The National Hockey League itself acknowledged Wayne Gretzky to be the greatest hockey player ever. Sports analysts, writers, and professional players consider him to be suitably called The Great One, and who knows when there will ever be another athlete as gifted as him.
Wayne Gretzky played in the NHL for 20 seasons. He holds a total of 61 league records that still remain unbroken up to this day. This photograph shows Gretzky waving to the crowd during his farewell game in New York on April 18, 1999.
KERRI STRUG
Kerri Strug was a member of the US gymnastics team, The Magnificent Seven. They won the US its first ever gold medal in the women’s team competition back in 1996 at the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.
Kerri Strug suffered an ankle injury during her first performance at the vault. She was visibly in pain, but refused to quit. This photograph captures the moment she lands after her second attempt, holding her pose, while her teammates held their breaths from the sidelines. Her performance was critical to the team’s gold medal hopes.
BILLY KILMER AND MANNY FERNANDEZ
On January 14, 1973, the Miami Dolphins played against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins’ defensive lineman, Manny Fernandez had a dominant game where he recorded a total of 17 tackles.
He also sacked the Redskins’ quarterback, Billy Kilmer, and he is shown in this picture hurdling past a Redskins offensive lineman in pursuit of that goal. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins, however, Manny Fernandez didn’t win the MVP Award when he definitely should have. Dick Schaap, who was selected as the MVP recipient, admitted he didn’t know Fernandez had 17 tackles in that game because he was out late the night before and wasn’t focused.
USAIN BOLT
Jamaican retired sprinter, Usain Bolt, dominated the track and field events of the Olympics, namely the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4 x 100 meters relay for a span of three Olympic events. He was declared the fastest man on earth a number of times, and he’s the only sprinter to win both the 100m and 200m titles in three Olympic events successively.
This picture shows Bolt making another world record in the 200m final on Aug. 20, 2008. He became very famous for his double victory, both shattering world records (100m, 200m), in the Beijing Olympics.
BABE RUTH
Checking the Baseball Hall of Fame, one will see Babe Ruth’s name among its “First Five” inaugural members. He played in Major League Baseball for 22 seasons, starting in 1914, yet his slugging percentage record of .690 remains untouched. “The Bambino” is considered to be the greatest baseball player of all-time.
1926 was considered as one of Babe Ruth’s most successful year as a player where he hit .372 with 47 home runs. In this picture, Ruth takes a short break from training and spends time with hundreds of baseball fans that can’t seem to get enough of him.