The Sporting News GOAT Mountain project named four pro athletes from the nine cities that have had three of the following four leagues represented for at least 20 years – NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Last summer, we looked at 13 four-sport cities. There were no hard-and-fast rules pertaining to the athletes selected. Our panels of experts considered individual resumes, team success and legacy within the sports landscape of each city. Not every franchise within a city needed to be represented. All sports fans have an opinion on this topic. These are ours.
We cut this project off at four-team cities last year, leaving out some of America's most sports-crazed cities like Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. This project accounted for those places and more and include all-time greats that live in the upper crust of various Halls of Fame.
MORE: The sports Mount Rushmore of 13 American cities with teams in 4 leagues
Like we did last summer, we formed committees to research and discuss the candidates in each city, often consulting with local experts on how athletes influenced their particular cities. Each city has four essays on the athletes, plus some highlights and pull quotes from archived Sporting News content pulled from these players were in action. If you want to start a spirited debate the next time you are in a sports bar, have your own discussion on the four iconic figures of a particular sports city. We're here to help.
PITTSBURGH: Essays, highlights of Clemente, Lemieux, Greene, Harris
ATLANTA: Essays, highlights of Aaron, Glavine, Jones, Wilkins
TAMPA: Essays, highlights of Selmon, Brooks, Stamkos, St. Louis
CLEVELAND: Essays, highlights of James, Brown, Feller, Thomas
MILWAUKEE/GREEN BAY: Essays, highlights of Rodgers, Favre, Antetokounmpo, Aaron
SEATTLE: Essays, highlights of Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Wilson, Bird
ST. LOUIS: Essays, highlights of Musial, Gibson, Hull, Pujols
HOUSTON: Essays, highlights of Watt, Olajuwon, Altuve, Campbell
TORONTO: Essays, highlights of Steib, Sundin, Sittler, Lowry
