Football

Otto Graham

He won four AAFC titles, three NFL championships, two player of the year awards and a much-deserved tag as pro football's nonpareil winner.

" Otto Graham played for 10 years with the Cleveland Browns beginning in 1946, and the Browns were in a league championship game every one of those seasons. If you're looking for a record that will never be matched, that's a good place to start."
—PAUL ZIMMERMAN SI, Aug. 17, 1998

Jim Brown

In nine seasons he rushed for 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns, won an NFL-record eight rushing titles and never missed a game.

"It is possible that had he continued to play, he would have put all the league's rushing records so far out of reach that they would have been only a distant dream-like DiMaggio's hitting streak—to the runners who followed him. As it is, his most telling number is 5.22, which was Brown's average yards per carry over nine years
—PETER KING SI, Sept. 19, 1994

Dick Butkus

This is the legacy of the fiercest defensive player the game has ever known: seven All-Pro selections, eight Pro Bowls, innumerable ballcarriers terrified.

"If every college football team had a linebacker like Dick Butkus...all fullbacks would soon be three feet tall and sing soprano."
—DAN JENKINS SI, Oct. 12, 1964

Joe Montana