Slater is the man.. but no way the Best Athlete ever....
Jim Thorpe has it locked up!
Thorpe was a half Pottawatomie Indian, half white athlete who excelled in multiple sports, including track and field, football, and baseball. In the 1912 Olympic Games Thorpe won the gold medal in the pentathlon and the decathlon. He later played pro baseball and football and he became the president of the American Professional Football Association, which evolved into the NFL.
The guy couldn't even start his pro football career until the age of 27 - cause there was no such thing. He continued to play well into his 40's! It's also been said he could kick a football the length of the field. He kicked a 95-yard punt in the 1919 championship game the won it for his team.
