With Father’s Day rolling around, I tossed the subject of great father-and-son sports duos out to my friends to seek their opinions on who they ranked in the  all-time top 10. They threw me back a surprise.

Depending on your favorite sports, some notable figures immediately come to mind when you ponder who is the greatest of all time.

While the lists varied as to who should make the top 10, they all agreed on a pair of names that I didn’t consider – Muhammad and Laila Ali.

I sent an email explaining this is a father-son sports duo question and got the same response: it didn’t matter because the accomplishments outweighed too many other combinations.

Considering the Alis would take some mulling over because all were making solid points.

Let’s consider some of the other duos and their accomplishments.

There is only one father-and-son combination in Major League Baseball to hit 50 home runs in a season: Cecil and Prince Fielder.

In basketball, there is Dell and Steph Curry. Dad was a career 40-percent shooter three-point shooter and won the NBA’s sixth-man award. His son has won consecutive MVP awards.

Ken Norton Sr. and Jr. took different paths in professional sports. Daddy won the world heavyweight boxing title and broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw. Junior played in the NFL, winning Super Bowls with San Francisco and Dallas.

In car racing, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. probably rank second on the list of father-and-son teams. Senior won seven racing cup titles, and Junior won the Daytona 500 twice. Combined, they have 102 NASCAR victories.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. are the only father and son team to hit back-to-back home runs in a game, but that accomplishment pales to Junior’s 630 career dingers, and Senior was a three-time all-star with two world series rings.

They don’t call Richard Petty “The King” of NASCAR racing for no reason. He won seven racing cup titles and 200 career wins, but his dad, Lee, was no slacker with three cup titles.

Bobby and Brett Hull are the only father-and-son Hall of Famers in sports and have three of hockey’s Hart trophies between them. Dad also has three Art Ross trophies, while Brett is third all-time in career goals scored.

When it comes to the NFL, there is no more fabulous combination than Archie and Peyton Manning. Imagine being a two-time Super Bowl champion like Eli Manning and not making this list, but that happens when your big brother was the do-it-all guy.

All of this now brings us to the accomplishments of Muhammad and Laila Ali, and my friends all had one excellent point as to why they belong on this list. Both of them are the GOATs of their sport.

Laila retired a perfect 21-0 as a professional. She snuck out of the long shadow of her father, who is mentioned in every serious conversation concerning heavyweight boxing and lived up to his self-proclaimed title of being “The Greatest” by winning the WBA world title four times.

While they don’t fit the mold of father-and-son combinations, Muhammad and Laila Ali should be noticed as one of if not the best sports duos of all time.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor