Wednesday, January 21, 2009

BOSTON'S MOUNT RUSHMORE

One of ESPN's new features is a state-by-state "Mount Rushmore of Sports" debate in which fans can decide on who would make their state's monument. The Boston sports scene is one of the hardest to do because so many superstar athletes have passed through this town, and each brought something different to the table. But if I had to pick the four faces for Boston's Mount Rushmore of Sports, they would be:

Ted Williams

You can't have a Mount Rushmore for Boston sports without "the greatest hitter who ever lived." The Splendid Splinter hit 521 homers for the Red Sox in 19 seasons, and averaged 130 RBI per year. A two-time American League MVP, Williams is the last player to hit over .400, hitting .406 in 1941.

Red Auerbach
With respect to Bill Russell and Larry Bird, who each could have made this list in their own right, I'm going with the man who signed both of them, Red Auerbach. Red coached the Celtics from 1950 through 1965 (and stayed on as GM for many more years), and won NBA Championships in eight straight years (1958-65). Quite simply, the Celtics have won more NBA Titles than any other franchise, and you don't have that unbelievable history without Red Auerbach.

Tom Brady
The Patriots sixth round pick in 2000, Brady took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe in just his second season in the league and turned the New England franchise around. A career record of 86-24 in the regular season and 14-3 in the playoffs makes Brady the most important player in team history. He is a three time Super Bowl Champion, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, and has the NFL record for touchdown passes in a single season with 50. Brady has a career passer rating of 92.9 and won nine playoff games in his first five seasons, the most of any starting quarterback in his first five seasons in NFL history.

Bobby Orr
Considered by many to be the greatest player to ever lace up skates, Orr forever changed the way the game was played. Despite only playing 10 seasons in Boston (12 in his career), Orr won eight Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman, was a two-time Hart winner (League MVP), and a two-time Conn Smythe winner as the playoff MVP. He won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins, was a nine-time All-Star, and his 120 points in 1970-71 was unheard of for a defenseman. He is perhaps best remembered for his game winning goal in overtime of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues.

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