Sunday, December 26, 1999
Ruth or Jordan? Tune in
ESPN reveals its athlete of the century today
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Babe Ruth vs. Michael Jordan; the man who saved baseball vs. the man who sold basketball.
ESPN's countdown of the century's greatest athletes has reached the final two — Ruth and Jordan — with the winner to be announced at 5 p.m. today on ABC (Channel 9).
One was the most compelling sports personality of the first half of the century, the other an athlete who delivered his sport to the doorstep of corporate America.
Ruth turned the country's attention from the Black Sox scandal and became baseball's first home run slugger. Jordan spearheaded basketball's charge into the mainstream of Madison Avenue, wedding the game's entertainment element to advertisers.
They are the survivors of the yearlong countdown after Jim Brown was announced as No. 4 and Muhammad Ali came in at No. 3.
Many had expected Ali to be the other finalist with Ruth, but not Mark Shapiro, coordinating producer of the series.
“I was not surprised he came in at No. 3,” Shapiro said. “The panel was asked to vote on athletes based on athletic ability alone. If you separate that, he shouldn't be shocked at being No. 3. Ali at No. 3 has more to do with who he is politically and socially.
The No. 2 athlete finished just one point ahead of Ali in the vote by a panel of 48 sports journalists and experts. No. 1's margin over No. 2 was over 100 points, Shapiro said.
After the top four, the ESPN list has Wayne Gretzky at No. 5; Jesse Owens, No. 6; Jim Thorpe, No. 7; Willie Mays, No. 8; Jack Nicklaus, No. 9; and Babe Didrikson, No. 10. “Anyone of them could have been 1, 5, 10,” Shapiro said.
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