CSN Bay Area just did a countdown of the top 20 "legends" in San Francisco Bay Area sports history.
Here was its list:
1. Joe Montana
2. Willie Mays
3. Bill Walsh
4. Al Davis
5. Jerry Rice
6. Barry Bonds
7. Rickey Henderson
8. Rick Barry
9. Willie McCovey
10. John Madden
11. Bill Russell
12. Steve Young
13. Jim Plunkett
14. Joe DiMaggio
15. Reggie Jackson
16. Ronnie Lott
17. Eddie DeBartolo
18. Tim Lincecum
19. Charlie Finley
20. Juan Marichal
So, that was that list. I'm just going to pick players; I'm not going to rank them.
There might be a way to compare a boxer from a hundred years ago to a high school quarterback, but I'm unaware of it. I'm just going to pick 50 and you can sort it out any way that makes sense.
I took 25 from the major professional franchises in the Bay Area, and the other 25 from college, high school, or who otherwise spent a significant amount of athletic time in the Bay Area.
So, in no particular rank - the 50 greatest Bay Area athletes of all time.
Rick Barry
Chris Mullin
Nate Thurmond
Jerry Rice
Joe Montana
Ronnie Lott
Steve Young
John Brodie
Leo Nomellini
Jimmy Johnson
Barry Bonds
Willie Mays
Juan Marichal
Willie McCovey
Will Clark
Gaylord Perry
Gene Upshaw
Jim Otto
Willie Brown
Art Shell
Fred Biletnikoff
Rickey Henderson
Reggie Jackson
Sal Bando
Patrick Marleau
Tiger Woods
KC Jones
Bill Russell
Matt Biondi
John Elway
Andrew Luck
Jim Plunkett
John McEnroe
Jason Kidd
Bob Mathias
Hank Luisetti
Joe Kapp
Gino Marchetti
Don Budge
Joe DiMaggio
Lefty O'Doul
OJ Simpson
Joe Morgan
Frank Robinson
Tom Brady
Mark Spitz
Willie Stargell
Gary Payton
Dan Fouts
Jim Corbett
