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1. Jim Thorpe

Athletic Accomplishments - As a running back, defensive back, place-kicker, and punter, scored all of Jim Thorpe team's points as tiny Carlisle College upset Harvard, and later led team to National Championship; 2-time Football All-American; legend has it that he easily beat all of the school's high-jumpers with an impromptu leap of 5'9" in plain clothes.

Jim Thorpe won both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm; when awarded the medals by King Gustav, he remarked, "You sir, are the greatest athlete in the world", to which Thorpe replied, "Thanks, king."; played for the baseball New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds; signed on with the Canton Bulldogs of football, where he kicked a record 99 yard punt, although official statistics weren't kept at the time

2. Willie Mays

Athletic Accomplishments - Willie Mays was offered scholarships for both football and baseball in college; won the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year; All-Time Rankings

* T-1: Most All-Star Game Appearances (24)
* 4th: career home runs (660)
* 3rd: career total bases (6,066)
* 5th: career extra-base hits (1,323)
* 7th: career runs (2,062)
* 9th: career games (2,992)

Notable Achievements
* 2 MVP Awards (1954 and 1965)
* Led NL in home runs 4 times
* Led NL in stolen bases 4 times
* Played for one World Series champion (1954)
* Willie Mays was first of only 4 men with both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits (Hank Aaron, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro)

3. Muhammad Ali

Athletic Accomplishments - From 1960 to 1963, the young fighter amassed a record of 19-0 with 15 K.O.'s; in 1964, defeated Sonny Liston to win the Heavyweight Title; ; from his rematch with Liston in 1965 to his final defense against Zora Folley, he defended his title nine times.

Muhammad Ali refusal to enlist in the Vietnam War due to his religious affiliations led to the stripping of his title by the professional boxing commission, and would not be allowed to fight professionally for three years; after being awarded a boxing license in 1970, he lost his first professional bout against champion Joe Frazier in 15 rounds.

But Muhammad Ali beat Frazier later in a rematch; defeated George Foreman in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, regaining his heavyweight title; fought Frazier for a final time in 1975, where he defeated him in the event dubbed as "The Thrilla in Manila"; career record of 56-5, with 37 K.O.'s; self-proclaimed as "The Greatest", and widely regarded as such

4. Michael Jordan

Athletic Accomplishments - In his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls in 1985, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg and 51.5% shooting, leading to a start in the All-Star Game and Rookie of the Year honors

In Michael Jordan's 2nd year, led Chicago Bulls against the Celtics basketball team in 1986, and scored a playoff record 62 points in Game 2 against what many consider to be the greatest team of all time; put up on the greatest statistical years in NBA history in 1987, becoming the only player in history besides Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season as he averaged 37. 1 ppg on 47.1% shooting.

Michael Jordan won his first MVP in 1988; ended his career as a 5-time MVP, 6-time Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year; ranked first in NBA history in scoring average (31.0 ppg), second in steals (2,391), fourth in points (30,652) and in field-goals made (11,513), fifth in free-throws made (7,061), sixth in field-goals attempted (23,010) and eighth in free-throws attempted (8,448); closed the 1997-98 season as the Bulls' all-time franchise leader in points, rebounds (5,836), assists (5,012), steals, games (930), field-goals made and attempted and free-throws made and attempted (8,115) was voted on the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team; voted as the 2000 ESPY Athlete of the Century, Male Athlete of the Decade, and Pro Basketballer of the Decade won the 2000 Espy Play of the Decade Award (for his right to left-handed scoop shot against Lakers in the 1991 Finals)

5. Pele (Teary Pele)

Athletic Accomplishments - Scored a goal as a 16 year old in Teary Pele international professional debut with Brazil; scored 1,411 club Goals, and was declared a 'National Treasure" to keep him from signing somewhere else.

Teary Pele continued to score 77 career World Cup goals, including one at the Maracana that was dubbed as a plaque as, "The most beautiful goal ever scored at the Maracana; in 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48 hour ceasefire to Pele play in Lagos; was voted "Footballer of the Century" by FIFA in 2000; regarded as the most prolific scorer in soccer history; widely known as the greatest player to ever live

6. Lance Armstrong

Began sporting career as a triathlete at 15, beating adults in competition; at 16, became a professional triathlete and won the National Sprint-Course Triathlon Championship 2 times, at 18 and 19 years of age; won the U.S. Amateur Cycling Championship in 1991 as a 19 year old.

In 1995, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular, brain, lung, and abdomen cancer, and was given a less than 50% chance of survival; in 1999, won his first Tour de France; went on to win 6 more times, making the all-time record 7 straight.

Armstrong's athletic success and dramatic recovery from cancer inspired him to commemorate his accomplishments, with Nike, through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a charity founded in 1997 . The foundation's yellow rubber "Livestrong" wristbands, first launched in 2004, have been a major success, netting the foundation tens of millions of dollars in the fight against cancer, while helping Armstrong become a major player in the nonprofit sector.

7. Wayne Gretzky

As a ten year old, scored 378 goals and 139 assists in just 85 games with the Nadrofsky Steelers; became the youngest player to compete in the World Junior Championships when Wayne Gretzky participated in Montreal in 1978 at age 16; in his first season as a pro, won the Hart Memorial Trophy awarded to the League MVP, and would later win 7 more in a row; scored 50 goals in a record 39 games in 1981.

The following seasons would see Gretzky break his own assists record three more times (125 [1982-1983], 135 [1984-1985], and 163 [1985-1986]; Wayne Gretzky also bettered that mark in the 1990-1991 season with 121) and his point record one more time (215); by the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records, which in itself was a record; finished his career as Hockey's all-time leading scorer with 894 goals, 1963 assists, and 2857 total points (had 122 goals, 260 assists, and 382 points in 208 career post-season games); elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999