The 100 Toughest Athletes Ever‬

Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens is introduced before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at M&T Bank Stadium on October 30. 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Bleacher Report:

The world of sports wasn't always flooded with overpaid divas and emotional brats. There was a time when grit, fiery intimidation and consistent determination ruled the playing field.

Those were the days.

Here are the 100 toughest athletes of all time.

Read the whole story at Bleacher Report

From our partners

• The 50 Worst Sports Movies - Bleacher Report
• 20 Reasons Baseball Is The Worst - Bleacher Report
• Sports Stars Of The '90s: Where Are They Now? - Bleacher Report

Comments

[Tawny Rabon]

10:52 PM on 06/09/2012

My Handsome sexy Football Player Mr.Ray Lewis. I fell in love with him the first time I seen him. I love everything about him, he is a wonderful tough inspirational athlete and he will always be #1 in my book. Love you Love you Raybaby.

[War peace]

04:31 PM on 05/21/2012

Baseball players should be voided.

[dropthedh]

03:55 PM on 05/21/2012

The only quarterbacks on the list should be ones who ran the wishbone offense. Not ones who ran for their lives.

And really, of all time?

Then where is Spartacus?

[CatfishJohn]

02:24 PM on 05/21/2012

this list has some flaws ( e.g. sonny liston was a bully and a fraud. he gave up his title to ali not too badly damaged sitting on his stool & then stayed down for a count of 10 from a glancing punch from ali in round 1 of the rematch) . 2 heroically tough athletes overlooked are :1. bill russell, the fiercest, smartest competitor ever in basketball who in 1964 played an NBA title winning game with a patch over one badly damaged eye vs. 2 hall of famer 7 footers on 1 team ( wilt, thurmond) & scored 27 points and had 40 - yes , 40- rebounds, then spent a week in the hospital immediately after the game and Freddie Steinmark, undersized starting safety at Texas during a 1969 national title season who played a full season in quiet agony with terminal cancer aggressively eating away at his leg, which was amputated before UT's winning Cotton Bowl vs. ND on Jan 1 after having played the full game of #1 vs. #2 showdown vs, arkansas on december 5, making hard hit after hard hit.

[Anthony Garnett]

01:06 PM on 05/21/2012

The list is a feakin joke Tiger Woods please

[ninja45]

11:23 AM on 05/21/2012

What a joke. only 2 mma fighters on it and they messed up the "toughest moment" for Anderson Silva. Obviously it was the come from behind win against Chael Sonnen that was his toughest moment, not his outclassing of Rich Franklin. FAIL! And Tiger Woods? Really, a golfer is on the list?

[kaweb57]

10:44 AM on 05/21/2012

No Bad Newz Vick??
He bravely killed dangerous dogs with nothing but electricity, clubs and his manly bare hands..

[dwill123]

05:23 PM on 05/21/2012

I'll bet you're not tough enough to say that to his face.

[kaweb57]

05:29 PM on 05/21/2012

Sure I am.. I'm not a dog.

[Jarhead Vet]

10:31 AM on 05/21/2012

Tough?

First take Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson and James Brown and put them 1-2-3. I'd also offer that just about every black and/or minority athlete pre 1980 had it way tougher than most/all of their white counterparts and team mates.

There's lots of kinds of tough. Being a great athlete is tough... Being the best at what you do while the entire world looks down at you like you're a piece of garbage and does mostly nothing but remind you of that fact to your face and behind your back your entire career...

Now that's really Tough...

And as someone pointed out above: No Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell in this list?

Please...

[Dax Grantham]

10:23 AM on 05/21/2012

This list is a complete fraud....putting a jockey, a golfer,or even a baseball player on a list and calling them tough is a joke...how can you even call them an athlete with a straight face? And putting a hockey player...just because they fight?

I would put any 3rd line hockey player on this list before a baseball player...these guys are out there playing with broken bones and strained muscles and you never hear a word about it until the season is over.

[jymfrancais]

10:17 AM on 05/21/2012

Should have said.."American sports toughest players".....Any Rugby player would make mash potatoes on 3/4 of this list of players.....

[AndList]

10:18 AM on 05/21/2012

Well said. They seem to have forgotten the rest of the world.

[newworldman777]

11:15 AM on 05/21/2012

And they all have the noses bent sideways to prove their toughness.

"Want I should pop that baby back into place for ya?"

"No thanks, mate. Just leave it bent over like that, as a memento of my rugby days."

[The Dude67]

10:17 AM on 05/21/2012

This list is not complete without Randall "Tex" Cobb.  

In 1982 I watched Larry Holmes beat Cobb to a bloody pulp for 15 rounds.  Up to and including that fight, Cobb had never been knocked down - not knocked out - never knock down.  Howard  Cosell was so appalled at the severity of the beating that he vowed to never call another boxing match.

[dropthedh]

03:59 PM on 05/21/2012

How about Chuck Wepner?

[deaddo]

10:15 AM on 05/21/2012

no Bird or Majic, got BJ King but no Babe Z, Venus or Serena, no track people, 1 bull rider....maybe they should just say 100 in no particular order or something.

[RRoadrunner]

10:08 AM on 05/21/2012

Without Carl Banks Lawrence Taylor’s numbers may not have been so impressive. Before most big plays Carl cleared the way. He belongs in the Hall of Fame next to LT and Carson!

[Son of Liberty 1765]

09:54 AM on 05/21/2012

No Dereck Sanderson? Are you kidding me?

[BAMUDA]

09:53 AM on 05/21/2012

Senseless list... especially for giving high marks to athletes for their reputation of injuring other athletes. The top ten should all be comprised of the amazing people who overcome major disabilities to compete at very high levels. They are tough.

[dropthedh]

04:00 PM on 05/21/2012

Agreed.