Chicago has had some great teams, as well as some great athletes throughout the history of those teams. However, there are some who would rise above all others when playing, and here’s a list of those players.
10: Brian Urlacher
Starting off the list with Brian Urlacher, one of the greatest NFL defensive players of all time. Urlacher was selected by the Bears with the 9th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and would play all 12 years of his career with the team. Throughout his career, he would get 1,361 tackles, 41.5 sacks, 22 interceptions, 2 touchdowns and 78 pass deflections. Urlacher was the type of player that would be in a Quarterback or O Linemen’s Nightmares before they play him. He also happens to be friends with former teammate and Manchester graduate Kevin Malast.
9: Dick Butkus
Going from a linebacker in the 2000s to a slightly more dominant linebacker from the 60s and 70s, Dick Butkus was scary. While there’s no way of knowing how many tackles or sacks he had, as those stats were not yet recorded, he did for a fact have 22 interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries. Even if we don’t have a definite number though, the NFL network named him the most feared tackler of all time in 2009, which is quite the title. His number would also go on to be retired by the Bears.
8: Minnie Minoso
Kicking off another sport, Minnie Minoso had a variety of stints with the White Sox, playing with the team from 1951 to 1957, 1960 to 1961, and then a coaching stretch with the team from 1976 to 1978, and playing two games in 1980, meaning he technically had a 29 year playing career. Throughout his career, Minoso would appear in 1,946 games, 8,223 plate appearances, and 1,225 runs, 2,110 hits, 365 doubles, 95 triples, 195 home runs, and 216 stolen bases. He would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
7: Candace Parker
Starting off Basketball for this list, Candace Parker has a very strong case for greatest female basketball player of all time. Although Parker’s stint as a member of the Chicago Sky was short, she was putting up numbers and upholding a reputation as an unstoppable forward, starting all of her games in The Windy City and getting 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on average. Outside of her time in Chicago, she has had two seasons where she won MVP, and three seasons where she liked it so she put a ring on it.
6: Jonathan Toews:
Jonathan Toews is one of the best hockey players of our time. Serving as the captain of the Blackhawks from 2008 to earlier this year, and during that time brought 3 Stanley Cups to Chi Town. He has played 1,067 games, gotten 372 goals, racked up 511 assists and scored 883 points during that time. Toews was the reason that teams in the central division were constantly quaking in their boots at the thought of playing the Blackhawks, let’s hope to see him back from his hiatus soon.
5: Ferguson Jenkins
You don’t get a statue outside of Wrigley Field for doing nothing and being an absolute bum, and this is proven by the absolutely star studded career of Ferguson Jenkins. With a career record of 284 wins and 226 losses as well as over 3,000 career strikeouts, Fly Fergie was a dog on the mound. Jenkins is the first ever Canadian player in the Baseball Hall of Fame, The first recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy, and has had his number 31 retired, also in honor of Greg Maddux.
4: Derrick Rose
The story of Derrick Rose is more of a tragedy than some Shakespeare tales, but people seem to forget how nasty he was before his career was ruined by a torn ACL. D Rose was the first overall pick of the 2008 draft, which was a big risk considering he was getting drafted over players like Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love. But it would pay off, with the Windy City Assassin becoming the youngest to ever win the MVP award just 2 years later, and who could forget about his greatest accomplishment, being the namesake of a Lil Pump song.
3: Walter Payton
Walter Payton was legendary in every sense of the word. He holds the record for four statistics in the NFL, with those statistics being most consecutive starts in the regular season, most consecutive seasons leading the league in rushes, most games with 100 or more yards, and most passing touchdowns by a non-quarterback. He has 16,776 rushing yards, 110 rushing touchdowns, 4,538 receiving yards, and 15 receiving touchdowns on his career, rest in peace legend.
2: Stan Mikita
Stan Mikita was easily far and away the greatest Blackhawk of all time, and did wonders to make the NHL as diverse as it is today. Mikita was the first Czechoslovakian player to win the Stanley Cup and is ranked top 20 all time for points in the NHL. He had 541 goals, 926 assists, and 1,467 points in the regular season, and 59 goals, 91 assists and 150 points in the playoffs. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and had his number 21 retired by the Blackhawks. I can’t argue with Mike Myers, Stan Mikita is the greatest Blackhawk of all time.
1: Michael Jordan
His Airness. Black Jesus. GOAT. This section could be nothing but nicknames, as a player this influential has racked up a mountain of them. Rookie of the Year. Five time MVP. A retired number. It could also be made up of nothing but accolades. He took the Bulls from the laughing stock of the NBA to a force to be reckoned with throughout the 80s and 90s, and led them to two three-peats. There is no question who the greatest Chicago athlete of all time, who else could it be but the ONE. the ONLY. Michael. Jeffrey. JORDAN.
