THE MAG.COM PRESENTS:
ALL WORLD POWER RANKINGS

Getty Images
Boys, boys, boys...
WHEN IT COMES TO SPORTING FALLS FROM GRACE, WE'RE TUMBLING WITH THE SUMMER OF '98 GENTS
[Ed's note: Not sure what All-World Power Rankings is? Please click here.]
Today in 1985, Pete Rose became the all-time Hit King; within years, he was at the center of one of baseball's biggest maelstroms ever (it hasn't completely abated, to this day). It is pretty cool that he's BFF with A-Rod, though. Rose's fall from grace was drastic; it happens often in sports. Let's take a look at some others. Two notes: (1) we're not ranking Rose and (2) we do understand some of these guys had addictive personalities. Bonus: in broader pop culture, is there a bigger one than this?
| TOP 5 | |||
| RANK (YESTERDAY) | WHAT | WHY | |
![]() |
1 (14) | THE BOYS OF SUMMER '98 | Some commentators called 1998 "the greatest season ever played." The sport apparently recovered from the strike of '94 with a tremendously captivating HR chase between McGwire and Sosa. Eight years later, they stood—in somewhat less captivating form—in front of Congress. Sad for all of us, really. |
![]() |
2 (410) | O.J. SIMPSON | Probably should be No. 1. Arguably the best Heisman winner ever, a great pro, and then, well, yea. |
![]() |
3 (21) | SHOELESS JOE JACKSON | Our boss claims he got a raw deal (he did spend 30 years proclaiming his innocence), but still: a career .356 hitter can't get into the HOF because of his association with one of baseball's biggest scandals. That's a fall. |
![]() |
4 (127) | DWIGHT GOODEN | Depressingly, this list has become baseball heavy. Gooden: Dr. K. A four-time All-Star. '84 ROY, won the '86 Series. As recently as '96, he threw a no-hitter! As recently as '06, he was in jail. |
![]() |
5 (899) | LAWRENCE PHILLIPS | We were considering Rae Carruth in this spot, but here's why we went Phillips: his career at Nebraska was a much better Big 12 performance than Carruth at Colorado. In August 2005, he reportedly drove his car into three teenagers. |
| HONORABLE MENTION | |||
| RANK (YESTERDAY) | WHAT | WHY | |
![]() |
18 (144) | MIKE TYSON | Should probably be higher; in 1986 some people thought Tyson would surpass Ali in terms of perception eventually. Today, he's basically a joke. It should be noted he's still terrifying, though. That's a plus for him! |
![]() |
28 (701) | ART SCHLICHTER | A four-year starter at Ohio State (he finished Top 10 in Heisman voting three times), Schlichter's pro career was a markedly different story: he had a large gambling problem (by some estimates, he blew his signing bonus by the middle of his rookie year) and has admitted to over 20 felonies. |
| RISING AND FALLING | ||
| MOVEMENT | WHAT | |
![]() |
| BARRY BONDS (Could be higher—he's linked to the '98 guys—but really, can you 'fall' if no one ever really liked you that much?) |
![]() |
| JOSH HAMILTON (He's a rise to grace.) |
Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine



- Reilly: Rocco didn't beat Tiger, but you'd think he did
- Simmons: It's hard to say goodbye to David Ortiz
- Blowing $66,000 on a College World Series game ... yeah, that qualifies as a meltdown.
- Racing needs to find a way to let drivers attempt to win both Indy and in Charlotte on the same day.
- The Gamer: Mike Swick and Rampage Jackson are avid gamers
- Bill Curry brings Georgia State football to life.
- VIDEO: Kobe Bryant's two loves
- VIDEO: Dana White's life on the edge
- VIDEO: Superman Dwight -- stylin' and profilin'
- VIDEO: Ricky Rubio, on the verge of superstardom
editor.espnmag@gmail.com
Billing or subscription issues? Call 888-267-3684.
Go here for change of address.











