While lamenting Pacquiao's loss to Mayweather, I was thinking how he would have ranked among Asian male athletes in my life time. I think if Pacquiao had won I would have ranked him number one. Even with the loss, Pacquiao would still be in the top ten. So I am going to put up my list of the top ten Asian male athletes during my life time up to this point. I am only doing a male list because frankly, Asian females have done a lot better than males in international sports. Just look at golf where the Asian females are dominating whereas males have just made some progress in being competitive. The lone exception being Tiger Woods whom I am putting on the list even though most people consider him to be black. The truth is that Tiger is 50% Asian so he qualifies to be on my list.
The same reasoning that I am doing only a male list means that I am not going to put up names of table tennis players, badminton players, gymnasts, figure skaters, divers, and short track skaters. All of these sports have way too many great Asian male athletes so it is not unusual for an Asian male to succeed in these sports. So that is why Apollo Anton Ono is not listed since there are many Koreans, Japanese and Chinese short track skaters who have done well. So in no particular order (too difficult to rank from 1-10 since each sports are so different) here is the list:
Sadaharu Oh--all time home run hitter. Question of whether he would have been a star in the MLB. But he did well against American pitching in exhibition games and given that Japanese players have done well in MLB in recent years, I believe Oh would have had a Hall of Fame career in MLB.
Ichiro--He makes my point for Oh easy. He is a certain Hall of Famer.
Yao Ming--A pioneer in the NBA for Chinese basketball player. His career was cut short but he is a certain Hall of Famer.
Michael Chang--Won a grand slam and rose to as high as umber 2 in the world. A Hall of Famer.
Tiger Woods--Nothing needs to be said.
Liu Xiang--Won Olympic gold in 110 hurdles. First Asian to win in track and field sprints. Also held world record in the event.
C.K. Yang--Silver in Olympic decathlon to Rafer Johnson. He actually beat Johnson in 7 out of 10 events but lost because Johnson, with his powerful body, trounced Yang in the three throwing events. Yang held the world record for the decathlon as well as the indoor pole vault world record.
Sun Yang--Won Olympic gold in 400, 1500 freestyle and silver in 200. There have been Asian male swimmers who have done well in swimming but Sun's feat is incomparable. It is almost like a record holder in the mile beats Michael Johnson in the 400 and finish a close second to Johnson in the 200. Nobody has done that in swimming, Asian or not.
Jeremy Lin--Not quite the accomplishments of some of the others on the list since he is not even an all star in the NBA. But he plays a position that is the most difficult and most athletic in his sport. Also consider that China, which is the best in Asian basketball, has only produced big men to the NBA, I think it is safe to say that Lin has done something worth of being on this list.
Many Pacquiao--Despite the loss, he is a sure Hall of Famer and the second best pound for pound figher of his generation.
So this is my list. I am sure there can be argument for inclusion and exclusion on this list. So bring it on! If I had to pick the number one I would pick Liu Xiang. I know it is an event that takes less than 13 seconds to run. But it is also an event that no Asian male or female had come close to be world class before Liu. Even Tiger has lost to Asian males in the PGA tour. When he won in Athens, Liu famously said that he won not only for China but for the Asian race. It maybe stereotype, but it is the truth for whatever reason. So with the risk of offending all great Asian male athletes, I pick Liu Xiang as my all time great.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
5 comments:
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Well, I don't know the 3 Olympians, so I really can't say much.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can do a non-Olympic sport version of the list. Though I also think it's difficult to do these types of lists. Especially since each sport is different.
Where would Hines Ward fit in? Do you fit in the Polynesian athletes?
As far as Pacquiao, I would really like to see his earlier fights. I got in a little late watching him and I think he's not as good as he used to be. I don't know what Mayweather's legacy will be. I think his reputation in the ring and out of it will hurt him. You can't deny what he does is great, but I wonder how he would fare against a Sugar Ray.
-LBOAYM
I considered Hines Ward but I don't think his impact as an athlete or impact in Asian American community or Asian countries is as great as the ones on the list. The same with Polynesian athletes, the majority of whom are in football. Outside of North America, American football is not that significant. Hines Ward may have accomplished more than Jeremy Lin in his sport but Lin had way more impact in Asia than Ward.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Mayweather as a person but if a boxer's character matters in judging his legacy, then not too many will do well. It is impossible to compare boxers of various weighs and generation, but by records alone Mayweather is up in the top 10 of all time if not top 5. The welter weight is probably the top class with the greatest number of great fighters. Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, Duran etc. A much better class than the heavy weights. So anyone that can go undefeated in the welter weights has to be special.
You are not familiar with CK Yang? If that's the case, I will write couple of stories about him when I get a chance, hopefully tomorrow or Wednsday.
As promised, the story of Ck Yang for those who are not familiar with it. Yang was a Taiwanese athlete who came to LA to train for the decathlon. He enrolled at UCLA where he met his best friend and greatest rival Rafer Johnson. The two trained and hung out together and were co captains of the UCLA track and field team. They also traded world records. The rivalry came to a head in the Rome Olympics of 1960. Yang won 7 of 1o events but Johnson had built such a big lead in the three throwing events that Yang had to beat Johnson by 10 seconds in the last event, the 1500 meters, to win gold. Johnson, normally a lot weaker than Yang in the event, stayed right behind Yang and was able to come home only a second behind and thus winning gold.
ReplyDeleteThe two remained close friends until Yang passed away from a stroke in 2007. Yang, a rice farmer's son from Taiwan and Johnson, a black man from the agricultural areas of central California, came to and conquered the metropolis of Los Angeles. Johnson was so popular that he was student president at UCLA. But his buddy was Yang. When Yang had the stroke in California, Johnson quickly came to his bedside. It is quite a friendship story, reminiscient of Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers.
Yang married someone from Ventura, California. So even though he coached the Taiwanese national team, he was often in Ventura. His wife's family owned a party store and sometimes he would man the check out counter. One day when he was over 60 years old a teenager stole a bottle of alcohol and ran out out of the store. Yang took off running after him and to the boy's surprise this old man caught up to him and wrestled him to the ground, taking back the booze. Can you imagine the shock in the boy's face when he realized an old man had caught him and beat him up?
Yang died in 2007 and is buried in a cemetery in Ventura. I wish I had known he was nearby before the obituary in the local papers. It would have been interesting to meet the man many Asians still believe is the greatest Asian athlete of all time, more than 50 years after the peak of his career.
Thank you to AngryYellowMan for the story on CK Yang. I had no idea who he was. I'll have to read up on him. Pretty neat that he and Rafer Johnson (who I have heard of before) were such good friends.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they are finally cutting out some of the lesser performers on DWTS. It still looks like it'll be a top 3 of Willis, Nastia, and Ryker.
-LBOAYM
One more bit about Johnson. He was such a great athlete that he also played on John Wooden's basketball team. Wooden regretted later that he played such a conservative style that it left Johnson as basically a defensive player. Wooden said that he should have installed a fast paced offense to take advantage of Johnson's athleticism. Johnson was also drafted by the NFL as a running back even though he didn't play football at UCLA. (he did play football in high school) So to be neck to neck with Johnson as an athlete is quite a remarkable feat for Yang.
ReplyDeleteWell, besides Riker, Wills and Liukin, only the vet is left I think. Obviously the vet is at a big disadvantage and I don't think sympathy votes can save him now. Still, I am glad he beat out the shark guy and the bachelor.