Opinion The 25 Scrappiest Athletes of All-Time
SportsPickle readers voted to elect the scrappiest athlete of all-time. After more than 60,000 votes from dozens of contenders, here are the athletes you determined to be the most scrappy.
25. Theo Fleury
Fleury scored 1,000 points in the NHL, won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal and did it all at 5-foot-6. He even gutted through a season with Crohn's Disease. His last name means "flower" in French, but tell him that and he'll probably punch you in the ribs or even higher up your body if he can reach.
24. Martin St. Louis
St. Louis has scored 80 or more points in a season six times during his career despite being only 5-foot-8. The Lightning captain is also the highest-ranked hockey player in the voting. Of course, if the NHL itself had been a voting option for scrappiest, it would have won in a landslide.
23. J.J. Barea
At 6-feet, 175 pounds, Jose Juan Barea exploded onto our scrappy radar with his scraptastic contributions to the Dallas Mavericks' championship run. Just 27 years of age, expect Barea's scrappy stock to continue to rise as the sports world's scrappiest — or "mas animoso" — Spanish-speaking basketball player.
22. Moredecai "Three Finger" Brown
All the evidence you need is in the name. If your nickname describes your body post-amputation or farm machine accident, you're pretty scrappy. The 239 wins, 2.06 career ERA and Hall of Fame spot are almost overkill.
21. Troy Brown
He was a possession receiver who agreed to play defensive back to help the team. He regularly got cut or was forced to take a pay reduction. He was only 5-foot-10. He didn't come from a college football power. And he played in Boston. Put all that together, and you have the makings of the scrappiest athlete of all-time! Who knows what it is about him that kept voters from placing him higher on the list. A true mystery. Hmm. Hmmmmm.
Video Worst Track-and-Field Announcer Ever
No big deal. No one watches track and field anyway.
Video Slowest Sprinter Ever
If he can cut 5 seconds off of his 100m, he'll be right there.
Video Pole Loses Pole Vault
In his country, pole vaults YOU! (Yeah, they don't always work.)
Video Invisible Hurdles
At the end of the race, she was awarded with an invisible medal.
Picture Updated London 2012 Olympics Logo
It's the only event the British team might win.
Picture Shot-Putter's Face Does Not Medal
His technique is to scare the shot to the desired distance.
Video Championship Hurdles Failure
That one mistake only lost her 9 seconds. Not too bad.
Picture Runner's Body Really Enjoys Running
I suppose you could say this runner comes first.
