meant there was one major league spot for every 220,000 males.
Today, if you wanted to make it as easy to reach the majors as it was back in the Babe's day, you'd need to add 16 more teams. At 46 major league teams, there'd be a spot for every 119,900 men.
Of course, the major leagues are more international than ever before and taking that into consideration shows it's never been more difficult to reach the bigs.
Here is a list of the percentage of international players making their big league debuts in each decade. The 2000s data is through the 2005 season.
Year, total new players, international players, pctg.
1900s -- 1,081 new players, 51 foreign players, 4.7 percent.
1910s -- 1,534 new players, 40 foreign players, 2.6 percent.
1920s -- 1,203 new players, 17 foreign players, 1.4 percent.
1930s -- 1,037 new players, 19 foreign players, 1.8 percent.
1940s -- 1,166 new players, 50 foreign players, 4.3 percent.
(Color bar falls in 1947)
1950s -- 1,076 new players, 84 foreign players, 7.8 percent.
(Boston Red Sox last team to integrate in 1958)
1960s -- 1,246 new players, 139 foreign players, 11.2 percent.
1970s -- 1,312 new players, 138 foreign players, 10.5 percent.
1980s -- 1,457 new players, 191 foreign players, 13.1 percent.
1990s -- 1,877 new players, 418 foreign players, 22.3 percent.
2000s -- 1,200 new players through 2005, 320 foreign players, 26.7 percent.
In 1920, major league players almost entirely came from the U.S., Canada and Cuba. If you added the white populations of Canada -- which was 90 percent white -- and Cuba -- just 39 percent white -- to the U.S., you had 51.2 million men for 400 positions or one roster spot for every 127,948 males.
The 1930s saw the beginning of the Venezuelan influx. Once the color line fell, players from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic -- both overwhelmingly black countries -- began making the majors in the 1960s and 1970s. Mexicans didn't start signing with major league organizations in any real numbers until the 1970s and the 1990s and this decade have seen the coming of the Japanese.
Today, the 30 teams and 750 major league spots are being fought over by players from seven predominant countries with a combined male population of 287.3 million. That's one big league roster spot for every 383,170 males.
To get that number back to the ratio of 127,948 in Babe's day of 1920, you'd need 90 teams.
The major leagues have never been more major.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Babe Ruth was a myth
As you can see by my posts, I love sports history and trying to quantify who were the greatest players in various sports. I have a system for baseball, but thanks to the fact they no longer produce the Baseball Encyclopedia, where I get all of the fielding stats, it's taking a while to finish the tables to produce it.
When I am finished, you'll quickly notice there will be some players missing. You won't see Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Babe Ruth. In fact, none of the players who compiled the bulk of their stats before 1947 will be included.
I'm a huge Negro Leagues fan -- I have about 20 books on the subject ranging from a history of the Puerto Rican leagues to most of John Holway's works -- and I fully support a call Holway made in one of the first books of his I read. All statistics before Jackie Robinson should carry an asterisk or be set aside as non-integrated records.
Really, do you think Cobb would have hit .367 in his career if you took out the weakest outfielders in the American League and replaced them with speedsters such as Oscar Charleston and Spotswood Poles to chase balls in the gap?
Would Cobb even have been the greatest centerfielder considering Charleston was likely just as fast and had much more power?
How high would Stan Musial's lifetime batting average been if you removed Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente from the majors and replaced them with AAA white outfielders?
I pick on Ruth in the headline of the post just because he seems to generate so much passion. I wrote a column on this subject for the newspaper I work for and received phone calls where the four letter words outnumbered the non-four letter words.
I consider Ruth a great player and an overall good guy. He, unlike Cobb, barnstormed often with Negro Leaguers seeing it as a way to make some extra money for himself and his opponents. There are legions of stories of his praising Negro Leaguers.
But what are we really to make of his numbers? He compiled them against all white players from the U.S. except for a handful of white Cubans at a time when scouts rarely headed west of the Great Plains. Indeed, the Pacific Coast League was considered to be very nearly major league and many players chose to stay in the PCL rather than travel east for the major leagues.
Really, all we know about Ruth was that he was the greatest white right fielder of the east coast.
Why even bring it up now? Sports Illustrated just published its all-time team. It included: Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Joe DiMaggio, Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner.
It did not include a single player who played a majority of his years in the Negro Leagues.
That's really a joke. Look at three on the list, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson. They came directly from the Negro Leagues with short stays in the minors.
If you were to pick an all-time team and insisted on including pre-1947 players, then Oscar Charleston should replace either DiMaggio or Cobb, Satchel Paige needs to be on the list ahead of either Mathewson or Young and Gibson should replace Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra. And I say this as a life-long Reds fan who grew up watching Bench play.
In the following posts, I'll add stats to support the arguments.
When I am finished, you'll quickly notice there will be some players missing. You won't see Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Babe Ruth. In fact, none of the players who compiled the bulk of their stats before 1947 will be included.
I'm a huge Negro Leagues fan -- I have about 20 books on the subject ranging from a history of the Puerto Rican leagues to most of John Holway's works -- and I fully support a call Holway made in one of the first books of his I read. All statistics before Jackie Robinson should carry an asterisk or be set aside as non-integrated records.
Really, do you think Cobb would have hit .367 in his career if you took out the weakest outfielders in the American League and replaced them with speedsters such as Oscar Charleston and Spotswood Poles to chase balls in the gap?
Would Cobb even have been the greatest centerfielder considering Charleston was likely just as fast and had much more power?
How high would Stan Musial's lifetime batting average been if you removed Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente from the majors and replaced them with AAA white outfielders?
I pick on Ruth in the headline of the post just because he seems to generate so much passion. I wrote a column on this subject for the newspaper I work for and received phone calls where the four letter words outnumbered the non-four letter words.
I consider Ruth a great player and an overall good guy. He, unlike Cobb, barnstormed often with Negro Leaguers seeing it as a way to make some extra money for himself and his opponents. There are legions of stories of his praising Negro Leaguers.
But what are we really to make of his numbers? He compiled them against all white players from the U.S. except for a handful of white Cubans at a time when scouts rarely headed west of the Great Plains. Indeed, the Pacific Coast League was considered to be very nearly major league and many players chose to stay in the PCL rather than travel east for the major leagues.
Really, all we know about Ruth was that he was the greatest white right fielder of the east coast.
Why even bring it up now? Sports Illustrated just published its all-time team. It included: Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Joe DiMaggio, Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner.
It did not include a single player who played a majority of his years in the Negro Leagues.
That's really a joke. Look at three on the list, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson. They came directly from the Negro Leagues with short stays in the minors.
If you were to pick an all-time team and insisted on including pre-1947 players, then Oscar Charleston should replace either DiMaggio or Cobb, Satchel Paige needs to be on the list ahead of either Mathewson or Young and Gibson should replace Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra. And I say this as a life-long Reds fan who grew up watching Bench play.
In the following posts, I'll add stats to support the arguments.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Pro basketball's greatest players: The top 60
Just in time for the beginning of NBA training camps, here are the 60 greatest players based on a system that weights by position, ranks players versus the league leaders and ranks playoff performance based against their own season performance.
Each season that's played, I add a player to the list so now we have 60 rather than last year's 59. Two of the old Big Three in Dallas leaped onto the list.
Player, Years, Raw total, Pos. Adj., Final Total
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5, 0.0, 22721.5
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21838.9, 0.0, 21838.9
3. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7, 651.5, 21461.2
4. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8, 502.9, 20750.7
5. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7, 0.0, 19935.7
6. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9, 502.9, 19889.8
7. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7, 418.0, 19825.7
8. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2, 0.0, 19765.2
9. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0, 523.6, 19276.6
10. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0, 523.6, 19215.6
11. Tim Duncan, 1997-2006, 18769.3, 418.0, 19187.3
12. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9, 523.6, 19078.5
13. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2006, 18854.3, 0.0, 18854.3
14. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2006, 18354.6, 418.0, 18772.6
15. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2, 418.0, 18715.2
16. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0, 651.5, 18597.5
17. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3, 0.0, 18490.3
18. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1, 0.0, 18246.1
19. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1, 0.0, 18123.1
20. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8, 418.0, 18112.8
21. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2, 502.9, 18055.1
22. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0, 418.0, 17765.0
23. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1, 418.0, 17557.1
24. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1, 523.6, 17529.7
25. Gary Payton, 1990-2005, 16878.0, 523.6, 17401.6
26. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7, 0.0, 17375.7
27. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6, 502.9, 17180.5
28. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3, 502.9, 17039.2
29. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3, 651.5, 16955.8
30. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4, 502.9, 16751.3
31. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2006, 16032.8, 651.5, 16684.3
32. Jason Kidd, 1994-2006, 16096.0, 523.6, 16619.6
33. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2, 0.0, 16609.2
34. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2, 523.6, 16370.8
35. Allen Iverson, 1996-2006, 15825.1, 523.6, 16348.7
36. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0, 651.5, 16245.5
37. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4, 418.0, 16079.4
38. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5, 523.6, 15734.1
39. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 15574, 0.0, 15574.0
40. Connie Hawkins, 1961-1976, 14956.0, 502.9, 15458.9
41. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3, 502.9, 15409.2
42. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1, 502.9, 15372.0
43. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 15258.6, 0.0, 15258.6
44. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8, 502.9, 15045.7
45. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2006, 14610.8, 418.0, 15028.8
46. Alex English, 1976-1991, 14486.0, 502.9, 14988.9
47. Chris Webber, 1993-2006, 14344.0, 418.0, 14762.0
48. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14331.7, 418.0, 14749.7
49. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 14649.0, 0.0, 14649.0
50. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 14557.3, 0.0, 14557.3
51. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13990.9, 523.6, 14514.5
52. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 14458.4, 0.0, 14458.4
53. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7, 651.5, 14454.2
54. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 13909.0, 523.6, 14432.6
55. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.6, 651.5, 14421.1
56. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9, 651.5, 14383.4
57. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 14340.4, 0.0, 14340.4
58. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 13733.0, 523.6, 14256.6
59. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 13653.7, 523.6, 14177.3
60. Steve Nash, 1996-2006, 13497.4, 523.6, 14021.0
Each season that's played, I add a player to the list so now we have 60 rather than last year's 59. Two of the old Big Three in Dallas leaped onto the list.
Player, Years, Raw total, Pos. Adj., Final Total
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5, 0.0, 22721.5
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21838.9, 0.0, 21838.9
3. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7, 651.5, 21461.2
4. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8, 502.9, 20750.7
5. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7, 0.0, 19935.7
6. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9, 502.9, 19889.8
7. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7, 418.0, 19825.7
8. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2, 0.0, 19765.2
9. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0, 523.6, 19276.6
10. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0, 523.6, 19215.6
11. Tim Duncan, 1997-2006, 18769.3, 418.0, 19187.3
12. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9, 523.6, 19078.5
13. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2006, 18854.3, 0.0, 18854.3
14. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2006, 18354.6, 418.0, 18772.6
15. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2, 418.0, 18715.2
16. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0, 651.5, 18597.5
17. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3, 0.0, 18490.3
18. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1, 0.0, 18246.1
19. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1, 0.0, 18123.1
20. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8, 418.0, 18112.8
21. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2, 502.9, 18055.1
22. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0, 418.0, 17765.0
23. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1, 418.0, 17557.1
24. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1, 523.6, 17529.7
25. Gary Payton, 1990-2005, 16878.0, 523.6, 17401.6
26. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7, 0.0, 17375.7
27. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6, 502.9, 17180.5
28. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3, 502.9, 17039.2
29. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3, 651.5, 16955.8
30. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4, 502.9, 16751.3
31. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2006, 16032.8, 651.5, 16684.3
32. Jason Kidd, 1994-2006, 16096.0, 523.6, 16619.6
33. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2, 0.0, 16609.2
34. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2, 523.6, 16370.8
35. Allen Iverson, 1996-2006, 15825.1, 523.6, 16348.7
36. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0, 651.5, 16245.5
37. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4, 418.0, 16079.4
38. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5, 523.6, 15734.1
39. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 15574, 0.0, 15574.0
40. Connie Hawkins, 1961-1976, 14956.0, 502.9, 15458.9
41. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3, 502.9, 15409.2
42. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1, 502.9, 15372.0
43. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 15258.6, 0.0, 15258.6
44. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8, 502.9, 15045.7
45. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2006, 14610.8, 418.0, 15028.8
46. Alex English, 1976-1991, 14486.0, 502.9, 14988.9
47. Chris Webber, 1993-2006, 14344.0, 418.0, 14762.0
48. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14331.7, 418.0, 14749.7
49. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 14649.0, 0.0, 14649.0
50. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 14557.3, 0.0, 14557.3
51. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13990.9, 523.6, 14514.5
52. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 14458.4, 0.0, 14458.4
53. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7, 651.5, 14454.2
54. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 13909.0, 523.6, 14432.6
55. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.6, 651.5, 14421.1
56. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9, 651.5, 14383.4
57. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 14340.4, 0.0, 14340.4
58. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 13733.0, 523.6, 14256.6
59. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 13653.7, 523.6, 14177.3
60. Steve Nash, 1996-2006, 13497.4, 523.6, 14021.0
Monday, September 11, 2006
Federer finishes second greatest season in Open era; Sharapova poised for next great run
It's funny to think after the French Open people were questioning Roger Federer's dominance. Sure he has a curiously poor record against Rafael Nadal, but Federer turned the tables at Wimbledon and again rolled through the U.S. Open.
In my scoring system, Federer's 2006 summer was surpassed only by Rod Laver's Grand Slam in 1969. Four finals, two wins over players that will be considered the two next best of his era -- Nadal and Roddick -- and a spirited final in the French, which he may never win just because of Nadal.
In fact, Federer now has two of the four greatest seasons. His 2004 campaign ranks just below Jimmy Connors' 1974 season of three major titles.
Maria Sharapova showed Wimbledon of 2004 was no fluke and, considering women's tennis has seen several periods where one player dominated, she seems poised to go on a Serena Williams-type run where she wins four or five of the next eight majors.
Sharapova just plowed through Amelie Mauresmo and Justin Henin-Hardenne. When she's on, no female has the firepower to match. Henin-Hardenne was a strange case. She made four finals but won just one. She may have reached her peak much like Martina Hingis did before the Williams sisters took over tennis for a few years.
A final goodbye not just to Andre Agassi, who would have been higher on this list with a much more concerted effort early in his career, but to Martina Navratilova. She added a final mixed doubles title -- and a half point -- to her all-time record.
All-time men's tournament seedings after 2006:
Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 536.50
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 160.50
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
All-time women's seedings:
Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 350.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
22. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
23. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
24. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
25. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2006, 135.50
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
In my scoring system, Federer's 2006 summer was surpassed only by Rod Laver's Grand Slam in 1969. Four finals, two wins over players that will be considered the two next best of his era -- Nadal and Roddick -- and a spirited final in the French, which he may never win just because of Nadal.
In fact, Federer now has two of the four greatest seasons. His 2004 campaign ranks just below Jimmy Connors' 1974 season of three major titles.
Maria Sharapova showed Wimbledon of 2004 was no fluke and, considering women's tennis has seen several periods where one player dominated, she seems poised to go on a Serena Williams-type run where she wins four or five of the next eight majors.
Sharapova just plowed through Amelie Mauresmo and Justin Henin-Hardenne. When she's on, no female has the firepower to match. Henin-Hardenne was a strange case. She made four finals but won just one. She may have reached her peak much like Martina Hingis did before the Williams sisters took over tennis for a few years.
A final goodbye not just to Andre Agassi, who would have been higher on this list with a much more concerted effort early in his career, but to Martina Navratilova. She added a final mixed doubles title -- and a half point -- to her all-time record.
All-time men's tournament seedings after 2006:
Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 536.50
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 160.50
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
All-time women's seedings:
Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 350.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
22. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
23. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
24. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
25. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2006, 135.50
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
30. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
31. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Golf's ultimate playday -- final 2006 standings
Tiger Woods' goal of surpassing Jack Nicklaus went from a question mark after the U.S. Open to something appearing close to an inevitability after the British Open and the PGA.
At age 30, he is now less than 200 points in my system from overtaking Nicklaus as the top male golfer in major championship history. The only golfers within 200 points of Woods are Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.
Of course, Woods has put up so many great years, it's going to be difficult to make major leaps in points. He'll just have to keep grinding out top finishes.
Here are the standings for 2006 (18 foursomes or top 72) with no more points to gather:
On the first tee (player, country, years, points):
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 681.67
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee:
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee:
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee:
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee:
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee:
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee:
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eighth tee:
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee:
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
On the 10th tee:
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee:
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee:
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee:
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee:
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee:
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee:
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2006, 170.45
On the 17th tee:
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
On the 18th tee:
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
At age 30, he is now less than 200 points in my system from overtaking Nicklaus as the top male golfer in major championship history. The only golfers within 200 points of Woods are Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.
Of course, Woods has put up so many great years, it's going to be difficult to make major leaps in points. He'll just have to keep grinding out top finishes.
Here are the standings for 2006 (18 foursomes or top 72) with no more points to gather:
On the first tee (player, country, years, points):
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 681.67
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee:
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee:
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee:
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee:
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee:
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee:
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eighth tee:
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee:
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
On the 10th tee:
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee:
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee:
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee:
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee:
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee:
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee:
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2006, 170.45
On the 17th tee:
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
On the 18th tee:
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Greatest golf seasons ever
Although Tiger Woods still has a ways to go to catch Jack Nicklaus' career records, he has already proven he is the greatest golfer ever at his peak. He dominates the list of greatest single seasons in major championship history, according to my scoring system, which I'll explain below.
Rank, Player, Year, Points
1. Tiger Woods, 2000, 91.00
2. Ben Hogan, 1953, 76.00
3. Bobby Jones, 1930, 65.00
4. Tiger Woods, 2005, 60.50
5. Jack Nicklaus, 1980, 56.50
5. Arnold Palmer, 1962, 56.50
7. Arnold Palmer, 1960, 55.50
8. Jack Nicklaus, 1972, 55.00
8. Tiger Woods, 2002, 55.00
10. Ben Hogan, 1948, 54.50
10. Sam Snead, 1949, 54.50
12. Tiger Woods, 2006, 53.50
12. Jack Nicklaus, 1975, 53.50
13. Nick Faldo, 1990, 53.00
14. Gary Player, 1974, 52.50
15. Jack Nicklaus, 1963, 51.00
16. Bobby Jones, 1926, 50.00
17. Gene Sarazen, 1932, 50.00
18. Tom Watson, 1977, 49.50
19. Tom Watson, 1982, 49.25
20. Jack Nicklaus, 1966, 49.00
21. Walter Hagen, 1924, 49.00
22. Nick Price, 1994, 47.50
23. Jack Nicklaus, 1971, 45.50
How my scoring works, let's look at Tiger's 2006 major championship season.
* This year, he finished in a five-way tie for third at the Masters. On a scale of 20 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7 for fourth, etc., he earned six points for the t-3.
* He missed the cut at the U.S. Open so, of course, he earned 0.
* He won the British Open by two strokes so he earned 20 points plus 2 bonus points for margin of victory. That put him up to 28 for the year.
* At the PGA, he won by five shots to score 25 (20+5 bonus points), plus a 0.5 bonus point for tying the record for lowest under par total in PGA history -- a record he already held. So for the PGA, he earned 25.5 points, giving him a total of 53.5 points for the year.
Rank, Player, Year, Points
1. Tiger Woods, 2000, 91.00
2. Ben Hogan, 1953, 76.00
3. Bobby Jones, 1930, 65.00
4. Tiger Woods, 2005, 60.50
5. Jack Nicklaus, 1980, 56.50
5. Arnold Palmer, 1962, 56.50
7. Arnold Palmer, 1960, 55.50
8. Jack Nicklaus, 1972, 55.00
8. Tiger Woods, 2002, 55.00
10. Ben Hogan, 1948, 54.50
10. Sam Snead, 1949, 54.50
12. Tiger Woods, 2006, 53.50
12. Jack Nicklaus, 1975, 53.50
13. Nick Faldo, 1990, 53.00
14. Gary Player, 1974, 52.50
15. Jack Nicklaus, 1963, 51.00
16. Bobby Jones, 1926, 50.00
17. Gene Sarazen, 1932, 50.00
18. Tom Watson, 1977, 49.50
19. Tom Watson, 1982, 49.25
20. Jack Nicklaus, 1966, 49.00
21. Walter Hagen, 1924, 49.00
22. Nick Price, 1994, 47.50
23. Jack Nicklaus, 1971, 45.50
How my scoring works, let's look at Tiger's 2006 major championship season.
* This year, he finished in a five-way tie for third at the Masters. On a scale of 20 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7 for fourth, etc., he earned six points for the t-3.
* He missed the cut at the U.S. Open so, of course, he earned 0.
* He won the British Open by two strokes so he earned 20 points plus 2 bonus points for margin of victory. That put him up to 28 for the year.
* At the PGA, he won by five shots to score 25 (20+5 bonus points), plus a 0.5 bonus point for tying the record for lowest under par total in PGA history -- a record he already held. So for the PGA, he earned 25.5 points, giving him a total of 53.5 points for the year.
The NBA's all-time teams -- just updated
Who would play on the team of players made up of the 10th, 9th, 8th, etc. players at each of their positions? Here's the list, updated with 2005-2006 point totals. One new players entered the list for the first time.
On the 10th team:
C -- Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2
PF -- Chris Webber, 1993-2006, 14344.0
SF -- Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8
SG -- Sydney Moncrief, 1979-1991, 12982.5
PG -- Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13990.9
(Lots of scoring and one shutdown defender)
On the 9th team:
C -- Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7
PF -- Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2006, 14610.8
SF -- Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1
SG -- Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 13313.6
PG -- Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5
(Power in Artis, shooting in Dirk, who's new to the list, and a balanced backcourt)
On the 8th team:
C -- George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1
PF -- George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4
SF -- Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3
SG -- Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9
PG -- Allen Iverson, 1996-2006, 15825.1
(Two old-timers would have to learn how to play with Iverson)
On the 7th team:
C -- Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1
PF -- Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1
SF -- Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14956.0
SG -- Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.2
PG -- Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2
(Barkley and Malone would be tough inside and Isiah would take the tough shots)
On the 6th team:
C -- David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3
PF -- Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0
SF -- John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4
SG -- Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7
PG -- Jason Kidd, 1994-2006, 16096.0
(A team of runners and passers and one black-hole in Hayes)
On the 5th team:
C -- Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2006, 18854.3
PF -- Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8
SF -- Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3
SG -- Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0
PG -- Gary Payton, 1990-2005, 16878.0
(Shaq's power, defense in Pippen and Payton, but no great outside shooter)
On the 4th team:
C -- Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2
PF -- Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2
SF -- Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6
SG -- Kobe Bryant, 1996-2006, 16032.8
PG -- John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1
(Maybe best team based on balance. Three scorers, one pure passer and one pure defender)
On the 3rd team:
C -- Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7
PF -- Kevin Garnett, 1996-2006, 18354.6
SF -- Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2
SG -- George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3
PG -- Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9
(Crosses all generations, from Cousy to Garnett)
On the 2nd team:
C -- Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2
PF -- Tim Duncan, 1997-2006, 18769.3
SF -- Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9
SG -- Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0
PG -- Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0
(Wilt, West and Bird can beat anyone and Magic is there to run the show)
The all-time starting five:
C -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5
PF -- Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7
SF -- Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8
SG -- Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7
PG -- Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0
(MJ, Dr. J, The Big O, the Mailman and the Sky Hook, at least the all-time nickname team)
On the 10th team:
C -- Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2
PF -- Chris Webber, 1993-2006, 14344.0
SF -- Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8
SG -- Sydney Moncrief, 1979-1991, 12982.5
PG -- Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13990.9
(Lots of scoring and one shutdown defender)
On the 9th team:
C -- Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7
PF -- Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2006, 14610.8
SF -- Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1
SG -- Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 13313.6
PG -- Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5
(Power in Artis, shooting in Dirk, who's new to the list, and a balanced backcourt)
On the 8th team:
C -- George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1
PF -- George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4
SF -- Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3
SG -- Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9
PG -- Allen Iverson, 1996-2006, 15825.1
(Two old-timers would have to learn how to play with Iverson)
On the 7th team:
C -- Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1
PF -- Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1
SF -- Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14956.0
SG -- Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.2
PG -- Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2
(Barkley and Malone would be tough inside and Isiah would take the tough shots)
On the 6th team:
C -- David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3
PF -- Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0
SF -- John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4
SG -- Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7
PG -- Jason Kidd, 1994-2006, 16096.0
(A team of runners and passers and one black-hole in Hayes)
On the 5th team:
C -- Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2006, 18854.3
PF -- Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8
SF -- Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3
SG -- Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0
PG -- Gary Payton, 1990-2005, 16878.0
(Shaq's power, defense in Pippen and Payton, but no great outside shooter)
On the 4th team:
C -- Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2
PF -- Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2
SF -- Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6
SG -- Kobe Bryant, 1996-2006, 16032.8
PG -- John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1
(Maybe best team based on balance. Three scorers, one pure passer and one pure defender)
On the 3rd team:
C -- Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7
PF -- Kevin Garnett, 1996-2006, 18354.6
SF -- Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2
SG -- George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3
PG -- Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9
(Crosses all generations, from Cousy to Garnett)
On the 2nd team:
C -- Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2
PF -- Tim Duncan, 1997-2006, 18769.3
SF -- Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9
SG -- Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0
PG -- Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0
(Wilt, West and Bird can beat anyone and Magic is there to run the show)
The all-time starting five:
C -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5
PF -- Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7
SF -- Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8
SG -- Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7
PG -- Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0
(MJ, Dr. J, The Big O, the Mailman and the Sky Hook, at least the all-time nickname team)
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Steinhauer enters women's ultimate playday
Madison, Wis.'s Sherri Steinhauer overcame the LPGA's somewhat wacky history with a third British Open victory that catapulted her into the top 54 players in women's professional golf history.
Steinhauer's first two British wins were before the tournament was considered a major. So the three-shot win is classified as her second major -- she won the defunct DuMaurier in 1992.
No matter. The big names (Sorenstam, Webb and Pak) didn't contend. Neither did the youngsters (Creamer, Wie). Still, an impressive result. With the men's PGA going on, I figured I better update this listing.
Here are the 54 greatest women professional golfers:
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 458.05 (passed Whitworth with 4th in British)
6. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2006, 284.70
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 266.30
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 134.08
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
41. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
42. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
43. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
45. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
46. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
47. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
48. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
49. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
50. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 116.90
51. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
52. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
53. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
54. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
Alice Miller was knocked out of the top 54, dropping to 56. Christie Kerr is on the verge. She's up to No. 55.
Steinhauer's first two British wins were before the tournament was considered a major. So the three-shot win is classified as her second major -- she won the defunct DuMaurier in 1992.
No matter. The big names (Sorenstam, Webb and Pak) didn't contend. Neither did the youngsters (Creamer, Wie). Still, an impressive result. With the men's PGA going on, I figured I better update this listing.
Here are the 54 greatest women professional golfers:
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 458.05 (passed Whitworth with 4th in British)
6. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2006, 284.70
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 266.30
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 134.08
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
41. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
42. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
43. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
45. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
46. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
47. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
48. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
49. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
50. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 116.90
51. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
52. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
53. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
54. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
Alice Miller was knocked out of the top 54, dropping to 56. Christie Kerr is on the verge. She's up to No. 55.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Tiger resumes chase of the Bear
Another lifestyle change taken care of -- life after Earl Woods' death -- Tiger Woods resumed his pursuit of the title "greatest golfer ever."
Woods' ho-hum victory at the British Open was his 11th professional major, pulling him to within seven of Jack Nicklaus. It was his 14th major, if you include his three U.S. Amateurs, which Nicklaus always considered majors. That means he's just six from Jack in the overall column.
Still, under my point system, Woods has a considerable margin to bridge because Nicklaus scored high finishes more consistently than Tiger so far.
There weren't a lot of moves in the top 72, except for one. Jim Furyk's finish pushed him into Golf's Ultimate Playday and knocked out one of the few remaining career amateurs, Chick Evans.
With the PGA -- and the U.S. and British amateurs -- left for 2006 here are the updated standings.
On the first tee
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 645.17
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
7. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
8. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
15. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
20. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee
21. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
22. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
27. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
28. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eighth tee
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
30. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
34. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
35. Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
On the 10th tee
37. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
38. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
40. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
44. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee
45. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
46. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
47. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
48. Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee
49. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
50. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
51. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
52. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee
53. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
54. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
55. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
56. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee
57. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
58. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
60. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee
61. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
62. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
63. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
64. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2006, 170.45
On the 17th tee
65. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
66. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
68. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
On the 18th tee
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
70. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
71. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
72. Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Woods' ho-hum victory at the British Open was his 11th professional major, pulling him to within seven of Jack Nicklaus. It was his 14th major, if you include his three U.S. Amateurs, which Nicklaus always considered majors. That means he's just six from Jack in the overall column.
Still, under my point system, Woods has a considerable margin to bridge because Nicklaus scored high finishes more consistently than Tiger so far.
There weren't a lot of moves in the top 72, except for one. Jim Furyk's finish pushed him into Golf's Ultimate Playday and knocked out one of the few remaining career amateurs, Chick Evans.
With the PGA -- and the U.S. and British amateurs -- left for 2006 here are the updated standings.
On the first tee
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 645.17
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
7. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
8. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
15. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
20. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee
21. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
22. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2006, 290.15
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
27. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
28. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eighth tee
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
30. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
34. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
35. Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
On the 10th tee
37. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
38. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
40. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
44. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee
45. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
46. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
47. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
48. Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee
49. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
50. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
51. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
52. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee
53. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
54. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
55. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
56. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee
57. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
58. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
60. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee
61. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
62. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
63. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
64. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2006, 170.45
On the 17th tee
65. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
66. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
68. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
On the 18th tee
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
70. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
71. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
72. Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Federer roars past Agassi, Wilander
Roger Federer is challenging the five greatest players of the Open era after his fourth straight win at Wimbledon. Federer earned 13 points with the three sets to one win over Rafael Nadal -- 10 points for the win, two bonus points for the 3-1 margin in sets and two .5 bonus points for the fact Nadal is a two-time major winner.
For the year, Federer has 31 points and he's the defending U.S. Open champion. Another U.S. Open win would make this summer the best in the Open era since Rod Laver won the grand slam in 1969.
Nadal's surprising run means he might be more than a clay court phenomenon. He's quickly moving up the list of the top 32 as well.
Here's the all-time rankings with just the U.S. Open left for the year.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 483.50
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
23. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
23. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
31. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
32. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2005, 111.50
For the year, Federer has 31 points and he's the defending U.S. Open champion. Another U.S. Open win would make this summer the best in the Open era since Rod Laver won the grand slam in 1969.
Nadal's surprising run means he might be more than a clay court phenomenon. He's quickly moving up the list of the top 32 as well.
Here's the all-time rankings with just the U.S. Open left for the year.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 483.50
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
23. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
23. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 155.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
31. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
32. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2005, 111.50
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Mauresmo zooming up list of women's greatest tennis players
France's Amelie Mauresmo showed her Australian Open win over Justine Henin-Hardenne was no fluke. The win catapulted the player once thought too shaky to win big tournaments into the top 20 of the all-time list of women's tennis players in the Open era.
Henin-Hardenne is just 1-for-3 in major finals this year but it's still equaled enough points to push her past Lindsay Davenport for 13th place.
The Open era really has been dominated by a small group of players. Look at the gap between No. 14 and No. 15.
Here are the updated standings
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2003, 1308.00
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
13. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 326.50
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
22. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
23. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
24. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
25. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
26. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
27. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
28. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
29. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
30. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
31. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
32. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004, 77.50
Henin-Hardenne is just 1-for-3 in major finals this year but it's still equaled enough points to push her past Lindsay Davenport for 13th place.
The Open era really has been dominated by a small group of players. Look at the gap between No. 14 and No. 15.
Here are the updated standings
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2003, 1308.00
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 446.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
13. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 326.50
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 160.00
21. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
22. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
23. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
24. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
25. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
26. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
27. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
28. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
29. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
30. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
31. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
32. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004, 77.50
Sorenstam closes in on Wright
Annika Sorenstam's 10th major title not only tied her with Tiger Woods, it separated her a bit from Karrie Webb as the player of her generation and brought her closer to Mickey Wright as the woman golfer of all generations.
Pat Hurst's near miss pulled her into the ultimate playday (top 54 players), knocking out Jody Anschutz. At age 16, with her already long list of near misses, Michelle Wie is No. 64.
Here are the rankings with one women's major to go in 2006.
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
6. Julie Inkster, 1984-2005, 451.80
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2006, 284.70
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2005, 264.05
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
40. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
41. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
42. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
44. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
45. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
46. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
47. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
49. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 116.90
50. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
51. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
52. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
53. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
54. Alice Miller, 1976-1985, 109.75
Pat Hurst's near miss pulled her into the ultimate playday (top 54 players), knocking out Jody Anschutz. At age 16, with her already long list of near misses, Michelle Wie is No. 64.
Here are the rankings with one women's major to go in 2006.
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 541.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
6. Julie Inkster, 1984-2005, 451.80
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2006, 284.70
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2005, 264.05
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
40. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
41. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
42. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
44. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
45. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
46. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
47. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
49. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 116.90
50. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
51. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
52. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
53. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
54. Alice Miller, 1976-1985, 109.75
Monday, June 26, 2006
U.S. Open career-defining for Mickelson
Minutes from matching Tiger Woods' master achievement, Phil Mickelson instead made a case that he's the Arnold Palmer of this generation. His 18th hole meltdown matched the best of Arnie's late-tournament blowups. Palmer is a better comparison than Greg Norman, who had several majors snatched from him by miracle shots.
Still, Mickelson's near miss bumped him up a couple more spots in golf's ultimate playday. Here's the all-time top 72 players in major championship history, according to my rankings.
1st tee
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 625.08
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
2nd tee
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
3rd tee
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
4th tee
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
5th tee
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
6th tee
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2004, 285.40
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
7th tee
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
8th tee
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
9th tee
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
10th tee
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
11th tee
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
12th tee
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
13th tee
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
14th tee
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
15th tee
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
16th tee
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
17th tee
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
18th tee
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 162.67
Still, Mickelson's near miss bumped him up a couple more spots in golf's ultimate playday. Here's the all-time top 72 players in major championship history, according to my rankings.
1st tee
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 625.08
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
2nd tee
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
3rd tee
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
4th tee
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
5th tee
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
6th tee
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2004, 285.40
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
7th tee
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
8th tee
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
9th tee
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00
10th tee
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
11th tee
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
12th tee
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
13th tee
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
14th tee
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
15th tee
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
16th tee
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
17th tee
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
18th tee
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 162.67
Monday, June 12, 2006
Who's the greatest woman golfer ever?
When discussing the greatest female golfer ever, it seems as if Annika Sorenstam has created a title-wave of support for the title. Using the same system I used to rank the greatest male golfers, I've only got Annika at No. 2. And my ranking is incomplete. I've been unable to find top 10 results for women's majors before 1963 so great players of the 30s, 40s and 50s such as Patty Berg and Mickey Wright are undervalued. They received points for the majors they won but no points for the numerous seconds, thirds, etc.
Also, Annika hasn't clearly established herself as the greatest player of this generation as you'll see by the list below.
In my system, you receive 20 points for winning a major and a bonus point for every stroke ahead. You add up the best year, best three years, best five years, best 10 and career, add that again to the career total and divide by two. This weights the ranking in favor of the dominant golfer rather than the one who gathered points over a long career.
Here are the 54 (18 holes of threesomes) greatest female golfers.
Rank, player, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 523.37
3. Karrie Webb 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
6. Julie Inkster, 1984-2005, 449.30
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
19. Beth Daniel, 1980-2005, 264.05
20. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2003, 244.95
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
40. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
41. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
42. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
44. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
45. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
46. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
47. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
49. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
50. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
51. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
52. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
53. Alice Miller, 1976-1985, 109.75
54. Jody Anschutz, 1986-1991, 109.50
Also, Annika hasn't clearly established herself as the greatest player of this generation as you'll see by the list below.
In my system, you receive 20 points for winning a major and a bonus point for every stroke ahead. You add up the best year, best three years, best five years, best 10 and career, add that again to the career total and divide by two. This weights the ranking in favor of the dominant golfer rather than the one who gathered points over a long career.
Here are the 54 (18 holes of threesomes) greatest female golfers.
Rank, player, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 575.40
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2006, 523.37
3. Karrie Webb 1996-2006, 469.50
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 460.93
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 453.10
6. Julie Inkster, 1984-2005, 449.30
7. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 441.50
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 400.62
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 377.64
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 358.22
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 353.00
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 350.00
13. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 329.09
14. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 321.85
15. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 321.63
16. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 303.42
17. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 298.88
18. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 266.85
19. Beth Daniel, 1980-2005, 264.05
20. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2003, 244.95
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 242.50
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 232.45
23. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 230.20
24. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 226.50
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 221.25
26. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 220.00
27. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 216.25
28. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 211.45
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 207.51
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 205.47
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 204.93
32. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 200.53
33. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 198.45
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 178.30
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 173.10
36. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 158.80
37. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 151.00
38. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 136.60
39. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 132.00
40. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 130.58
41. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 130.38
42. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 130.00
43. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 130.00
44. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 124.25
45. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 122.50
46. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 122.00
47. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 120.50
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 116.93
49. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 116.83
50. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 116.80
51. Ruth Jessen, 1963-1974, 113.25
52. Sheri Turner, 1986-1999, 111.97
53. Alice Miller, 1976-1985, 109.75
54. Jody Anschutz, 1986-1991, 109.50
Nadal's win earns him entry into ultimate tennis tournament
Rafael Nadal's second straight French Open title moved him into the top 32 in the ultimate tennis tournament. Nadal earned 10 points for the win, two points for the 3-1 set victory and 3.5 bonus points -- .5 for each of Roger Federer's seven major victories.
Federer, even though he fell short of four straight major titles, continued his speedy climb up the list, passing Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
7. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
8. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 431.50
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
23. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
24. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
25. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
26. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
27. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
28. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
29. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 125.50
30. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
31. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
32. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2005, 111.50
Federer, even though he fell short of four straight major titles, continued his speedy climb up the list, passing Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
2. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
3. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
6. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
7. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00
8. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2006, 431.50
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
17. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
18. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
21. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
22. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
23. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50
24. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
25. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
26. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
27. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00
28. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
29. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2006, 125.50
30. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
31. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00
32. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2005, 111.50
Henin-Hardenne closes in on Davenport
Justine Henin-Hardenne is closing in on Lyndsay Davenport after scoring her fifth major championship at the French Open. The player she beat, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, winner of the 2004 U.S. Open, moved into the top 32 by finishing second.
Here is my list of the 32 greatest women's tennis players of the open era.
Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2003, 1308.00
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 444.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
13. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
14. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 282.50
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
21. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
22. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
23. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
24. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
25. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
26. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
27. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
28. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 92.50
29. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
30. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
31. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
32. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004, 77.50
Here is my list of the 32 greatest women's tennis players of the open era.
Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2003, 1308.00
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
9. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2005, 457.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 444.50
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2005, 408.50
12. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
13. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
14. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium, 2001-2006, 282.50
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00
17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00
20. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
21. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
22. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00
23. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
24. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
25. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
26. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
27. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
28. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 92.50
29. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
30. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2006, 82.00
31. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00
32. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004, 77.50
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Mickelson moves into golf's top 20
Phil Mickelson has now passed Ernie Els as the second best player of his generation -- well behind Tiger Woods -- thanks to his dominating Masters win.
Mickelson moved into Golf's Ultimate Play Day's top 20, knocking Long Jim Barnes, out. Fred Couples, Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabul inched up in the top 72 while Canadian Mike Weir made the top 144 -- the cutoff for an all-time tournament.
Of all the great players, only Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus spread their victories out. The rest of the modern greats all had a stretch where they won all or the vast majority of their majors. Mickelson may be in that stretch now.
Here's the updated Golf's Ultimate Play Day (active players in bold):
On the first tee
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 625.08
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 301.83
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2004, 285.40
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eigth tee
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
On the 10th tee
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 221.66
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
On the 17th tee
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
On the 18th tee
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 162.67
Mickelson moved into Golf's Ultimate Play Day's top 20, knocking Long Jim Barnes, out. Fred Couples, Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabul inched up in the top 72 while Canadian Mike Weir made the top 144 -- the cutoff for an all-time tournament.
Of all the great players, only Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus spread their victories out. The rest of the modern greats all had a stretch where they won all or the vast majority of their majors. Mickelson may be in that stretch now.
Here's the updated Golf's Ultimate Play Day (active players in bold):
On the first tee
Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2006, 625.08
Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29
On the second tee
Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25
On the third tee
Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54
On the fourth tee
Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08
On the fifth tee
Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 301.83
James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63
On the sixth tee
Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2004, 285.40
Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98
On the seventh tee
Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50
On the eigth tee
Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38
On the ninth tee
Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
On the 10th tee
Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 221.66
Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38
On the 11th tee
Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92
On the 12th tee
Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63
On the 13th tee
Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00
On the 14th tee
Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33
On the 15th tee
Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
On the 16th tee
Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46
Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
On the 17th tee
Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50
Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
On the 18th tee
Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70
Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 163.31
Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 162.67
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