Minnesota's 20 most iconic athletes? Here's the list we chose (and how much some of you disagreed)

Completed in 1941, Mount Rushmore over the years has firmly held its place in pop culture. From parody comic books to memorable scenes in movies to the back of a minted 25-cent piece you might have in your pocket right now, the four faces are as recognizable in Americana as Rockwell paintings and apple pie.

The most common practice is the friendly banter that comes along with it, and has for nearly 80 years:

Who is on your Mount Rushmore of …?

Take your pick: Comedy. Hollywood. Music. Crime. And of course — sports.

Selecting just four can be a difficult chore. So why not 20? Our most recent Star Tribune Sports Virtual Happy Hour focused on the most iconic athletes in Minnesota history. Ten writers and editors gathered Wednesday for a draft to carve the granite and make a list.

To see all of the chatter as Happy Hour unfolded, go to startribune.com/icons.

Here's the full list:

2. George Mikan (Ken Chia, copy editor)

3. Kevin Garnett (Casey Common, homepage editor)

4. Randy Moss (Randy Johnson, Puck Drop editor)

5. Patty Berg (Jerry Zgoda, soccer and golf writer)

6. Herb Brooks (Rachel Blount, Olympics writer)

8. Lindsay Whalen (Michael Rand, senior digital writer)

9. Dave Winfield (Marcus Fuller, Gophers writer)

10. Bronko Nagurski (Pete Steinert, Sunday sports editor)

11. Jim Marshall (Steinert)

12. Kevin McHale (Fuller)

14. Adrian Peterson (Stensaas)

15. Alan Page (Blount)

16. Bud Grant (Zgoda)

17. Neal Broten (Johnson)

18. Rod Carew (Common)

20. Ralph Samuelson (Miller)

Notable undrafted free agents selected by our panel: Paul Molitor, Kent Hrbek, Brock Lesnar, Tom Lehman, John Mayasich, Bruce Smith, Verne Gagne, Sandy Stephens, Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell, Tony Oliva, Paul Giel, Lindsey Vonn, Carl Eller, Dan Patch [the horse] and Herschel Walker.

Who did we miss? Readers had a lot of opinions, based on this sample from the 200-plus comments attached to our story on the web.

Here's a sampling:

Redstang: Having Hershel Walker in the "undrafted" list and omitting Lou Nanne is a travesty.

Truth2btold: You have to give the top slot to Kirby because they won it all and he carried them in that series at times, but I would add Jack Morris to that list. His Game 7 is said by those who know baseball to be one of the best three pitching performances in a Game 7. He was pitching better in the last inning of the game than in the first two or three.

dw7719: Scott Studwell, Dan Gladden, Chris Doleman, Adrian Peterson, Cris Carter, Frank Viola, Tom Kelly.

BAbeler: Henry Boucha, hockey legend from Warroad. One of a kind.

TucsonBoy: Where are the great North Stars? Goldsworthy, Gump, Modano, Parise, Dino!

Nerja11: Maya Moore. The Lynx would have zero WNBA Championships without her. She is a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee. How could you omit her? Your omission could convince her to not return to the Lynx. Also, Cheryl Reeve, the best WNBA coach, coaching the Lynx to four championships.