Worst Cases of Pro Athletes Who Stayed Around Too Long

[Mangosteen]

What are some of the worst examples of pro athletes who tried to continue playing long after their physical skills had diminished?

[Busy Scissors]

Muhammad Ali springs to mind immediately, but there's hundreds of boxers to choose from. I think Thomas Hearns was still fighting up until a few years ago, 20 years after his prime. Roy Jones and Tito Trinidad just fought one another in a charade of a boxing match. At least they were both past it so no one got hurt. Evander Holyfield just lost recently which hopefully will persuade him to retire for good.

The question 'which boxer went out at the top?' has few answers, sadly.

[Drain Bead]

Rickey Henderson. The San Diego Surf Dawgs? Seriously?

[HubZilla]

Basically when your original team doesn't want you anymore.

I figured if I was all-powerful and in charge of the world for a day, I'd have the respective Hall of Fames only take you in with your last team. Not to make a statement, just to mess with them. Oh, and I'd make it retroactive. And I wouldn't accept ceremonial contracts for retirements.

Johnny Unitas would be a Charger
Emmitt Smith would be a Cardinal
Joe Montana would be a Chief
Jerry Rice would a Seahawk
Ronnie Lott would be a Jet
OJ Simpson would be a 49er (since the 49ers seem to lose so many)
Vince Lombardi would be a Redskins coach

Although free agency would make this harder, I'll pick on the other leagues, too.
Michael Jordan would be a Wizard
Hakeem Olajuwon would be a Raptor
Willie Mays would be a Met
Babe Ruth would be a Brave

[RickJay]

Rickey Henderson. The San Diego Surf Dawgs? Seriously?
Rickey was still a useful player into his 40s.

Much more shameless was Pete Rose, who was pretty terrible after 1982 but managed to finagle himself into the position of being player-manager and writing himself into the lineup for two years so he could break the hits record.

[gonzomax]

Holyfield stayed way too long. If they don't stop him ,he will fight again.
Bonds comes to mind. he is a shadow of himself chasing AAron.

[PunditLisa]

Martina Hinges would be a more recent example. She retired, then returned a few years later only to find that her game of finesse would only get her so far when matched against the power games of Amazon women such as Maria Sharapova and the Williams' sisters. To top it off, she bizarrely tested positive for cocaine and had to return all prize money she earned in '07.

I think Tim Henman should have retired years ago. He was making a living, but it was obvious that he was never going to win a major tournament again.

[RealityChuck]

The question 'which boxer went out at the top?' has few answers, sadly.Rocky Marciano, of course.

Willie Mays comes to mind; he probably should have retired before he was traded to the Mets. He managed to appear in one more World Series, but was pretty pathetic (Don Hahn supplanted him in center field. Don Hahn!).

[RickJay]

Holyfield stayed way too long. If they don't stop him ,he will fight again.
Bonds comes to mind. he is a shadow of himself chasing AAron.
Bonds is still a terrific hitter. To be honest, last year he was the only good hitter the Giants had. He hit 28 home runs and led the league in on base percentage; he was one of the better hitters in the league.

Of course, the 'roids helped a lot, but one way or another he can still hit.

[Governor Quinn]

Looking at some major-league pitchers:

Steve Carlton- Went 16-37 in his last four seasons, bounced between five different teams, and had ERA+ of 78 and 79 in the two full seasons in the group.

Gaylord Perry- 25-35 in last three seasons, with ERA+ of 91, 97, and 90.

Jim Kaat- After back-to-back seasons of an ERA+ at 78 and 87, spent his last five seasons largely as a reliever (and, based on his games finished statistics, a middle reliever at that), at which he never had an ERA+ above 105.

[Vlad/Igor]

Tom Seaver, after 1980 and Terry Bradshaw come to mind. I was a Reds fan during the years of the Big Red Machine, and it was sad to see Tom Seaver still trying to pitch when it was clear he was losing it. Not exactly an athlete, but I think Bob Knight lost it about two or three years before he left/was let go from IU.

Vlad/Igor

[Gatopescado]

About half the field of Formula One drivers qualify for this thread in any given season.

Examples: De (cant spell his name, used to crash alot), Patrese, Coulthard, Barrichello and on and on and on......

[don't ask]

My favourite over the hill boxer has to be James "Bonecrusher" Smith because he featured in the "least worthy winner" list for his second last fight with Hungarian/British "Aussie" Joe Bugner.

Smith put up his WBF Heavyweight title against Bugner. In the first round of the fight he was battering Bugner so badly that he threw out his shoulder while punching him. He had to retire. "Champion" Bugner then fought once against an opponent who was disqualified and now bills himself as "Undefeated Heavyweight Champ".

Smith was 45 at the time of the fight, Bugner 48.

Smith lost his last fight in the same way.

Surely a boxer whose body isn't up to punching his opponent has big problems.

[don't ask]

About half the field of Formula One drivers qualify for this thread in any given season.

Examples: De (cant spell his name, used to crash alot), Patrese, Coulthard, Barrichello and on and on and on......

I guess you'd be a fan of Formula 1 Rejects (http://f1rejects.com/), the formula 1 Hall of Shame.

From that site you mean Andrea de Cesaris - Records for Did Not Finish

Most DNFs in a season 14/16
Piercarlo Ghinzani (Ity) 1986
Andrea de Cesaris (Ity) 1986
Adrian Campos (Esp) 1987
Andrea de Cesaris (Ity) 1987
Ivan Capelli (Ity) 1989

Most consecutive DNFs in a season Andrea de Cesaris (Ity) 1987 12
Most consecutive DNFs Andrea de Cesaris (Ity) 1985-86 18
Most DNFs in total Andrea de Cesaris (Ity) 80-94 135

[King Friday]

Seeing Johnny U in a Chargers uniform makes me want to vomit.

[Hippy Hollow]

Ah, Joe Bugner. I remember him in a Green Cross code PIF when I was a kid...

I have no idea if they actually contributed or not, but seeing Gary Payton and Karl Malone playing for the Lakers made me intensely dislike them both. (More so than before.)

[astorian]

Boxers are a special case- it's sad to see a boxer stay around too long because there's always a chance he'll get seriously injured or killed.

But really, if Rickey Henderson loves baseball so much that he'd rather play minor league ball or semi-pro ball than give up the game entirely, how is that tragic, or even sad?

In the same way, if a former NBA superstar is willing to be a benchwarmer for a championship contender, just so that he can get the ring that's always eluded him, is that really a tragedy?

Johnny Mize was a superstar in his prime. As a grizzled veteran, he was a useful platoon man and pinch hitter for the Yankees. He got some nice paychecks and a few World Series checks in the bargain. Should he REALLY have packed it in once he was no longer an elite player? Why SHOULDN'T he keep playing as long as somebody was willing to hire him?

Look, apart from John Elway, Sandy Koufax, Bobby Jones and a few others, practically nobody has walked away from his sport as the best of the best. Sooner or later, every athlete's skills deteriorate. That's just a fact of life. And Johnny Unitas' last days under center would have been just as ugly if he'd stayed a Colt.

Anyway, if you could get a big paycheck for doing something you loved, how quick would you be to give it up?

[Slithy Tove]

YouTube link to 37-year old Jess Willard being beaten up by 24-year old Jack Dempsey, (http://youtube.com/watch?v=VawHgrLvbD4) Dempsey treating it like a dirty job that had to be done to get the belt.

[installLSC]

I'd nominate Jerry Rice's final season--with the Seattle Seahawks. Not only was he nearly useless by them, but the Seahawks front office actually strong-armed Steve Largent (the team's only retired number) into allowing Rice to use No. 80, which was Rice's old number with the 49ers. So not only did Rice's final season embarass him, but it also embarassed Largent.

[Sam Stone]

Professional golfers have to take the prize here - especially Masters winners, who get a lifetime exemption and keep playing into their 60's and later - when even a local club pro could beat them.

Still, occasionally one of these old guys will put together a spectacular round and get everyone on their feet. They don't win, but for a round or two might be up near the top of the pack and everyone cheers them on. So it's kind of a nice tradition, but at the same time it's sad to see someone like Palmer or Nicklaus getting crushed so badly at a game they used to dominate.

[Billdo]

Martina Hinges would be a more recent example.

On the other hand, it's a damn shame that Martina Navratilova retired early from her recent comeback on the doubles court, winding up her career by winning the 2006 US Open Mixed Doubles Title (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen06/news/story?id=2578105) the month before her 50th birthday.

[Annie-Xmas]

Rocky Balboa :D

[Jackmannii]

Tom Seaver was arguably not a dominant pitcher from 1981 on. Still he had a couple of good years with the White Sox, including going 16-11 in 1984 with a 3.17 ERA, which is not bad for a 40-year-old.

Willie Mays, Steve Carlton and Carlton Fisk come to mind first as baseball players who hung around way too long.

Not to mention Jose Canseco, who's retired and still hanging around too long.

[Shoeless]

Rickey was still a useful player into his 40s.

Much more shameless was Pete Rose, who was pretty terrible after 1982 but managed to finagle himself into the position of being player-manager and writing himself into the lineup for two years so he could break the hits record.
National Lampoon once had a cover with the title "Pete Rose Hustles After Ty Cobb's Record" with Rose hobbling down the first base line with a walker. :D

[brownie55]

Basically when your original team doesn't want you anymore.

I figured if I was all-powerful and in charge of the world for a day, I'd have the respective Hall of Fames only take you in with your last team. Not to make a statement, just to mess with them. Oh, and I'd make it retroactive. And I wouldn't accept ceremonial contracts for retirements.

Johnny Unitas would be a Charger
Emmitt Smith would be a Cardinal
Joe Montana would be a Chief
Jerry Rice would a Seahawk
Ronnie Lott would be a Jet
OJ Simpson would be a 49er (since the 49ers seem to lose so many)
Vince Lombardi would be a Redskins coach

Although free agency would make this harder, I'll pick on the other leagues, too.
Michael Jordan would be a Wizard
Hakeem Olajuwon would be a Raptor
Willie Mays would be a Met
Babe Ruth would be a Brave

Well, you can't blame Vince, he probably would have had a few more years in him if he had not died.

[gonzomax]

Bonds is still a terrific hitter. To be honest, last year he was the only good hitter the Giants had. He hit 28 home runs and led the league in on base percentage; he was one of the better hitters in the league.

Of course, the 'roids helped a lot, but one way or another he can still hit.
Then why trade or cut him.? He is way overpaid and compared to what he is expected to do 28 hrs is a disappointment. What do you expect from him now. ? Plus his presence is a distraction. His 28 hrs came at a great price not only financially but to truth freedom and the American way.

[Freddy the Pig]

Only White Sox fans would know or care about this, but the last season of Harold Baines, in which he hit .131 at age 42, was horribly painful to watch.

[JohnT]

It was sad watching both Aikman and Young trying to be nominated as poster-children for the American Concussion Society during their last seasons.

[Troy McClure SF]

Jerry Rice came to mind.

Bonds is still an awesome hitter, but a case could be made for him, considering the 40/40 player he once was.

As for Rickey, he obviously is in it for the love of the game and not for fame or money, so I say more power to him.

[astorian]

Here's a question for you- if there were a 40 year old journeyman outfielder or backup catcher or utility infielder who was appearing in 25-30 games a year and batting .240, would you tell him to quit? Would you tell him he's embarrassing himself and should retire?

What about a 39 year old journeyman quarterback who's hanging on as a scrub somewhere in the NFL. Would you tell him "Retire now, you're making a fool of yourself"?

I suspect not. I suspect you'd say "More power to him."

Well, why is a former superstar different? If a former superstar is still of SOME value to SOME team, why shouldn't he keep playing as long as he can?

Barry Bonds can definitely help SOME team next year as a DH (he still has a superb on base percentage and provides power). Assume for a minute that he loves baseball and is willing to take a hefty pay cut to keep on playing. Why shouldn't he keep playing as long as someone is willing to pay him?

Bill Walton was once the most dominant center in the NBA. Injuries reduced his effectiveness to the point where he was, at best, a sixth man for the Celtics. Well, was he wrong to play for the Celtics? He made good money and contributed to championship teams. As long as the Celtics felt he could contribute SOMETHING, what does it matter that he was nowhere as good as he'd once been?

[Sophistry and Illusion]

YouTube link to 37-year old Jess Willard being beaten up by 24-year old Jack Dempsey, (http://youtube.com/watch?v=VawHgrLvbD4) Dempsey treating it like a dirty job that had to be done to get the belt.
Jesus Christ. The rules of boxing must have been very different then. As soon as Willard had both knees off the mat, even if he was hanging from the ropes and couldn't raise an arm to defend himself, Dempsey started in with the head shots. The ref made no attempt to allow Willard to get upright, or check if he was a TKO. I'm guessing that match would never have been allowed to reach that point if it were held today.

[kevja]

Basically when your original team doesn't want you anymore.

I figured if I was all-powerful and in charge of the world for a day, I'd have the respective Hall of Fames only take you in with your last team. Not to make a statement, just to mess with them. Oh, and I'd make it retroactive. And I wouldn't accept ceremonial contracts for retirements.

Johnny Unitas would be a Charger
Emmitt Smith would be a Cardinal
Joe Montana would be a Chief
Jerry Rice would a Seahawk
Ronnie Lott would be a Jet
OJ Simpson would be a 49er (since the 49ers seem to lose so many)
Vince Lombardi would be a Redskins coach

Although free agency would make this harder, I'll pick on the other leagues, too.
Michael Jordan would be a Wizard
Hakeem Olajuwon would be a Raptor
Willie Mays would be a Met
Babe Ruth would be a Brave


Got to disagree about Montana. As a 49er fan, seeing him in a Chiefs uniform didn't look right, but he was selected to the pro bowl in and went all the way to the AFC Championship Game in 1993.

[wolf_meister]

As others have said, boxing seems to have the worst stories of athletes staying around long after they should have retired.

Two fighters that come to mind are Jerry Quarry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Quarry) and his brother Mike Quarry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Quarry)

They both fought maybe a little too long (especially Jerry) and they both died in their mid-50's and both had serious cases of pugilistic dementia.

I remember reading Jerry Quarry's obituary. The medical ailments he suffered from were so extensive, it's as if his whole body had shut down.

Boxing is a nasty sport.

[Freddy the Pig]

Willie Mays, Steve Carlton and Carlton Fisk come to mind first as baseball players who hung around way too long.Oh my God, I forgot about Fisk. He kept playing in 1993, when he couldn't hit and couldn't catch (he was incapable of throwing the ball to second base), just so that he could set the record for games caught. And he refused to admit that his talent had diminished in the slightest, so that all he did was bitch that the White Sox didn't appreciate him and didn't play him enough. Which got him great sympathy from the national press because he was a one-time Red Sox hero and thus infallible. God, he was an asshole.

[RickJay]

Then why trade or cut him.? He is way overpaid and compared to what he is expected to do 28 hrs is a disappointment.
Because he is a bad investment going forward. At his age, his collapse could come at any moment. Just because he hit well in 2007 doesn't mean he will again in 2008; a ballplayer past 40 is one millisecond of reaction time away from the end of his career.

But to this point, he's not at all embarassed himself. The OP asked about the worst examples of players playing beyond their abilities; Bonds, up until now, has remained an outstanding ballplayer, so he doesn't count yet. If he goes out the next couple of years and bats .170, then he'll be a candidate.

And you may not like him but Giants fans LOVE him, and that's all that mattered to the Giants. The hatred for Bonds outside of SF just does not exist there. They worship the guy, and pack the stadium to see him hit; God knows there weren't any other reasons to watch the Giants play last year. He brought in zillions of dollars in revenue as a result of the home run chase. He was worth every penny to them in 2007, but now that the chase is over, and he's a year older, he's not. They were smart to keep him through 2007 and smart to let him go now.

[Ol'Gaffer]

I'd nominate Jerry Rice's final season--with the Seattle Seahawks. Not only was he nearly useless by them, but the Seahawks front office actually strong-armed Steve Largent (the team's only retired number) into allowing Rice to use No. 80, which was Rice's old number with the 49ers. So not only did Rice's final season embarass him, but it also embarassed Largent.

Even sadder was that he tried to make the Denver Broncos the following year and "retired" when it was clear that he wasn't going to make the team.

[Acsenray]

Much more shameless was Pete Rose, who was pretty terrible after 1982 but managed to finagle himself into the position of being player-manager and writing himself into the lineup for two years so he could break the hits record.

I don't know how shameless it was -- it was a very popular choice. And after several years in the cellar, the Reds under Rose finished in second place three or four times. From the perspective of a Cincinnati fan in that era, it was a good time .... er ... up until the whole gambling thing. But hey, after the early 1980s, there's a lot a Cincinnati fan would put up with.

Tom Seaver, after 1980 and Terry Bradshaw come to mind. I was a Reds fan during the years of the Big Red Machine, and it was sad to see Tom Seaver still trying to pitch when it was clear he was losing it.

Didn't Mario Soto and Tom Seaver lead the Reds to the best record in the M.L.B. in the strike-shortened 1981 season?

Even if he was past his prime, Seaver was still as solid as a member of the starting rotation that Cincinnati had at the time. Which might be saying more about how dismal the Reds' pitching staff was overall .... but still ...

So not only did Rice's final season embarass him, but it also embarassed Largent.

Now this I don't get. How was Largent remotely affected by all this? Because Rice was wearing his number? Sounds like drama-queening to me.

[HelloKitty]

Got to disagree about Montana. As a 49er fan, seeing him in a Chiefs uniform didn't look right, but he was selected to the pro bowl in and went all the way to the AFC Championship Game in 1993.

This long suffering Chiefs fan thanks you!!

Also, Montana did have some moves left, he was not really "hanging on" like many of the others. The 49er's basically kicked him to the curb to make way for Steve Young...one of the most exciting regular season Chiefs games I remember was when the Chiefs shellacked Young and the 49ers at Arrowhead the first year Joe was there.

[Trollhaugen]

Gordie Howe. One game in 1997 for the Vipers. Pathetic, stupid, lame publicity stunt to play at a professional level in six decades.

One of the toughest and best to play the game ever had to ruin a bit of his reputation for a ridiculous reason.

[Marley23]

I don't know how shameless it was -- it was a very popular choice. And after several years in the cellar, the Reds under Rose finished in second place three or four times.
Statistically, I have seen it argued (elsewhere on the Dope) that he was the single worst hitter in the league. Or perhaps the worst player, taking defense into account. So his insistence on playing himself was pretty shameless by that measurement.

[installLSC]

Marley 23 is right about how bad Pete Rose was during his final years. In 1983, his final year with the Phillies, he batted .245 with no homers in 151 games--as a first baseman! It's mind boggling that he wasn't benched. In 1985, the year he broke Cobb's record, he improved :rolleyes: to .264 with two homers in 119 games.
Acsenray , the problem Largent had wasn't with Rice but the upper management. (I'm getting this account from an sports talk host in Seattle who was talking about Rice's stint.) The team president told Largent that Rice was demanding the number and thus Largent allowed them to unretire the number. Later on Largent found out Rice didn't say that and that the team official did it on his own.

[King Friday]

Marley 23 is right about how bad Pete Rose was during his final years. In 1983, his final year with the Phillies, he batted .245 with no homers in 151 games--as a first baseman! It's mind boggling that he wasn't benched.

Couldn't have been too bad...they made it to the World Series.

[RickJay]

Couldn't have been too bad...they made it to the World Series.
Sure, thanks to a tremendous effort by the pitching staff and Mike Schmidt, the One Man Offense. Rose was probably the worst regular first baseman to ever play for a team that won the pennant; I challenge anyone to find one worse.

[Kythereia]

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are going to get out their tar and feathers now:

Mats Sundin.

[King Friday]

Sure, thanks to a tremendous effort by the pitching staff and Mike Schmidt, the One Man Offense. Rose was probably the worst regular first baseman to ever play for a team that won the pennant; I challenge anyone to find one worse.

I always make fun of the O's third base tandem that year (haven't had much to talk about here in Birdland since '83)...Leo Hernandez and Todd Cruz. Without checking the stats and if I remember correctly, they collectively batted around .220 and had less than 10 homers. But similar to what you said, that team was built the same way...strong pitching and instead of Schmidt, we had Ripken and Murray.

But I digress.

[brianjedi]

Darrell Waltrip comes to mind, after he spent most of his last three years starting dead last every week and making laps in cars that were mediocre at best (his pinch-hitting stint for Steve Park) and awful at worst (the Tabasco #35).

Other NASCAR wheelmen who should have left it to the younger guys a little sooner: Morgan Shepherd and James Hylton are still trying to compete, although Morgan seems to be "Racing for Jesus" less and less lately; Bill Elliott retired four years ago, but keeps doing more and more races with fewer and fewer good results, and Kenny Schrader and Kyle Petty have been on the wrong side of success for 10 years or more.