George Greenough ranked 19th greatest surfer of all time

[Jerry]

In the August issue of Surfer Magazine ( The 50th anniversary edition, no less ) the cover story is," The 50 Greatest Surfers Of All Time." George Greenough came in at number 19. Complete with a picture of man and spoon at Rincon. And a nice two paragraph tribute by John Witzig. Bodyboarder/bodysurfer Mike Stewart was number 41. Not too surprisingly, that Slater fellow was number 1.

[Jerry]

I only have 260 posts since 2003 What do I know Kill the messenger

[SFKneelo]

Splitting hairs

Yes, these 'rankings' are subjective

#19 is such a ranking is definitely a bow to the innovator

There are heaps of kneelos that have contributed to the overall spirit of riding waves

I like to think the Legends section will capture those contributions without the 'ranking' part

[kidrock]

"subjective" is right. 15 years ago, the number one surfer probably would've been Tom Curren. Before that, probably a tossup between Shawn Tomson and Mark Richards. A few years before that, Gerry Lopez.

The mags are straight up goofy and worship the most current heros. LAME.

Yeah, there could be an argument for GG being rated higher. He is, arguably, one of the most INFLUENTIAL surfers of any generation. But, being a kneerider, he will only garner a certain amount of credit in a standup world. Can you imagine the HOWL if HeroWorshipMag.com had rated him #1? Their sales would've dropped 50% at least. Those goobers know where their bread is buttered.

FWIW, thanks for being the messenger, Jerry.

[SFKneelo]

+1 on KR, Jerry

Two completely separate thoughts

[analbirth]

We are but only cripples, i'm astounded he got a mention, there must be some old blokes still around at the mag. I feel we are just above goat boats in the their pecking order. Not that it bothers me, too many dickhead stand up surfers with humungous ego's to let em get to me.

[RMcKnee]

There's an interesting statement in this about how the definition of a surfer has changed over time. A good few years back an old mate said to me that when we were kids we rode waves, while nowadays, kids ride boards. For Greenough, (and for that matter, Lopez too, I suspect), the act of riding waves comes first; the type of craft used to do it is secondary.

In terms of influence, both Greenough and Slater have been hugely important, though for completely different reasons. GG's design achievements have been fundamental to modern surfing, while Slater's athletic achievements represent a personal pinnacle standing as an inspiration to people of a competitive bent. One influences as a driving force, while the other influences more as a leading light. I haven't read the Surfer article yet, but I'd be fascinated to know where some of the other surfing greats are ranked; eg, Blake, Simmons, Simon Anderson, Duke Kahanamoku, Laird Hamilton, Steve Lis, Bob Pike, Barry Kanaiaupuni, Richard Brewer, Ben Aipa, etc etc etc, to name but a paltry few.

In the final analysis I reckon the thing that really counts is what is left behind. By this definition, the 50 greatest surfers would be a very different list from that published in a pop culture magazine, and would probably include a whole lot of pretty obscure names. At this stage of the game, Warbrick, Raymond, O'Neil and Merchant are names that probably should be on the list but probably aren't. This is not to suggest that all of them would be unfamiliar to the discerning frequenter of this site, but one thing for sure; Uncle Fester wouldn't make a footboarders list.

As a final observation, it's a great thing that Greenough made the list at all, considering some of the others who probably were omitted. He's a lot hipper than one might expect these days, possibly due to his involvement with mat surfing and people like Rasta and Beau Young. Not bad for a guy who's only worn shoes a couple of times in his life.

[Mike Fernandez]

Well said R. I am also interested in where some others scored, like the Duke, Lis, Laird.
I would have put Laird way above Slater. Slater is a great competitor, and rides smallish waves well I would say, but for an overall Waterman/Surfer type, Laird has it hands down, from HUGE waves, to killer waves like Teahupoo, to innovations like the hydrofoil surfboard, towing in, and just being a general groundbreaker.
Being that Greenough, and Stewart made it, at least the survey creators, or general public kept an open mind, and didn't just include standups.
I'm not sure what the future holds for Kneelo's in Surfer mag though. While a couple editors liked my multimedia vid on Baden a lot they said, they were going to pass on it because they were focused on standups.

[RMcKnee]

I'm not sure what the future holds for Kneelo's in Surfer mag though. While a couple editors liked my multimedia vid on Baden a lot they said, they were going to pass on it because they were focused on standups.

Yeah Mike, they may have kept their minds open a little, but the above says it all. Perhaps the mag should be retitled "Stand-up Surfer Magazine".

[SFKneelo]

Steeno's 'Footboarder' still busts me up

[kidrock]

McKnee, as usual, makes some excellent points. Without seeing the article, some of the surfers McKnee rattles off should be listed in the article...no argument.

Simon Anderson. Let's face it, whatever you are currently riding (with the exception of a Bonzer or single-fin) is heavily influenced by Simon's Thruster of 1981. Even the original Fish has been refined by some of these influences. In terms of history, what he did was every bit as influential as what Simmons did in the 40's...it changed surfing and it's equipment completely. Then, just to solidify everything, he goes out and wins a world championship on his equipment. How many of you remember what he did at the huge Bells contest?

Plain and simple: any judgment about "The Greatest Surfer Ever" should include such criteria as their contribution to the sport, their experimentation with design, and their ability in A WIDE RANGE OF SURF. Mike F. hit it on the head; if these were the criterion, Laird would win hands-down.

At least the Hero-Worshipping Press recognized a lowly kneeboarder and sponger.

[Jerry]

Who voted ? 150 respected surfers, journalists, photographers, filmmakers etc. Everyone from Tom Carroll to Terry Fitzgerald, Peter Mel, Gerry Lopez, Derek Hynd etc,etc. Who was #2 ? Duke Kahanamoku. Who was #50 ? Rabbit Kekai. What do I care ? I don't But I must admit seeing a nice picture of a kneelo accompanied by some respectful prose in a mainstream surf publication warmed the heart of this jaded old coot

[Man O' War]

1 kelly slater....................................26 joel parkinson
2 duke kahanamoku.........................27 dane kealoha
3 tom curren....................................28 greg noll
4 gerry lopez...................................29 larry bertlemann
5 mark richards...............................30 eddie aikau
6 mark occhilupo.............................31 david nuuhiwa
7 tom carroll....................................32 mick fanning
8 shaun tomson................................33 jeff hakman
9 andy irons.....................................34 bob simmons
10 nat young....................................35 joel tudor
11 laird hamilton..............................36 buttons kaluhiokalani
12 phil edwards...............................37 rell sunn
13 rabbit bartholomew......................38 matt archbold
14 miki dora....................................39 barry kanaiaupuni
15 martin potter...............................40 sunny garcia
16 michael peterson.........................41 mike stewart
17 wayne lynch...............................42 george downing
18 simon anderson..........................43 cheyne horan
19 george greenough......................44 christian fletcher
20 tom blake..................................45 pat curren
21 rob machado..............................46 michael ho
22 lisa anderson..............................47 jock sutherland
23 bruce irons................................48 layne beachley
24 shane dorian..............................49 taj burrow
25 dane reynolds............................50 rabbit kekai

Boys, the main thing is you beat out the spongers.

[kneemor]

Greenough was on the list and is deserved of the honor.

Slater deserves the honor also as he has done more for surfing more in his 20+ years than half of the people on the list.

Just because he competes and rides standing up doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. Respect all types of craft and their riders.

I shape boards, kneelo, stand up surf, Sup, and body board and appreciate all that have contributed to the stoke of surfing.

[capesurf]

At least he was recognized for the innovator he was (is)