Pete Rozelle used television to get the game to the American public by creating the Super Bowl and making it the biggest sporting event in the world.
I've been very fortunate to be involved in all the Super Bowls, to see some World Series, to cover heavyweight championship fights; I've been to the Olympics and seen every sporting event there is.
I think the greatest all-around athlete ever was Jim Brown. He played lacrosse, basketball and ran track at Syracuse. He played professional football for the Browns.
The two major things that changed the makeup of all professional sports are money generated by television and courts that players went to in order to win their freedom as free agents.