How well-known are these all-time great sports figures?

[mechanicalman]

Interesting concept. At first blush, my gut tells me, with the exception of Ali, the boxers and Pele are probably too high in your percentages. And I think that Honus Wagner might have a higher awareness just based on "The Card."

Vezina is low, but probably known to anyone who knows hockey, so I imagine it might be a bit higher.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Too high on Frazier. Too low on Johnson and Mathewson. Too high on Pele. Jordan would also be right at the top.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Too high on Frazier. Too low on Johnson and Mathewson. Too high on Pele. Jordan would also be right at the top.

The reason I left off Jordan is because it just seems so obvious that he is virtually 100 percent since his career was modern and he is still alive. I did throw in a couple other basketball players. i didn't want to make the list too large, however.

I think the biggest test is who is still famous decades after they have been dead or completely out of the public eye.

[darwinbulldog]

Is your definition of "the general population" closer to 300 million people or 7.5 billion people?

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Is your definition of "the general population" closer to 300 million people or 7.5 billion people?

I was thinking United States, so 300 million.

[JollyElm]

As the saying goes, never underestimate the stupidity of the American people.
When you are out and about, try casually asking random people (at the checkout counter, in McDonald's, etc.) about some of the people on your list, especially (aside from the names that would obviously be lesser known) players like Roberto Clemente, Rocky Marciano, Pele and others. I'm thinking familiarity with many of those guys will be significantly lower than you imagine. Older people, of course, will look at you like you're stupid, but the relatively younger ones?? I'm sure you'll get a lot of blank stares (but the moment you say 'Rocky,' most people will immediately say, "He's a boxer, right?").

[ls7plus]

I don't know about the percentages, but I was familiar with all of them, which I don't think is any great feat. Probably most sports fans who also collect sports cards can say the same.

Best wishes,

Larry

[bnorth]

My guess would be Ali and Ruth would be around 90% and all others wouldn't be half of your estimate.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by bnorth

My guess would be Ali and Ruth would be around 90% and all others wouldn't be half of your estimate.

I agree....if that, in fact. I would bet that less than 25% of current Americans know who Lou Gehrig was....and many of those would reply something like "you mean the disease?"

[h2oya311]

I’m embarrassed to say that i don’t even know who George Mikan is. I do know Vezina only because of our fellow Net54 member with his card as an avatar. I’m too lazy to even look him up right now. Haha!

Aside from Ruth and Cobb (and maybe Wagner / Cy Young), I doubt my wife could name one other pre-war baseball player. She’d maybe know five names on your entire list. I’ll ask her tonight to verify/refute my intuition. Might quickly get the percentages significantly lower if she’s representative of the general female population. She would know Mantle and a few others just because her dad liked them growing up (she’s 36). Yogi Berra (not listed) would probably also be higher than the prototypical HOfer because of his yogi-isms.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

I’m embarrassed to say that i don’t even know who George Mikan is. I do know Vezina only because of our fellow Net54 member with his card as an avatar. I’m too lazy to even look him up right now. Haha!

Aside from Ruth and Cobb (and maybe Wagner / Cy Young), I doubt my wife could name one other pre-war baseball player. She’d maybe know five names on your entire list. I’ll ask her tonight to verify/refute my intuition. Might quickly get the percentages significantly lower if she’s representative of the general female population. She would know Mantle and a few others just because her dad liked them growing up (she’s 36). Yogi Berra (not listed) would probably also be higher than the prototypical HOfer because of his yogi-isms.

George Mikan's card from the 1948 Bowman set is one of the iconic basketball cards in the hobby. A PSA 10 sold for $403,000 a few years ago.

Bill Russell has often said that Mikan was his hero growing up.

https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/ba...mikan-69/3629/

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

George Mikan's card from the 1948 Bowman set is one of the iconic basketball cards in the hobby. A PSA 10 sold for $403,000 a few years ago.

Bill Russell has often said that Mikan was his hero growing up.

https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/ba...mikan-69/3629/

He surpassed him, and then some, pretty quickly.

[Bill77]

Just thought this would be fun to answer as honestly as I can as to who I knew of when I was 20 and who I know now that I am 40.

Babe Ruth 99% Y/Y
Muhammad Ali 99% Y/Y
Jackie Robinson 99% Y/Y
Pele 99% N/Y
Lou Gehrig 95% Y/Y
Mickey Mantle 95% Y/Y
Joe Frazier 80% Y/Y
Roberto Clemente 80% Y/Y
Joe DiMaggio 75% Y/Y
Ty Cobb 75% Y/Y
Shoeless Joe Jackson 60% Y/Y
Wilt Chamberlain 50% Y/Y (I remember him more from Conan the Destroyer)
Bill Russell 50% N/Y
Jack Dempsey 30% N/Y
Joe Louis 30% Y/Y (Again a movie reference Coming to America)
Rocky Marciano 30% Y/Y (See above)
Jim Thorpe 30% N/Y
Jack Johnson 25% N/Y
A.J. Foyt 25% Y/Y
Richard Petty 25% Y/Y
Honus Wagner 15% Y/Y
Satchel Paige 15% Y/Y
George Mikan 10% N/N
Rogers Hornsby 3% N/Y
Christy Mathewson 3% N/Y
Walter Johnson 3% N/Y
Bobby Jones 2% N/N
Bronko Nagurski 2% N/Y
Josh Gibson 2% N/Y
Georges Vezina 1% N/N

[TanksAndSpartans]

The football fans I know don't have much sense of history. I have a photo of Halas and Nagurski and none have recognized either, but have at least heard of Halas once I explain the photo. Forget the general population, I would say only about 1% of football fans have any sense of anything that happened before the 1st Super Bowl.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by TanksAndSpartans

The football fans I know don't have much sense of history. I have a photo of Halas and Nagurski and none have recognized either, but have at least heard of Halas once I explain the photo. Forget the general population, I would say only about 1% of football fans have any sense of anything that happened before the 1st Super Bowl.

John, I'd have to disagree with the bolded portion of your quote. All my guy friends, save for one, are football fans, and I think most all of them at least know some of the more famous names of the pre-Super Bowl era.

I pulled up a list of the greatest players of the pre-Super Bowl era I found on Bleacher Report, listed by decade, and I know a majority of them. The ones I've bolded, I've at least heard of.

The 1920s

1. Red Grange
2. Jim Thorpe
3. Ernie Nevers
4. Paddy Driscoll
5. George Trafton
6. Mike Michalske
7. Cal Hubbard
8. Pete Henry
9. Joe Guyon
10. Link Lyman

The 1930s

1. Don Hutson
2. Bronko Nagurski
3. Mel Hein
4. Dutch Clark
5. Clarke Hinkle
6. Arnie Herber
7. Johnny "Blood" McNally
8. Dan Fortmann
9. Joe Stydahar
10. Cliff Battles

The 1940s

1. Sammy Baugh
2. Steve Van Buren
3. Sid Luckman
4. Bulldog Turner
5. Bill Dudley
6. George McAfee
7. Tony Canadeo
8. Charley Trippi
9. Marion Motley
10. Bob Waterfield

The 1950s
4 OF 10
1. Otto Graham
2. Dick "Night Train" Lane
3. Chuck Bednarik
4. Gino Marchetti
5. Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch
6. Johnny Unitas
7. Jim Brown
8. Emlen Tunnell
9. Sam Huff
10. Norm Van Brocklin


The 1960s

1. Jim Brown
2. Johnny Unitas
3. Dick Butkus
4. David "Deacon" Jones
5. Gale Sayers
6. Bart Starr
7. Forrest Gregg
8. Ray Nitschke
9. Bob Lilly
10. Merlin Olsen

[brianp-beme]

I would assume the general population you are referring to are citizens of the US. If it was North American (USA, Canada and Mexico, I would assume it would cause a sizable shift in the percentages). Also some age minimum should be indicated...18 years and older, etc.

edited to indicate slow typing on my behalf...

Brian

[egbeachley]

Pele is 20% max.

[camlov2]

how do you determine "is familiar with"? Do you show them a picture and ask who it is? Do you give them a name and ask what they are known for? I think the percents can be varied by a great deal depending on how you set up the survey.

I think Pele is too high either way.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by camlov2

how do you determine "is familiar with"? Do you show them a picture and ask who it is? Do you give them a name and ask what they are known for? I think the percents can be varied by a great deal depending on how you set up the survey.

I think Pele is too high either way.

You are probably overthinking this. I was just looking for some general thoughts.

Either way, I guess I was really wrong on Pele. That's cool, though. I knew my thoughts would be off on some of the people listed. Like I wrote earlier, a post in the Charleston and Clemente thread got me to pondering who is well known today and who isn't.

I appreciate all the responses.