Who was the biggest sports star in the 80s?

[MorePower]

Tyson and Bo

 

[mastermind]

Yeah but Mike surpassed him in the 80’s, which was the beginning of his decline, not “fall off” like I said earlier. A decline isn’t falling off. Mike’s star what just shone brighter.

Magic won MVP in 1990

I voted Tyson

 

[DlAMONDZ]

Maradona should be on the list. It’s a toss up between him & Tyson

If these numbers are legit, it's not even close to a tossup

From a quick google search. The Chicago Tribune says:

The 1986 World Cup attracted 2.4 million live spectators to 52 matches, an average of 46,000 per match. It also attracted an estimated 13.5 billion TV viewers, with the final seen in 166 countries. The World Cup Championship drew 652 million viewers respectively

 

[Da_Eggman]

Hogan

 

[MidwestD]

Rickey Henderson

 

[Born2BKing]

This is a really good thread. Props to OP.

 

[patrickbateman]

Easily Diego Maradona. On a global level there was no bigger sports star in the 80s. Mike Tyson probably second, but as mentioned, he became famous in the latter part of the decade.

 

[Kunty McPhuck]

Maradona Tyson and Ben Johnson.

 

[Big Boss]

Magic was a superstar the whole decade while Tyson was the 2nd half of the decade

 

[invincible1914]

This poll is crazy without Wayne Gretzky.

 

[BIGDENNIS10UK]

Easily Diego Maradona. On a global level there was no bigger sports star in the 80s. Mike Tyson probably second, but as mentioned, he became famous in the latter part of the decade.

Is Diego Maradona really not that well known in the US?

He’s obviously so famous in the rest of the world, only Mike Tyson could come close.

 

[BXKingPin82]

"Spirit of the street
Walks in the rain
From Brownsville to Spofford the boxing king!!"

Probably Magic/Bird tho.

 

[King Poetic]

Magic

it was all about the Lakers/Celtics rivalry

 

[LiveFromLondon]

If talking worldwide then the most biggest sports star at any given moment is always the best footballer though Tyson seemed larger than life even for someone like myself born in 92.

 

[GOATpernick]

Not gonna argue it was Gretzky because hockey just has never been popular enough but look at what this dude did between 1980 and 1989:

More than double the points of the 5th best guy