[solved]Hall of Fame 2015/6 - Round 1 Group F

Here is round six of this years Hall of Fame.

All polls will remain open for a week so make sure to vote ASAP for your favourites.

The 1st round matches still open to voting can be found here -

https://www.606v2.com/t61410-hall-of-fame-2015-6-round-1-group-e

https://www.606v2.com/t61404-hall-of-fame-2015-6-round-1-group-d

Todays poll features stars from the world of Cricket, Rugby, Rugby and Cycling

Please vote for your top two choices and let the best man/ woman win.

Your nominees are:

Pele
Don Bradman
Jonah Lomu
Eddy Merckx


Jonah Lomu- Rugby- Championed by AucklandLaurie

"In the history of Rugby Union no other individual player has made the rugby World stop and watch in utter awe. In the history of Rugby Union no other player has made the rest of the sporting World stop and look at Rugby Union.
Born and raised in the tough South Auckland suburb of Otara. Jonah started his sporting life playing Rugby League for the Otara Scorpions. At the age of 14 standing at 1.9m tall and weighing 95 kilos he was bundled off to Wesley College where it was decided his future lay at lock. After a short period it was decided that it was a waste of talent so he was tried at No 8. But while all this was going Jonah wasn’t all that particularly interested in Rugby, this Polynesian kid with all the athletic talent in the World wanted to achieve his first love: athletics ... He wanted to go to the Olympics as a decathlete.
Upon leaving school he was taken to Hong Kong to play sevens for New Zealand; this was the first time the outside World saw Jonah. New Zealand won the tournament, and mostly through the staggering display of this new Kiwi, his ability to sidestep Sereve, or go around, away or through Campese had never been seen before.
At this stage Jonah was only weighing a little over 105 kilos but was running sub 11secs for the hundred metres in spikes and sub 12s in mouldeds on grass.
By 1994 he made the All Blacks and Jonah bought his power game to the 15 aside version of the game and showed the rest of his complete tool box of pace, step (both in and away), and acceleration that made him the most dominant player in World rugby - if none of those worked Jonah could also revert to absolutely smashing anyone that dared to stand in his way. He scored tries against every country he played against, apart from South Africa (but his team mates at fullback or on the right wing often did while the Saffas focused on Jonah).
In 1998 New Zealand, with a lot of assistance from Jonah won the gold medal at the Kuala Lumpa Commonwealth Games, some of Jonah’s fends in the final might have seen him sent off in modern rugby as being guilty of ""tip tackles"", his only saving grace would be that he had the ball under his other arm.
All in all Jonah scored nearly 200 tries in first class rugby, but it was the many other tries that his team mates scored as Jonah could attract at times up to 6 players and remove them from any defensive role, this made Jonah not only a valuable player but also a draw-card to International rugby and helped sell live TV feeds of international rugby around the globe.
Off the rugby field Jonah also was making an impact, sometimes with a lot of publicity and at other times not. Jonah was much in demand as a promotional sports talent for Television networks and sports apparel merchandisers, but Jonah never endorsed/promoted cigarettes, gambling or alcohol.

In 2001 he was contracted to adidas and formed part of their ""Be better"" global campaign alongside Ana Kournakova, David Beckham and Ato Bolden. Jonah had brought rugby into contention with the ""Big world sporting codes"", and by 2002 he had a Playstation game named after him.
Jonah also was representative on the World sage in another area, For many years now Jonah has been a member of ""Champions For Peace club"" wherein a number of elite athletes, members of royalty etc around the World commit through Sport to promote Peace by fundraising for Countries/Communities throughout the World that as a result of conflict lack social cohesion or are in extreme poverty.
Health:
In 1995 Jonah was diagnosed with a kidney disorder - Nephrofic syndrome. He received a kidney transplant in 2004. He carried his illness right through the peak of his playing career and we can only surmise what he could have achieved had he been fully fit.
Joannah Lumley or Jonah Lomu:
As I am writing this piece 10,000 miles away from most of you, I just thought I'd share a lighter hearted side of Jonah when he appeared on one of your own Television Sports shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd1hfFCYAzg
Even Daisy at the BBC now knows who Jonah Lomu is ...

Pele- Football- Championed by paperbag_puncher

Only when I sat down to write this article did the sheer scale of what I was attempting to do hit me. This article should really write itself, yet there are no words that can accurately describe the greatness of 'The King of Football' There are few human beings throughout history in any walk of life who have reached the iconic status of Pele.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the President of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows who Pele is.”
Ronald Reagan

Like most young boys I grew up hearing stories of this mythical man from Brazil who could create magic with his feet. I’d always been told of his greatness and happily accepted it but I was doing the man a great disservice by simply accepting it. Only as I got older and researched further did I realise how great he actually was. I am genuinely grateful that I have agreed to write this piece as it has given me the opportunity to revisit and explore the career of arguably the greatest sports person to have graced this earth.

There is no doubt in my mind that Pele was the most complete player of those who are generally mentioned in the greatest ever debates. Blessed with an unbelievable combination of pace, power, balance and close control he beat defenders at will making everything look effortless. Capable of the unpredictable and the sublime he was very much ahead of his time. Two footed and lethal in the air he was the ultimate goal scorer. The famous stat of 1281 goals in 1363 games is testament to this.

Pele said in 2006: "For 20 years they have asked me the same question, who is the greatest? Pele or Maradona? I reply that all you have to do is look at the facts - how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head?"

Pele made his debut for Santos at the tender age of 15 scoring on his debut in 1956. By the time the 1957 season came around he was a first team regular and finished as the league’s top scorer. Just 10 months later he was called up to the Brazilian national team scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Argentina making him the youngest ever international scorer at 16 years and 9 months. He would go on to become and still is Brazil’s top goal scorer with a remarkable 77 goals in 92 games.

1958 was Pele’s breakout year and he announced himself to the world in style. He won his first major title the Campeonato Paulista with Santos scoring a record 58 goals along the way (a record that still stands) He was selected for the 1958 World Cup at the insistence of of his team mates despite being injured, which shows the regard the 17 year old was already held in. He played a pivotal role scoring the winner against Wales in the quarters, a hat-trick against France and another brace Vs Sweden in the final on his way to becoming the youngest ever World Cup Winner.

Brazil repeated the trick in 1962 but did it without Pele who injured himself in the second game having looked ominously bright in the opening game. The 1966 was even worse for him. Pele was ruthlessly and cynically targeted by opposing defences meaning he missed the loss to Hungary and was never at his best for the two games he did play. Without their talisman the defending champions were eliminated in the first round.
He got his redemption in 1970 inspiring perhaps the greatest team of all time to a third world cup success. Pele at the peak of his powers won the player of the tournament and provided us with two of his most iconic moments. Had his lob from the half way line against the Czechs or his audacious dummy to round the Uruguayan goalie resulted in goals they surely would have been 2 of the greatest in World Cup history.

At one stage it was universally accepted that Pele was the greatest footballer of all time. In recent years it has almost become fashionable to dismiss his claim and achievements in favour of two little Argies. There are two sticks that are usually used to beat him which are contradictory for me. True he never tested himself in Europe. Having been named a ‘national treasure’ by the Brazilian Government and not being allowed to be ‘exported’ he spent his best years in his native land. However, we do have some clues as to how he would have fared had he moved to a big European club. His goals record and performances at international level leave me unequivocally convinced that he would have burned it up in any league. Also Santos (mainly to be able to afford his wages) regularly toured and faced the biggest clubs in Europe where Pele showed he was still on another level. The other criticism is that he was part of the greatest international team ever and had world class team mates around him which somehow should dilute his success. Many of these same team mates also predominantly played in Brazil yet this isn’t held against the likes of Garrincha, Rivelino, Tostao or Jairzinho who regularly had to play second fiddle to Pele and his Santos team. Nor is it held against one Lionel Messi who is a part of the greatest team I have ever seen. Like Messi now, Pele was the undoubted jewel in a beautiful crown.

For me, to be worthy of being called the greatest sports person of all time you need to tick several boxes. You must be supremely talented and have a strong argument to be the GOAT in your own sport. In my opinion you also have to have transcended your own sport and have made a widespread universal and lasting impact. With all due respect to the big hitters who have been voted through so far, most people have no idea who Bradman, Merckx etc are. While this may not be a popularity contest Pele’s notoriety and worldwide acclaim stemmed solely from his prodigious talent and countless achievements. He wasn’t a character, he wasn’t a loveable rogue. He did all his talking with his feet and his reputation is a product of his talent alone.

I have used a lot of words despite originally stating words could not do the great man justice. Still for me Pele is a treat best enjoyed visually. Watching him nutmeg two defenders and rounding the keeper or seeing him effortlessly flicking the ball over a defender’s head and volleying home is still jaw dropping even today. I will leave you with some quotes from his peers and contemporaries who say it a lot better than I ever could.

"I told myself before the game, 'he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else'. But I was wrong.”
Tarcisio Burgnich, the Italy defender who marked Pele in the Mexico 1970 Final

“The difficulty, the extraordinary, is not to score 1,000 goals like Pele – it’s to score one goal like Pele.”
Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet

“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pele as a player. He was above that.”
Ferenc Puskas

“After the fifth goal, even I wanted to cheer for him.”
Sigge Parling of Sweden on a 5-2 defeat by Brazil in the 1958 FIFA World Cup Final

“I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us.”
Costa Pereira on Benfica’s 5-2 loss to Santos in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup in Lisbon

"Pele was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pele.” Tostao

“When I saw Pele play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.”
Just Fontaine

“Pele was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.”
Andy Warhol

“Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.”
Johan Cruyff

“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.”
Carlos Alberto Torres

“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.”
Sir Bobby Charlton

"Pele played football for 22 years, and in that time he did more to promote world friendship and fraternity than any other ambassador anywhere.”
J.B. Pinheiro, the Brazilian ambassador to the United Nations

Malcolm Allison: “How do you spell Pele?”
Pat Crerand: “Easy: G-O-D.”
British television commentators during Mexico 1970

Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. All the others – Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini – rank beneath him. There's no one to compare with Pelé.
—West Germany's 1974 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Franz Beckenbauer

The best player ever? Pelé. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better.
—Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano

Donald Bradman- Cricket- Championed by Fists of fury

Australia
Test record: 6,996 runs in 80 innings at an average of 99.94 (29 centuries)

It is a rare phenomenon indeed where an individual can be undisputedly and universally acknowledged as the finest to have ever participated in a sport. It is rarer still for that individual to be recognised as the greatest there ever will be, despite seemingly no human being beyond Mystic Meg and the recently unmasked Eric Bristow possessing the gift of foresight.

For Pele, there is Maradona. For Nicklaus, there is Woods. For ‘The Don’, there is no rival. He stands alone.

Such are the statistics of Donald George Bradman. Plying his trade throughout the 1930’s and 40’s in the famous ‘baggy green’ of Australia, Bradman compiled a record almost twice as formidable as anyone else in the history of Test cricket. In a sport harking back to 1877, that is an astonishing feat. Bradman’s final Test average of 99.94 grows all the more impressive when you consider that the widely recognised barometer for a modern batsman attaining greatness is, in comparison, a mere 50. For a sportsman to be so far afield of his predecessors, contemporaries and successors is surely unique.

Perhaps indicative of the supremacy asserted almost every time The Don walked to the crease, former Australia captain Bill Woodfull proclaimed Bradman to be “worth three batsmen to Australia.” Where a team scoring 300 in one day is classed as operating at a fairly brisk pace, Bradman once single handedly made 309 on the first day of a Test against England at Headingley. Such dominance of bat over ball was unusually rare in the age of uncovered pitches, and remains so in today’s comparatively batsman friendly era.

Despite being the holder of records that will likely never be challenged in anger, let alone broken, statistics are but one facet of what makes a great sportsman. It often takes a truly inspirational individual to transcend the sport within which they participate. Much as Muhammad Ali transcended the sport of boxing, Don Bradman transcended cricket. Bradman emerged during a period of great economic hardship in Australia, and through the sheer force of his on-field performances it is said gave happiness and hope to a populace in the midst of depression.

You can't tell youngsters today of the attraction of the fellow. I mean, business used to stop in the town when Bradman was playing and likely to go in - all the offices closed, the shops closed; everybody went up to see him play. – England bowler Bill Bowes, 1983

Bradman would go on to exhibit a further trait of any world class sportsman: success in the face of adversity. After scoring an extraordinary 974 runs at an average of 139.14 in the 1930 Ashes tour of England, Bradman was infamously targeted by hostile and aggressive ‘Bodyline’ bowling during the 1932-33 return series in Australia – a theory designed with the sole intention of taking Bradman’s wicket, whereby the English fast bowlers would deliberately target the body of the batsman with a packed leg-side cordon of fielders lying in wait – The Don was almost rendered mortal with a series average of 56.57 (still a world class average by anyone’s standards). It was his own controversial tactic of combating bodyline by backing away and hitting the ball in an unorthodox manner in to the vacant off-side that won Bradman plaudits for attempting to find a solution to Bodyline.

It should be noted that, despite the whole of Australia being in uproar over the “vicious and unsporting” tactics employed by the English captain Douglas Jardine, and despite his own misgivings, Bradman conducted himself with dignity throughout and fought the onslaught in the way he knew best – by scoring runs. ‘Bodyline’, or ‘fast leg theory’ as it was also known, would later be outlawed.

Somewhat ironically, and perhaps unfortunately, the great Don Bradman is as much remembered for his final innings than the unsurpassed genius that had carved a path of destruction through the cricketing world wielding but a plank of willow in the preceding years. Striding to the crease at The Oval in 1948, Bradman required a mere 4 runs from his final Test innings to ensure an overall perfect Test average of 100. Whether through the emotion stirred in The Don through the adulation of the English crowd and opponents as he walked out that day (as much cheers of relief that his utter dominion over England’s bowlers was nearing an end, perhaps?), or the cricketing Gods inflicting a cruel twist of fate as if to reclaim the immortality they had lent him, Bradman was bowled for a duck by Warwickshire leg-spinner Eric Hollies, thus ending his career with that infamous average of 99.94 – a now magical figure in its own right. It will never be bettered.

Next to Mr. Winston Churchill, he was the most celebrated man in England during the summer of 1948. His appearances throughout the country were like one continuous farewell matinée. A miracle has been removed from among us. So must ancient Italy have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal – cricket writer R.C. Robertson-Glasgow upon Bradman’s retirement, 1949

Sir Donald Bradman died in February of 2001 aged 92. It would have come as a surprise to many that he failed to get out of the 90’s. There are numerous others with a rightful claim to being the greatest sportsman that ever lived, but in Bradman there has surely never been another so superior to their peers. A genius, an icon and a gentleman; The Don satisfies all of the criteria.

Sir Donald George Bradman was, without any question, the greatest phenomenon in the history of cricket, indeed in the history of all ball games. – Wisden Almanack"

Eddy Merckx- Cycling- Championed by Mad For Chelsea

Eddy Merckx - or Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx to give him his full name - is undoubtedly the greatest cyclist of all time. Until recently, people talked of Lance Armstrong's achievements, but they pale to near insignificance besides Merckx's. Nicknamed "The Cannibal", he was cycling's last true great all-rounder: capable of winning bunch sprints (he won the Points jersey for the Tour de France on three occasions), he was also a great Classics rider, winning a remarkable 28 Classic races (as well as 3 world titles). Lastly, of course, he was a superb GC (General Classification) rider in the Grand Tours, equally dominant in the Time Trials and in the mountains.

Merckx began his cycling career as an amateur in 1961. He won 80 races as an amateur including the world amateur championships in 1964, before turning professional the following year. In 1966 he won his first big race, the Milan-San Remo classic. In 1967 he repeated the success and won two further classics (Gant-Wevelgem and la Fleche Wallonne), as well as becoming World Champion for the first time. 1968 was the year he won his first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, in which he remarkably claimed all three main jerseys (the GC pink one, the King of the Mountains one and the Points one).
He continued to improve thereon, winning a further 4 Giro d'Italia, adding 5 Tour de France, and a Vuelta a Espana for good measure (the only time he entered the race) upto 1974. He managed the Giro-Tour double (a feat whose attempt saw Contador fail at the 2011 Tour de France) a stupendous three times. He also claimed the hat-trick of jerseys at the 1969 Tour (a unique feat) and added two further points jerseys in the Tour, one in the Giro, and a KOM jersey in the Tour. All the while he continued to add to his Classics tally, claiming at least three per year from 1969 to 1973 (including a remarkable 5 in 1973) and adding four more in 1975. He also added two more World titles in 1971 and 1974. In 1976 he won his final Classic, fittingly the Milan-San Remo (also his first) for an amazinn 7th time.

I won't bore you with the full statistical details of just how amazing Merckx's career really was, but here are a few chosen stats nonetheless, all of which are still records today:
- 28 Classics
- 11 Grand Tours: Tour de Grance x5 Giro d'Italia x5 Vuelta a Espana x1
- 34 stage wins in the Tour de France
- 525 career victories
- most days with the yellow jersey (GC leader) in the Tour de France (96).

I think that's enough to be getting on with. As I stated at the start, Eddy Merckx is undoubtedly the greatest cyclist of all time, and as such deserves a strong mention in this discussion.

I would have voted for any of these in the 5 previous groupings.

who drew these groups!! last few groups any of these could have won them. expect bradman and pele to walk it but watching the funeral this morning feeling sentimental and the fact he's one of my sporting heroes i went lomu over pele. bradman as my other

Easy one for me. Pele and Bradman.

Lomu was great, but for a short period, and tbh, I know very little about cycling to consider Merckx.

Pele is and always will be one of the greatest players, in the most played sport in the world, and Bradman's stats will never be equalled.

compelling and rich wrote:who drew these groups!! last few groups any of these could have won them. expect bradman and pele to walk it but watching the funeral this morning feeling sentimental and the fact he's one of my sporting heroes i went lomu over pele. Bradman as my other

I saw the funeral coverage as well - very moving indeed but that's not why I voted for Jonah (and Bradman). Just think he was such a colossus.

Very strange groupings here ....

horrible group. Merckx is the greatest cyclist of all time, Bradman the greatest cricketer, and Pele and Lomu arguably the greatest football and rugby union players respectively.

Merckx probably won't get much of a look-in due to the make-up of these boards; not many cycling fans on here, and British/Irish people would probably have less knowledge of cycling in general than the other three sports involved, which are more mainstream in the UK. However, his achievements are remarkable, and place him above the cycling world to the extent say, that Phelps dominates (male) swimming.

I'm going to vote for Merckx and Bradman, who I think are undisputed as champions of their sport, but would happily have voted for any of these four in pretty much any other group so far. Seems really unfair

Merckx and Pele.

Cricket back then was pretty much between two nations so I can't consider Bradman nor would he be my pick for greatest ever cricketer anyway.

Sobers?

I would go for Sobers with Kallis not far behind.

Stella

Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Bradman is to batsmen - undisputably the greatest ever and by a distance.

Ridiculous group - I would put 3 of them easily inside the top 10 sportsmen ever and Lomu wasn't exactly a mug either. After some of the earlier groups being a bit weak, this goes the other way - can I have 4 votes for this one and rescind my two votes from the Phil Taylor group?

Discount Lomu from my consideration - great player and the first (only to date) global superstar of rugby, but after 95 he didn't reproduce that form consistently. Tragically, we now all understand that his health issues started very young and he was such a success despite these, so there is clearly huge mitigation, but you have to judge on what was rather than what might have been. A little like Mike Tyson - incredible early career but a slight sense of 'what might have been' later, even if I have far more sympathy for the reasons than with Iron Mike.

So that leaves the near-impossible tack of selecting between statistically the finest sportsman ever (Bradman''s batting average is more standard deviations above the average than any other professional sportsman), a guy I've seen referred to as the King of Belgium, and arguably the greatest (and most successful) footballer ever.

Can I leave Pele out? Don't think so, as football's global appeal means that his achievements must be set against a much broader sweep of competition than the Don and the Cannibal. Even if Pele was not UNDISPUTABLY the best ever (unlike Bradman amongst batsmen and Merckx amongst cyclists), he's right up there in the debate, so has to get a vote here.

Bradman v Merckx? Both phenomenon of their respective sports, but you can argue that neither sport was truly global at the time of their great achievements. In both cases there's a little question of how much more they could have achieved in different circumstances. Bradman obviously missed a good chunk of his later prime years with WW2, while the Merckx that dominated the 1969 Tour de France (winning yellow, green and polka dot jerseys and winning overall by almost 18 minutes) was never seen again after serious injury in a track race later that year (fractured and displaced pelvis) - that he rode again was surprising, that he was so successful (winning 4 further Tour de France and a host of other races) was close to a miracle.

I'm trying hard to persuade myself that Merckx deserves my second vote, but I think against Bradman he comes up a hair's breadth short. There aren't many others for whom that would be the case.

Massively strong round. Any of these four could justifiably win the tournament itself. Where's Gavin Hastings when you need him?

"When people are talking about Rugby Union, 100 years from now the name Jonah Lomu will not be far from their lips, we will never forget him."

Just thought Id include a little read about Jonah from a Northern Hemisphere newspaper.


http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/nov/18/jonah-lomu-phil-kingsley-jones-rugby

Pele??

Are you kidding me. He spent most of his time playing in a glorified sunday league.

McLaren wrote:Pele??

Are you kidding me.  He spent most of his time playing in a glorified sunday league.

And winning three world cups!