Favorite Athlete: James on Amos Otis

I’ve been lax about posting these Favorite Athlete posts. I’ve got a bunch of really good ones. I’ll post them here over the next few days. ...

Favorite Athlete: Al Kaline

It was the way he carried himself, how he never complained, how although a great player he knew he was not in the same class as Mays...

Favorite Athlete: Ted WIlliams

I always cheated for Ted Williams. I guess that made him my favorite athlete. In the game we played in my neighborhood with b...

Favorite Athlete: Alvaro Espinoza

When Alvaro Espinoza was the Yankees' shortstop, sometime during The Second Interregnum (a/k/a The Mattingly Years, between Jackson and ...

Favorite Athlete: Dwight Gooden

When I was 10 years old, my favorite athlete was the star pitcher for my hometown Mets, Dwight Gooden. I then felt betrayed by his d...

Favorite Athlete: Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver did me a priceless favor on the evening of June 15, 1977. I’d grown up cheering, admiring – worshipping – Seaver, idolized him, k...

Favorite Athlete: MIke Reid

As a teenager, Mike Reid turned down a car for a piano. As a 27-year-old, he gave up football for his music. He’s likely the only person who...

Favorite Athlete: Muhammad Ali

I am asked to keep it short. Fewer than 100 words. On Muhammad Ali? I wrote a book on him, 128,000 words. I can do this. Best athlete I ever...

Favorite Athlete: Julius Erving

Julius Erving. When he took off -- usually a quarter-mile from the basket -- nobody in the building, including him, knew what was about to h...

Favorite Athlete: Jim Brown

Cleveland was not New York nor Los Angeles, even a kid knew that. But no one else had Jim Brown. Every Sunday I kept track of each carry, ea...

Favorite Athlete: John Elway

My favorite athlete is John Elway, because the Denver Broncos have been my favorite team since I first understood why my father shou...

Favorite Athlete: Ernie Banks

My favorite athlete was and always will be Ernie Banks. Why? Because he played during a time in my life when I formed who my heroes would be...

Favorite Athlete: Barry Sanders

I don't care that there are a handful of running backs with commensurate or superior numbers or that Barry lost five spectacularly on oc...