Originally Posted By: klydon1
 Originally Posted By: Blibbleblabble
Would Tiger Woods be considered 20th century?
That's what I was thinking. He had that great Master's Tournament in the 90s, but I believe most of his greatness stemmed from 2001 and after.


I think he did enough and had enough impact from '96 to '99 to be considered 20th century. He'll probably be the sports star of both the 20th and 21st century, but we and he got a long ways to go!!

If Wikipedia is right, these are his achievements from '96 to the end of '99:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods#1996-98:_Early_years_and_first_major_win

 Quote:
1996-98: Early years and first major win
With the announcement, "Hello World," Tiger Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and signed endorsement deals worth $40 million from Nike and $20 million from Titleist.[34][35] He played his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open, tying for 60th place, but went on to win two events in the next three months to qualify for the Tour Championship. For his efforts, Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Rookie of the Year.[4] He began his tradition of wearing a red shirt during the final round of tournaments, a link to his college days at Stanford and a color he believes symbolizes aggression and assertiveness.[36][37]

The following April, Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes, becoming the youngest Masters winner and the first winner of African or Asian descent.[38] He set a total of 20 Masters records and tied 6 others. He won another three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings, the fastest ever ascent to world No. 1.[39] He was named PGA Player of the Year, the first golfer to win the award the year following his rookie season.

While expectations for Woods were high, Woods' form faded in the second half of 1997, and in 1998 he only won one PGA Tour event. Woods answered critics of his "slump" and what seemed to be wavering form by maintaining he was undergoing extensive swing changes with his coach, Butch Harmon, and was hoping to do better in the future.[40]


1999-2002: Domination and the Tiger Slam
In June 1999, Woods won the Memorial Tournament, a victory that marked the beginning of one of the greatest sustained periods of dominance in the history of men's golf. He completed his 1999 campaign by winning his last four starts, including the PGA Championship, and finished the season with eight wins — a feat not achieved in the past 25 years. He was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.



He may not have had the Tiger Slam on his resume yet, but he was already a "star" after the legendary '97 Masters, started the change of the demographics of golf players and fans, and had endorsement deals. "Star" in my book.

 Quote:
Anyway, your picks are interesting. I too picked Henry Fonda and immediately doubted the pick. Thanks for selecting him. Maybe I'm not off base on that pick.


Kudos for the Fonda vote. You couldn't be more on base!

It's a crime he isn't brought up enough when talking about the greatest actor.