You can read the entire article on their web site, but here is the complete list:

1. John Wooden, college basketball
2. Vince Lombardi, NFL
3. Bear Bryant, college football
4. Phil Jackson, NBA
5. Don Shula, NFL
6. Red Auerbach, NBA
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL
8. Dean Smith, college basketball
9. Casey Stengel, MLB
10. Knute Rockne, college football
11. Pat Summitt, women’s college basketball
12. Paul Brown, NFL
13. Joe Paterno, college football
14. George Halas, NFL
15. Chuck Noll, NFL
16. Bob Knight, college basketball
17. Joe Gibbs, NFL
18. Tom Landry, NFL
19. Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball
20. Bill Belichick, NFL
21. Adolph Rupp, college basketball
22. Joe McCarthy, MLB
23. Eddie Robinson, college football
24. Bobby Bowden, college football
25. John McGraw, MLB
26. Bill Walsh, NFL
27. Woody Hayes, college football
28. Connie Mack, MLB
29. Bud Wilkinson, college football
30. Pat Riley, NBA
31. Pete Newell, college basketball
32. Joe Torre, MLB
33. Bill Parcells, NFL
34. Tom Osborne, college football
35. Walter Alston, MLB
36. Bo Schembechler, college football
37. Toe Blake, NHL
38. Sparky Anderson, MLB
39. Al Arbour, NHL
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg, college football
41. Tony La Russa, MLB
42. Geno Auriemma, women’s college basketball
43. Dick Irvin, NHL
44. Ara Parseghian, college football
45. Chuck Daly, NBA
46. Bobby Cox, MLB
47. Hank Iba, college basketball
48. Tommy Lasorda, MLB
49. Gregg Popovich, NBA
50. Herb Brooks, NHL

I figured that, for the most part, I would let the list speak for itself and just ask the rest of the bench to share your thoughts. The one thing that strikes me about the list, though, is how much more obvious the greatest coaches of all-time are for basketball and football than they are for baseball.

I’m pretty certain no one will argue that John Wooden is the greatest college basketball coach of all-time, or that the #1 spot in pro basketball comes down to either Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach. I also think that most people would pick Vince Lombardi for pro football, although I’m not entirely certain that Bear Bryant would be the consensus choice for college football. That is, I’m pretty sure one regular contributor here will disagree.

However, my point is that I’m a little surprised that Casey Stengel (#9) tops the baseball list over Joe McCarthy, who is all the way down at #22. But, more interesting is the fact that there are seven pro football coaches in the top 20 and only one baseball manager. My first inclination would be to think this is because football coaches are considered much more important to the success of their teams than are baseball managers, but could it possibly be that success with the New York Yankees, arguably the most dominating sports franchise of all-time, is discounted a little?

What are your thoughts on the list? We’d love to hear what you have to say.

Name? Casey. Casey from Casey’s Clipboard.

Address? Uh…ccww.wordpress.com. Everyone knows it.

About the crime…Huh?

Imminent danger? Uh, not really any imminent danger, but there is a crime happening right before our very eyes, and we don’t even know it.

Who? Well, it’s hard to say. Someone’s trying to remove the AFL from the record books. The AFL. The American Football League!

The AFL was Lamar Hunt’s idea and began play in 1960.

The league consisted of two divisions. The Houston Oilers, New York Titans, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots made up the East division while the Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos played in the West.

Yeah – two whole divisions. They had games and all with referees, ticket takers, announcers and everything. Did you know the AFL was the first football league to actually use a score clock? Yeah! Sweet huh? Before the AFL referee’s kept time and score in their pocket. Can you imagine?

The AFL was the first to use a moving sideline camera.

Moving sideline camera? It’s that camera on a truck that moves up and down the sideline following the action. It’s so common nowadays that we take it for granted.

Oh yeah and ya know all that talk that Buffalo has never won a sports chan’ship? That’s bunk. They won the AFL title. Twice!!! Yeah – Jack Kemp, Billy Shaw, and Cookie Gilchrist. Dudes had mad game.

They almost played in the first Super Bowl. Well actually it wasn’t called the Super Bowl when they first played it. Here let me explain.

Teams in the AFL played a fourteen-game schedule – a balanced schedule with each team playing all others in the league twice during the season.

While the Titans led the league that inaugural season in team offense, the Oilers topped the Chargers 24-16 for the league chan’ship.

The Oilers repeated as champions the following year once again defeating the Chargers who now hailed from San Diego.
In ’62 the Texans ended the Oilers reign with a 20-17 victory.

For the ’63 season the Titans changed their name to the Jets, the Texans moved to Kansas City and became known as the Chiefs, and the Chargers won their first title beating the Patriots 51-10.

Ralph Wilson’s Buffalo Bills won the next two AFL Titles beating the Chargers both years. In ’64, 20-7, and in ’65 23-0. The Bills won a title!!!!! Isn’t that great?

What? Prescriptions? No, I’m not taking any prescriptions.

No, I’m not currently under the direct care of a physician. Yes, I know this is 9-1-1.

There’s more.

Even though the AFL received scant media coverage, the league presented a challenge to the rough and tumble NFL. The owners of the NFL wishing to dismiss any possibility that the AFL could play at the same level as the established league agreed to a game between leagues. Thus the AFL-NFL World Championship game was born.

The Chiefs beat the Bills to qualify for that first title game against Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. The following year the Raiders topped the Oilers.

It wasn’t until 1968 that the AFL began to earn respect. It was that year that ‘Broadway’ Joe Namath (long before his sideline escapades with Suzy Kolber) led the upstart Jets to victory over the Colts and the NFL. One year later the Chiefs reinforced the AFL’s prominence with a victory over the Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

After the ’69 season the NFL and AFL merged. Having added the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals the AFL consisted of ten teams. To balance out the two conferences the Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns agreed to play in the AFC. Thus the NFL the way we know it was born.

The AFL has ceased to exist, but its effect is still seen today. Football greats such as Lance Alworth, Len Dawson, Don Maynard, Daryl Lamonica, Floyd Little, and the aforementioned Namath began their careers in the AFL. The league revolutionized the game. Owners of AFL teams made the forward pass a prominent part of the game. Something we enjoy now.

The Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints were awarded franchises in the NFL to avoid their joining the upstart AFL.

Despite all its contributions the AFL seems like barely a blip on the screen of sports’ history. Only Kemp is noted as an AFL player in the NFL Hall of Fame while others played in the league. But this league challenged the establishment and helped to create what we have today.

How should you report this crime? I don’t know. Revisionism? Someone is trying to revise sports history. Don’t let ‘em do it. Don’t let them forget the AFL!