A bit before my time

[whoman69]

What player that you never got to see would you have liked to have seen in action? You may pick a basketball, football, baseball and any other sports you watch. For me I would have liked to have seen Bill Russell, Stan Musial or Babe Ruth, and Sammy Baugh.

[Hammock Parties]

Christian Okoye

[Stinger]

Stan Musial, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Babe Ruth, Jim Brown, and Sandy Koufax in his prime.

[whoman69]

Christian Okoye
Man you are young.

[whoman69]

Stan Musial, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Babe Ruth, Jim Brown, and Sandy Koufax in his prime.
I didn't even think of Brown. I've seen so much tape on Koufax, I feel like I have watched him.

[Kclee]

Babe Ruth, on one of the days he pitched.

[tk13]

Willie Mays, Wilt Chamberlain, and Otis Taylor.

[milkman]

I think I would like to have seen Jesse Owens in the Olyimpics in Germany when Hitler was spreading his Aryan supremacy propaganda.

[CanadianChief]

I'd like to have seen Ali fight back in his prime.

[Kclee]

What player that you never got to see would you have liked to have seen in action?


Ryan Sims. No wait, Eric Hicks. Never seen them in action. :shrug:

[Monty]

Ryan Sims. No wait, Eric Hicks. Never seen them in action. :shrug:

I saw them in action once...in the locker room I think.

[Rausch]

I'd like to have seen Ali fight back in his prime.

Ditto. I've got ten on DVD/VHS but it's just not the same.

I think the most recent fight I've got the most enjoyment out of was watching Evander ruin Tyson's $3it in their first fight.

[plbrdude]

I think I would like to have seen Jesse Owens in the Olyimpics in Germany when Hitler was spreading his Aryan supremacy propaganda.
did hitler have to applaud after jesse owens smoked everyone in the races?would have liked to seen that.
would also like to see some old leather helmet football.
back when men were men, and sheep were scared.

[Skip Towne]

I think I would like to have seen Jesse Owens in the Olyimpics in Germany when Hitler was spreading his Aryan supremacy propaganda.
I've seen the newsreel film of Hitler getting up and walking out of the stadium because of Owens. Funny.

[Skip Towne]

Christian Okoye
I had season tickets while Okoye was there. My ex asked "How do you know when Okoye has the ball". I told her "When you see the whole pile moving down the field".

[Skip Towne]

Stan Musial, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Babe Ruth, Jim Brown, and Sandy Koufax in his prime.
I saw all of them except Ruth. I've seen film of him. He was a fat guy with skinny legs who couldn't run at all. I remember seeing film of him when I was something like 13 and I was very disappointed. Hogan and Snead in person at the '58 Open in Tulsa.

[Skip Towne]

Willie Mays, Wilt Chamberlain, and Otis Taylor.
Chamberlain and Taylor in person, "Say Hey" Willie on TV many times.

[Stinger]

I saw all of them except Ruth. I've seen film of him. He was a fat guy with skinny legs who couldn't run at all. I remember seeing film of him when I was something like 13 and I was very disappointed. Hogan and Snead in person at the '58 Open in Tulsa.


So what was Moses like? hehe ... Just kidding I would have given almost anything to watch Hogan and Snead play. That must have been quite a day.

[KCWolfman]

Jim Thorpe or Pistol Pete Maravich.

[Skip Towne]

I'd like to have seen Ali fight back in his prime.
Saw him many times. Boxing was on free TV back then. But his good matches were only against the giants. He just destroyed all the pretenders. And toyed with them as well. I think Ali could have played any sport he chose and been top notch. He had that combination of size, speed and agility that translates to any sport.

[Skip Towne]

So what was Moses like? hehe ... Just kidding I would have given almost anything to watch Hogan and Snead play. That must have been quite a day.
I didn't follow Snead and Hogan that much because their galleries were huge. I followed some of the younger guys like Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. An unknown named Frank Stranahan won the tournament. He was an heir to the Firestone Tire fortune. Terrible Tommy Bolt and his temper finished high IIRC. Might be the other way around. Nicklaus wasn't around yet. I think he showed up in '61 at the Open @ Cherry Hills in Denver. He got 2nd as an amateur. Unprecedented even today some 50 years later.

[Skip Towne]

Jim Thorpe or Pistol Pete Maravich.
Pistol Pete quite a bit on TV but Thorpe was even before my time.

[Frazod]

I never saw Montana play in person. That would have been cool.

As for old timers, it would have been interesting to see Cobb in action.

[stevieray]

Kansas City Monarchs

[SCTrojan]

Kansas City Monarchs

Absolutely. Or any of the greats from the Negro Leagues.

I would love to have seen Jackie Robinson, Oscar Robertson, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Gale Sayers, Bob Gibson, Roberto Clemente, Dick Butkus, the Chiefs of the Super Bowl times. The list is endless.

[Skip Towne]

One of the reasons that I love the Planet is because every body is equal on here. I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I am between 20 and 40 years older than most guys on here. I'm 10 years older than Vlad. He's a snot nosed kid. The first football game I saw on TV was around '57. OU vs. Notre Dame. OU had something like a 47 game winning streak. It was so snowy you couldn't see much. But ND won and snapped the streak. I've hated them ever since. My dad took me an my friends to 2 or 3 KC A's games in the 50's and early 60's. Usually against the Yankees. I didn't think it was that big a deal to see Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Rizzuto, Billy Martin(as a player), Skowrn, etc. back then. I do now. It's threads like this that remind me that I've seen many of the legends that the younger guys have not. The players I wish I could have seen are few as the forties were pretty much taken up with the war. I never saw DiMaggio play but did see Ted Williams in person several times. Enough rambling. I usually do this every year or so.

[Skip Towne]

Absolutely. Or any of the greats from the Negro Leagues.

I would love to have seen Jackie Robinson, Oscar Robertson, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Gale Sayers, Bob Gibson, Roberto Clemente, Dick Butkus, the Chiefs of the Super Bowl times. The list is endless.
Gehrig and Walter Johnson I didn't see. The rest I did. I saw Sayers at KU. And sat behind him years later when he was asst AD at KU. It's really a funny feeling to sit 2 feet from a legend like that for 3 hours. I also saw Chamberlain again at a KU football game in the early 70's. Stuff Murons can't even dream about. (I had to work that in).

[SCTrojan]

I was alive, but really young, when Robertson, Sayers, Gibson, Clemente and the Super Bowl Chiefs were playing. Clemente has always been one of my favorite players, though I don't know why. I just can't remember ever seeing any of them play.

[Manila-Chief]

Yeah Skip, it is a little unusual seeing some of the names pop up here that we saw.

I'd like to have seen some of the "older" NFL players ... Red Grange, etc.....

[Skip Towne]

I was alive, but really young, when Robertson, Sayers, Gibson, Clemente and the Super Bowl Chiefs were playing. Clemente has always been one of my favorite players, though I don't know why. I just can't remember ever seeing any of them play.
I was alive, but very young (37 days) when we dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. I was 39 days old for the 2nd one. I don't remember either one.

[Rain Man]

I had season tickets while Okoye was there. My ex asked "How do you know when Okoye has the ball". I told her "When you see the whole pile moving down the field".


Perhaps the two most entertaining Chiefs in their primes were Okoye and Derrick Thomas. With Okoye, you just had to laugh when he carried the ball, because it was like watching an 8th-grader running against a 4th-grade defense. He was just unstoppable. And of course Thomas goes without saying. You looked forward to every play because you never knew what was going to happen.


In answer to the original question, there are a lot of old football players that I would love to see. They're too numerous to mention, but the ones that come to mind would be Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Don Hutson, and Johnny Unitas. (I've seen Unitas, but I was too young to really appreciate him.)

More than anything, I would have liked to see the Lombardi-era championship Packers. Paul Hornung on a power sweep, led by Jim Taylor, Fuzzy Thurston, and Jerry Kramer. That would be my top choice.

[SCTrojan]

I was alive, but very young (37 days) when we dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. I was 39 days old for the 2nd one. I don't remember either one.

Then you've seen some of the great sports legends perform over the years.

Like you said, age rarely matters here on the planet. And then you get one of these topics and you see the diversity among the posters. Pretty cool.

[Skip Towne]

Then you've seen some of the great sports legends perform over the years.

Like you said, age rarely matters here on the planet. And then you get one of these topics and you see the diversity among the posters. Pretty cool.
You caught my drift exactly. Then I can get a better perspective on each poster. I'm probably the only guy on here to see Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle in person.

[wildcat09]

I would say babe ruth, jim brown, pistol pete. i would have liked to remember seeing walter payton play but i was way too young to remember. i wish i could still watch barry sanders and bo jackson play (football). those were the days.

[whoman69]

So what was Moses like? hehe ... Just kidding
He would always miss baskets on purpose to pad his rebounding stats.

[whoman69]

I'd like to have seen Ali fight back in his prime.
Ditto. I've got ten on DVD/VHS but it's just not the same.
One of the big changes of boxing is they used to be on prime time TV. I remember watching several Ali fights on ABC. Nowadays, you can't even see live championship fights and without paying $50 you can only see it on a pay cable channel a week later.

[Rain Man]

He would always miss baskets on purpose to pad his rebounding stats.

He was a beauty to watch on the hurdles, though.

[WilliamTheIrish]

I saw all of them except Ruth. I've seen film of him. He was a fat guy with skinny legs who couldn't run at all. I remember seeing film of him when I was something like 13 and I was very disappointed. Hogan and Snead in person at the '58 Open in Tulsa.

Acording to baseball historians, Ruth was actually pretty fast. He stole 130 bases or so in his career. He wasn't fast, but he could run a little.

[tyton75]

Ruth, Cobb, Pete Rose, Satchel Paige

Butkus, Nitchke, Lanier, Unitas.. among others

Chamberlain v Celtics center whose name escapes me at the moment.. (embarrassing)

[Adept Havelock]

Bronko Nagurski.....

Especially when he hit the wall at Wrigley (where the Bears used to play), and knocked some brickwork loose. He allegedly went back to the bench, and when the coach asked him if he was OK said "yeah, but that last guy hit me really hard..."

That's one tough SOB!

[gblowfish]

20,000 women saw Wilt Chamberlain in action. What's the big deal about that???

:p

Players I'd like to have seen:
Baseball:
1) Cy Young
2) Ty Cobb
3) Babe Ruth

Football:
1) Ernie Nevers
2) George Halas
3) Bobby Layne or Norm Van Brocklin (either one hung over...)

Basketball:
1) George Mikan
2) Oscar Robertson
3) Bob Cousey

[WilliamTheIrish]

I'd like to have seen.

Bare knuckle boxer John L Sullivan.

Shoeless Joe.

Teddy Ballgame.

[MOhillbilly]

Stan Musial

[Rain Man]

Bronko Nagurski.....

Especially when he hit the wall at Wrigley (where the Bears used to play), and knocked some brickwork loose. He allegedly went back to the bench, and when the coach asked him if he was OK said "yeah, but that last guy hit me really hard..."

That's one tough SOB!

ROFL I hadn't heard that story.

[Skip Towne]

Acording to baseball historians, Ruth was actually pretty fast. He stole 130 bases or so in his career. He wasn't fast, but he could run a little.
He must have stolen those bases early in his career. In the film I've seen he was FAT. I've never seen a fast fat guy.

[HemiEd]

I remember watching Sayers play but would love to watch him from my current perspective. I could say the same about a lot of the players mentioned on here. I saw a lot of them play, but did not know enough about the game at time to get the full enjoyment out of what I was seeing. I remember watching both of the Super Bowls that the Chiefs were in, but at that time I was trying to understand the difference between a 1st down and a 4th down.
Ok, I know what is coming, bring it on! ROFL

[tyton75]

I would like to watch Okoye play some more though.. he was freaking fun to watch!

[Skip Towne]

I would like to watch Okoye play some more though.. he was freaking fun to watch!
Okoye wore DL shoulder pads making him look that much bigger. He liked to jog by the visitors bench before the game to intimidate them. But he was also very fast and we never took advantage of that. I remember writing a letter to Ganz asking why we didn't use the shovel pass or other such plays to get him free outside. I got no answer.

[MOhillbilly]

i thought he sucked and was glad to see him go.
nothin special IMO.

[HemiEd]

i thought he sucked and was glad to see him go.
nothin special IMO.


That offense was very boring compared to what we have now IMO. I thought Barry Word was the best at that time.

[Demonpenz]

He must have stolen those bases early in his career. In the film I've seen he was FAT. I've never seen a fast fat guy.


he stole home like 20 times in his career. I think the score keepers were generous (Cp spelling)

[whoman69]

Okoye wore DL shoulder pads making him look that much bigger. He liked to jog by the visitors bench before the game to intimidate them. But he was also very fast and we never took advantage of that. I remember writing a letter to Ganz asking why we didn't use the shovel pass or other such plays to get him free outside. I got no answer.
Hands of stone.

[Demonpenz]

I was too young to remember brett when he actually was playing third. I would have liked to see those royals play with all that speed.

[whoman69]

He must have stolen those bases early in his career. In the film I've seen he was FAT. I've never seen a fast fat guy.
He stole 10 bases as late as 1930 when he was 35. He was also quite a good fielder (not great), so his speed can't be that bad. He tried to steal 2nd in the World Series in game 7 with Bob Meusel at bat and Gehrig on deck and was thrown out to end the game.
The factoid that he stole home 20 times is false.

[Skip Towne]

Hands of stone.
How would they know? They never threw to him.

[HemiEd]

I was too young to remember brett when he actually was playing third. I would have liked to see those royals play with all that speed.


One memory etched in my mind forever, like it was yesterday, was him standing on second base when he doubled to go over .400. It literally gave me chills.

[Amnorix]

Bill Russell
Ted Williams
Satchel Paige
Walter Johnson
Ty Cobb
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Jim Brown
Dick Butkus

[Amnorix]

Chamberlain v Celtics center whose name escapes me at the moment.. (embarrassing)

Gah!

Bill Russell.

Two time NCAA Champion and 11 time (out of 13 years) NBA champion.

Only living person with more championships than he has fingers, I think (I seem to remember reading this somewhere).

He's #1 on my list, not only because he was a GREAT player, but because his style of play was completely different from any player before or since. Easily the greatest defensive player in NBA history.

[Amnorix]

Babe Ruth was a TREMENDOUS athlete. Just cuz he looked like a fat guy with stickly legs doesn't change that.

He was a GREAT pitcher, and would have been a HOF'er at that position, if he hadn't been the best hitter in the history of the game.

[DTLB58]

Deacon Jones-Because he claims to have the unofficial sack record.

Dick Butkus- Just for the sheer toughness

Gale Sayers-They say he has eyes in the back of his head.

[Amnorix]

Those who saw Sayers -- how similar was he to Barry Sanders? Who was better? Why? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Hammock Parties]

Man you are young.

I'm 23.

[Hammock Parties]

You're kidding, right? You're old enough to have seen him play, aren't you?

Old enough, yes. But I didn't start watching Chiefs football until 93.

[HemiEd]

Those who saw Sayers -- how similar was he to Barry Sanders? Who was better? Why? Inquiring minds want to know.
I feel like Sayers was better, the rules did not protect him as much. But I was very un-educated at watching football then (leaving the door wide open). I have a very strong for respect for Barry, a reason to be a Barry Homer. He went to the same high school as my two daughters.

[Kclee]

Gale Sayers-They say he has eyes in the back of his head.


Even if he did, it wouldn't matter, his helmet would cover them up.

[Skip Towne]

Those who saw Sayers -- how similar was he to Barry Sanders? Who was better? Why? Inquiring minds want to know.
I saw both of them and I like Sayers better. He was bigger and more powerful than Sanders. I have read that what set Sayers apart from other RB's was his ability to make a cut at full speed. Sanders was more like Dante with a darting style.

[Hammock Parties]

I saw both of them and I like Sayers better. He was bigger and more powerful than Sanders. I have read that what set Sayers apart from other RB's was his ability to make a cut at full speed. Sanders was more like Dante with a darting style.

6-0 198 vs 5-8 203.

[WilliamTheIrish]

He must have stolen those bases early in his career. In the film I've seen he was FAT. I've never seen a fast fat guy.

Yep, he does appear in all the film I've seen of him to be a rather rotund figure.

However, he must have a knack for stealing bases because he tried to steal 240 times in his career. 123/117 for 51%.

He also had 136 triples. And those stats are indicative of a player with decent speed and a being a good base runner.

[cdcox]

I only remember Unitas and Sayers at the end of thier careers. Would have liked to seen them in their prime.

Would also like to see Jim Brown and Marion Motley.

[milkman]

I was too young to remember brett when he actually was playing third. I would have liked to see those royals play with all that speed.

I remember when Brett first came up.
I was something Schaffer(sp) fan, and was disapointed to see him go.

But Brett made the change easier.

[Nzoner]

Dick Butkus
Jim Brown
Jim Taylor

And although I'm old enough to remember seeing him in games I miss watching John Riggins the most.

[Skip Towne]

I remember when Brett first came up.
I was something Schaffer(sp) fan, and was disapointed to see him go.

But Brett made the change easier.
I'm really rusty on Royals history since I quit baseball in '94 but I don't a Schaffer. I remember a guy named Paul Schall(sp). It seems like he was on the team with Brett.

[Skip Towne]

Dick Butkus
Jim Brown
Jim Taylor

And although I'm old enough to remember seeing him in games I miss watching John Riggins the most.
Yeah, Riggins is one of my all time favorites. In 4 years at KU he never once was tackled for a loss. He was ornery off the field as well. Once, he and his brother Junior tore up the student union. Coach Pepper Rodgers told AD Don Fambrough "By god, I won't let him play Saturday". Fambrough said "Coach, we play Missouri Saturday". Rodgers said "By god, I won't let him play next Saturday.

[Nzoner]

Yeah, Riggins is one of my all time favorites. In 4 years at KU he never once was tackled for a loss. He was ornery off the field as well. Once, he and his brother Junior tore up the student union. Coach Pepper Rodgers told AD Don Fambrough "By god, I won't let him play Saturday". Fambrough said "Coach, we play Missouri Saturday". Rodgers said "By god, I won't let him play next Saturday.

Good story.

My uncle told me he played high school ball against Riggo and that he was something special then as well.Also heard a story that he(Riggins) used to run with a hay bale on his back for a work out.Don't know if that's true but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Skip Towne]

Good story.

My uncle told me he played high school ball against Riggo and that he was something special then as well.Also heard a story that he(Riggins) used to run with a hay bale on his back for a work out.Don't know if that's true but it wouldn't surprise me.
Wouldn't surprise me either. He was a farm boy. During an interview he once said "Football always came easy for me". I especially liked the film clips of him they showed after he was drafted like 4th overall. They showed him running over LB's a couple of times then outrunning DB's a couple of times. A rare combination of speed and power.

[Skip Towne]

I've got some more Riggins stories but I'm tired and going to bed. I'll let somebody else post here now and come back tomorrow.

[Nzoner]

I've got some more Riggins stories but I'm tired and going to bed. I'll let somebody else post here now and come back tomorrow.

Thought I'd give this bump in hopes of catching a few more Riggins' stories.

The only other one that comes to mind for me was when I saw the clip from his Jets days when the crazy bastard got a mohawk.

[Skip Towne]

In the early '70's, I was visiting friends at Emporia State U. They were holding the 1A & 2A state high school track meet. We decided to go over and see what was going on. They called for the contestants for the 100 yard dash and four black kids and one giant white guy showed up at the starting line. he black guys were pointing and laughing at the big dude. When they got to whitey they announced John Riggins, Centralia, Ks. We were shocked as we had never heard of him but we had heard of Jr. Riggins the KU running back. It was close for about 20 yards then Riggins started pulling away and won easily. The whole place went crazy and couldn't believe what they had just seen. I don't remember his time but think it was 9.8 or 9.9. He weighed about 220 I think and played for KU later at 235.