Top Five Dominant Athletes

These athletes revolutionized their sports and were head and shoulders above anybody else in their generation.

1. Babe Ruth, baseball
The Sultan of Swat singlehandedly doubled the single season home run record over the course of his career. His 714 career homers would not be eclipsed for four decades (and only twice since). The New York Yankees had to build the largest baseball stadium ever constructed just to handle all the fans who wanted to see Ruth play. And to cap it all off, Ruth spent much of his career on the sauce.

2. Michael Jordan, basketball
His Airness made an art form out of the slam dunk. With his tongue flapping, he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships. At a ridiculous 30.1 points per game over his entire career, Jordan holds the NBA record for scoring average. Jordan was also the first athlete to transcend the world of sports, allowing shoe companies to sell products simply by slapping Jordan's name on them.

3. Wayne Gretzky, hockey
The Great One won nine NHL most valuable player awards and led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships. He is the only person to have exceeded 200 points in a single season -- a feat he accomplished four separate times. Over his career, he averaged 1.3 assists per game. Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 revolutionized pro hockey to the United States, opening the door to the expansion of the 1990's which saw hockey teams being placed all across the southern and western U.S.

4. Tiger Woods, golf
In today's PGA, there's Tiger Woods and then there's everything else. The man is 31 years old and has won thirteen major championships, well ahead of pace to smash Jack Nicklaus' record of eighteen. Woods has demolished course records at places like Pebble Beach and Augusta, forcing club members to add yardage to their courses in an attempt to "Tiger-proof" them. Woods won the inaugural FedExCup despite skipping one of the four playoff events. Woods is also responsible for a recent surge in the number of people watching and playing golf.

5. Pelé, soccer
Pelé burst onto the international scene at the age of seventeen, scoring six goals as Brazil won the 1958 World Cup. Pelé also led Brazil to championships at the 1962 and 1970 World Cups. He also notched an absurd 507 goals in club play, averaging more than one goal per game. But Pelé's most important contributions to the beautiful game were his incredible ball control and lightning-quick reflexes, the likes of which had never before been seen from a footballer.