The SN Rushmore project named four pro athletes from the 13 cities that have had at least four of the following five leagues represented for at least 20 years – NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA. While there were no hard-and-fast rules pertaining to the athletes selected, our panel of experts considered individual resumes, team success and legacy within the sports landscape of each city. Multiple players from the same franchise were allowed, and not every franchise needed to be represented. All sports fans have an opinion on this topic. This is ours.
We formed committees, settled on athletes, then contacted local experts/historians to get their takes on the iconic players who have defined a city's professional landscape. Each city has four essays on the athletes, in addition to Sporting News' amazing archive content written as far back as the 1920s to the modern day. We also sprinkled in highlights to celebrate the high points of these legends.
Here are our results of a project that can pretty much spark a debate at any gathering of more than one sports fan.
BOSTON: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Brady, Russell, Williams, Orr
PHILADELPHIA: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Schmidt, Erving, Clarke, Iverson
CHICAGO: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Jordan, Payton, Banks, Hull
DALLAS: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Staubach, Lilly, Nowitzki, Smith
BAY AREA: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Rice, Curry, Bonds, Montana
LOS ANGELES: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Magic, Koufax, Kobe, Abdul-Jabbar
DETROIT: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Gordie Howe, Barry Sanders, Al Kaline, Isiah Thomas
DENVER: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of John Elway, Joe Sakic, Nikola Jokic, Todd Helton
MIAMI: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Dan Marino, Dwyane Wade, Bob Griese, Alonzo Mourning
MINNEAPOLIS: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Harmon Killebrew, Fran Tarkenton, Kirby Puckett, Kevin Garnett
PHOENIX: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Johnson, Steve Nash, Diana Taurasi
WASHINGTON: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Darrell Green, Alex Ovechkin, Wes Unseld, Walter Johnson
NEW YORK: Essays, highlights, TSN archives of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lawrence Taylor, Walt Frazier
