The 50 Greatest Athletes To Ever Walk The Planet

44. Mario Lemieux

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The 6-foot-4 Center was a treat to watch. Lemieux played the game with considerable pace and rhythm. He wasn’t a traditional hulking Center – but rather an innovator on the ice. Lemieux had ridiculously quick hands. This enabled him to routinely fake out defenders en route to the goal. He averaged 0.754 goals per game for his career — good for the second-highest rate of all-time. Lemieux would have put up even larger numbers had it not been for a myriad of health problems (which includes issues with his heart, back, and hip).