Top 10 Most Influencial New York athletes in the last 50 years

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After putting together a list of the ten most influential athletes in Chicago sports, I thought I’d do the same thing for New York sports.  This isn’t a list of the greatest New York athletes, though all the guys on this list were great, it’s about who impacted their teams, team culture and fans the most.  That’s obviously subjective, but hey, it’s my list.  And here we go.

10. Brian Leech:  Brian was obviously one of the greatest Rangers in team history, but there’s even more to his selection.  Leech was the Conn Symthe winner of the 1994 NHL playoffs.  The playoffs where the Rangers won the first Stanley Cup in 54 years.  Brian racked up 34 points in 23 games during the Rangers playoff games.  Just an awesome performance.

9. Eli Manning:  I’ve got to say, I’m not a huge fan of Eli.  Having said that a QB who leads his team to two Super Bowl wins has a pretty good chance of being on this list.  While Eli wasn’t a great player, he did influence the Giants franchise in a good way.  It was kind of the right guy at the right time type of situation.

8. Willis Reed:  Reed gets on this list largely by virtue of scoring the first four points of the 1970 NBA Finals that saw the Knicks defeat the Lakers to win the NBA title.  Of course Reed was hobbled by a thigh injury.  The fact that Reed was able to play at all was remarkable.  While Willis was a great player for the Knicks, he’ll be remembered for those four points in game seven.

7. Lawrence Taylor:  Taylor was the greatest defensive player I ever saw.  He was a big influence on the Giants just by the excellence of his play.  The fact he played on two Super Bowl winners shows just how much he impacted the franchise.

6. Derek Jeter:  The Yankees are one of the most, if not the most, storied franchises in history.  To be able to stand out as a member of the franchise takes some doing.  The way Jeter comported himself on the field and the fact that he just seemed to make winning plays gets him a spot on this list.  He was obviously a great player, but he added intangibles with it.

5.  Walt Frazier:  While Willis Reed provided an inspirational lift in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Lakers, Clyde did the heavy lifting, scoring 36 points, 7 rebounds, 19 assists and six steals.  Walt was also part of another Knicks championship and was basically the coolest guy in Knicks history.

4. Mariano Rivera:  Mariano was the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball.  That in itself is going to impact a franchise.  The fact he did it on the biggest stage in baseball enhances his value.  In 141 innings pitched in the postseason, he had an ERA of 0.70.  I doubt we’ll see anything like that again.  Mariano would be higher on this list if the Yankees didn’t have such a history of winning to begin with.

3. Mark Messier:  Messier doesn’t have the resume of most of the other guys on this list, but gets this high on the list in large part because of his leadership.  The Rangers had a seeming mini-curse of 54 years without a Stanley Cup until Messier help lead the way to a championship.  A losing culture is hard to overcome.  Messier helped the Rangers overcome one.

2.  Tom Seaver:  During the early years of the franchise, the Mets were a joke.  The arrival of Tom Seaver helped change that.  Tom led the Mets to their first World Series win by going 25-7 during the regular season.  Poised, articulate and a great pitcher, the Mets weren’t a joke after the arrival of Tom Seaver.

1. Joe Namath:  To be clear, Joe wasn’t the greatest New York athlete during the last 50 years.  He was, however, perhaps the most charismatic.  He also was the key to perhaps the biggest win in New York sports in the last 50 years.  So, in summation, on a list of greatest of the ten greatest New York athletes, Joe Namath probably isn’t on it.  On a list of the most influential New York athletes over the last 50 years, I have him as number one.