OT: ESPNW naming Top 40 Female Athletes of the last 40 Years

[VAMike23]

ESPNW will name one new female athlete from the list every weekday until June 22 in commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of Title IX.

It will be interesting to see how many basketball players make it, let alone UCONN players. Cheryl Miller is in one of the graphics on the ESPNW page for the Top 40 so she is probably in, as she should be. I'm betting that DT will be on the list and that she will be the highest Husky alum so named.

First up at #40: diver Mingxia

 

[JellyBean]

Without a doubt, Cheryl Miller has to be on the list, same with DT, Sue, Maya, and Rebecca.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Without a doubt, Cheryl Miller has to be on the list, same with DT, Sue, Maya, and Rebecca.

My guess is no Sue, no Maya and no Rebecca. DT probably has a shot. There are too many great female athletes in other sports. If there is a CT athlete on the list it should be Joyce.

 

[DriveLH]

How about Kristine Lilly from Wilton??

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree about Joan Joyce. She belongs on the short list of the greatest ever.

But her softball career ended in 1975, so she had only 3 seasons in the last 40 years. It will be interesting to see how they handle that. Do those 3 years get her on the list? Maybe not. Does her career get her on the list if all the years are in scope? Absolutely.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As a very rough approximation, about 8-10 basketball players will be on the list with tennis players, skiers, skaters, softball players, soccer players, runners, swimmers, golfers, etc. So it comes down to the 8-10 best hoopsters since about 1972. I see Diana and Maya as the only Huskies in that group.

 

[huskyblooz]

Babe Diedrick Zusomethingorother was the best ... but more than 40 years ago.

 

[VAMike23]

I think that any list like this would be heavily biased against players on the front end of their careers, which includes people like Maya.

I think DT will be the only Husky on the list. She has had enough success, enough various medals, a long enough career, and a distinct, spectacular style that sets her apart.

 

[easttexastrash]

Flo Hyman should be on the list, IMO, but not sure she was famous enough. She took women's volleyball to a new level.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Babe Diedrick Zusomethingorother was the best ... but more than 40 years ago.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think that any list like this would be heavily biased against players on the front end of their careers, which includes people like Maya.

I think DT will be the only Husky on the list. She has had enough success, enough various medals, a long enough career, and a distinct, spectacular style that sets her apart.

Could be w.r.t. Maya. It could also be biased to the present day, as a lot of these things are. I think Maya's collegiate career was top 10. She came up short of Diana in "only" one regard--the 3rd NCAA title. She surpassed it in wins, length of streak, points, AA recognition, BE titles, and athleticism. Maya won 100% of her games on her home court.

 

[Jason76]

I'd go #1 with Nadia Comaneci. She performed moves that were previously only known to men's gymnastics, did them with greater technical perfection than we'd ever seen and rendered the scoring system obsolete. If you compare her contemporaries' routines with hers, it was a genuine revolution. She epitomized "higher, faster, stronger" and did it on all four disciplines.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'd go #1 with Nadia Comaneci. She performed moves that were previously only known to men's gymnastics, did them with greater technical perfection than we'd ever seen and rendered the scoring system obsolete. If you compare her contemporaries' routines with hers, it was a genuine revolution. She epitomized "higher, faster, stronger" and did it on all four disciplines.

A good choice. She was a 10.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Here's an interesting standard: Sonething is named after you.

The Hamill Camel.

The Lieberman Award.

The Vardon Grip (different gender, but it makes the point).

The Fosbury Flop.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Like most of you, I consider DT the only "lock" of Connecticut Players. Criteria will play into the selections, but when you consider WBB players alone, you really have all the "greats" selectable. Really, what we think of as WBB is all since the early '70's.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I agree about Joan Joyce. She belongs on the short list of the greatest ever.

But her softball career ended in 1975, so she had only 3 seasons in the last 40 years. It will be interesting to see how they handle that. Do those 3 years get her on the list? Maybe not. Does her career get her on the list if all the years are in scope? Absolutely.

She was playing pro golf, albeit not too successfully, into the 90's. But I think you are right she may not be considered because of the 40 year window.

 

[Icebear]

Joyce's softball career last well into the 70s and would be within the 40 year window, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Joyce

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6833700/best-ted-williams-ever-faced


Joan is still coaching softball and golf at Florida Atlantic U. And has never had a losing season in softball in 18 seasons as coach. Her career won-loss as a pitcher would make even Geno jealous 753-42. She, also, has over 700 wins as a Softball coach and once scored 67 points in a basketball game on the USA team.

 

[pap49cba]

No. 39 - Julie Krone

 

[Olde Coach]

Like most of you, I consider DT the only "lock" of Connecticut Players. Criteria will play into the selections, but when you consider WBB players alone, you really have all the "greats" selectable. Really, what we think of as WBB is all since the early '70's.

Mia Hamm was born 1n 1972 -- the year that Title IX was passed by the Congress.

She was a "poster child" for women athletes in the sport of Soccer. But Lilly was actually a better player for more years.

 

[Forty_four]

May I suggest Jennie Finch with her stellar college and professional and Olympic careers.

 

[HuskyNan]

Babe Diedrick Zusomethingorother was the best ... but more than 40 years ago.

Annika Sorenstam is, to me, the greatest women's golfer. Nancy Lopez also deserves consideration for all time best.

I love Sue Bird but I would think Lauren Jackson would make the list before her as would Lisa Leslie.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Annika Sorenstam is, to me, the greatest women's golfer. Nancy Lopez also deserves consideration for all time best.

I love Sue Bird but I would think Lauren Jackson would make the list before her as would Lisa Leslie.

I think you're right about Sorenstam and unlike Lopez she was smart enough to hang it up while she was still on top. However, if you are talking about just female golfers without the 40 year window I think an argument could be made that there wre a couple of other women that may have given Sorenstam a run for her money. Different eras but Babe Zaharias (40+ wins in just 7-8 years as a pro) and Kathy Whitworth (88 wins) were dominent in their time.

 

[Kibitzer]

Babe Diedrick Zusomethingorother was the best ... but more than 40 years ago.

Babe Didrickson Zaharias

 

[Kibitzer]

It seemsto me that it is great to honor a list of great female athletes but if the honor is tied to Title IX, it gives it an American slant. Title IX had no effect on athletes from other countries unless they competed here in America since its passage.

To be more specific, the first honoree was a Chinese diver, surely a great athlete but by no means a beneficiary of Title IX back home.

Similarly, professional athletes (e.g., Anika Sorenstam, Martina Navratilona, Greta Waitz) were unaffected by Title IX. They were just terrific on their own.

 

[VAMike23]

Names I suspect could go high [some already mentioned]:

Nadia C.
Janet Evans
Sorenstam
Martina N.
Chris Evert
Steffi Graf
Serena Williams
Lindsey Vonn
Nancy Lieberman
Cheryl Miller
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
FloJo
Mia Hamm
Nancy Lopez
Greta Weitz