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PCI don't think Bo Jackson can be called the best running back ever (he might have been but for his hip injury), but Bo has my vote for best athlete ever.
Jim Thorpe and Jim Brown are on my list too. So are Jackie Robinson and Dave Winfield, both of whom often get overlooked. It is interesting to note that SI selected Bo as the third greatest "college" athlete of all time behind Brown and Robinson.
But Bo Jackson is the only guy I am aware of that lettered in three sports in college (football, baseball, track), won a Heisman, and was selected as an MLB All-Star and for the NFL Pro Bowl. If you need more evidence of Bo's versatility, he was a state high school decathlon champion (twice). He ran the 40 in 4.1 seconds, the 60 in 6.18 and the 100 in 10.39. And that for a guy weighing over 200 pounds.
Thorpe is close, and probably the best outside the modern era. But if time travel were possible and you could put Thorpe and Jackson head to head, I think Jackson runs circles around Thorpe and then runs over him.
My Top Four:
Bo Jackson
Jim Thorpe
Jim Brown
Jackie Robinson
Honorable Mention:
Dave Winfield
Deion Sanders
Here's an interesting guy -- Hale Irwin. Obviously not in the same category as Jim Brown, but in addition to being a great golfer, he was also an all-conference football player at Colorado. A rather unique combination. Way to go Hale!