GGOATRANK

GOAT Rank · 3228

Greatest retired athletes

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score
Sport
American Football
Career
1970–1979
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Cliff Harris
Sport
Swimming
Career
1995–2004
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
86.0
Dominance
68.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
72.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: James Carter
Sport
Tennis
Career
1962–1975
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
88.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Bill Bowrey
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1947–1965
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Tom Johnson
Sport
Golf
Career
1936–1975
Country
🇿🇦 South Africa
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Bobby Locke
Sport
American Football
Career
1925–1934
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Red Grange
Sport
American Football
Career
1937–1946
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Ace Parker
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1924–1938
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Hap Day
Sport
American Football
Career
1965–1973
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Dick Butkus
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1972–1985
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Steve Shutt
Sport
Baseball
Career
1923–1938
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Bill Foster
Sport
Volleyball
Career
2006–2022
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: April Ross
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1943–1950
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
58.0
Athlete: Bill Durnan
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1994–2010
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Paul Kariya
Sport
American Football
Career
1951–1959
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Jack Butler
Sport
Cricket
Career
1948–1959
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
84.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Jim Burke
Sport
Baseball
Career
1938–1950
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Joe Gordon
Sport
Baseball
Career
1969–1993
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Carlton Fisk
Sport
Athletics
Career
1995–2004
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
82.0
Dominance
70.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Adam Basil
Sport
Baseball
Career
1934–1950
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Leon Day
Sport
Swimming
Career
2003–2012
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
84.0
Dominance
68.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Mike Brown
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1979–1997
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Joe Mullen
Sport
American Football
Career
2004–2019
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Eli Manning
Sport
Baseball
Career
1888–1907
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
94.0
Athlete: Jake Beckley
Sport
Athletics
Career
1992–2001
Country
🇯🇵 Japan
Peak
86.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Tomoe Abe

Compare the leaders

Michael Phelps vs Bobby Moore

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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