- 7 months ago
A single image can capture the essence of sporting greatness! Join us as we explore the most legendary photographs ever taken in athletics history. From Muhammad Ali's triumphant stance to Michael Phelps' fingertip finish, these frozen moments transcend sport itself, telling stories of triumph, struggle, and cultural significance.
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00:00He's stealing home, and it's a very important thing here, is this foot catches, now Behrer's got the tag there.
00:06Right.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most recognizable images ever captured in the history of sports.
00:13When you look at it, what do you feel?
00:15I feel sad for the kid up there doing that because I know he didn't want to do it, but he had to do it because he was put there through a divine spirit.
00:2710. Phelps by a fingertip
00:30I could just see it in his face. If you look at the pictures right after the race, and he was in the water, I thought, wow, he is really tired.
00:37At the very peak of athletics, the margins are so slim that lives can change as a result of the most minute of distances.
00:43For the legendary Michael Phelps, the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Olympics was one such race.
00:48With his fierce rival, Milorad Kovic leading the race after Phelps kind of botched the opening stages.
00:53It looked like Kovic was clearly going to win the gold, but Phelps somehow fought back to second place and in the final meter launched himself forward to beat his opponent by one hundredth of a second.
01:03Fans and commentators alike could not believe that Phelps was able to claw his way to first place, and yet that's exactly what he did.
01:09What's going on there?
01:10You see here, he's picking his head up before he's finishing. So it's acting as like a speed bump. So he's coming up and then trying to lift his head up before he touches the wall, and now mine's in a straight streamline. So that's the difference of the race.
01:25Number nine, Usain Bolt looking back.
01:27I started getting better, and I started winning more. Then I figured out that I want to be one of the best. And now that I've gotten here, now I feel amazing, you know what I mean?
01:37Is there a more apt display of athletic superiority than this photo of Usain Bolt, very casually smiling at his competition as he comfortably outpaces them at the 2016 Olympic Games?
01:47It's one thing being the best in the world at your craft, but the true superstars have a level of nerve and charisma to go with it.
01:53Thankfully, what could have been a split-second moment that was missed by the live TV cameras was instead captured by Getty Images photographer Cameron Spencer.
02:00The image was immediately declared as one of the greatest Olympic photos ever taken.
02:03Like I always tell myself, especially when I'm in training and I don't want to do anymore, I say if you want to be a champion, you got to go. Just go, get up.
02:12And I always, this is how I talk to myself, like I'm talking to a person.
02:15Number eight, Don Larson hugs Yogi Berra.
02:18Got it. The greatest game ever since. Great ball hit by Don Larson.
02:24New York Yankees pitcher Don Larson managed to pull off one of the rarest feats in baseball, throwing a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.
02:31He didn't just do this in any old environment, though. He did it in Game 5 of the World Series.
02:36The image of the elated Larson embracing the similarly thrilled Yogi Berra remains one of the most famous photos in the sports history.
02:42Larson, to this day, remains the only player to ever pull off a perfect game in a World Series match.
02:47A staggering achievement in baseball.
02:49And Larson will throw out the first pitch of this game in commemoration of 1956, when Larson pitched this perfect game, the only one ever pitched in World Series history.
03:02Number seven, Diego Maradona against the world.
03:05I had scored goals before in Argentina with my hand.
03:08It was a goal that I couldn't reach it, and Shilton was already there, so I couldn't hit it.
03:14We won't deny that his hand-of-God goal was a razor-close second place, and it came from a more memorable game.
03:22Even when outnumbered, the Argentine legend is the man who holds all the power here.
03:26It's a photo that sums up his dominance in a nutshell.
03:28It was taken in the 1982 World Cup, not in his amazing performance in 1986, as some might suggest.
03:34Belgium actually went on to win this game 1-0.
03:36The photo was taken after an Argentina free kick, showcasing the split of the Belgian wall shortly before Maradona lost the ball.
03:42He would dominate Belgium four years later in the 1986 World Cup, and perhaps this photo foreshadows that.
03:48Number six, the catch.
03:49Looking, looking, throwing in the end zone.
03:53You know a catch is good when it is literally still referred to as the catch decades later.
03:59With 58 seconds left in the 1981 NFC Championship game, the 49ers face third down.
04:05Running out of options, quarterback Joe Montana found the perfect pass, launching the ball forward to Dwight Clark,
04:10who somehow managed to catch it for the touchdown.
04:12The significance of this play was huge.
04:15Montana led the San Francisco 49ers through an 83-yard game-winning drive,
04:19and it basically signaled the end of the Dallas Cowboys' spell of dominance in the NFL.
04:23The photo itself of Clark leaping towards the ball is just about as good as American football photography ever got.
04:28What a play by Dwight Clark.
04:30Number five, Air Jordan.
04:32Well, the crowd lets you know what they think of it.
04:35Now we will wait for the judges.
04:37We easily could have gone with the photo of Michael Jordan's final ever shot for the Bulls,
04:41but we couldn't pass up our eventual pick.
04:43MJ's 1988 dunk contest winner was one of the most insane feats of athleticism NBA fans had ever laid eyes on.
04:49He had been in the league long enough for people to know that he could get some wild hang time.
04:53However, seeing him soar through the air from the free throw line to the basket was a different level of impressive.
04:58Jordan earned a perfect 50 score with the dunk,
05:00and the photo remains one of the most famous shots in basketball history.
05:10Mike, I'm open!
05:14Never mind.
05:15Number four, Jackie Robinson steals home.
05:17Jackie catches the corner of the plate there.
05:20Bearer swears that he tagged him before.
05:23This play in the 1955 World Series wasn't just an incredible baseball moment.
05:27It was a cultural statement.
05:28Robinson was making waves in a time when racial divides were a very real thing in baseball,
05:33and also in general American life.
05:35He became the first African American in the MLB, and he immediately wanted to make an impact.
05:39In game one against the Yankees, Robinson showed his boldness,
05:42stealing home to narrow the deficit to the Dodgers being down by one.
05:45The photo captures his tenacity vividly,
05:47becoming one of the most important sporting shots of the 20th century.
05:50Robinson used the form of the hook slide,
05:53a technique that is rarely seen in the modern game,
05:56and is designed to minimize the surface area available to tag.
06:00Number three, the miracle on ice.
06:01A team composed mainly of amateur and collegiate level players
06:17should have never had a chance against the most dominant team in hockey.
06:20However, right at the height of Cold War tensions,
06:22the United States team managed to shock the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
06:26The U.S. team, very young, average age, 21 years old.
06:30The Soviets, much more seasoned.
06:32Some of them have been playing together for the last 15 years.
06:35The win represented something much greater than a mere sporting victory.
06:38It was a statement of hope to an entire nation.
06:40Now regarded as one of the most unlikely upsets in the history of the Olympics,
06:44it was immortalized through the now iconic images of the American team celebrating
06:47as they achieved the unthinkable.
06:49Five seconds left in the game.
06:51Do you believe in miracles?
06:53Yes!
06:54Unbelievable.
06:56The black athlete, since usually, he has never had really anything to be proud of.
07:08Blackness, black is bad.
07:10Anything he does is bad.
07:11His schools are bad.
07:13Sometimes winning isn't the most important thing an athlete can do.
07:15At the end of the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico,
07:19first and third place Tommy Smith and John Carlos made history on the podium.
07:23During the American National Anthem,
07:24they each raised a black-gloved fist in a display of protest against racial injustice,
07:29keeping their arm up until the song had concluded.
07:31They, along with silver medalist Peter Norman from Australia,
07:34all wore matching human rights badges on their jackets.
07:37It has since been regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in sports history.
07:41I hope people understand that anytime you cry for something,
07:43that means justice has not been done enough to make it even a morality to be thankful for, really.
07:50Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
07:54The catch.
07:54Baseball.
07:55Willie Mays made this iconic catch at the 1954 World Series.
07:58As soon as I catch the ball, I turn around and I throw it back.
08:02I think I was more proud of the throw than it was the catch,
08:06because only one guy advanced, which was Larry Dore, went from second to third.
08:10Iverson steps over Lou.
08:11Iverson steals the spotlight during the 2001 NBA Finals.
08:15He's way too good!
08:16He steps around Lou and drilled it!
08:19And the Sixers have scored nine in a row!
08:21Jesse Owens salute.
08:22He dominates the competition,
08:24then pulls off an all-time famous podium moment.
08:26Bobby Orr's Famous Dive
08:32It was a uniquely awesome 1970 Stanley Cup Final Celebration.
08:36Bobby Orr, behind the net, the sand is in the Orr!
08:39Bobby Orr!
08:41Orr to the Boston Braves!
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08:59Number 1. Ali Standing Over Liston
09:01Ali's standing over him, saying,
09:04Get up, you bum. Nobody will believe this.
09:06Get up and fight.
09:07In his mind, he's saying,
09:08Hey, I got enough money to air-condition hell now.
09:11I don't need this anymore. I'm gonna lay there.
09:13After shocking the champ, Sonny Liston,
09:15to steal away his title in their first fight,
09:17Muhammad Ali produced the now-infamous Phantom Punch
09:19to stun his rival in round one of their rematch.
09:22The punch was a rapid right-hand shot over the top of Liston's jab.
09:25It caught Sonny's square on the chin as he moved in.
09:28The perfect counterpunch.
09:29It was such a fast blow that most people watching live didn't see it.
09:32Ali immediately taunted Liston,
09:34telling him to get up for some more punishment.
09:36At that moment, ringside photographer,
09:38Neil Lafer,
09:39captured what soon became the most iconic photo in sports history.
09:42Which of these famous photos makes your jaw drop?
09:56Let us know in the comments below.
09:57Let us know in the comments below.
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