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A look back: Dec. 8, 1999

ESPN sports network has named Jim Thorpe the seventh greatest athlete of the 20th century.

The network has been counting down its top 50 athletes all year, and announced Thorpe’s placement on the list in seventh place for his professional baseball and football exploits and his gold medal performances in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics.

The ESPN list was compiled by 48 sports historians, journalists and broadcasters.

The athletes still eligible to be named No. 1 are NBA star Michael Jordan, boxer Muhammed Ali, baseball player Babe Ruth, hockey player Wayne Gretzky, NFL running back Jim Brown and track star Jesse Owens.