These Are the All-Time Greatest Athlete’s Born in Jersey

The recent death of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew has created discussions about the best athletes our state has ever produced.

For those who aren't fans of the NHL, Johnny Gaudreau grew up in Salem, NJ, and graduated from Gloucester Catholic in 2011.

He was a Seven-time all-star, and most recently was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the time of his death.  He and his brother Matthew were recently tragically killed while riding a bicycle by an alleged drunk driver.

The Best to Ever Get to the NHL?

I was listening to Harry Hurley's show and a discussion he had with Atlantic City Councilman and devout hockey fan George Tibbitt about Johnny Gaudreau, and whether he is the greatest hockey player that our state has ever produced.

Believe it or not, it wasn't until 1984 that a New Jersey-born player made it to the NHL.  That was Brian Lawton.

Then it took another 8 years before Jim Dowd of Brick broke through and became the first New Jersey-born player to have his name engraved in the Stanley Cup.

That was 1995 for the New Jersey Devils, the first New Jersey team to win a championship in a major league sport.

James Van Riemsdyk and Bobby Ryan along with James Gaudreau probably round out the top 3 Jersey-born NHL players of all time.

The discussion about Gaudreau and hockey players, made me think about other great athletes who were born in New Jersey.

I attempted to make a list and rank each athlete, but I found that to be an impossible task.

So here I present a list of the top 25 athletes born in Jersey, but I'll leave it to you to rank them.