Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady may have just won his seventh Super Bowl and fifth Super Bowl MVP, but is he the greatest winner of all time when it comes to team sports?
In this era of short-sightedness and ignorance when it comes to history, many believe that he is. Sure, he’s the GOAT when it comes to winning in the NFL, but in the realm of team sports there are others whom Brady is still looking up at.
One player in particular that comes to mind is former New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, who won 10 World Series championships as a player and three more as a coach. Berra played from 1946-1963 and won three American League MVP awards but never won the MVP of the Series, which was established in 1955.
Another player whom Brady lags behind is Joe DiMaggio, who won nine World Series titles with the Yankees. Brady is also looking up at many of the great Yankees, Boston Celtics and Montreal Canadiens players of the 1950s and ’60s, many of whom own more than seven titles.
Former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi believes former Celtics center Bill Russell is the greatest winning player in the history of team sports. Russell led the Celts to 11 NBA championships, a mark equaled only by the great Henri Richard, who won 11 Stanley Cups with the Canadiens.
“I still say Russell is the pinnacle, but Tom’s right there,” Accorsi recently told the Boston Globe. “We react to every little thing today in the sports world, but what just happened with Tom and the Bucs will stand the test of history. This is not going to go away. When I came into the NFL 50 years ago, if you told me some quarterback was going to win seven Super Bowls, I would have said that was not possible.
“I do think Tom belongs in the conversation. He’s taught the Bucs how to win, and that’s the most underrated aspect of sports. It’s something you can’t define. Brady walked into their room and brought instant respect. Then you have to prove yourself, and he did it every day. It’s authentic. He’s going to go down in history. But in this argument, I still say it’s Russell.”
Accorsi has an inside advantage. Brady to him was an adversary, one who his former Giants defeated both times they faced him in the Super Bowl.
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