In the mid-1990s, Brad Herzog took it upon himself to compile a list of the
100 most important people in U.S. sports history. Modern American sports has
been shaped by the impact of some remarkably influential figures - men and
women who have profoundly impacted the games and, in many cases, transcended
them. What would basketball be like without Bill Russell? Football without George Halas? Golf without Arnold Palmer? What if William Randolph Hearst hadn't introduced the newspaper sports section or Charles McNeil hadn't introduced the gambler's point spread. What if Hank Luisetti hadn't pioneered the jump shot or Marvin Miller hadn't spearheaded free agency?

    Through hundreds of hours of research and discussions with dozens of sportswriters, authors, historians, librarians, athletes and coaches in virtually every athletic arena, he came up with a ranking of THE SPORTS 100. In more than 400 pages, he profiles figures ranging from Bill France (#41) to Bill Veeck (#69), from Red Grange (#20) to Red Auerbach (#84), from Walter Byers (#37) to Walter O'Malley (#66), from Jim Thorpe (#21) to Jim Bouton (#100). It's a controversial list. No Kareem? No DiMaggio? No Hogan? But then, that's the point.

The top 10:
1. Jackie Robinson
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Babe Ruth
4. James Naismith
5. Albert Spalding
6. Walter Camp
7. Joe Louis
8. Billie Jean King
9. Roone Arledge
10. Branch Rickey