Baltimore's 10 Greatest Athletes

Johnny Unitas (left) and Brooks Robinson,

throwing out ceremonial first balls

before the last Orioles game at Memorial Stadium,

October 6, 1991.

The Yankees are starting a home series against the Baltimore Orioles today.

Baltimore's 10 Greatest Athletes

Honorable Mention to Orioles in the Baseball Hall of Fame, who did not otherwise make the Top 10: Robin Roberts, Hoyt Wilhelm, Luis Aparicio and Roberto Alomar. Each of these men is better known for playing for another team, but each played at least 4 seasons in Baltimore.

Honorable Mention to the 1890s Orioles in the Baseball Hall of Fame: John McGraw, Willie Keeler, Hugh Jennings, Joe Kelley, Wilbert Robinson and Dan Brouthers. McGraw, Jennings and Robinson were all elected to the Hall as managers, but all could have been elected as players. (Unlike the Basketball and College Football Halls of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame does not have separate elections for players and managers/head coaches.)

Honorable Mention to members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who did not otherwise make the Top 10: From the Colts, Art Donovan, Raymond Berry, Jim Parker, John Mackey and Ted Hendricks; from the Ravens, Jonathan Ogden and Rod Woodson. Joe Flacco and Ed Reed might join them. (UPDATE: Reed was elected in 2019.)

When The Sporting News ranked its 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, Parker came in 24th, Berry 40th, Mackey 48th, and Hendricks 64th. When the NFL Network ranked its 100 Greatest Players in 2010, Parker was 32nd, Berry 36th, Mackey 42nd, Ogden 72nd, Hendricks 82nd and Reed 88th.

Honorable Mention to members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, who did not otherwise make the Top 10: Harry "Buddy" Jeannette, player-coach of the 1948 NBA Champion Baltimore Bullets, the team that went out of business in 1954; and from the 1963-73 Bullets, Gus Johnson and Wes Unseld.

10. Earl Monroe, guard, Bullets, 1967-72. Before joining Walt Frazier in the backcourt of the Knicks team that went on to win the 1973 NBA Championship, "Earl the Pearl" was the great rival of "Clyde," making him say, "I dreamed about many women, but Earl was the only man I dreamed about." In other words, the Pearl gave Clyde nightmares.

Earl was a 4-time All-Star, 2 with the Bullets. He was the 1968 NBA Rookie of the Year, and helped the Bullets win the 1971 Eastern Conference Championship, but they got swept in 4 straight by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, and got his number retired by both of his teams: 10 by the Wizards and 15 by the Knicks.

9. Frank Robinson, right field, Orioles, 1966-72. This is a joke, right? Frank Robinson, the man who made the O's champions, only 9th? Keep in mind, he only played 6 full seasons in Charm City.

His 1st season there was 1966. He was immediately named Captain, won the Triple Crown, and led them to their 1st Pennant and 1st World Series win. They won 3 straight American League Pennants, and won the 1970 World Series, losing in 1969 and 1971.

Over his career, he hit 586 home runs, fell just 57 hits short of 3,000, and became the only man to win the Most Valuable Player award in both Leagues. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1999 The Sporting News ranked him 22nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Both the Cincinnati Reds and the Orioles retired Frank's Number 20 – in fact, he was the 1st Oriole to have his number retired. The Orioles put a statue of him outside Camden Yards, and, along with teammate Brooks Robinson, was part of the 1st induction class into the team's Hall of Fame. He was also the 1st black manager in each League. In 2005, George W. Bush awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

8. Gino Marchetti, defensive end, Colts, 1953-66. Sid Gillman, a Hall of Fame coach then running the Los Angeles Rams, called him "the greatest player in football. It's a waste of time to run around this guy's end. It's a lost play. You don't bother to try it."

And Forrest Gregg, the Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers, called "the finest player I ever coached" by Vince Lombardi, said, "Marchetti was the best all-around player I ever played against. Great pass rusher. Great against the run. And he never let you rest."

An 11-time Pro Bowler, Gino was the Captain of the 1958 and 1959 NFL Champion Colts. He played 13 seasons -- and was never assessed a 15-yard penalty. In an interview for John Madden's All-Madden All-Millennium Team in 1999, he seemed quite proud of pointing that out. He was a beast in total control, like Mean Joe Greene, Mike Singletary or Reggie White -- not an out-of-control psychopath like Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert or Lawrence Taylor.

He broke his ankle late in regulation of that 1958 NFL Championship Game, "the Greatest Game Ever Played," but refused to go to the locker room. He had to see what happened with his own eyes. (Can you imagine Ray Lewis doing that? If you can, remember that, in his era, there'd have been a TV in the trainer's room.)

He was named to the NFL's 1950s All-Decade, 50th Anniversary and 75th Anniversary Teams, and to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Colts retired his Number 89, and, with the other Colts Hall-of-Famers, was elected by the Ravens to their Ring of Honor. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 15th on its list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 39th on their 100 Greatest Players.

7. Ray Lewis, linebacker, Ravens, 1996-2012. I don't know what happened that night in Atlanta, so I don't know what he did. He should still be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and all we know for sure what he is guilty of is trying to protect his friends from criminal prosecution. This assessment is about on-field performance.

Some performance. The linebacker made 13 Pro Bowls. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. He helped the Ravens win Super Bowls XXXV and XLVII, winning the game's Most Valuable Player award in the former and retiring a World Champion after the latter.

He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team, and, while still active, came in 18th on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players. The Ravens do not officially retire numbers, but have not given his Number 52 back out since he retired. Inside M&T Bank Stadium, they have placed him on their Ring of Honor; outside it, along with Johnny Unitas of the city's previous team, the Colts, they dedicated a statue of him. A section of Baltimore's North Avenue has been named Ray Lewis Way.

6. Eddie Murray, 1st base, Orioles, 1977-88. He was the American League's Rookie of the Year in 1977, helped the Orioles win the Pennant in 1979, and helped them with the World Series in 1983. The next season, someone (I forget who) wrote that we'd been hearing for so long that he was going to become a great player that we didn't realize that he had already become one. He later won another Pennant, with the 1995 Cleveland Indians, and came back to the Orioles and helped get them to another AL Championship Series in 1996.

He was an 8-time All-Star, and a 3-time Gold Glove. Only 5 men have both at least 500 home runs and at least 3,000 hits, and only 3 reached both without steroid suspicion: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray. Pretty good company.

He was a 1st-ballot election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Orioles retired his Number 33 and dedicated a statue to him outside Camden Yards. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 77th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

5. Jim Palmer, pitcher, Orioles, 1965-84. In 1966, he won Game 2 of the World Series, outpitching Sandy Koufax in what turned out to be his last appearance. He helped the Orioles reach their 1st 8 postseasons (narrowly missing 3 others), including all 6 of their Pennants and all 3 of their World Series wins: 1966, 1970 and 1983. In the process, he became, and remains, the only man to win World Series games in 3 different decades.

A 6-time All-Star, he was the AL Cy Young Award winner in 1973, 1975 and 1976. He led the AL in wins 3 times and ERA twice. He pitched a no-hitter in 1969, and won 4 Gold Gloves. He was 268-152 for his career.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and ranked 64th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999. The Orioles retired his Number 22 and elected him to their team Hall of Fame. He is now a broadcaster for the Orioles. The NCIS character of medical examiner Dr. Jimmy Palmer, played by Brian Dietzen, was named for him.

4. Cal Ripken, shortstop, Orioles, 1981-2001. Everyone thinks of the streak, 2,632 consecutive games. Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year for 1995, the year he surpassed Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130. Whether staying in the lineup as he got older and slower was advisable is a debate for another time. But he wouldn't have gotten close to Gehrig's record if he hadn't been a great player.

How great? A 19-time All-Star, a 2-time Gold Glove, and the only man to this day to win a League's Rookie of the Year and its MVP in back-to-back seasons, 1982-83. He won another MVP in 1991. He helped the Orioles win the 1983 World Series and reach back-to-back ALCS in 1996-97. He had 3,184 hits and 431 home runs.

The Orioles retired his Number 8, and put a statue of him outside Camden Yards. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and in 1999 The Sporting News ranked him 78th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

3. Lenny Moore, running back, Colts, 1956-67. If you're under the age of 60, and you don't know your history, the Reading Rocket might be the greatest football player you've never heard of.

A 7-time Pro Bowler, he was NFL Rookie of the Year in 1956. He helped the Colts win their 1958-59 back-to-back titles. He was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 1964, a season that was the middle of a streak of 18 consecutive appearance with a touchdown. (Though not 18 straight games, as it included 3 games he missed due to injury.) That's still a record, recently tied by LaDainian Tomlinson.

He rushed for 5,174 yards and 63 touchdowns. That's impressive. He caught 364 passes for 6,039 yards and 48 touchdowns. That's impressive. Put them together? Nobody put that together in those days. Nobody except Lenny Moore. This guy was playing 21st Century offense in the Eisenhower years.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team and it's 50th Anniversary Team. The Colts retired his Number 24, and, with the other Colts Hall-of-Famers, was elected by the Ravens to their Ring of Honor.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 71st on its list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 94th on their 100 Greatest Players. In both cases, he was seriously shortchanged.

Lenny Moore is 84 years old, and retired from working with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. He knew how hard it was to be a poor black kid in his time, and he wanted to make it easier for those who came after him.

2. Brooks Robinson, 3rd base, Orioles, 1955-77. In 1960, he won his 1st Gold Glove at 3rd base, and made his 1st All-Star Team. In 1964, he was the 1st Oriole named American League Most Valuable Player. In 1966, he helped the Orioles win their 1st Pennant and their 1st World Series. In 1970, he won another World Series, redefining the way people viewed the playing of 3rd base, and winning the Series MVP. In 1974, he played in his last All-Star Game, his 18th, and made his 6th postseason appearance. In 1975, he won his last Gold Glove, his 16th.

In 1977, he retired, had his Number 5 retired, and, with Frank Robinson (no relation), became the 1st 2 inductees into the Orioles' Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was invited to throw out the ceremonial first ball before the last Orioles game at Memorial Stadium (along with Johnny Unitas of the Colts, who threw a football). In 1999, he was ranked 80th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2012, the Orioles dedicated a statue of him outside Camden Yards.

1. Johnny Unitas, quarterback, Colts, 1956-72. This is how good the Colts franchise was by the time they won Super Bowl V in 1971: It could be legitimately argued that they had NFL history's greatest quarterback, Unitas; all-around offensive player, Lenny Moore; guard, Jim Parker; receiver, Raymond Berry; tight end, John Mackey; defensive end, Gino Marchetti; and defensive tackle, Art Donovan.

The Golden Arm with a gift for the Iron Man

In 1998, Steve Sabol of NFL Films saw that the largest gathering of members ever was coming to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremony. So he got as many of them for interviews as he could, and asked them what one player that they'd ever seen would be the man around whom they would build a team. Some players had to think hard, including Lenny Moore. Lenny decided, though: "Unitas. Unitas."

His full name was John Constantine Unitas. The comic book character Hellblazer is named John Constantine, but, as the character is British, he certainly wasn't named for the Lithuanian-American Johnny U. Nevertheless, there were times when Johnny U seemed like a comic book hero, as he was nicknamed The Golden Arm. Or, if you didn't like the Baltimore Colts, maybe a James Bond villain?)

He was little-regarded coming out of St. Justin's High School, a small school in Pittsburgh, and the only college that really wanted him was the University of Louisville. He wasn't much better-regarded coming out of there, but given later circumstances, they retired his Number 16. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him, and cut him in preseason. He played semi-pro ball until 1956, when the Baltimore Colts signed him.

He led the Colts to the NFL Championship Game in 1958, and led them in a comeback against the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium, first forcing overtime, then winning the title, in what's been called "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and, thanks to the union of the NFL and television, the day the NFL grew up. He beat them again in Baltimore in 1959. He set a record in throwing a touchdown pass in 47 straight games (since broken).

He got the Colts into another NFL Championship Game in 1964, but lost. He was injured for most of the 1968 season, but they won the NFL Championship anyway, and when they fell behind the Jets in Super Bowl III, he came off the bench and began what could have been a counter-miracle, but the Jet defense stopped him. He got them into Super Bowl V, but was injured and missed the 2nd half, but still got his 3rd World Championship.

A 10-time Pro Bowler, he was a 3-time NFL MVP, in 1959, 1964 and 1967. When he retired after the 1973 season, he held most of the career passing records. He was named the starting quarterback on the NFL's 1960s All-Decade, 50th Anniversary and 75th Anniversary Teams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Colts retired his Number 19.

The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984, and when the Baltimore Ravens debuted in 1996, at Memorial Stadium, Johnny U, in his blue Colts jersey, presented the game ball to the purple-clad Ravens and their opponents, the Oakland Raiders. A statue of him now stands outside the Ravens' new M&T Bank Stadium, and, with the Colts' other Hall-of-Famers, he was named to the Ravens' Ring of Honor.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 5th on its list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only fellow Pittsburgh area native Joe Montana among quarterbacks. In 2004, TSN changed their minds, and ranked him 1st, right ahead of Montana, on their list of the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 6th on their 100 Greatest Players, again trailing only Montana among quarterbacks. 

Could he have played in the modern era? I am absolutely convinced that he could have. I've seen plenty of footage of Unitas: Not only did he have great passing form, but, rare among quarterbacks of the 1960s, he could run. How he could be that mobile while wearing those iconic black high-top cleats, and frequently a back brace to protect his injured back and ribs, I don't know, but he was. Given today's protection, he would have been just fine, and maybe even, still, what everybody called him when I was growing up: "The greatest quarterback who ever lived."

Top 10 Religious Nicknames In Sports

Today, a Conclave of Cardinals meets at the Vatican to begin selecting a new Pope, to replace Benedict XVI, who resigned in order to avoid impeachment. I mean, to spend more time with his family. I mean, because he felt he was too old and infirm to do the job.

There's an old joke: "Who are the two former Cardinals honored in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium?" Of course, for centuries, every Pope had been a Cardinal first, so the answer is "Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II." Each delivered a Mass at the old Stadium: Paul VI in 1965, the first Papal Mass ever delivered in the Western Hemisphere; and John Paul II in 1979.

What the joke doesn't tell you is that 1920s manager Miller Huggins and 1960s right fielder Roger Maris played for the St. Louis Cardinals, so there was an actual answer to the joke.

The Mass delivered in 2008, in the final season of the old Stadium, by Benedict XVI ruined the actual answer to the stupid joke. Unless Joe Torre, who (like Huggins) both played for and managed the St. Louis ballclub, gets his Plaque before Pope Unknown the Questionmarkth comes to become the first Pontiff to preach at the new Yankee Stadium.

John Paul II delivered Masses at Yankee Stadium, then Shea Stadium. He went to Yankee Stadium first.  Gee, maybe he really was infalliable. He also delivered Mass at Madison Square Garden.

Disclaimer: I was raised Methodist, therefore Protestant. I am not trying to denigrate faith in general or the Roman Catholic Church in particular. However, every organized religion has things for which it must answer to the God it claims to represent.

As Bill Veeck, who owned 3 different Major League Baseball teams, put it, "Baseball is like religion: Great game, lousy owners." Or, to put it another way, all too often, the fans/believers are ahead of the owners/bishops.

I hope the Vatican gets it right with their next "Commissioner."

Top 10 Religious Nicknames In Sports

10. Sports Pope. Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News gave this nickname to WFAN host Mike Francesa, because Francesa apparently believes himself to be infallible. This is the dumbest one, so I'm doing it first.

9. Lord. James William "Jimmy" Jordan was a mediocre middle infielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the mid-1930s. He appears to be the only ballplayer whose nickname was "Lord." I can't find any reference to a reason. So I'm doing it next.

8. Jesus. It takes a lot of guts to call someone that, unless it's his name, as many Spanish-speaking players have been named that, with the pronunciation "Hay-ZOOS." But 2 basketball players have had the nickname: Earl "the Pearl" Monroe was Black Jesus, and Larry Bird was Basketball Jesus.

Come on: Both were great players, but the closest either got to performing miracles was the Pearl sublimating his ego so that he could play with Walt Frazier, and Bird's steal on the Detroit Pistons. Although, with all the sweating that goes on on a basketball court, both could be said to have "walked on water."

In 1978, Ron Guidry had the best season any New York-based pitcher has ever had. In 1984, Dwight Gooden became even more celebrated, even though he wasn't as good.  Both times, people would remark about them, "He ain't God, man."

But before the 1978 Yanks-Red Sox playoff game, Guidry heard it from one of the Sox, and sent him a note saying, "No, I'm not God, but I'm the closest thing to it you'll ever face" -- a rare moment of ego from "Louisiana Lightning." And Keith Hernandez defended Gooden by saying, "No, but he might be God's Son."

There was a basketball player from New York whose father named him God Shammgod -- which might have been the inspiration for Ray Allen's character of Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's film He Got Game. Not wanting to sound like he thought he was God, Shammgod began using the name Shammgod Wells, and that's how he was known in high school at New York's La Salle Academy. But when he got to Providence College, he was told he had to use his birth name or legally change it. He didn't have the $600 fee to go to court and have his name legally changed, so he became known as God Shammgod from then on. He played 2 years (1997-99) with the Washington Wizards, and then bounced around minor and international leagues for the next 10 years.

7. The Rabbi of Swat. When Babe Ruth arrived with the Yankees in 1920, and started bringing in fans with his home runs, and was nicknamed "The Sultan of Swat," New York Giants manager John McGraw was eager to find someone who could do the same for his club. He thought a Jewish player would be a big draw in New York. So he looked for someone who could be called "The Rabbi of Swat."

The good news: He found one, an outfielder named Mose Solomon, who was not just Jewish, but a New York native, growing up in the most stereotypically Jewish place in America, Manhattan's Lower East Side. And Mose seemed to be a decent player in the minor leagues: His batting average was .313, and in 1923 he hit 49 home runs in just 108 games -- at Class C, which was roughly equivalent to today's "Short-season A-ball."

The bad news: Solomon was less a Babe Ruth, more a Dave Kingman. He was a horrible fielder, and after 8 games in September 1923, McGraw determined that this guy was not going to play in the upcoming World Series against Ruth and the Yankees -- which the Yankees won. Solomon never played another major league game.

6. Superjew. Mike Epstein was a slugging 1st baseman for several teams. He came up to the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, too late to be on their World Series roster, but in 1972, he won a ring with the Oakland Athletics.

In the postseason, he wore a black armband in memory of the 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team who had been killed by terrorists at the Olympics. Teammates Ken Holtzman, who was also Jewish, and Reggie Jackson, who had grown up a black kid in a Jewish neighborhood in a Philadelphia suburb, also wore them. Neither team owner Charlie Finley nor Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, both freaks for conformity, took action against them -- maybe the only time Finley and Kuhn agreed with each other on something and did the right thing. (Reggie was injured in the final ALCS game and did not play in the Series, but he did wear the armband until then.)

5. The Caliph of Conversion. No, he wasn't a proselytizing Muslim, but you should still know the name of musical legend Tommy Walker. No, not the protagonist of The Who's rock opera Tommy. This Tommy Walker played for the University of Southern California in the late 1940s -- both on the football field, as a placekicker, and in the marching band, as a trumpeter.

He is the man who wrote "The Charge Call." He was trying to come up with a sound that would spur his team on, and thought of combining the "charge call" of Western-movie cavalries and the "Call to the Post" from horse racing, and came up with, "Dah dah dah DAT dah dahhhh!"

4. Deacon. This has been used for many baseball players, to suggest that they had high morals, including: James White, 1880s 3rd baseman; James McGuire, early 20th Century catcher; Bill McKechnie, 1910s 3rd baseman and 1920s-40s manager; and Vernon Law, 1960s pitcher.

I had read somewhere that Bill McKechnie actually was a deacon at his church, but this appears to be an exaggeration: He was not an official at the church, but he was a member of its choir. Vern Law, on the other hand, is a Mormon who was named a deacon in that faith at the age of 12, and a priest in it at 17. In 1960, at a time when the Cy Young Award was given to the most valuable pitcher in both leagues, he won it, as he was a major factor in the Pittsburgh Pirates winning the World Series.

Today, March 12, 2013, is Vernon Law's 83rd birthday. He is very much still active, both in his church and in baseball: His son Vance Law, also a former major leaguer, is the head baseball coach at Brigham Young University, and at adjoining Provo High School, Vern is the pitching coach.

But the best-known Deacon in sports is David Jones, the legendary defensive end who anchored the "Fearsome Foursome" of the 1960s Los Angeles Rams. He also had a political nickname: The Secretary of Defense. George Allen, who coached him in L.A., called him the greatest defensive end of modern football. Jones also created the term "sack" to describe tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked their 100 Greatest Football Players, and Deacon Jones came in at Number 13, the highest-ranking defensive end, ahead of even Reggie White.

Speaking of whom, White was an ordained minister. So was Mike Singletary before him. Both were nicknamed the Minister of Defense.

3. Preacher. Elwin Charles Roe was a crafty lefty who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers, one of their famed "Boys of Summer." Some "boy": He was already 31 when he threw his 1st pitch for them, and was already a veteran of 4 seasons, plus 6 more in the minors, and he lived to be 92.

He got his nickname at age 3, when, back home in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, an uncle asked his name, and he said, "Preacher." When asked why he said that was his name, he said he liked the minister who would take him on horse-and-buggy rides.

Preacher Roe was a 5-time All-Star. In 1951, he went 22-3, and if there had been a National League Cy Young Award that year, it would have been down to him and the New York Giants' Sal Maglie. "Ole Preach" had a great curveball, and a spitball that was, with a wink and a nod, called a sinker.

But he missed out on the Dodgers' 2 most important seasons: He and 3rd baseman Billy Cox were traded there from the Pirates after the 1947 season that launched both Jackie Robinson and the Boys of Summer generation of Dodgers, and both were sent back to the Pirates after 1954, and it was the next year that the Dodgers finally won the World Series. Roe was about to turn 40, and retired rather than report to the Pirates.

My Grandma, a former Dodger fan from Queens, told me this story, and I can now confirm it: A great pitcher but a horrible hitter, Roe batted .110 lifetime, but in 1953 he hit a home run -- at, of all places, the toughest hitters' park in the league, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. He got a standing ovation from the Pirate fans, who not only remembered him as one of their own, but knew just how strange this achievement was for him.

And Red Barber, the Dodgers' broadcaster, said, "Well, old Number 28 has hit a home run, and we'll never hear the end of it, folks!" Red was assuming that Ole Preach would talk about it forever. As I said, he lived to be 92, in 2008, and I'm sure he was still talking about it. I'm still talking about it now.

2. Mahatma. This title is from the Sanskrit language of the Indian subcontinent, meaning "Great Soul." It is similar in usage to the Christian title "Saint." It is most commonly associated with Mohandas Gandhi.

In sports, it is associated with Branch Rickey, the man who built the St. Louis Cardinal Pennant-winning teams of 1926 to 1946, the Brooklyn Dodger Pennant-winning teams of 1947 to 1956, and the Pittsburgh Pirate World Champions of 1960.

In spite of a decidedly non-Christian nickname, Rickey was a deeply devout Methodist, who wouldn't even show up for work at the ballpark on Sunday, being the Christian Sabbath. However, he had no problem accepting the profits gained on the day. How he rationalized that, I don't know.

1. The Pope. Paul Owens, longtime general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, was nicknamed Pope not just because his name was Paul and he was greatly admired, but because he actually did bear a bit of resemblance to Pope Paul VI, the Pontiff from 1963 to 1978. Owens also managed the Phillies to their 1983 Pennant.

In case you're wondering about former Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, that's his real name: Priest Anthony Holmes.

Top 10 Greatest New York Knicks

The Knicks have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers and now the defending World Champion Dallas Mavericks. They are back up to .500. Amar'e Stoudemire is playing again, and well. Carmelo Anthony may be back for their next game. And then there's this other guy...

Jeremy Lin has put more life into Knick fandom than anyone since the arrival of Patrick Ewing in 1985. It remains to be seen if he can keep this up, but the fact that Stoudemire and Anthony are publicly supporting him is a good sign.

Lin, of course, is a new arrival and thus does not make this list. But that doesn't mean he won't make a future list. (UPDATE: With the Knicks trading him to the Houston Rockets in the ensuing off-season, it's certain he won't make the list, unless the Knicks reacquire him, which is hardly out of the question.)

Top 10 Greatest New York Knicks

Honorable Mention to the Knick members of the Basketball Hall of Fame who didn't quite make this list: Tom Gola, Jerry Lucas, and coaches Red Holzman, Hubie Brown and Pat Riley.  Gola is better known as a Philadelphia Warrior, Lucas as a Cincinnati Royal, a pair of teams that no longer exist in their current form.  (Respectively, they are now the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.)

Also to 3 early Knicks who would have been on this list prior to the Riley-Ewing era: Richie Guerin, an early All-Star; Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, a star with the all-black New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters, and the first black man to sign a contract in the NBA (but not the first to be drafted or the first to actually get into a game); and Carl Braun, who was seen practicing free throws by broadcaster Marty Glickman, who heard Braun say, "Swish!" every time a free throw hit nothing but net.

Glickman incorporated "Swish!" into his broadcasts; my generation didn't know that at the time, thinking it had been thought up by WABC-Channel 7, later WCBS-Channel 2, sports anchor Warner Wolf. And, also, Honorable Mention to broadcasters Glickman, Marv Albert and John Andariese.

10. Dick McGuire, Number 15, guard, 1949-57. His brother Al, a rugged defensive forward and Knick teammate, became much more famous as the Marquette University coach who won the 1977 National Championship and then became a beloved broadcaster. But "Dick the Knick" came out of Far Rockaway in Queens and became an early NBA sensation.

Like his friendly adversary Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics, he was a dribbling wizard and a sensational passer. It took a long time for him to get into the Hall of Fame, but he and Al did both live to see it.

After retirement, he became the Knicks' coach, and wasn't very good at it, but was moved to the position of scouting director. He, his replacement as coach Red Holzman, and his predecessor as coach and now general manager Eddie Donovan built the Knick champions of the early Seventies. Number 15 has been retired for both McGuire and Earl Monroe.

9. Harry Gallatin, Number 11, center, 1948-57. At a time when a man 6-foot-6 could still play center, Harry the Horse set an NBA record (since broken)of 610 consecutive games and helped them reach 3 straight NBA Finals, 1951-53. Hall of Fame, although his number has not been retired.

8. Bernard King, Number 30, guard, 1982-87. Major, major what-if. The Brooklyn native, Fort Hamilton High School graduate, brother of future Net and Knick Albert King, and University of Tennessee teammate of future Knick player and executive Ernie Grunfeld (UT was then known as the Ernie & Bernie Show), was every bit the media darling that Jeremy Lin now is, and without the benefit of the Internet (or even much hype from the still-new ESPN).

In 1984, 'Nard scored 50 points in back-to-back games in Texas, first against San Antonio and then against Dallas. He put the Knicks on his back and led them into 2 great Playoff series, first beating the Detroit Pistons (including winning Game 5 in Detroit), then falling to the Boston Celtics. On Christmas 1984, he set a Garden record (since broken by Kobe Bryant) by scoring 60 points against the Nets -- although the Nets still won the game.

But in that season, injuries took a good Knicks team and made them awful. It was like Arsenal, only worse. The Knicks finished 24-58, putting them in position to possibly draft Patrick Ewing. Then, on March 23, 1985, at Kemper Arena, in one of the Kings' last home games before leaving Kansas City for Sacramento, King jumped to block a shot by Reggie Theus, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, yelling, "Oh, damn! Oh, damn!" and crumpling to the floor, slapping the hardwood in horrendous pain. This began a season-ending 12-game losing streak for the Knicks.

At age 28, King's career seemed over. Somehow, he made a comeback, first with the Knicks, then with the Washington Bullets, and scored just under 20,000 points in his career. He is not in the Hall of Fame, but he should be. (UPDATE: He was elected the next year.)

7. Charles Oakley, Number 34, forward, 1988-98. Ewing got the headlines, but the Oak was the heart and soul, and the blood and guts, of the 1990s Knicks -- Harry Carson to Ewing's Lawrence Taylor. He remains the team's all-time leader in offensive rebounds.

He has not yet been honored with the retirement of his number or election to the Hall of Fame. However, all the Knicks listed below have been elected to the Hall of Fame, and the team has retired all of their numbers.

6. Bill Bradley, Number 24, forward, 1967-77. As good as he was smart (Princeton, Rhodes Scholar), he was a balanced player who could shoot, pass, rebound and play defense equally well. He may not have been as good as Bob Cousy before him or Magic Johnson after him, but like them, he seemed to know where everyone was at all times, and where he could put the ball.

John McPhee, a native of Princeton and fellow graduate of Princeton University, wrote a New Yorker article about Bradley while he was at Princeton (including a game where he set a collegiate scoring record at the old Madison Square Garden), and gave it a perfect title for a story about Bradley, one that would have worked equally well for Cooz or Magic, and was later expanded into a book that included Bradley's pro career: A Sense of Where You Are.

Bradley lived in New Jersey during his playing days, and a year after retirement ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, and won 3 terms. Like football star turned Republican Congressman Jack Kemp, Bradley was constantly being touted as a candidate for President, mainly due to his celebrity and looks, rather than his qualifications. Like Kemp, he never won his party's nomination for President: He ran only once, in 2000, and got crushed in the Primaries by Al Gore.

Considering his background, especially his coaching by Red Holzman and the way he worked with his Knick teammates, I'm not at all surprised that Bradley became one of the most admired Senators of his time -- but I'm not sure he would have made a good President.

5. Dave DeBusschere, Number 22, forward, 1968-74. "Double D" was a sensational athlete who also pitched briefly for the Chicago White Sox -- if I'm not mistaken, Danny Ainge is the only man to play both in MLB and the NBA since. As a Detroit Piston, where he was briefly the youngest coach and one of the last player-coaches in NBA history, DeBusschere scored the first basket at what was then called "the New Madison Square Garden Center."

The next season, the Knicks got him from the Pistons for Walt Bellamy (who, though a great player, couldn't seem to play with Willis Reed) and Howie Komives. This trade made the Knicks, as DeBusschere was the perfect guy to play on a Red Holzman-led team, good on offense, great on defense, patient, gutsy, and smart as hell. The Knicks wouldn't have won either of their 2 titles without him.

He would go on to be the Knicks' coach and general manager. In the latter role, he provided his best-remembered moment, pumping his fist as it was announced that the Indiana Pacers were getting the 2nd pick in the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery, meaning the Knicks would get the first, meaning the Knicks would get Patrick Ewing. DeBusschere already has a Knicks Number 33 jersey with Ewing's name on it in his jacket pocket.

He also did commercials for Lee Myles transmission specialists, and was mentioned in an episode of Mad About You, where Paul (Paul Reiser) told Jamie (Helen Hunt) that their new answering machine's code was 422: "So that's 4, and Dave DeBusschere's jersey." But Jamie couldn't remember, and walked around the Union Square subway station asking people, "Do you know Dave the Butcher?"

Sadly, Double D died of a heart attack in 2003, just 62 years old. He, and all the players listed below him, were named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players in 1996.

4. Earl Monroe, Number 15, guard, 1971-80. "I dream about a lot of women," Walt Frazier supposedly said, "but Earl Monroe is the only man I dream about." Why? Because the flashy guard for the Baltimore Bullets was so hard to cover, he became a nightmare for Clyde.

He was already known as "Earl the Pearl" and "Black Jesus." At John Bartram High School in his native Philadelphia, he was known as "Thomas Edison," because he always seemed to be inventing new moves -- this despite Philly already having a high school named for Edison.

The Knicks decided, "If you can't beat 'em, make 'em join you." So they sent Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth and cash to Baltimore -- possibly leading to that franchise being moved to Washington -- and "The Rolls-Royce Backcourt" was formed. Newspaper sports columnists and the early sports-talk-radio hosts wondered if Clyde and the Pearl could play together, or if "they will need two basketballs."

They needn't have worried: Together, they got the Knicks into the 1972 and '73 Finals, winning it all in 1973. The Pearl turned out to be the last remaining Knick from an NBA Championship team. He still is.

3. Patrick Ewing, Number 33, center, 1985-2000. He's the most-hyped Knick ever, and the all-time leading scorer in the history of professional basketball in the Tri-State Area. So why is he Number 3 on this list, not Number 1? I'll give you 15 reasons why: The 15 times he did not lead the Knicks to an NBA Championship.

When the 1985 NBA Draft was fixed so that the Knicks could get the top pick, the unstoppable center from Boston and Washington's Georgetown University, the question was not if Ewing would lead the Knicks to a title, it was how many.

By the late 1990s, when it still hadn't happened, he began to guarantee titles. It never happened. He is the most spectacular failure in the history of Tri-State Area sports – although I shudder to think what Ranger fans would have done to Mark Messier if his guarantee hadn't come true.

2. Willis Reed, Number 19, center, 1964-74. The Captain -- forever the Captain of his team, the way Lou Gehrig will always be "the Captain of the Yankees" (more than Thurman Munson, Don Mattingly or Derek Jeter ever will be), Keith Hernandez for the Mets, Harry Carson for the Giants, Mark Messier for the Rangers, Denis Potvin for the Islanders and Scott Stevens for the Devils.

He was probably headed for the Hall of Fame even before Game 7 in 1970, but that game, even though he only scored 2 baskets (the 1st 2 of the game), made him a legend.

You have to remember: The Knicks, much like the team they were playing that day, the Lakers, seemed snakebit. They'd been in the NBA Finals 3 times, losing them all. Of all the teams then in the New York Tri-State Area, all but one, the Nets of the recently-formed ABA, had won a World Championship. The Islanders and Devils hadn't arrived yet. The Yankees had won 20 World Series. The Giants had won 4 NFL Championships. The Rangers had won 3 Stanley Cups, although their last was 30 years earlier (which is now a bit shorter than the Knicks' current drought). Incredibly, 2 of the newer teams, the Jets and then the Mets, had won titles in the preceding 16 months. This was embarrassing. The Knicks needed that title.

And without Willis, it wouldn't have happened. Once he limped onto the court for the pregame shootaround, despite having such luminaries as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, the Lakers were beaten. Willis didn't do much more than that. But he'd done more in just that walk than Patrick Ewing did in 15 years at The Garden.

1. Walt Frazier, Number 10, guard, 1967-77. People remember Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals as "The Willis Reed Game." It's easy to forget that Frazier had his best game on that amazing night at The Garden.

He was called "Clyde" because he reminded someone of the way Warren Beatty dressed in the film Bonnie and Clyde. But Clyde Frazier never killed anything except opponents' hopes, and he never robbed anybody of anything except the basketball.

It was a special time, with Tom Seaver, Joe Namath, and Frazier, each in their own way, being parts of it. Clyde and Broadway Joe seemed to move the culture, while Tom Terrific seemed to be great in spite of it. Clyde helped bring a 2nd title, and has since become a great analyst on Knicks' broadcasts, and remains a style icon – witness his ads with Hernandez for Just For Men hair coloring.

I'm not going to tell you that Walt Frazier is the coolest man who ever lived. But if you already believe that, I'm not going to try to change your mind.