The Story Behind The WORST Greatest Athlete List Of All-Time
Summary
Host Jeff Perelman recounts the chaotic 1999 Sports Illustrated project ranking the top 50 athletes of the century for every US state. He details the grueling research process, absurd inclusions like 0-4 quarterback Randy Hedberg, and the humorous story of placing obscure shortstop Walter Teapot Frye on North Carolina’s list. Perelman explains how this massive effort was ultimately overshadowed by the magazine’s controversial John Rocker cover story, leaving the athlete rankings largely forgotten.
Topics discussed
Mint Mobile ad with Ryan Reynolds
Intro: Press Box Chronicles and host Jeff Perelman
The assignment: SI's 50 greatest athletes per state
Exhaustion from the 1999 baseball season
The daunting scope of the project
Gathering data and defining 'where from'
Struggles with Delaware and North Dakota lists
The Randy Hedberg discovery and errors
Public backlash and media criticism
Discovering Walter Teapot Frye via LexisNexis
Adding Frye to the North Carolina list
Newspaper reaction and Hall of Fame hopes
The chaos of compiling the final lists
PR expectations vs. reality
The John Rocker story overshadowing the project
Outro and social media links
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