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Athletes & Sports Icons: Historical Comparisons

Explore 32 head-to-head comparisons between athletes & sports icons, matched by era and by how close together they lived.

Photograph of Jim Thorpe

Photograph of Babe Ruth

Jim Thorpe vs Babe Ruth

1887–1953 · 1895–1948

Photograph of Babe Ruth

Photograph of Don Bradman

Babe Ruth vs Don Bradman

1895–1948 · 1908–2001

Photograph of Don Bradman

Photograph of Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Don Bradman vs Babe Didrikson Zaharias

1908–2001 · 1911–1956

Photograph of Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Photograph of Jesse Owens from 1936

Babe Didrikson Zaharias vs Jesse Owens

1911–1956 · 1913–1980

Photograph of Jesse Owens from 1936

Portrait of Jackie Robinson

Jesse Owens vs Jackie Robinson

1913–1980 · 1919–1972

Portrait of Jackie Robinson

Photograph of Emil Zátopek

Jackie Robinson vs Emil Zátopek

1919–1972 · 1922–2000

Photograph of Emil Zátopek

Photograph of Abebe Bikila

Emil Zátopek vs Abebe Bikila

1922–2000 · 1932–1973

Photograph of Abebe Bikila

Photograph of Wilt Chamberlain

Abebe Bikila vs Wilt Chamberlain

1932–1973 · 1936–1999

Photograph of Wilt Chamberlain

Photograph of the footballer Pelé

Wilt Chamberlain vs Pelé

1936–1999 · 1940–2022

Photograph of the footballer Pelé

Photograph of Wilma Rudolph from 1960

Pelé vs Wilma Rudolph

1940–2022 · 1940–1994

Photograph of Wilma Rudolph from 1960

Photograph of Muhammad Ali

Wilma Rudolph vs Muhammad Ali

1940–1994 · 1942–2016

Photograph of Muhammad Ali

Photograph of George Best

Muhammad Ali vs George Best

1942–2016 · 1946–2005

Photograph of George Best

Photograph of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

George Best vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1946–2005 · born 1947

Photograph of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Photograph of Johan Cruyff

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Johan Cruyff

born 1947 · 1947–2016

Photograph of Johan Cruyff

Photograph of Diego Maradona

Johan Cruyff vs Diego Maradona

1947–2016 · 1960–2020

Photograph of Diego Maradona

Photograph of Ayrton Senna

Diego Maradona vs Ayrton Senna

1960–2020 · 1960–1994

Photograph of Ayrton Senna

Photograph of Wayne Gretzky

Ayrton Senna vs Wayne Gretzky

1960–1994 · born 1961

Photograph of Wayne Gretzky

Photograph of Nadia Comăneci

Wayne Gretzky vs Nadia Comăneci

born 1961 · born 1961

Photograph of Nadia Comăneci

Photograph of Michael Jordan

Nadia Comăneci vs Michael Jordan

born 1961 · born 1963

Photograph of Michael Jordan

Photograph of Zinedine Zidane

Michael Jordan vs Zinedine Zidane

born 1963 · born 1972

Photograph of Zinedine Zidane

Photograph of Sachin Tendulkar

Zinedine Zidane vs Sachin Tendulkar

born 1972 · born 1973

Photograph of Sachin Tendulkar

Photograph of golfer Tiger Woods

Sachin Tendulkar vs Tiger Woods

born 1973 · born 1975

Photograph of golfer Tiger Woods

Photograph of David Beckham

Tiger Woods vs David Beckham

born 1975 · born 1975

Photograph of David Beckham

Photograph of Ronaldinho

David Beckham vs Ronaldinho

born 1975 · born 1980

Photograph of Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho vs Serena Williams

born 1980 · born 1981

Photograph of tennis player Roger Federer

Serena Williams vs Roger Federer

born 1981 · born 1981

Photograph of tennis player Roger Federer

Photograph of swimmer Michael Phelps

Roger Federer vs Michael Phelps

born 1981 · born 1985

Photograph of swimmer Michael Phelps

Photograph of Cristiano Ronaldo

Michael Phelps vs Cristiano Ronaldo

born 1985 · born 1985

Photograph of Cristiano Ronaldo

Photograph of Usain Bolt smiling

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Usain Bolt

born 1985 · born 1986

Photograph of Usain Bolt smiling

Photograph of footballer Lionel Messi

Usain Bolt vs Lionel Messi

born 1986 · born 1987

Photograph of footballer Lionel Messi

Photograph of gymnast Simone Biles

Lionel Messi vs Simone Biles

born 1987 · born 1997

Photograph of gymnast Simone Biles

Photograph of Naomi Osaka

Simone Biles vs Naomi Osaka

born 1997 · born 1997