Speech↕ | Speaker↕ | Year↕ | Sport↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
'Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth' | Lou Gehrig | 1939 | Baseball (MLB) | Farewell speech at Yankee Stadium after ALS diagnosis, 'Today I consider myself the luckiest man...', didn't mention the disease |
'Do You Believe in Miracles? YES!' | Al Michaels (broadcaster) | 1980 | Ice Hockey (Olympics) | Call of USA defeating USSR in Miracle on Ice, Lake Placid, amateur college kids beat Soviet juggernaut, Cold War triumph |
Herb Brooks' Pregame Speech | Herb Brooks (coach) | 1980 | Ice Hockey (Olympics) | 'Great moments are born from great opportunity', delivered before Miracle on Ice game, Kurt Russell recreated it in film |
Jim Valvano's ESPY Speech | Jimmy Valvano | 1993 | Basketball (NCAA) | 'Don't give up, don't ever give up', dying of cancer, founded V Foundation, most emotional awards speech in sports history |
'Win One for the Gipper' | Knute Rockne (coach) | 1928 | American Football (NCAA) | Invoked dying player George Gipp to rally Notre Dame, Ronald Reagan played Gipp in film, most famous halftime speech ever |
'I Am the Greatest' | Muhammad Ali | 1964 | Boxing | Post-fight declaration after beating Sonny Liston, Ali redefined athletic self-promotion, 'I shook up the world!' |
Pat Riley's Guarantee | Pat Riley (coach) | 1987 | Basketball (NBA) | Guaranteed Lakers would repeat as NBA champions at championship rally, then delivered, coined 'three-peat' trademark |
Stuart Pearce's Penalty Redemption | Stuart Pearce | 1996 | Football (Soccer, Euros) | Not a speech but a primal scream — scored penalty vs. Spain after missing in 1990 World Cup, cathartic redemption moment |
Roy Keane's Saipan Rant | Roy Keane | 2002 | Football (Soccer, World Cup) | Explosive verbal attack on Ireland manager Mick McCarthy at World Cup camp, sent home, divided entire nation, legendary fury |
Derek Jeter's Final Game Speech | Derek Jeter | 2014 | Baseball (MLB) | Walk-off single in final Yankee Stadium at-bat, brief emotional address to fans, 'I have the greatest job in the world' |
Tim Tebow's 'Promise Speech' | Tim Tebow | 2008 | American Football (NCAA) | Tearful post-loss promise that no team would play harder than Florida, Gators won national championship that year |
Kevin Durant's MVP Speech | Kevin Durant | 2014 | Basketball (NBA) | 'You the real MVP' — emotional tribute to his mother during NBA MVP acceptance, went viral, became iconic meme |
Bill Shankly on Football | Bill Shankly (manager) | 1981 | Football (Soccer) | 'Some people think football is a matter of life and death... it's much more important than that', Liverpool legend |
Kobe Bryant's Final Game Address | Kobe Bryant | 2016 | Basketball (NBA) | Scored 60 points in farewell game, 'Mamba out' mic drop, dropped the towel and walked off, posthumously more poignant |
Nelson Mandela's Rugby World Cup Presentation | Nelson Mandela | 1995 | Rugby (World Cup) | Wearing Springbok jersey to present trophy united post-apartheid South Africa, 'Invictus' movie, sport as reconciliation |
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