Michael Jordan (Basketball)
The greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan was instrumental in popularizing the National Basketball Association (NBA) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls in 1984 and quickly gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball and also entertained crowds with his prolific scoring. He won the NBA championship with the Bulls in 1991, 1992 and 1993; and though he abruptly retired from basketball at the start of the 1993-94 season to pursue a career in baseball, Jordan rejoined the Bulls in 1995. The Bulls were champions again in 1996, 1997 and 1998. And, though he retired from basketball for a second time in 1999, Jordan returned and joined the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.
He has won a plethora of awards including five MVP awards, 10 All-NBA First Team designations, six NBA Finals MVP awards, the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and plenty more. Jordan also holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game).
Jordan's famous quotes:
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed."
"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
Pele (Football)
Pele made his club debut for Santos at the age of 15 and made his international debut for Brazil a year later before going on to win his first World Cup at 17. Pele mainly played as a centre forward and had an all-round game that included exceptional dribbling and passing, pace and prolific goal scoring. Pele, who is the only player to have won three World Cup medals, scored 760 official and 541 goals in league championships a total of 1281 goals in 1363 matches and is the top goal-scorer of all time.
Pele's famous quotes:
"Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string."
"I've come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental."
"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."
Edwin Moses (Track and Field)
Moses won 107 consecutive finals and 122 consecutive races in the 400 metre hurdles between 1977 and 1987. During this period, Moses set the world record twice, won three World Cup titles, two World Championships and his second Olympic gold medal at the Los Angeles games in 1984 (his first Olympic gold was at the 1976 games in Montreal). Moses, who was elected as the first chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy in 2000, was also a reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing.
Moses's famous quotes:
"I always had to keep improving my skills in order to remain competitive and keep winning."
"I never struggled with injury problems because of my preparation - in particular my stretching."
"Lots of people let it go by and never accomplish what they want. I just wanted to see what I could do."
Martina Navratilova (Tennis)
The numbers speak for themselves 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Nine of Navratilova's 18 Grand Slam singles titles came at Wimbledon, which is a record. She also holds the record for the most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177) in the Open era.
The last title of her glittering 31-year career was the 2006 US Open mixed doubles title that Navratilova won with Bob Bryan at the time she was a month shy of her 50th birthday!
Away from tennis, Navratilova works with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children and gay rights.
Navratilova's famous quotes:
"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost."
"I hope, when I stop, people will think that somehow I mattered."
"The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are their worst."
Sir Don Bradman (Cricket)
The greatest batsman in the history of cricket, "The Don" scored 6996 runs, including 29 centuries and 13 half-centuries in only 52 Test matches at a phenomenal average of 99.94 in his 20-year playing career. Such was the freedom with which he scored that England captain Douglas Jardine devised a controversial set of tactics known as Bodyline to keep Bradman in check. This would later develop into a diplomatic row between Australia and England. Bradman, who is an Australian icon, took to writing and also assumed administrative roles after his retirement. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Hame on November 19, 2009.
Bradman's famous quotes:
"I was never coached; I was never told how to hold a bat."
"Many cricketers who had more ability than I had, Why they didn't make more runs than I did, I don't know."
"A good captain must be a fighter; confident but not arrogant, firm but not obstinate; able to take criticism without letting it unduly disturb him, for he is sure to get it - and unfairly, too."
Sergey Bubka (Pole vault)
In his 20-year career, Bubka broke the world record for men's pole vault a mind-boggling 35 times (17 outdooor and 18 indoor records). He also won six consecutive IAAF World Championships and the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In his heyday, he was quite often voted the world's best athlete. Bubka is currently a vice-president of the IAAF and was designated UNESCO Champion for Sport in 2003.
Bubka's famous quotes:
"Often you need to take some risk, but it must be a realistic risk, you can't take a crazy risk."
"You need to work very hard, you have to spend a lot of time practicing your sport - six to seven hours daily."
"I think that, generally, you need to live with your sport 24 hours a day."
Michael Schumacher (Formula One)
Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and holds many of F1 driver records - including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season 13 in 2004. In 2002, he became the only driver in Formula One history to finish in the top three in every race of a season and then also broke the record for most consecutive podium finishes. He was awarded an FIA Gold Medal for Motor Sport in 2006 in honour of his racing career and his efforts to improve safety and the sport.
Schumacher's famous quotes:
"When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back."
"Those who have come into Formula One without experiencing cars devoid of electronic aids will find it tough. To control 800 horsepower relying just on arm muscles and foot sensitivity can turn out to be a dangerous exercise."
"If you imagine how many years the other guys have been in my position I'm in now, they have been motivated to get back and challenge the leaders, ... There's no reason not to be motivated and I look forward very much to challenging again."
Rod Laver (Tennis)
Tennis great Rod Laver holdd the record for most titles won during his career; and he was also ranked No. 1 from 1964 to 1970. He is the only tennis player to have twice won the Grand Slam twice (1962 and 1969). He is the first player, male or female, to have won the Grand Slam during the open era. Laver won eleven Majors and eight Pro Slams. Laver is the second and last male player to win each major title twice in his career. In 2000, the centre court at Melbourne Park, which today hosts the Australian Open, was named the Rod Laver Arena in his honour.
Rod Laver's famous quotes:
"The time your game is most vulnerable is when you're ahead; never let up."
"When you have the opportunity, you strike."
"I think age is not really an issue when you're looking at someone like Roger. He could be 31, 32 and be winning matches if the desire's there."
Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
DiMaggio played for the New York Yankees during his 13-year Major League Baseball career and is best known for his 56-game hitting streak from May 15 to July 16, 1941. He was also a three-time MVP winner and 13-time All Star. DiMaggio, was in fact, the only player to be selected for the All-Star Game in every season he played. The Yankees won 10 League pennants and nine World Series championships during DiMaggio's career. The closest anyone has come to breaking DiMaggio's streak was Pete Rose, who hit in 44 straight games in 1978.
DiMaggio's famous quotes:
"A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example."
"I'm just a ballplayer with one ambition, and that is to give all I've got to help my ball club win. I've never played any other way."
"There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best."
Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager)
In his 25 years in charge at Old Trafford, Sir Alex has led Manchester United through an era of success and dominance both in England and Europe. He is not only the longest serving manager in Man United's history, but his tenure is also the longest of all the current League managers. When he took over, Man United was a struggling mid-table club and looked to be headed for troubled times, but Sir Alex changed things around gradually despite the fact he didn't have the easiest times in his first three years in charge.
Ferguson has rebuilt United's squads plenty of times over the years and it is a tribute to him as well as the club's youth system that the Red Devils have achieved so much success under him. United has won 37 titles under him, including 12 Premier League titles. United won their 19th English title in 2010-11 thus overhauling Liverpool's 18 titles to become the most successful club in English football. Sir Alex has been named Premier League Manager of the year 10 times and has won plenty of other managerial awards. In recognition of his services to the club, the Old Trafford North Stand was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand on November 5, 2011.
Ferguson's best quotes:
"I have always tried to be the bridge between the club and the fans and I have tried to support the fans in a lot of their pleas and causes."
"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football. Bloody hell." (On the 1999 Champions League triumph).
Wayne Gretzky (Ice Hockey)
"The Great One" as he is popularly known, Gretzky has been called the "greatest hockey player ever" by his contemporaries as well as the National Hockey League. Gretzky used his strength, speed and reading of the game to overcome his unimpressive stature as can be gauged by the fact that he is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season not once, but four times. He also tallied over 100 points in 16 seasons, including 14 on the trot. At the time of his retirement, Gretzky held 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records and six All-Star records.
Gretzky's famous quotes:
"I wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as a coach."
"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy."
"The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it."
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Athletics)
Joyner-Kersee is considered to be among the all-time greats in women's heptathlon and also in the long jump. She was the first woman to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event (during the 1986 Goodwill Games). Joyner-Kersee won the gold medal in heptathlon at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and silver in the same event at the 1984 Olympics. She won the long jump gold medal at the 1988 Games and bronze in the same event at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. She also won four gold medals at the World Championships (two each for heptathlon and long jump). Joyner-Kersee, who is considered to be the greatest female athlete of the 20th century, was also at home while competing in 100m hurdles and 200 metres.
Joyner-Kersee's famous quotes:
"Once I leave this earth, I know I've done something that will continue to help others."
"It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret."
"Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind."
Muttiah Muralitharan (Cricket)
Former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muralitharan's bowling action was always under the scanner until biomechanical analysis and changes in ICC regulations proved his action was legal. Murali was a magician with the ball extracting prodigious spin on any pitch and is the only bowler to take 800 wickets in Test cricket. He is also the highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 534 wickets to his name. In his 19-year career, Murali took 67 fivers and 10 wickets in a match 22 times. He is also the only bowler to take 10 wickets in a match and 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.
Muralitharan's famous quotes:
"I like to be a bowler because I can't bat properly. After 17 years of cricket I have got the opportunities and made the wickets fall."
"I've had a great time. In 131 Tests, I've taken four-wicket hauls in an innings on 44 occasions and five-for 66 times. So, out of 131 matches, I've done well in 110 matches and it means I've performed well in about 90% of the matches that I've played." (December 2009)
Jack Nicklaus (Golf)
"The Golden Bear" won 18 major championships on the PGA Tour in his 25-year career. He was also runner-up in 19 other majors, and despite his focus on the main tournaments, Nicklaus won 73 tournaments to be placed second on the PGA winners' list. Nicklaus won nine major championships and also became the first player to complete the double and triple career slams of the sport's four professional major championships.
Nickalus's famous quotes:
"Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work."
"I'm a firm believer that in the theory that people only do their best at things they truly enjoy. It is difficult to excel at something you don't enjoy."
"This is a game. That's all it is. It's not a war."
Roger Federer (Tennis)
The Swiss ace may have hit a rough patch in 2011, but he has won a record 16 men's Grand Slam titles and is the only male player in the history of the game to reach the final of each Slam at least five times. Federer also reached the semi-finals of 23 consecutive Grand Slams between the 2004 Wimbledon and 2010 Australian Open. Federer, who has won 69 career titles, was ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a record 237 consecutive weeks (285 overall).
Federer's famous quotes:
"I like playing guys who have beaten me early in my career, [to] try to get back at them. I think it will be interesting to see how both of us have improved."
"I don't think we can afford to change our games just because of a particular opponent you play."
"I thought I had to play my very, very best to come through." (After winning the 2009 Wimbledon).
Yelena Isinbayeva (Pole Vault)
The 29-year-old Isinbayeva was vitually unbeatable between 2004 and 2009 as she won nine consecutive gold medals in indoor and outdoor championships as well as coming out on top at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. The five-time world champion was the first woman to clear the five-metre barrier, a feat which she achieved in 2005. Isinbayeva has set 27 world records (15 outdoor and 12 indoor), and has also been named Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF in 2004, 2005 and 2008.
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