Who are the best competitors who never quite got the recognition they deserved or acheived to the fullest of their potential?
I'll offer a couple from motor sport, just to get things rolling.
Best NASCAR driver to never win a race - Johnny Benson Best NASCAR driver to never win a championship - Mark Martin Best F1 driver never to win a World Championship - Sterling Moss
Watcha got? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 07-15-02, 07:37 PM coldfuse My entries for:
Best Golfer who never won a U. S. Open - Sam Snead (2nd four times) Best Pitcher who never won a Cy Young Award - Nolan Ryan
07-16-02, 08:15 AM BobLaz A man who never got to see his potential fulfilled was former KC Royals pitcher Steve Busby (remember him, Nic?)..A TERRIFIC talent--whose career was cut short by injuries..He was basically done by the tender age of 30..
frown
07-16-02, 09:15 AM dogspit Best basketball player to never win an NBA championship, the amazing Elgin Baylor, followed distantly by the mouthy Charles Barkley.
07-16-02, 10:46 AM Koz Best baseball player that never won a World Series.
07-16-02, 07:03 PM Jelp01 Among the best baseball players that never played in a World Series, I would add Ernie Banks and George Sisler.
07-16-02, 07:51 PM Kelleygirl Look at stats in baseball and you will see one name repeated over and over but probably will never be in the Hall of Fame---
Pete Rose
07-17-02, 12:37 AM niccincoogol KelleyGirl-
Holy crud, someone on AnswerPool besides myself that doesn't think Pete Rose should be boiling in a vat of Satan's lava for eternity? Maybe I misunderstood your post, but I agree that Pete deserves much better than the universal scorching he's received for so many years now.
And Bob - sure I remember Steve Busby - for a couple things - he helped popularize (with bizarre effectiveness) the fake-to-3rd-throw-to-1st move, sometimes even spinning around again to go back to 3rd to get the runner there. He also threw no-hitters in back-to-back years, one of the few pitchers to ever do so.
Don Gullett is another guy that deserved better. Potential HOF'er like Busby, with a career cut way too short.
07-17-02, 02:20 AM Jelp01 Another player whose career was cut short that comes to mind is J.R. Richard. He, too, was done by the age of 30. Can you imagine the Astros' rotation had he stayed healthy for a few more years? If he had stayed healthy, I suspect the Astros may have had some World Series appearances during the 80's.
07-17-02, 09:53 AM dogspit Best pitcher to never walk through a regular doorway without ducking - Randy Johnson.
07-17-02, 10:11 AM BobLaz Another guy who never fulfilled his potential:
HERB SCORE
He led the league in K's in '55 and '56--but never recovered from the line drive hit by Gil MacDougald..He was done before the age of 30.. frown
01-05-04, 06:35 PM DorianGreyed Best Boxers who never became heavyweight champ, but could have, given a match at the right time
Archie Moore 194W(141KO)-26L-8D-1NC - Lightheavyweight Champion 1952-1962 Finally given a title shot at age 43, Moore still managed to floor Marciano before age caught up with him. Had the fight taken place 3 years earlier, Moore wins in a walk.
Joe Jeanette - 79W (66 KO)-9L-6D 62ND Heavyweight Back in the days of No Decision fight (ND), Jeanette's record against Jack Johnson was 1-1-1, with 4 (ND)...in his first 2 years of boxing. Against Sam Langford, Jeanette was 3-6-2 with 4 ND. Against Sam McVey, another top black heavy, in Paris, Jeanette agreed to a no limit fight, with unlimited 3 minute rounds. Joe won in the 49th. In his later years, Jeannette remembered the fact that champion Jack Johnson refused to give him a title bout, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people." Jeanette would have beaten both Marvin Hart, who claimed the Heavyweight title after Jeffries retired, and Tommy Burns, who beat Hart for the title, and lost it to Johnson.
Sam Langford 168W (117KO)-38L-37D-48ND Usually a Welterweight-Middleweight Sam Langford took on every fighter he could, from lightweight to heavyweight, in his 24-year career. "Lost" a 15 rnd ND to Jack Johnson, spotting him 20+lbs. Johnson never gave him a rematch after Johnson won the title. Drew with Middleweight Champion Stanley Ketchel in a non-title fight, KOed former Lightheavyweight Champ Jack O'Brien in 5. Lanford would have also beaten Hart and Burns.
AnswerPool.com 
