The SN Rushmore project selected four professional athletes from the 13 cities that have had at least four of the five leagues represented for at least 20 years: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and WNBA. While there were no hard and fast rules regarding the athletes chosen, our panel of experts considered individual resumes, team success, and legacy within each city’s sports landscape. There could be multiple players from the same franchise, and not every franchise had to be represented. Every sports fan has an opinion on this subject. This is ours.

Washington, D.C., is the nation’s capital and the seat of government, but it’s also home to some of the most ardent sports fans in the country. Although football has been the long-running constant, baseball, basketball, and hockey have all carved out their own distinct identities.

When Game Defenders chose the four faces for both the city and its surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia, the only option was to have equal representation with a delicate balance of current stars and past legends.

Even though the ring drought has entered its third decade, there were many strong candidates for a classic NFL franchise that dates back 90 years and is proud of five championships. Several men had compelling cases, including quarterbacks Sammy Baugh and Joe Theismann, running back John Riggins, and wide receiver Art Monk.

However, the one who played the longest and had the most enduring stature was deemed the best sculpted link to the glory days. Darrell Green was the top burgundy pick, but the red, white, and blue truth is that D.C.’s greatest all-time sport great is from the ice, not the gridiron, field, or court.

It’s only natural that Alexander Ovechkin, who was born in Russia’s capital, would become the ultimate Capital for Washington. While many believe the NHL has lost its star power, Ovechkin’s prolific goal scoring, unrelated to winning the Stanley Cup, is a worthy throwback to the league’s big-name heyday.

Old school also helped “Big Train” Walter Johnson, arguably MLB’s greatest pitcher, make the cut. His dominance in a much earlier era made it difficult for any future Senators or Nationals to unseat him. Johnson’s illustrious all-D.C. career ended the same year the real Mount Rushmore was completed, not long after he received his one World Series ring.

Because it’s Washington, an unsung hero is required: underrated, undersized big man Wes Unseld. The late Bullets rebounder extraordinaire was in the thick of it all when the team relocated from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. Unseld, like Ovechkin, won a major indoor championship late in his career as a centering all-around force.

Game Defenders turned to prominent D.C. sports journalist and University of Maryland professor Kevin Blackistone, who was born and raised in Washington, for a local expert on these Mount Rushmore four.

“There should be no real arguments here,” Blackistone said. “It’s pretty cut and clear to me.”

ALEXANDER OVECHKIN (Capitals, 2005-present)

Alex is his name. He’s known as the “Great Eight.” Call him Ovi or simply Ovie. Simply put, he is one of the greatest pure goal scorers in NHL history, and possibly the best ever.

Ovechkin, like other superstars in his sport, was a can’t-miss prospect when the Capitals selected him as the first overall pick in 2004 when he became officially eligible. Fortunately, the NHL did not extend the lockout, which would have kept him in Moscow. As a rookie, he immediately became a Washington dynamo and hasn’t let up with his nose for putting the puck in the net since.

D.C. could be the most hockey-crazy city outside of Canada. Since stepping onto the ice, Ovechkin has provided Caps fans with shot after shot and goal after goal to make them happy. With the long-awaited Cup in 2019, his local sports immortality was complete. From the regular season to the playoffs, Ovechkin has matched and surpassed any D.C. athlete’s previous performance. At 36, Ovechkin is still writing the story of his career and will most likely not be finished until he is number one in goals, even ahead of The Great One, Wayne Gretzky.

“He’s arguably the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey, and that will be true even if he doesn’t catch Gretzky,” Blackistone said. “If you look at some of the analytics in what he’s been able to do, he’s basically scoring more goals at a time when it is more difficult to score goals in the NHL.

“For many reasons, Washington D.C., has never witnessed a greater athlete than Alexander Ovechkin.”

Some in Washington, particularly in the Ukrainian community, have found it difficult to accept Ovechkin’s Russian nationalism and friendship with Vladimir Putin.

“They have separated the two. They have compartmentalized his politics and his athletic achievements,” Blackistone said of Caps fans. “Then there are casual fans who have struggled with that.”

Whatever the perception of Ovechkin is off the ice, the reception he will receive from Capitals fans who were fortunate to see his generational talent wow them from left wing every game night will be anything but cold.

Ovechkin By The Numbers

All-Star appearances	12
Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies (NHL Top Goal Scorer)	9
Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP)	3
Goals (third all time)	780

GREEN, DARRELL (Redskins, 1983-2002)

Hail to this cornerback with the quickest feet and the biggest heart. It didn’t matter that Green was only 5-9, 194 pounds and attended a small school called Texas A&I at the time. The Houstonian was supposed to be a big-time Washingtonian and a thorn in the side of diehard Dallasites who support the rival Cowboys.

Green would run past everyone and make plays on the ball with a smile that could light up the entire field for two decades. He was the epitome of Joe Gibbs‘ well-rounded championship teams, winning two Super Bowls under the legendary coach.

Green began making key interceptions as a rookie and hasn’t stopped since. He began his career at the age of 23 in 1983 and never seemed to age, playing until he was 42 in 2002. Green was a consummate professional and consistent playmaker, frequently saving his best for key moments during the regular season and playoffs.

“He had signature moments. One of my favorites happened in Chicago during the 1987 playoffs,” Blackistone said. “He was inserted at a desperate time to return punts — which he had done throughout his career when needed. He took it all the way back (52 yards) for a touchdown, tearing his ribcage muscle and cutting across the field holding his side.

“Another one was chasing down Tony Dorsett the length of the field on a long run, saving a touchdown. Another one came in the 1988 playoffs when he made a game-saving breakup.”

It’s one thing to have Green’s unusual longevity in such a physically demanding sport. It’s another thing entirely to back that up with vivacity in order to entertain and inspire a community. Green is also one of the drama-free good guys, which contributes to his longevity as a multigenerational player.

Washington football has existed for nearly a century. The team has produced many legends, including a whopping 16 Hall of Fame players. Green’s main competition for a spot on Mount Rushmore came from his contemporaries, a true testament to the Gibbs era that only adds to Green’s place in the top four of the big four.

“His leadership, his playing the game with joy with nothing controversial — he is the face of this franchise, without question — and he played with some great players,” Blackistone said.

Green By The Numbers

Pro Bowl appearances	7
First-team All-Pro	4
Super Bowl championships	2
Consecutive NFL seasons with at least one interception	19*

UNSELD, WES (Bullets, 1968-1981)

Unseld, like Johnny Unitas before him out of Louisville, broke into his league in Baltimore. Unseld was an easy pick for the Bullets as the No. 2 overall pick in 1968, and he rewarded the team right away by winning rookie of the year and MVP in the same season, a feat previously accomplished only by Wilt Chamberlain. Unseld wasted no time as a big fixture in the middle for a long time and earned respect from fans in the Beltway by doing everything right.

While other stars such as Elvin Hayes came and went, Unseld remained in the thick of things, powering the Bullets through their full-time relocation to Washington. Unseld was a prime example of perseverance as his team and individual reward were the 1978 championship for the new home city.

Unseld wowed Bullets fans with his tenacious work on the boards, which he balanced with poetic ballhanding. It was physicality combined with finesse in one solid, steadfast package.

“His signature play on the court was his outlet passing on fast breaks,” Blackistone said. “He anchored the Bullets in the 1970s when they were almost always in the championship hunt.

“The reason he was underrated as an NBA player is because there was no panache to his game. He was playing against guys who were three inches taller than him. But he played against guys such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, held his own and excelled.”

Unseld made a natural career change to the front office and coaching to keep him with the Bullets through their nickname change to the Wizards three years after he finished playing. The Unselds‘ connection to Washington is represented by his son, Wes Jr., who now coaches his former team.

Wes Sr. and his wife, educator Connie, also gave back to the community, establishing the Unselds School to improve elementary education in Baltimore. Despite the relocation and name change, the Unselds‘ place in Washington sports history is growing.

“He left his indelible mark in Washington as a player and a great guy. Before there was this chatter about social justice and athlete activism, there was Wes Unseld and his wife,” Blackistone said. 

When the older Unseld died two years ago, it was a huge loss. Since then, there has been a growing recognition of his contributions to Washington sports, both on and off the court, as well as beyond the city limits.

Unseld By The Numbers

All-Star appearances	5
MVP awards	1
Career rebounds (13th in NBA history)	13,769
Eastern Conference championships	4

JOHNSON, WALTER (Senators, 1907-1927)

Recency bias favours the Nationals, who won their first World Series in 2019, but it wasn’t enough to derail the “Big Train’s” place on Washington’s Mount Rushmore. Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, and even Bryce Harper had basic cases for consideration from Washington’s current MLB team’s past and present. From the Senators‘ final days, slugger Frank Howard was well known in Washington.

It only took a deeper look into the city’s original MLB team to realise that Johnson’s time as a dominant gentle giant on the mound confirmed that he was the only choice to be the diamond face of the Washington mount.

Although Johnson pitched in a much different, pre-integrated era as a right-handed workhorse who racked up the numbers, he did so as Babe Ruth began to bloom and go boom for the Red Sox and Yankees, two more successful AL rivals at the time. Johnson was the ideal power pitcher for his era, which fit D.C.’s love of power players.

Blackistone grew up in Le Droit Park, a D.C. neighbourhood near Howard University and the former home of Griffith Park, where Johnson’s Senators once played. Although Blackistone believes Johnson should be given an asterisk for not facing all of the best hitters prior to MLB integration, Johnson’s mastery in his era cannot be denied.

“My father was well versed in all things Walter Johnson,” Blackistone said. “There’s no question that of the baseball players here in Washington, Walter Johnson is the greatest. What he did in the 1920s, some of that stuff is still unprecedented.”

Johnson’s legend grew as a result of the fact that he starred for a frequently losing team, carrying it as a reliable, stable force. All of his teammates respected him for simply doing a great job until the game-winning shot at the World Series arrived. Despite his intimidating presence, Johnson’s kindness was known throughout the majors, as he became friends with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and other stars.

Johnson was one of the “Five Immortals,” along with Ruth, Cobb, Honus Wagner, and fellow ace pitcher Christy Mathewson, who were the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Johnson also acted as a model of sportsmanship wherever he went. Few sports have ever had a friendlier opponent.

Johnson went on to manage the Senators after his playing days ended in order to stay in Washington. From his birthplace of Kansas to his adopted home of Maryland, Johnson’s legacy is visible in everything named after him, from schools and roads to public parks and baseball fields. Even songs have been written about what a great athlete he was.

“The Big Train” chugged along in Washington for 21 MLB seasons. Johnson was a rock for the Senators and deserves to be immortalised in D.C. granite alongside Ovechkin, Green, and Unseld.

Johnson By The Numbers

Wins (second all time)	417
Complete games (fifth all time)	531
Career strikeouts	3,508
Career shutouts (first all time)	110