Jerry West
L.A. Lakers, 1961-1974
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| Archive Photos |
Hello? His nickname was Mr. Clutch ... Made his bones with gunslinger cool and deadly jumper ... Holds NBA Finals mark with 33.8 ppg in five-game series ... Made 60-footer at buzzer to send 1970 Finals Game 3 with Knicks into
OT (Lakers lost anyway) ... As Lakers
GM, his Kareem-to-Worthy-to-Magic-to-Shaq+Kobe transition game is matched only by that cigar-puffer in Boston.
SPECIAL-SKILLS COMMITTEE SELECTION
Manny Mota
Giants, Pirates, Expos, Dodgers, 1962-1982
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| Baseball Hall of Fame |
Pinch-hitter extraordinaire -- and coming off the pine cold and finding your pitch may be the hardest thing to do in sports ... Hit .600 pinch-hitting in three LCS ... Retired after '79 season with 147 pinch-hits, the record ... Called back by Dodgers for last month of '80 season at age 42, and went
3-for-7 as pinch-hitter.
Bob Gibson
St. Louis Cardinals, 1959-1975
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| AP/Wide World Photos |
Clutch for entire season: 1.12 ERA in '68 is still a record ... In '67, comes back after losing two months to a broken leg, wins pennant-clincher and three Series games ... Holds World Series records for most consecutive wins (7), consecutive complete games (8), strikeouts in a game (17) and in a Series (35) ... Just plain scared the hell out of anyone who faced him -- or caught him.
Michael Jordan
Chicago Bulls, 1985-1998
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| Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
Ultimate killer ... Scarred Patrick Ewing for life with jumper to beat Hoyas in '82 ... Sent Cavs home with jumper in '89 playoffs, starting run of game-winners ... Has most 50-plus playoff games ever (8); his 41 ppg in '93 Finals is also a sixgame record ... Fought flu and all those Jazz in Game 5 of '97 Finals -- got only 38 ... Ho-hum: Brushes off Bryon Russell for title-winner in '98, his last game. Or not.
Martina Navratilova
Women's Tennis, 1973-1994
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| Hulton Getty/Archive Photos |
Raised women's tennis to a new level with lefty power game ... No.1 for 331 weeks, and five years straight (1982-86) ... Record nine Wimbledons and 167 singles titles ... Played Darth Vader to Chrissie's Luke Skywalker in 16-year miniseries; still beat Evert 43-37 lifetime ... Didn't back down on her sexual orientation; just kept on winning.
Joe Montana
49ers, Chiefs, 1979-1994
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| Otto Greule/Allsport |
Immortalized by trademark phrases: "The Drive," "The Catch" ... Thirty-one fourth-quarter NFL comebacks preceded by seven for Notre Dame. The classic: At '79 Cotton Bowl, down 22 with 7:37 to go and numb from the cold, he downs some soup, brings the Irish back, wins it on a TD pass with 00:00 on the clock ... Super Bowl stats clinch it: 83 of 122; 1,142 yards; 11 TDs; 0 INTs; 4 rings.
VETERANS COMMITTEE SELECTION
Jesse Owens
Track and Field, 1933-1948
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| IOC Olympic Museum/Allsport |
Tied first world record in high school: 9.4 in 100 yards ... Fought off Jim Crow to dominate college track for Ohio State ... At '35 Big Ten meet, set three world records (220, 220 low hurdles,
broad jump) and tied a fourth (100)-within 45 minutes ... Creamed Hitler and "master-race" stand-ins with four golds in a single day at '36 Munich Olympics; Nazis don't lose that badly again until June 1944.
Jack Nicklaus
PGA Tour, 1962-1989
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| AP/Wide World Photos |
Most dominant champion of 20th century ... Most Tour victories (70), most wins (18) and runners-up in majors ... Convicted of regicide by fans for toppling King Arnie in playoff at '62 U.S. Open; first win as a pro ... Sweetest win came in '86, when, at 46, six years from his previous major, he made five birdies and an eagle on back nine in final round to win record sixth Masters.
Reggie Jackson
A's, Orioles, Yankees, Angels, 1967-1987
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| Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
Talked talk louder than anybody; made almost every word good ... Doubt he's Mr. October? Try 24 RBIs in 27 Series games, .357 BA, 10 HRs, three in three swings in '77 Game 6 ... Built rep with A's by winning Series MVP in '73; AL MVP as well ... Red Sox nation may loathe Bucky, but it was Reggie's solo shot that gave Yanks pennant in '78.
David Pearson
NASCAR, 1960-1986
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| AP/World Wide Photos |
Voted driver of the century in 2000 garage poll ... Second only to The King with 105 career wins ... Secured clutch rep in scintillating finish of '76 Daytona 500. Door-to-door with Petty on final turn, they collide and hit the wall. Petty stalls within yards of finish; Pearson, foot on the clutch, rights himself and drives through the grass past Petty and the flag.
Maurice Richard
Montreal Canadiens, 1942-1960
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| Bruce Bennett Studios |
Led NHL's most dominant franchise; won eight Cups with Habs, five straight ... Knocked cold during second period of Game 7 in '52 Cup semis, he returns with four minutes left to score winner ... Record 6 playoff OT goals and 82 career game-winners ... Played Jackie Robinson for a seething French-Canadian minority.
This article appears in the May 28 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
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