The United States of America is a country of sports fans. Since its creation, the U.S.A. has been home to fans of the popular sports of their time. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the country became innovators in the field. Two of the most popular sports in the world right now have their origins in the US (baseball and basketball). These two sports belong to a group of sports referred to as the major leagues.
So, which are the four major league sports? Well, in the U.S., the most popular is football (American football worldwide), followed by baseball, basketball and hockey (ice hockey worldwide). These four sports are hugely popular in the country, with American bettors routinely going through the coverage of the games on betting sites, of which the best ones can be found here. However, what are the standout players in each four of the sports? Let’s take a look.
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth is more than one of the best baseball players of all time. He is an American legend, whose fame has almost garnered him the status as a folk hero. He played a portion of his career for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he earned the nickname “Bambino” (due to his youthful face) and “Sultan of Swing” due to his batting ability. His skills and his accomplishments have easily earned him the title of number 1 best player in the game’s history.
Basketball: Michael Jordan
In recent years, there has been a debate as to whether LeBron James has dethroned Michael Jordan from the title of the best. However, even the staunchest fans of James eventually come to the conclusion that Jordan still holds the title of GOAT.
He has won more games, scored more points, and his slam dunks are the stuff of legend. On top of that, Jordan and the Chicago Bulls are responsible for popularizing the National Basketball Association around the world, and made it one of the most popular basketball events.
Football: Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice joined the 49ers in 1985, where he quickly gained the respect and appreciation of his co-workers, not just because of his skills, but also due to his superb work ethics. During his 15 years with the San Francisco 49ers, Jerry Rice earned himself the nickname “World”, due to his excellent catching ability, making it seem like he was everywhere in the World.
Rice is often regarded as the best wide receiver in NFL history, and is widely considered one of the best players of all time on quite a few
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky
The last on our list is “the Great One”. Wayne Gretzky has played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League, in four different teams. Gretzky is the only player in the history of the NHL to total over 200 points in a season. Upon his retirement in 1999, Wayne Gretzky held over 60 NHL records. Forty of them were regular season records, 15 were playoffs and six of them were All-Star Records. Certainly lived up to the title of “the Great One”.
