Martin Gitlin is a freelance writer and the author of more than 100 books on popular culture and sports. He has won many awards for his writing, including first place for General Excellence in Journalism from the Associated Press. His most recent books include The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time (2013), The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time (2014), and Powerful Moments in Sports: The Most Significant Sporting Events in American History (2017).

Introduction
1: Jim Thorpe: The Sports Conqueror
2: Michael Jordan: His Airness
3: Bob Mathias: The Manchild
4: Jim Brown: The Indestructible
5: Michael Phelps: The Baltimore Bullet
6: Deion Sanders: Prime Time
7: LeBron James: The Chosen One
8: Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Magnificent Heptathlete
9: Rafer Johnson: Renaissance Man
10: Muhammad Ali: The Louisville Lip
11: Willie Mays: The Say Hey Kid
12: Babe Ruth: The Sultan of Swat
13: Ashton Eaton: Wheels
14: Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Master of All
15: Wilt Chamberlain: Wilt the Stilt
16: Jackie Robinson: The Barrier Breaker
17: Rickey Henderson: The Man of Steal
18: Bo Jackson: The Freakish Talent
19: Jesse Owens: To Hell with Hitler
20: Henry Aaron: Hammerin' Hank
21: Tom Brady: Tom Terrific
22: Lawrence Taylor: L.T.
23: Carl Lewis: King Carl
24: Reggie White: The Minister of Defense
25: Bruce Jenner: Bruiser
26: Ray Robinson: Sugar
27: Don Hutson: The Alabama Antelope
28: Bob Hayes: Bullet Bob
29: Bill Russell: Mr. 11 Rings
30: Deacon Jones: The Secretary of Defense
31: Sandy Koufax: The Left Arm of God
32: Mickey Mantle: The Mick
33: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The Big 'A'
34: Lou Gehrig: The Iron Horse
35: Emlen Tunnell: Offense on Defense
36: Jerry West: Zeke from Cabin Creek
37: Anthony Munoz: The Great Protector
38: Oscar Charleston: The Black Ty Cobb
39: Earvin Johnson: Magic
40: Joe Louis: The Brown Bomber
41: Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba
42: Serena Williams: Momma Smash
43: Honus Wagner: The Flying Dutchman
44: Julius Erving: Dr. J
45: Gale Sayers: The Kansas Comet
46: Mary Wambach: Abby
47: Jerry Rice: Flash 80
48: Pete Sampras: Pistol Pete
49: Eric Heiden: The Record Breaker
50: Shaun White: The Flying Tomato
51: Simone Biles: Simoney
52: Stan Musial: Stan the Man
53: Willie Pep: Will 'o the Wisp
54: Walter Payton: Sweetness
55: Althea Gibson: The Tenacious One
56: Henry Armstrong: Homicide Hank
57: Joe Montana: Joe Cool
58: Mike Tyson: The Baddest Man on the Planet
59: Dick Butkus: The Maestro of Mayhem
60: Tracy Caulkins: The Medley Sensation
61: Michael Johnson: The Duck
62: Bob Beamon: Leap of a Lifetime
63: Oscar Robertson: The Big O
64: Mike Schmidt: Iron Mike
65: Larry Bird: The Hick from French Lick
66: Lindsey Vonn: Kildon
67: Karl Malone: The Mailman
68: Mike Trout: The Millville Meteor
69: Cheryl Miller: Big Sister
70: Mark Spitz: Mark the Shark
71: Tony Hawk: The Bird Man
72: Joe DiMaggio: The Yankee Clipper
73: Peggy Fleming: The Steel-Nerved Skater from San Jose
74: Walter Johnson: The Big Train
75: Barry Sanders: The Little Fella
76: Ty Cobb: The Georgia Peach
77: Bonnie Blair: The Blue
78: Secretariat: Big Red
79: Rocky Marciano: The Brockton Blockbuster
80: Red Grange: The Galloping Ghost
81: Chris Chelios: The Godfather of USA Hockey
82: Chris Evert: The Ice Maiden
83: Al Oerter: He-Man Heave Man
84: Mary T. Meagher: Madame Butterfly
85: Lisa Leslie: Smooth
86: O.J. Simpson: The Juice
87: Billie Jean King: The Male Chauvinist Pig Tamer
88: Wilma Rudolph: The Tornado
89: Kelly Slater: King Kelly
90: Johnny Unitas: The Golden Arm
91: Ted Williams: The Splendid Splinter
92: Greg Louganis: Dynamite Diver
93: Josh Gibson: The Legend
94: Edwin Moses: The Bionic Man
95: Jack Nicklaus: The Golden Bear
96: Rogers Hornsby: The Rajah
97: Florence Griffith Joyner: FloJo
98: Gabby Douglas: The Flying Squirrel
99: Lynette Woodard: The Globetrotter
100: Eldrick Woods: Tiger
Index
About the Author