You guys have been great.
The comments and info you have contributed to Joe’s blog here at LaxLessons.com since we launched this site in mid-March have been nothing short of amazing. In fact, since we started, there have been nearly 8,000 comments on this blog.
So we’d like to show our appreciation.
We will be giving away a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods to one of you who posts their response on this thread to this question:
“Name the Top 5 lax players of all time and why?”
The winner will then be selected and receive the $100 gift certificate.
Good luck and be sure to exercise your right to vote by casting your ballot for the No. 1 laxer of all time in our poll on the side panel of the page.
Posted In: Dick's Sporting Goods, You make the call
My top 5 Laxers of all time:
1. Gary Gait- A move was made illegal because of him, and all hes contributed to the sport.
2. Mikey Powell- Just an awesome athelete, and dominate force on any offense.
3. Jim Brown- First real black laxer. Gotta give it up to him. Three different hall of fames.
4. Kyle Harrison- Amazing lacrosse player and role model.
5. Paul Rabil- May not have solidified his postion yet, but the kid does work, and is quickly approaching legend status.
1. Gary Gait- Really helped to advance the game and has been revolutionary in helping the game.
2. Roy Colsey-True classic midfielder who plays with extreme heart and is a feared player for opponents.
3. Paul Marachek-Nobody has better stick skills. His ability to read a play and make the correct decision almost every time is unbelievable.
4. Casey Powell-Stick skills are superb. Can create from anywhere on the field and has helped to modernize the game.
5. Paul Rabil- Has brought the game to a new level. He has one of the best on the run shots ever and he is a physical force that dominates.
1.)Gary Gait-took lacrosse to a whole new level. gave it a name and ever since has been known as the greatest player of all time.
2. Mikey Powell-4 time first team all american two time player of the year. most point as syracuse.
3. Casey Powell- right behind mikey in talent. gave lacrosse a name and has been one of the most dominant players in the world since college.
4. Dave Petramala- most dominant shut down take away defensemen ever in the game. does anyone remember the check he had on gary gait with 15 seconds to go in the 1989 championship game to get the ball back for hopkins and to give them a chance to win. you have to put a defensemen in and it has to be Petro.
5. Paul Rabil- hands down the best shooter on the run lefty and righty. The man can not be stopped. since day 1 when he got to the pros he averages 2to 3 goals a game. Hes the face of lacrosse now and no ones getting in his way
there are to many good people in lacrosse history but the top 5 is listed as it is and i wouldnt change my mind on any one of these guys
1) Jim Brown – Best athlete to ever play lacrosse – dominated.
2) Jimmy Lewis – 3X first team AA (could not play as freshman in those days) – led Navy to 3 NCAA titles and including an undefeated season and 22 game win streak
3) Eamon McEneaney – 3X first team AA (Ivies could not play as freshman), first great player of the plastic stick era ( I know – Frank Urso was awesome ) – made everyone on his team a better player – probably the best assist guy ever – was USILA player of the year as Soph in 1975 with 31g, 65a – won 2 NCAA titles, MVP of 1977 National Championship game – regrettably passed on September 11, 2001 in the WTC disaster.
4) Dave Petramala- most dominant defensemen ever in the game.
5) Gary Gait – huge impact on the game – innovative, dominant, probably best know player ever.
1. Gary Gait (Syracuse)
2. Dave Petramala (Johns Hopkins)
3. Casey Powell (Syracuse)
4. Paul Maracheck (Syracuse)
5. Eamon McEneaney (Cornell)
you can’t talk about the top 5 lacrosse players w.o mentioning mikey powell the kid is a lacrosse guru… I agree with “John” ^ Rabil is up and coming mikey was the dawn for the new age of LAX watch a highlight of Mikey and Rabil I’m not bashing Rabil because he is amazing and possibly the best lacrosse player on the field right now but he is not top 5 yet.
Gary Gait (Cuse)
Dave Petramala(Hop)
Jim Brown(Cuse)
Jesse Hubbard(Princeton)
John Grant jr (Delaware)
That’s easy:
Midfield – Frank Urso – no explanation needed, I hope!
– Jim Brown – ditto…NO ONE was in his league when he played for ‘Cuse…
Attack – Jimmy Lewis – literally reinvented the way the position is played – and can’t find video of him today to save my butt!
– Gary Gait – ditto – for the modern era…
Defense: Hank Kaestner – always shut EVERYONE down…except Mr. Lewis!
Dave Piteramala – modern D to a T – another genre busting player…
My thoughts only – f.w.i.w.
Richard Collins
1. Gary Gait
2. Paul Gait
3. Dave Petramala
4. Mark Millon
5. Tillman Johnson
1. Gary Gait – still unbelievable ability
2. Casey Powell – did whatever he wanted
3. Tom Marecheck – stick skills. enough said.
4. Jeff Long – a man among boys most of the time
5. Scott Bacigalupo- entertainer made a fan of many.
1. Mark Millon, a bit biased because I went to H.S. with him but he was insane even back then (left and right hand) – had Billy Daye in goal as well in that class, the team was insane.
2. Gary Gait
3. Jim Brown
4. Mikey Powell
5. Dave Petramala
1- gary gait – syracuse 4 time aa
2- paul gait – syracuse 4 time aa
3- del dressle (sp?) hopkins 4 time 1st team aa
4- frank urso – maryland 4 time 1st team aa
5- mike powell – syracuse 4 time 1st aa
You can’t go against the 4 time 1st team aa’s…..
Gary and Paul were 3-time first teamers, not 4.
The 4-timers were Doug Turnbull, Everett Smith, Frank Urso, Del Dressel, Jason Coffman, David Kelly and Mikey Powell.
1. Roy Colsey
2. Roy Colsey
3. Roy Colsey
4. Roy Colsey
5. Roy Colsey
‘nough said
1. Jim Lewis (USNA) – Quick,smart and saw the whole field.
2. Jim Brown (Syracuse)- Big,fast and uncheckable.
3. Frank Urso (UMD) – He made it look easy.
4. Gary Gait (Syracuse) – Made it look as if he played field lacrosse all his life.
5. Petro ( Some college in Maryland) – Just an off the charts defender.
1. Gaits (Paul or Gary, makes no difference). Easily most dominant individual players of this or any other era.
2. Tim Goldstein. Averaged nearly 6 points per game over 1987-88. Hard-pressed to find anyone more dominant statistically. Best feeder maybe ever,
3. Tim Nelson. Highest scoring player in Yorktown history and set the standard at SU during the early to mid 80s. Made everyone around him better as the ultimate QB on man-up and from behind the net 6-v-6.
4. Scott Baciagalupo/Quint Kessenich. Both were the goods and more importantly, both had personality.
5. John Zulberti. Pure evil in the sense that he was maybe the best high school attackman New York ever saw. And he did it on a team known more for the system than the individual — West Genny. And then he dominated at SU.
From a purely high school standpoint, I’ll always be partial to Dom Fin. If you ever saw him play at Yorktown you’d know there wasn’t a more talented middie anywhere. As great as Colsey was, I think of him more for offense. Pure machine. Fin was a complete player and the best pure athlete I ever saw play. So elusive, so fast, such a great shot, a beast on GBs and deadly in the clutch. Dom was pretty great at SU too, but I think his legend was born and fostered at Yorktown.
Cuse – spot on Timmy G from Cornell – check out game stats in 87 final against Petro/Hop – (2G, 9A I think)
What Rfield Elite said …
Comment 13.
I’m getting a backpack with the 100 dollars BTW.
1. Gait Brothers
2. Powell Brothers
3. Ric Beardsley
4. Roy Colsey
5. Dave Petramala
1)Gary Gait-Took the game to a whole new level and has helped advertise the game alot
2)Casey Powell-Most people would say Mikey is better being more diverse but casey is a lax junke and always has been a dominate player
3)Jim Brown-An unstopable force and is in 3 different hall of fames
4)Dave Petramala-An amazing shut down and take away defensive player who in his time was feared by many players
5)Paul Rabil-The best shooter around left and right and hes not even in his prime yet and he will continue to make his way up the list
Jim Brown
Gary Gait
Roy Colsey
Casey Powell
Tim Soudan
1. Gary Gait
2. Casey Powell
3. Dave Petramala
4. Conor Gill
5. Doug Knight
1. Jim Brown- probably one of the best athletes in all of sports
2 Gary Gait- changed the game
3. Casey Powell- brought flair to the game
4. Roy Colsey- doesnt EVER get the credit for what he did in HS, college and pro, possibly the greatest midfielder ever if you combine all 3 levels.
5. Dave Petramala- was a beast on D
you have to start with the only 4x 1st team all americans
1. doug turnbaugh JHU attack
2. evertt smith St Johns attack
3. frank urso MD midfield
4. del dressel JHU midfield
5. mike powell Syracuse attack
6. and of course Gary and Jim Brown
1. Gary Gait – Revolutionized the sport with his Air Gait move and could be considered as a modern day father of lacrosse.Also inspired many great lacrosse players, i.e. the Powells who are some of the greatest of all time as well.
2. Mike Powell – The only 2X Teewaarton Winner, 4X Attackman of the Year, 2X Nation Champion, Cuse All-Time Leading Scorer. In my opinion, the best COLLEGE player of all time. Game breaking ability
3. John Grant Jr. – Before his knee injury he was an unbelievable box lax player, and had some amazing goals in the 2008 MLL Season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2yGXAoHuI
4. Casey Powell – An amazing all around player, can do it all. He has also established himself very well in box lacrosse.
5. Paul Rabil – He is dominating the MLL right now, even with the newly-added 4th longstick he is unstoppable. He was also a force in the college game.
A couple of quick notes, gang.
First, former RIT coach Gene Peluso was named head coach at Stevens Tech. Here’s more:
http://www.stevensducks.com/sports/mlacrosse/release.asp?release_id=4747
Also, it’s great to have one of the game’s all-time greats, Ric Beardsley, join us in a discussion about the game’s all-time greats. (See Comment No. 12.)
By the way, Ric was among a “Dream Team” of former Syracuse stars that included Roy Colsey, Rob Kavovit, the Powell brothers and Paul Carcaterra that played this past weekend in the 20th annual Lake Placid Summit Classic.
The team, called Burnt Orange advanced to the championship (of course), but lost to Rusty Red 12-10 in Division 1 of the masters competition. Colsey had four goals for Burnt Orange.
I’m told a fun time was had by all.
Here’s a link to an interview with Roy by InsideLacrosse.com from Lake Placid:
http://video.insidelacrosse.com/video/view/z17EP7BYLBiFbOKKu3nmeA/placid–roy-colsey
It’s amazing how many greats Yorktown has. Colsey is a legend – 4x Syracuse all american (3x first team), McLaughlin award (best college midfielder) in 1995 (a year after Yorktown great Dom Fin wins it!), 2 Syracuse national championships, 3 MLL championships (including a championship MVP), franchise records in goals and points for the Philadelphia Barrage, MLL records in 2-point goals, game winning goals, and among the top for total points as well. Domination at Yorktown, Syracuse, NLL and MLL.
There’s also this guy named Tim Nelson, he’s just the all-time NCAA leader for assists, 2nd all time in points (excluding the 5th year of Greer and Danowski), not only 3 time 1st team AA but National Attackman of the Year in all 3 years at Syracuse.
Any top-five list would have to include both Eamon McEneaney and Frank Urso, both of which I had the privilege of being on the field playing against back in the day. Plenty of greats, but nothing before or since on their planet except Gary Gait and the Mikey Powell, in my opinion.
1. gary gait- no explanation needed
2. dave pietramala- best defensmen ever. period.
3. brodie merril- one of the greatest overall players to ever play the game (even though hes canadian) defensive force as well as a major threat in transition and on the offensive end
4. mikey powell- cant even comprehend the things he does, plus he is the man
5. dave marr- have you ever seen him play in person…unreal
lemme just add one more
6. joe lombardi- for having the best lax blog ever…quint kessenich needs to take some lessons on ur outstanding coverage
sorry there are just so many so im just gonna shout out the most underrated player…rob kavovit- nasty attackman from yorktown and syracuse, best stick skills i have ever seen
Most have been covered I’ll throw out a name I have not seen yet, John Driscoll of Manhasset, UVA, and club lax fame…terrific athlete, underrated player, and a good man. RIP.
I’m his son I miss my dad so much and I can’t wait till lacrosse season and i play midfield just like him. A great man on and off the field. RIP JD32
John was not only the greatest player ever, he was also the greatest guy I’ve ever known. RIP JD32
[…] Name the Top 5 laxers of all-time and have a chance to win […]
1. Frank Urso
2. Gary Gait
3. Casey Powell
4. Dave Pietramala
5. Tom Marachek
Hey gang –
We will be announcing our winner on Monday, so you have three more days to weigh in with your responses.
By Position
1. Gary Gait- Att/ MF
2. Jim Brown- Att/ MF
3. Petro- D
4. Roy Colsey- MF
5. Sal Locasio- G
—
6. Brodie Merrill- LSM/D
7. Alex Smith- F/O
Apologies to Del Dressel, Frank Urso, Eamon Mac and Jimmy Lewis who all pre- date me.
Great topic that should have prompted even more responses. Perhaps in the coming weeks there could be Top 5 ‘s from Section 1, CT, and LI.
Vinny Sombrotto. Boom.
whoever put alex smith on their list should be ashamed of themselves.
1. Gary Gait
2. Dave Pietramala
3. Paul Gait
4. Pat McCabe
T-5. Casey Powell
T-5. John Grant Jr.
I can’t vote for guys before my time…unfortunately I never saw them play…all of these guys were successful on EVERY level and made huge contributions to multiple championship teams over the course of their careers…love Rabil’s game, he has tremendous ability and will eventually make the list, but has a ways to go…many great goalies including Greg Catrano, Sal Locascio and Brian Dougherty…Brodie Merrell is a beast at defense too…can we go top ten Joe?
Hey Roy –
Great to get your thoughts on this. I’d definitely like to hear your top 10.
It’s a privilege to see that two of the guys who would definitely be in my top 10 Roy and Ric B. both posted their thoughts on this topic. I’m very happy to say both these guys provided invaluable insights and information for the book about lax I’m working on that will be publishing next spring. More on that later.
The bottom line for me is like what Roy said. Not many people have seen them all. If there is an old timer out there who has seen someone like Jim Brown, I’d love to hear more about his game first-hand. But from everything I’ve heard he belongs there not only on his skill but the way he revolutionized the game.
An old man like me is glad to see some old school
1 – Jim Brown – legend has it when Manhasset played our HS – Sewanhaka that he took the first 4 faceoffs blowing by people and scoring 4 goals before their coach took him out to rest – 4-0 Manhasset within the first 4 minutes. Man amongst boys
2 – Eamon McEneaney – everything that oldneagle said and more – the greatest assist man in the history of the game – made everyone better on the field – most unselfish player on the field – could have put even greater numbers up but put his game in his back pocket to create for others – Anyone who was at the 1977 NCAA championship and witnessed his performance saw a classic for all time. And the best friend that someone could ever ask for – a true leader
3 – Gary Gait – because he’s Gary Gait
4 – Frank Urso – because anyone who was at the 76 championship game saw a classic and his performance almost broke Big Reds heart
5 – Roy Colsey – because he’s my kids coach!
1. Gary Gait
2. Mikey Powell
3. Jim Brown
4. Paul Rabil
5. Brody Merril- best LSM ever
same here
1. G. Gait
2. Mark Millon
3. Pietra
4. P. Gait
5. Quint, McCabe, or M. Powell here…
I’m sorry but I can’t put Jim Brown on this list, c’mon… I love “lax fan’s” vote to Tim Soudan – awesome!! Timmy was a great player…
Why so little love for Frank Urso? I was (and am) a Hop fan, and hated Urso when he was playing ’cause he was a Terrapin, but he was a tremendous player, possibly the best middie ever, and I wish I had half his talent when I played. (Yeah, I know, I shoulda just worked harder.)
And, as Tony Vazquez said, his 76 Finals against Cornell – well, I’m just glad I was there to see both him and Eamon on the same field, and I tell my son about his game-tying assist at the end of regulation.
1) Frank Urso…he could do more at a top level than anyone else. Anyone who doesn’t say he was the best never saw him play or played against him. He beat the entire Cornell team with 6 seconds left to win the 76 title.
2) Eanmon Mac….almost as good as Urso and won 77 title singlehandedly.
3) Jimmy Lewis…did it all before the Gait’s and Powell’s
4) Dave Pietramala…best defenseman who ever played the game. He made other teams play offense on one half of feld.
5) Gary Gait….best offensive player of all time.
***** Jim Brown may be as good as any of the above and I just missed seeing him play.
Gary Burns
John Driscoll
Jeff Cook
Casey Powel
Gary Gait