Quote:
Originally Posted by Bored5000
There was an interesting post in the "Charleston vs. Clemente" thread that got me thinking. I am a huge history nerd, not just sports history, but history in general. I am curious to see some thoughts on what percentage of the general population posters on here believe are familiar with various old timey athletes. Most of the names I have included are baseball players, but I have thrown in a couple other names, since they have iconic cards in their respective sport.
I have included my personal thoughts for what percentage of the general population is familiar with a particular athlete, but I fully admit that some of my opinions could be way off. I am interested in other people's opinions. A few of the people I listed are still alive, so I realize that may skew the percentage a bit compared to someone who has been dead for 50-75 years.
Babe Ruth 99%
Muhammad Ali 99%
Jackie Robinson 99%
Pele 99%
Lou Gehrig 95%
Mickey Mantle 95%
Joe Frazier 80%
Roberto Clemente 80%
Joe DiMaggio 75%
Ty Cobb 75%
Shoeless Joe Jackson 60%
Wilt Chamberlain 50%
Bill Russell 50%
Jack Dempsey 30%
Joe Louis 30%
Rocky Marciano 30%
Jim Thorpe 30%
Jack Johnson 25%
A.J. Foyt 25%
Richard Petty 25%
Honus Wagner 15%
Satchel Paige 15%
George Mikan 10%
Rogers Hornsby 3%
Christy Mathewson 3%
Walter Johnson 3%
Bobby Jones 2%
Bronko Nagurski 2%
Josh Gibson 2%
Georges Vezina 1%
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My wife did not know Pele, Frazier, Clemente, Chamberlain, Russell, Marciano, Thorpe, Foyt, Wagner, Mikan, Hornsby, Mathewson, Johnson, Jones, Nagurski, Gibson, or Vezina. I am surprised she knew some of the ones she did, even getting the sport correct. She could care less about sports for the most part. She did say Jumpin' Joe was Mr. Coffee, though.