Best Soccer Players By Uniform Number

Part 5 of a series. I will conclude it by doing the greatest performers in all of sport to wear the number.

In this case, I am making an exception to the rule of club over country, and finding out, as best I can -- we're talking, literally, about a whole world of players, going back to 1928 when numbers first appeared on English football shirts -- who was the best player ever to wear the number.

Especially in the era before squad numbers were set (1993 in England), players would be shifted in position, and would wear the number assigned to that position. So many great players, even since 1993, have worn more than one number. Nevertheless, it's one number to a player here. So Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't get to wear 7 and 17. In fact, he doesn't get to wear either.

0 Alex Stepney of England. The Manchester United goalkeeping legend wore it with the Dallas Tornado in 1979 and '80.

00 Steve Zerhusen of America (Baltimore). Wore it for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1979 and '80.

1 Lev Yashin of Russia. The traditional goalkeeper's number goes to the man more often than any other called the best of all time. Starred in goal for Dynamo Moscow in both soccer and hockey for 20 years.

2 Cafu of Brazil. Starred at Right Back for São Paulo in Brazil, Real Zaragoza in Spain, and AS Roma and AC Milan in Italy, as well as Captaining Brazil to the 2002 World Cup.

3 Paolo Maldini of Italy. Wore it for AC Milan for 25 years.

4 Patrick Vieira of France. In 1998, won the League and the FA Cup -- The Double -- for Arsenal, and the World Cup for France. Won another Double in 2002. Was Captain of Arsenal's "Invincibles" in 2004. Nearly won another World Cup in 2006.

5 Franz Beckenbauer of Germany. Wore it in victorious Finals for 3 European Cups for Bayern Munich and a World Cup Final for West Germany.

6 Bobby Moore of England. Wore it in Finals in Wembley Stadium 3 straight years: The 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup for West Ham United, and the 1966 World Cup for England.

7 Kenny Dalglish of Scotland. Those of you who are Manchester United fans will consider this blasphemy, but then, you also consider your Ferguson-era trophies to be fairly won. "King Kenny" is arguably the greatest player ever for 2 legendary British clubs: Glasgow's Celtic, and Liverpool.

8 Giuseppe Meazza of Italy. Starred for Internazionale Milano, and the stadium that "Inter" shares with AC Milan is named for him. Led Italy to victory in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups.

Yes, Liverpool fans, Steven Gerrard was considered for this list. No, he was never going to be chosen for this number.

9 Bobby Charlton of England. Unlike such previous English legends wearing the number, like Dixie Dean of Everton and Jackie Milburn of Newcastle United, the Manchester United legend wore it in the television era, including the 1966 World Cup win, and thus is more familiar with it.

Don't even think of putting Alan Shearer here. You may think of putting Alfredo Di Stéfano, Gianni Rivera, Marco van Basten or the Brazilian Ronaldo here, and Ronaldo will show up later on this list. 

10 Pelé of Brazil. Starred for Santos in his homeland in the 1960s, and in the mid-1970s dragged America kicking and screaming (for joy) into the soccer world with the New York Cosmos. The only man to play on 3 World Cup winners.

There are, of course, people who would have preferred that I select Ferenc Puskás, Denis Law, Diego Maradona, Dennis Bergkamp, Zinedine Zidane or Lionel Messi. Puskás, Zidane and Messi will show up on this list.

If you still doubt that Pelé is the greatest player ever, or at least the greatest ever to wear Number 10, take a look at the photo above. It was taken at his farewell match at the Meadowlands in 1977. And the other man in that picture, Muhammad Ali, still Heavyweight Champion of the World at the time, and a man who liked to call himself "the Greatest of All Time," said after seeing the spectacle, "Now I understand: He is greater than me."

11 Garrincha of Brazil. The legend of Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo wore it while starring in the 1958 World Cup. Was even more amazing in the 1962 World Cup, wearing 7.

12 Júlio César of Brazil. Now wrapping up his career with Portuguese giants Benfica, the goalie starred for Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo and Milan's Inter, wearing 12 with the latter, and in the last World Cup for Brazil.

13 Eusébio of Portugal. The Benfica star wore it in the 1966 World Cup. Usually wore 10.

14 Thierry Henry of France. Wore it for his club teams, but wore 12 for his national team and in his brief 2012 loan return to Arsenal. No doubt, some of you think I've forgotten somebody. Rest assured, the man you're thinking of is on this list.

15 Lilian Thuram of France. Starred for AS Monaco (Monaco is an independent nation, but so small of one that its club team competes in France's Ligue 1), Parma and Juventus. World Cup winner 1998.

16 Martin Peters of England. At a time when England didn't allow numbers past 11 (and then 12, once substitutions were legalized in 1966), he wasn't intended to be a starter for England's World Cup team in 1966. He ended up not only playing in the Final, but scoring. Usually wore 10 for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City.

17 Steven Gerrard of England. Wore it for Liverpool before switching to the more familiar 8. Usually wears 4 for England.

18 Lionel Messi of Argentina. The Barcelona star has long since switched to 10 for both club and country. Honorable mention to Doctor Sócrates, the Brazilian legend of the 1980s.

19 Ferenc Puskás of Hungary. "The Galloping Major" wore it while captaining his country to the Gold Medal at the 1952 Olympics. He usually wore 10 for his national team thereafter, having usually worn it for Budapest Honvéd, and later for Real Madrid.

20 Vavá of Brazil. Starred for Rio de Janeiro club Vasco da Gama and Spanish side Atlético Madrid. Scored the biggest goals in Brazil's 1958 World Cup win, and also played on the 1962 World Cup winners (having switched to 19). 

21 Zinedine Zidane of France. Wore it at Juventus, 5 at Real Madrid, 10 for his country. A tough call over AC Milan and Juventus legend Andrea Pirlo.

22 Kaká of Brazil. Wore 8 at São Paulo and Real Madrid, 22 at AC Milan. He has worn 8 and 10 for Brazil, and now wears 10 for MLS expansion team Orlando City.

23 Sol Campbell of England. Famously made the switch across North London from Tottenham Hotspur (switching from 23 to the more common centreback number of 5 by the end of his tenure there) to Arsenal (taking 31 on his brief return to the club after playing at Portsmouth, where he also wore 23). If you expected to see Manchester United legend David Beckham, who wore 23 for the Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan, he will show up later.

24 Tim Howard of America (North Brunswick, New Jersey). Always wears 1 for the national team, wore 14 at Manchester United, and has worn 24 for Liverpool-based Everton since 2006.

25 Gianfranco Zola of Italy. Starred for Napoli, Parma and Chelsea. Wore 21 for his country.

26 John Terry of England. Yes, he represents so much of what's wrong with the modern game (and wears 6 for his national team), but show me anyone else whose done more with 26 than Captain Cuckold has with Chelsea.

27 Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria. Wore it at Portsmouth after wearing 14 at Ajax, 19 at Inter and 25 at Arsenal. Always wore 4 for his country.

28 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. Wore it at Sporting Lisbon, but was given 7 upon his arrival at Manchester United, because manager Alex Ferguson wanted him to become the kind of legend who had worn it for the Salford club: George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham.

29 Rio Ferdinand of England. Wore it at Leeds United before getting poached by Manchester United and switching to 5.

30 Johan Cruijff of the Netherlands. Aside from Pelé and Maradona with 10, no footballer is more identified with a single number than Cruijff (whose name is frequently, but incorrectly, spelled "Cruyff") is with the 14 he wore in his best years at Ajax, in the NASL with the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats, and with the Dutch national team. But he wore 9 at Barcelona, and wore 30 in a friendly with the New York Cosmos in 1978. He played in only 1 other game for the Cosmos, another friendly that year, and wore 16.

True, he never played a competitive match wearing 30. But who else are you going to pick for the number -- Obafemi Martins?

31 George Weah of Liberia. Normally a 9, wore 31 for Chelsea.

32 David Beckham of England. The Manchester United and Real Madrid legend wore it with AC Milan.

33 Alex (Rodrigo Dias da Costa) of Brazil. Wears it for AC Milan, after also wearing it for Chelsea.

34 Nigel de Jong of the Netherlands. Wears it at AC Milan, after also wearing it at Manchester City. Usually wears 8 for his country, but has also worn 6 and 17 in international tournaments.

35 Viktor Genev of Bulgaria. Was a star by his home country's standards. Now plays in Scotland for St. Mirren.

36 Matteo Darmian of Italy. Wore it for Sicilian side Palermo.

37 Jari Litmanen of Finland. Wore it at Liverpool, after usually wearing 10 with clubs like Ajax and Barcelona.

38 Sinan Bolat of Turkey. Wears it for Istanbul giants Galatasaray.

39 Nicolas Anelka of France. Wore 9 at Arsenal, but whenever he wears out his welcome at a club (which is usually soon to happen), "Le Sulk" goes to one where 9 is occupied, so he takes 39. Has worn 8, 9 and 21 for France.

40 Henrique Hilário of Portugal. Wore it with Chelsea.

41 Jérôme Agyenim Boateng of Germany. Wore it at the start of his career, for hometown club Hertha Berlin. Now better known for wearing 17.

42 Yaya Toure of the Ivory Coast.

43 Julian Dicks of England.

44 Massimo Oddo of Italy. Wore it for AC Milan, although switched to 17 -- which is usually considered a bad-luck number in Italy.

45 Mario Balotelli of Italy. Has worn it for both Milan clubs, Manchester City, and now Liverpool, but usually wears 9 for his country.

46 Salvator Sirigu of Italy. Wore it for Palermo.

47 Andrea Consigli of Italy. Wears it for Sassuolo.

48 Salih Uçan of Turkey. Wears it for Istanbul giants Fenerbahçe, and also in his current loan spell at AS Roma.

49 Muhammed Demirci of Turkey. Wears it for Istanbul side Beşiktaş.

50 Michele Somma of Italy. Wears it for Empoli, on loan from AS Roma.

51 Mauricio Pinilla of Chile. Has worn in for several Italian clubs, currently Genoa (but on loan to Atalanta).

52 Emre Çolak of Turkey. Wears it for Istanbul giants Galatasaray.

53 Serdar Kesimal of Turkey. Wears it for Fenerbahçe.

54 Isaac Donkor of Ghana. Wears it for Inter.

55 Yuto Nagatomo of Japan. Wears it for Inter. Wears 5 for his country.

56 Nico Pulzetti of Italy. Plays for Bologna.

57 Cesc Fabregas of Spain. Wore it in his 1st season for Arsenal, 2003-04, before switching to 15 the next season and 4 in 2006-07. Kept 4 when he betrayed the club and went to Barcelona, and now Chelsea.

58 Gedion Zelalem of America (born in Germany of Ethiopian parents, but grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and will play for the U.S. team). Wore it once for Arsenal, and has now switched to 35. (UPDATE: In 2020, he wears 23 for New York City FC.)

59 Couldn't find one worth posting.

60 Jeff Parke of America (the Philadelphia area). Wore it with the New York Red Bulls in 2008.

61 Konstantinos Kotsaris of Greece. Wears it for Athens giants Panathinaikos.

62 Couldn't find one worth posting. (UPDATE: Michael Amir Murillo of Panama began wearing it for the Red Bulls in 2017. He wears 2 for his national team.)

63 Couldn't find one worth posting.

64 Couldn't find one worth posting. (UPDATE: Sergi Canos made 1 appearance for Liverpool, in 2016, wearing 64.)

65 Couldn't find one worth posting. (UPDATE: Michael Baldisimo, a midfielder born in 2000, began wearing it in 2018, for his hometown team, the Vancouver Whitecaps.)

66 Giampiero Pinzi of Italy. Wears it for Udinese.

67 Eray İşcan of Turkey. Wears it for Galatasaray.

68 Andrea Fulignati of Italy. Wears it for Palermo.

69 Bixente Lizarazu of France. Wore it at Bayern Munich in 2005. No, it doesn't refer to anything naughty: He was born in 1969, stood 169 centimeters tall, and weighed 69 kilograms, so he considered it his lucky number.

70 Ainsley Maitland-Niles of England. Hasn't yet done much, for Arsenal or any other club, but he's played (and worn the number) in a UEFA Champions League match, which is more than I can say for the only other Number 70 I could find, Stefano Sorrentino of Italy, a backup goalie who wears it for Palermo. (UPDATE: In 2018, AMN began wearing 15 for Arsenal.)

71 Diego Serna of Colombia. Wore it with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) in 2002.

72 Josip Iličić of Slovenia. Wore it for Palermo, and now wears it for Fiorentina.

73 Stefan O'Connor of England. Hasn't yet done much, for Arsenal or any other club, but he's played (and worn the number) in a UEFA Champions League match, which is more than I can say for any other Number 73 I could find.

74 Mohamed Salah of Egypt. Signed to Chelsea, but on loan to Fiorentina, with whom he wears it.

75 Couldn't find one worth posting. (UPDATE: In 2018, Wan Kuzain of Carbondale, Illinois wore began wearing it for Sporting Kansas City.)

76 Andriy Shevchenko of Ukraine. Wore the last 2 digits of his birth year at AC Milan because his usual 10 wasn't available. Wearing your birth year as a uniform number is going to become less common once we have players born in 2000 or later, and it won't be long now.

77 Gianluigi Buffon of Italy. One of the greatest goalies ever, wore it at Juventus in the 1999-2000 season.

78 Aurélien Collin of France. The MLS All-Star wore it for Sporting Kansas City, and will now wear it for expansion Orlando City.

79 Gianluca Pegolo of Italy. Wears it for Sassuolo.

80 Ronaldinho of Brazil. Wore his birth year at AC Milan because his usual 10 wasn't available. 

81 Cristian Zaccardo of Italy. The AC Milan player wears his birth year, but wore 2 for his country.

82 Alexandre Geijo of Spain. Wears his birth year for Udinese.

83 Antonio Miranti of Italy. Wears his birth year for Parma.

84 Clint Mathis of America (the Atlanta area). Wore it with the Los Angeles Galaxy from 1998 to 2000, and again in 2010. Usually wore 13, including with the Red Bulls.

85 Diego Novaretti of Italy. Wears his birth year for Rome club SS Lazio.

86 Fabrizio Cacciatore of Italy. Wears his birth year for Genoa side Sampdoria.

87 Ervin Zukanović of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Plays for Chievo Verona, on loan from Belgian club KAA Gent. Wears his birth year. 

88 Hernanes of Brazil. Wore 8 at São Paulo and Rome club Lazio, but wears 88 at Inter.

89 Guido Marilung of Italy. Plays for Cesena, on loan from Atalanta. Wears his birth year. 

90 Duje Čop of Croatia. On loan from Dinamo Zagreb to Cagliari, where he wears his birth year. 

91 Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland. Wears 11 for his country, and also wore it for Bayern. Now wears 91 for Inter.

92 Stephan El Shaarawy of Italy. The Egyptian-descended "Il Faraone" (The Pharoah) of AC Milan wears his birth year. Wears 14 for Italy.

93 Octávio of Brazil. The Botafogo prospect is on loan to Fiorentina this season, and wears his birth year.

94 Jimmy Medranda of Colombia. Wears his birth year for Sporting Kansas City.

95 Alberto Grassi of Italy. Wears his birth year for Atalanta.

96 Andrea Palazzi of Italy. The Inter starlet wears his birth year.

97 Federico Bonazzoli of Italy. The Sampdoria player, currently on loan with Inter, also wears his birth year.

98 Hachim Mastour of Italy. The AC Milan starlet wears his birth year.

99 Ronaldo of Brazil (a.k.a. "The Real Ronaldo" or "Fat Ronaldo" since Cristiano became a star). Wore it at AC Milan because his usual 9 wasn't available.

There have been players who've worn triple-digit numbers, usually as a one-time-only publicity stunt. Mexico, in particular, has seen a few of these worn regularly, as they have no numerical restrictions.

Of these 96 players, 78 are still alive. (UPDATE: Through the start of the 2020-21 season, 76 are.)

Top 10 Athletes Who Never Won a Title

Ty Cobb and Ted Williams,

at the Boston Red Sox' Spring Training facility,

Scottsdale, Arizona, 1960

LeBron James, assuming you're not illiterate, you may want to take note: You aren't even good enough to make this list.

Note: This list refers only to the 4 major North American sports, plus soccer's World Cup. I couldn't decide who was the greatest boxer never to win a belt, or the greatest tennis player never to win one of the Grand Slam events. Golf? Not a sport. Auto racing? Ditto. Figure skating? Puh leese.

Nor will I count performers who never had the chance, i.e. players from the pre-World Series, pre-Stanley Cup era, and Negro League players who never made the majors, unlike such World Series heroes as Satchel Paige (1948) and Monte Irvin (1954). Players who won NBA titles, but not NCAA titles, are exempt.

10. Ernie Banks. Like Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, he went from the Negro Leagues to the major leagues, and became a no-doubt-about-it Hall-of-Famer. Like Mays and Aaron, he hit over 500 home runs. But while each of those guys won a World Series ring (though, in each case, only one), Ernie, like another Negro Leaguer turned major leaguer, Cuban star Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, played in Chicago, at a time when Chicago teams simply didn't win Pennants. (In fact, in 1959, when the White Sox won the city's only Pennant between 1945 and 2005, Minnie was away from the ChiSox.)

The Cubs were in 1st place in September 1969, and then came the September Swoon. Oddly, they ended up closer to first in 1970 than they did in '69, but nobody remembers that because the team that beat them out in '69 was New York, and the one that did it in '70 was Pittsburgh.

Every year, Ernie would tell people this was the year the Cubs were going to the World Series. Not a boast, a la Patrick Ewing, but a joyous prediction. He really thought so.

Jack Brickhouse, who broadcast for both Chicago teams, once said he'd like to come out of retirement, to broadcast a World Series between the teams, and have it go to Game 7, and go 23 innings, and then, in the top of the 23rd, the White Sox would take the lead, but in the bottom of the 23rd, the Cubs would get a man on, Ernie himself comes out of retirement, and he hits a long fly ball down the left field line, but it's dark (Wrigley Field, as yet, had no lights), and the umpire can't tell if it's a game-winning home run or a ChiSox-lead-holding foul ball, and the game would be declared over and a tie, and both teams Co-World Champions. A version of this became part of the final scene of the Cub-themed play and movie Bleacher Bums.

9. Cornelius Warmderdam. In 1940, this American of Dutch descent (and "Dutch" became his nickname) became the 1st man to pole-vault 15 feet. He held the world record until 1957 -- and then the new holder needed a metal pole to do it, as bamboo poles had previously been used.

Unfortunately, he was unable to compete in the Olympics, as the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II, and in 1948 he was barred from the Games, because he had turned professional. (Not until 1992 would professionals be allowed to compete in the Olympics.)

He's been called the greatest track-and-field performer never to win an Olympic medal. In spite of this, he competed long after the 1940s, and was a pioneer in "masters" athletics.

8. Carl Yastrzemski. Not the only Boston Red Sox left fielder to make this list. A member of the 3,000 Hit Club (unlike the other one), Yaz played more games without winning a world championship than any player in any of the 4 major sports' history: 3,308.

Not that it was his fault: Although he did make the final out of both Game 7 of the 1975 World Series and the 1978 American League Eastern Division Playoff (a.k.a. the Bucky Dent Game or the Boston Tie Party), he practically carried the Sox to the 1967 Pennant, and almost singlehandedly won 2 games in that year's World Series. It just wasn't meant to be.

7. Marcel Dionne. "The Little Beaver" scored 731 goals and had 1,040 assists. That is some serious offense. Did he ever win a Stanley Cup? Hell, in spite of some pretty good teammates with the Los Angeles Kings -- Rogie Vachon was in goal, and with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer he formed the Triple Crown Line, due to the crown logos on the Kings' uniforms -- he never even made the Conference Finals.

He is a major case for the prosecution in "Defense wins championships," as L.A. never had that good a D when he was there. He did help Team Canada win the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets, and the 1976 and 1981 Canada Cups (the tournament now named the World Cup).

Honorable Mention to Gilbert Perrault, Mike Gartner, Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine (maybe the best American player ever), Borje Salming (maybe the best Swedish player until Peter Forsberg), Peter Stastny (the best Slovakian player), and a bunch of New York Rangers, before fans like me began to say that they suck: Chuck Rayner, Harry Howell, Eddie Giacomin, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle and Brad Park. But for one game -- and it was Game 6 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals as much as it was Game 7 -- Ray Bourque would have displaced Dionne on this list.

(EDIT: I previously included 1950s Ranger star Andy Bathgate on this list, but he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs team that won the 1964 Stanley Cup.)

6. Paolo Maldini. He might have been the best left back in soccer history. He played in the first team for AC Milan from age 17 until just before turning 41. He led Milan to 7 Serie A (Italian league) titles and 5 European Cup/Champions League titles.

But he didn't win the World Cup, as the Italy teams he played for finished 3rd in 1990 and lost the Final in 1994. He was too young to be chosen in 1982, when Italy won it. In 2006, despite still being Captain of one of the world's great teams, he was not chosen for Italy's World Cup team, and only then did they win.

His father Cesare Maldini was also a great player for Milan, and they are likely to remain the only father & son to captain teams (let alone the same one) to European Cups.

Honorable Mention to Ferenc Puskás, the Budapest Honvéd and Real Madrid legend who took Hungary's "Magnificent Magyars" to the 1954 World Cup Final, but lost to West Germany.

5. Joint entry: Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus. The Chicago Bears were known as the Monsters of the Midway before Chicago native Butkus was even born, yet no player has ever been a greater personification of the name.

And with all the Bears' great running backs, from Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski in ye olden days to Willie Galimore just before Sayers got there (his 1964 car-crash death was probably the reason they drafted Sayers), to Walter Payton after Sayers, "the Kansas Comet" may still be the most talented running back ever. Da Bears got both of these men in the 1965 NFL Draft. That should have been a great stroke of luck.

And yet... "Never won a Super Bowl?" Butkus has said. "I never played in a Playoff game!" It's true: They barely even had winning seasons. In 1969, with Sayers in the backfield and Butkus marauding on D, the Bears went 1-13. How did that happen? Well, the franchise never had a franchise quarterback between Sid Luckman in the late 1940s and Jim McMahon in the mid-1980s. And teammate Brian Piccolo was dying of cancer, so they were kind of preoccupied.

Bad knees ended Sayers' career in 1971, and Butkus' 2 years later. Yet their legends remain: At 34, Sayers is the youngest athlete to be elected to a major sport's Hall of Fame while still alive, and Butkus, to this day, is, for many fans, football's definitive defensive player, more than Mean Joe Greene, Lawrence Taylor or Reggie White.

4. Joint entry: Karl Malone and John Stockton. The 2 Utah Jazz legends go together like bacon and eggs. "The Mailman" may have been the best power forward ever. Stockton holds the all-time records for assists and steals. Both were named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players in 1997 -- not just while both were still in their prime, but before either had ever appeared in an NBA Finals.

That would change that season and the next, but both times they lost to What's His Name and the Chicago Bulls. Malone got one more shot at an NBA Finals, with the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers, but, for reasons that were hardly his fault, that went up in smoke.

Honorable Mention to Charles Barkley. But not to Patrick Ewing.

3. Ted Williams. Was the Boston Red Sox left fielder "the greatest hitter who ever lived"? No, and Ted himself, in a book he wrote late in life, said that Babe Ruth was. But with a .344 lifetime batting average and 521 home runs, despite missing 5 prime years due to military service, Ted isn't that far behind the Babe.

Yet despite finishing at least 2nd 8 times in his career, only once did he get close to a World Series win, with the Sox being tied with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th inning of Game 7 in 1946. Alas, events conspired against the Sox, and while Ted had a ring for election to the Hall of Fame, he never got one for winning the World Series.

2. Ty Cobb. By the time he was 23 years old, he'd led the Detroit Tigers to 3 straight American League Pennants -- in a row, 1907-09. By the time he reached his prime, he was arguably the best baseball player ever, and despite Ruth's exploits, some people still think "The Georgia Peach" is the best ever. His .367 lifetime batting average is a record that still stands. His records for stolen bases in a season and in a career, and for hits and runs in a career, stood for decades.

But he never won another Pennant, and he never won a World Series. Just as well: He was a miserable human being, and would have been even if racism had never been a part of it.

(UPDATE: That assessment was based on what I knew at the time. Evidence has since come out that maybe he was a much better person. But he was still a dirty player on the field and a racist off it.)

1. Johan Cruyff. Or, as his name is spelled in his homeland, Johan Cruijff. Perhaps the best soccer player Europe has ever produced, the midfielder made his club team, AFC Ajax of Amsterdam, and his country, the Netherlands, watchwords for beautiful attacking football. With him, Ajax won 8 Eredivisie (Dutch league) titles over an 18-year stretch, including 3 straight European Cups from 1971 to '73.

In mid-career, he went to Spanish club Barcelona, winning a La Liga title and establishing them, as he had established Ajax, as one of the world's superclubs. After giving the North American Soccer League a bit of credibility with his play for the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats, he returned to the Netherlands, and brought Ajax to glory, and even won an Eredivisie title with arch-rivals Feyenoord of Rotterdam. Before Thierry Henry was even born, in soccer, "Number 14" meant Cruyff.

But the Netherlands lost the 1974 World Cup Final to host West Germany. Then, learning of a bizarre kidnapping plot against his family, he decided the risk of playing in the 1978 World Cup was too great, and chose not to. The Dutch lost the Final -- again to the host country, Argentina, and while the '74 loss was dubious due to media circumstances, the surviving Dutch players are convinced that there is no way the fascist military dictatorship Argentina then had was going to let the Dutch win the Final -- or, if they did, leave the stadium alive.

Cruyff has since managed both Ajax and Barcelona to trophies, including Barcelona's 1st European Cup in 1992. But he has never been permitted to manage the Netherlands national team.