Greatest pure athletes in Reds history.

[Big Klu]

When Jim Thorpe won the gold medal for the decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, his medal was presented to him by King Gustav V of Sweden. King Gustav proclaimed, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world", to which Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King."

[Ash11]

Adam Dunn had a full ride at Texas as QB.

[Big Klu]

Earle "Greasy" Neale, the RF on the Reds' 1919 World Champion club, was a football teammate of Thorpe's on the 1917 Canton Bulldogs. During the Reds' offseason, Neale eventually took up coaching football, and in 1921 he led Washington & Jefferson College (now an NCAA Division III school) to the Rose Bowl, where they played the California Golden Bears to a 0-0 tie.

Neale is enshrined at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Neale's Eagles won back-to-back NFL Championships in 1948 and 1949.

[Kingspoint]

You could imagine Chapman at the top of pretty much any sport. Dude was just a mountain of fast twitch muscle.

He was a bad race car driver.

[sdwagers]

beyond his athletic prime with the Reds... nonetheless Dave Parker has to at least get an honorable mention.

[Reds Loyalist]

I would have to add Dave Collins. He was all state in football and basketball and ran a 9.6 100 yard dash. Some consider him as the top 5 or 10 fastest mlb players to ever play. He was the fastest player in baseball for a few years.

[HokieRed]

Robinson, Pinson, Davis, Larkin, Rolen, Gullett--they'd all be on my list.

[foster15]

Ken Griffey SENIOR. from Wikipedia: His contemporaries in Donora did not think he would become a baseball star; they considered his best sport to be football, where he was a star wide receiver. Griffey himself considered football to be his best sport, followed by basketball, track, and only then baseball. At times, he would even compete in track meets during baseball games, rushing up the hill between Donora High School's baseball field and track between at-bats when it came time for his track events.

And of course, if he was a thoroughbred horse, he also would be a top stud also.

[cincinnati chili]

I would have to add Dave Collins. He was all state in football and basketball and ran a 9.6 100 yard dash. Some consider him as the top 5 or 10 fastest mlb players to ever play.

I think those people are members of Dave's immediate family. I loved Dave Collins as a kid and modeled my little league swing after him. He was fast, but nuh-uh.

[Kingspoint]

Who's the best athlete on the current roster?

[reds77]

Deion Sanders was my first thought before opening the thread. Since he was a modern day athlete playing, I'll offer he's like the best athlete to ever play for the Reds.

[BCubb2003]

Who's the best athlete on the current roster?

Probably St. John’s ‘small’ forward Amir Garrett.

[RichRed]

From Joe Posnanski’s article about Eric Davis:

Davis was a basketball player first. He averaged 29 points and 10 assists a game at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, and he was recruited by just about every school in the Pac-10. Davis had no doubt that he would play in the NBA. He probably would have played in the NBA. But then baseball scouts started coming out to watch Davis play, and he barely even knew how to play baseball.

https://www.mlb.com/news/eric-davis-...eds-c279109048

[Big Klu]

From Joe Posnanski’s article about Eric Davis:



https://www.mlb.com/news/eric-davis-...eds-c279109048

When Eric Davis was in high school, he considered to be the best basketball player in the city, and that included Byron Scott at Morningside.

[Old school 1983]

If we are to consider 5 tool players as great athletes, I honestly believe that Frank Robinson must be on this list.

I was thinking Vada Pinson as well.