The Not-Quite-Legendary in New York Sports History: Charles Oakley
April 15th, 2010 1:34 PM
We all know about the great athletes in New York sports history – Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Namath, Mark Messier, Walt Frazier – and even the busts – Ed Whitson, Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Stephon Marbury, Scott Gomez. But what about the slightly-to-highly-above-average athlete? The kind-of-great but not all-timer? They may not have been Hall-of-Famers, but they were All-Stars, fan favorites, cogs on a championship team or maybe even just pretty darn good. They’re the little brother that didn’t hog all the attention. But they’re certainly worth talking about and remembering. So when do they get their due? Well, now they will. Here is a series of the not-quite-legendary in New York sports history.
Some say Charles Oakley is the toughest man alive. Some say he was one of the best rebounders and fiercest defenders of his time. Some say he looks like Darryl from The Office. And they would all be right. Oakley played for the Knicks for 10 years, and he epitomized the brawling, blue-collar defensive style of the team of …