The Greatest of Them All Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Herman Ruth Jr.

It could have been Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays and many others. However, I believe George Herman Ruth Jr.(1895-1948 and known as "Babe Ruth") was the greatest of them all. He won three World series with the Boston Red Sox (1915, 1916, 1918) principally as a pitcher but his batting also helped.

In his last season with the Red Sox (1919) he led the AL in home runs with Tilly Walker (Philadelphia Athletics) with 11. It was with the New York Yankees that his bat did the talking.

He had a number of nicknames including "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat" but it is best remembered that during those tough economical times of the 1920s and 30s he made baseball the "National Game".

Answer: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan gets the GOAT from me. There are some other great ones in Bill Russell (11 NBA Titles), Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and many more. One could go one for ever about his accomplishments on the boards (two three-peat NBA Titles, two Olympic gold medals - one as an amateur and one as a professional) and then the individual MVPs, All-Star MVPs and he was instrumental in helping to popularize basketball around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Archie Moore and Willie Pep are all in my top ten. However, to me there is only that was the TOTAL package and that was Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) was inspirational, controversial, an activist, a celebrity, a showman, funny and above all he "walked the talk" when he got into the ring. For a man of his size (6ft 3in, 1.91m) and the way he moved was like boxers in the lower weight divisions. Whether you loved or hated him, you wanted to see him interviewed, you wanted to see his fights, you wanted too simply be entertained. Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) is my GOAT.

Answer: Don Bradman

One man stands out alone in the sport of cricket and that man is the Australian, Don Bradman (1908-2001). Yes, there have been some outstanding cricketers over the 200 odd years of the sport including W. G. Grace, Victor Trumper, Jack Hobbs, Sid Barnes, Wally Hammond, Keith Miller, Garfield Sobers, Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Hanif Mohammad and many more.

However, it is the man affectionately known as "The Don" that gets my vote. It is his Test cricket batting average, accumulated over 20 years, of 99.94 that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

His total career batting average in all first class matches is a staggering 95.14. Over a 22 year first-class career and batting 338 times he made a century (100 runs) on every third occasion. Don Bradman was the Babe Ruth of cricket.

Answer: Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx born in Belgium in 1945 is a former professional road and track cycling racer. He won both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia five times and notched up numerous other victories (525) in a cycling career from 1961-1978. He also won four World Road Race Championships (1x Amateur and 3 x Professional).

He dominated his sport of road racing during the 1960s and 70s and was known as "The Cannibal" as he refused to let anyone else win. There have been other cycling champions in Bernard Hinault, Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and many more.

However, it is Eddy Merckx that gets my GOAT.

Answer: Pele

Edson Arantes do Nascimento is better known as Pele. He was born in Brazil in 1940 and is a retired professional footballer who played as a forward. In a career spanning 21 years (1956-1977) he scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games. He represented Brazil on 92 occasions and was a member of three FIFA World Cup victories (1958, 1962 and 1970).

His longevity in the game makes him my favourite ahead of Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Lionel Messi just to name a few.

Answer: Jack Nicklaus

I could easily have chosen Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones, Gary Player, Byron Nelson and many others. However, I believe Jack Nicklaus stands out amongst the rest. With 18 major titles and the first being in 1962 (U.S. Open) and the last in 1986 (U.S. Masters) he stood tall amongst all golfers for nearly 25 years. I must mention Arnold Palmer as the man who really popularised golf in the 1960s through the advent of television world wide.

Answer: Jerry Rice

So many to choose from Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Reggie White and so many others. However, my greatest goes to Jerry Rice. Jerry Rice was without doubt the greatest wide receiver in the history of the NFL and the holder of numerous NFL records over a 20 year career (1985 to 2004).

Answer: Wayne Gretzky

Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Maurice Ricard and Bobby Hull, to name just a few of the greats. However, I believe Wayne Gretzky stands alone above the rest. With a playing career in the NHL that spanned 20 years (1978-1999) and breaking 60 odd NHL records.

Answer: Al Oerter

Phelps, Bolt, Nurmi, Latynina, Bjorndalen, Fischer, Kato, Spitz, Hoy, Farah, Viren and many other great Olympians that won more gold medals than Al Oerter. However, my Olympic hero is Al Oerter from the USA. My reasons are very simple. Al could only feature in ONE discipline and that was the discus.

He did not have multiple events to achieve multiple triumphs, only ONE event. Yet he won the gold medal in his event at four consecutive Olympics (1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968) and he was the first Olympian to achieve this feat. Al Oerter (1936-2007).

Answer: Adolfo Cambiaso

With many great players over the years in Carlos Gracida (Mexico), Facundo Pieres (Argentina), Rodolfo Louis Agassiz (USA), Mike Azzaro (USA), David Stirling (Uruguay), Luke Tomlinson (England) and many more, however, one man stands above the rest. Adolfo Cambiaso (Argentina) changed the game of polo.

In 2014 he was voted Argentina's Sportsman of the Year ahead of Lionel Messi. At 19 years of age (1994) he was awarded a 10-goal handicap (the highest individual award in polo) and to date the youngest person to receive the award. Polo was originated by the Persians in the 6th Century BC, however, the game as we know it today is over 200 years old.

Answer: Gareth Edwards

So many to choose from in New Zealand (Colin Meads, Jonah Lomo, Richie McCaw), Australia (David Campese, Mark Ella, John Eales), England ( Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson), France (Serge Blanco, Phillipe Sella) and many others from South Africa, Scotland, Wales and Argentina.

However, my belief is that one man stands above the rest in Gareth Edwards (Wales). Gareth Edwards was a supreme athlete with the skills to match whether it be running, kicking, passing and simply reading the game while on the pitch.

His international career for Wales and the British Lions was from 1968-1974, yet he continued playing for Cardiff until 1978. He scored "That Try" (aka "the greatest try ever scored") in January 1973, regard as the greatest try in rugby history, for the Barbarians against the All-Blacks.

The Barbarians won 23-11. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.

Answer: Juan Manuel Fangio

Argentinian, Fangio (1911-1995) competed in Formula 1 motor racing when it was in its infancy. However, he won five World Championship in four different teams ( Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Maserati). He was the first driver to win world championships with four teams.

He gets my nod over Senna, Prost, Schumacher and many other great drivers. In 52 Formula 1 races he was on the podium 35 times with 24 victories (a winning percentage of 46.15).

Answer: Duke Kahanamoku

This was a toss up between Kelly Slater and the Duke. However, I went for the Duke (1890-1968) as he was the father of modern surfing as we know it today. He enabled the talents of Kelly Slater, Tom Curren, Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Caroll and many other World Champions to pursue this great sport.

The Duke was an Olympic 100m gold medallist at the 1912 Stockholm games but it was through his exhibitions of surfing in Australia and mainland USA in the early 1900s that made the sport become popular.

Answer: Rod Laver

Other notable achievers - Federer, Sampras, Navratilova, Budge, Renshaw, Nadal, King, the Williams sisters and many more. Laver won six Grand Slam singles titles by the age of 24 in 1962. For five years (1963-1967) he could not compete in 21 Grand Slam tournaments due to the fact that he had turned professional.

In 1968 and 1969 he won another five Grand Slam singles titles and retired as the only tennis player to win the all four major championships in the same year, twice (1962 and 1969). In the five seasons that he competed in the Davis Cup, Australia were crowned champions.

The last being 1973 when professionals were allowed to compete.