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
1936–1943
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Tuffy Leemans
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1926–1933
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Ace Bailey
Sport
Volleyball
Career
1998–2021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
94.0
Athlete: John Hyden
Sport
Baseball
Career
1997–2016
Country
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: David Ortiz
Sport
American Football
Career
1989–1999
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Steve Atwater
Sport
Tennis
Career
1890–1900
Country
🇮🇪 Ireland
Peak
92.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
64.0
Athlete: Joshua Pim
Sport
American Football
Career
1974–1982
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Lynn Swann
Sport
Basketball
Career
1936–1946
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
86.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
74.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
68.0
Athlete: Laddie Gale
Sport
American Football
Career
1920–1927
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Ed Healey
Sport
Swimming
Career
2008–2014
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
82.0
Dominance
70.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Karlee Bispo
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1995–2015
Country
🇸🇪 Sweden
Peak
88.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Erika Holst
Sport
Golf
Career
1851–1896
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
94.0
Dominance
90.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Old Tom Morris
Sport
American Football
Career
1973–1983
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Drew Pearson
Sport
Cricket
Career
1975–1996
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
84.0
Dominance
66.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
66.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: John Childs
Sport
American Football
Career
1931–1938
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
68.0
Athlete: Dutch Clark
Sport
American Football
Career
1920–1927
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Joe Guyon
Sport
Football
Career
1994–2007
Country
🇩🇪 Germany
Peak
78.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
70.0
Honours
75.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Lars Ricken
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1922–1933
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Billy Burch
Sport
Volleyball
Career
1980–1997
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Mike Dodd
Sport
Golf
Career
1934–1979
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
96.0
Athlete: Sam Snead
Sport
American Football
Career
1956–1971
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Bart Starr
Sport
Baseball
Career
1918–1937
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Jesse Haines
Sport
Baseball
Career
1886–1903
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Frank Grant
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1940–1954
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Max Bentley
Sport
Table Tennis
Career
1929–1954
Country
🇭🇺 Hungary
Peak
96.0
Dominance
94.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
96.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Viktor Barna

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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