Pro-athletes who only played for one team in their entire career?

[Guinastasia]

Current players don't count, obviously.

MLB:
-Joe DiMaggio (NY Yankees)
-Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates)
-Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates)
-Lou Gehrig (NY Yankees)
-Sandy Koufax (Brooklyn/LA Dodgers -- I'd say that counts since he was still a member of the original team)
-Bill Mazeroski (Pittsburgh Pirates)
-Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers)
-Mickey Mantle (NY Yankees)


NFL:
-Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh Steelers)
-Mean Joe Green (Pittsburgh Steelers)
-Hines Ward (Pittsburgh Steelers)
-Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steelers)
-Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys)
-Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys)
-Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins)
-John Elway (Denver Broncos)


NHL:
-Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
-Mike Bossy (NY Islanders)
-Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia Flyers)
-Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings)
-Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings)
-Denis Potvin (NY Islanders)
-Ken Dryden (Montreal Canadiens)
-Stan Mikita (Chicago Blackhawks)
-Maurice Richard (Montreal Canadiens)
-Jean Beliveau (Montreal Canadiens)
-Bob Gainey (Montreal Canadiens)

[Mahaloth]

Alan Trammel and Lou Whittaker were teammates on the Detroit Tigers for their entire careers.

[pseudotriton ruber ruber]

There's Stan Musial.

[AK84]

Paul Scholes. Man United his entire career.

[TriPolar]

Mike Schmidt played his whole MLB career for the Phillies. There's dedication for you.

[StuffLikeThatThere]

Reggie Miller played only for the Indiana Pacers.

[Amateur Barbarian]

Ted Williams, Red Sox. A lot of baseball players stayed with one team before free agency, the more so the further back you go.

[Enginerd]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

Mike Schmidt played his whole MLB career for the Phillies. There's dedication for you.

And George Brett did the same thing at (roughly) the same time in KC.

Other baseball players:
Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, and Cal Ripken (Baltimore Orioles)
Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice (Boston Red Sox)
Don Mattingly (New York Yankees)
Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres)

In football:
Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden (Baltimore Ravens)
Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)
Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, and Tiki Barber (Giants)
Anthony Munoz (Cincy)
Aikman's teammates Michael Irvin and Darryl Johnston (Cowboys)
Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks (Tampa)
Dan Fouts (Chargers)
Aaron Smith (Steelers)

[zamboniracer]

Nevermind.

[RealityChuck]

Baseball:
Don Drysdale (Dodgers). Fourteen years, and he only had one manager in all that time, making him the person who played his entire career the longest with just one single team under a single manager (no, no Philadelphia Athletic stayed with the team 14 years).

Ed Kranepool (Mets)
Lou Gehrig (Yankees)

Basketball
Willis Reed (Knicks)
Bill Russell (Celtics)
Larry Bird (Celtics)



BTW, the question as asked would include thousands of "cup of coffee" type players like Steve Baker (four years with the NY Rangers) or Sean Fitzmaurice (a handful of games for the NY Mets)

[Tom Tildrum]

Darrell Green played 19 seasons, all for the Washington Redskins.

[OldGuy]

This isn't unusual in the NFL where careers even for very good players can be short. I'll mention Otto Graham (10 years) and Jim Brown (9 years) for the Browns, but one of the longest single team players must be Lou "The Toe" Groza. He played from 1946 to 1959 as a tackle and place kicker for the Browns in the AAFC and the NFL. After retiring for one season he came back as a kicking specialist and played from 1961-67. That's 21 seasons over 22 years for a single team.

[magnusblitz]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

BTW, the question as asked would include thousands of "cup of coffee" type players like Steve Baker (four years with the NY Rangers) or Sean Fitzmaurice (a handful of games for the NY Mets)

I was gonna say, you need some sort of limit on this (like "all pro" or "hall of fame"), otherwise you'd get the vast majority of people who ever played a professional game. At least in the NFL, where careers are short and trades are limited.

[Peremensoe]

Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves.

[Blank Slate]

Also for the New York Yankees:

Phil Rizzuto
Roy White
Thurman Munson
Jorge Posada
Bernie Williams

[Jeff Lichtman]

More from MLB:

Ernie Banks (Cubs)
Charlie Gehringer (Tigers)
Kirby Puckett (Twins)
Edgar Martinez (Mariners)
Bob Gibson (Cardinals)
Robin Yount (Brewers)
Pie Traynor (Pirates)
Jeff Bagwell (Astros)
Craig Biggio (Astros)
Bill Terry (Giants)
Mel Ott (Giants)
Carl Hubbell (Giants)
Pee Wee Reese (Dodgers)
Roy Campanella (Dodgers)
Bill Dickey (Yankees)
Whitey Ford (Yankees)
Bobby Doerr (Red Sox)
Bob Feller (Indians)

[Drain Bead]

If you count a guy staying on a team that relocated halfway through his career, Bruce Matthews played for the Oilers/Titans and no other team.

[penultima thule]

Just as a gentle reminder that there are some professional sportspeople outside the US; the leading candidates for current AFL clubs are below:

Some of the English football professionals have substantially longer "one club careers". I'll leave that post to one of the locals.

Andrew McLeod (Adelaide) 1995–2010 340 games
Simon Black (Brisbane) 1998– 307 games
Bruce Doull (Carlton) 1969–86 356 games
Tony Shaw (Collingwood) 1978–94 313 games
Simon Madden (Essendon) 1974–92 378 games
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle) 2000– 271 games
Ian Nankervis (Geelong) 1967–83 325 games
Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 1972–91 426 games
David Neitz (Melbourne) 1993–2008 306 games
Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) 1996– 338 games
Warren Tredrea (Port Adelaide) 1997–2010 255 games
Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) 1965–83 403 games
Robert Harvey (St Kilda) 1988–2008 383 games
Adam Goodes (Sydney) 1999– 309 games
Glen Jakovich (West Coast) 1991–2004 276 games
Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs)1994–2010 364 games

[Asympotically fat]

There's a lot of one club players in soccer, but here's a few notable ones:

Paolo Maldini, AC Milan 1985-2009 (joined the the club's youth team in 1978) 902 games.
During his time there played every single position at some point.

Ryan Giggs, Manchester United 1990-present (joined the youth team in 1985) 926 games.
If he can get a goal this year, will have scored in every single league season for the last 23 years.

Matt Le Tissier, Southampton 1986-2002 (joined youth team in 1985) 540 games.
Despite being arguably the most talented player in the early Premiership days did not transfer to a bigger club. Southampton were relegated soon after he retired.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

Mike Schmidt played his whole MLB career for the Phillies. There's dedication for you.

Schmidt hit 548 home runs with the Phillies. To my admitted surprise, that is the most homers ever hit by a player who only ever played for one team. (It isn't the most hit for one franchise - that's still Hank Aaron - but it's the most ever hit for one franchise by a guy who never hit one for anyone else.)

Originally Posted by NitroPress

A lot of baseball players stayed with one team before free agency, the more so the further back you go.

This is a common statement but it's really not all that true. It has always been unusual for players to stay with one team their whole careers. Cy Young didn't play for just one team, Babe Ruth didn't, and nor did Tris Speaker or Ty Cobb or Eddie Collins or... well, you get the idea. You had your Stan Musials, sure, but then today you've got Craig Biggios.

In all of baseball history, there are fewer than seventy players who have played 15 seasons in the major leagues and only played for one team. A surprising number of them are players of relatively recent vintage; Biggio, but also Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and others. There have been a LOT of one-team players in the free agent era - Schmidt mentined above, Alan Trammell, Ozzie Smith, Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken, George Brett, Willie Stargell.

[Shearer]

Here's a shipload of them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_one-club_men

[bobot]

I don't think I'm mistaken here, but didn't Walter Payton play for the Chicago Bears only?

[cmosdes]

Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees.

[SCAdian]

Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers (22 years).

[Jeff Lichtman]

Originally Posted by RickJay

There have been a LOT of one-team players in the free agent era - . . . Ozzie Smith. . .

Ozzie Smith played his first four seasons for the Padres before going to the Cardinals.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lichtman

Ozzie Smith played his first four seasons for the Padres before going to the Cardinals.

Duh. What was I thinking?

[Enginerd]

Originally Posted by bobot

I don't think I'm mistaken here, but didn't Walter Payton play for the Chicago Bears only?

Payton did, along with teammates Dan Hampton and Mike Singletary.

[Ponch8]

Magic Johnson - LA Lakers

[cncdad]

HOFers Barrry Larkin and Johnny Bench for the Reds.

[bup]

Nobody's mentioned Walter Johnson (Washington Senators) yet, so I will.

Ken Dryden for the Montreal Canadiens.

Mike Bossy for the Islanders.

[Asympotically fat]

Another interesting thing about Maldini as well as playing for AC Milan for 25 years (and winning the European Cup 5 times with them, more than any other player in history) or 31 years if you count the youth level, his father also played for AC Milan from 1954-1966 (winning the European Cup with them) and managed them in 1973-1974 and again in 2001. Currently both of Paolo Maldini's sons play for AC Milan's youth teams.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by bup

Ken Dryden for the Montreal Canadiens.

Mike Bossy for the Islanders.

I mentioned both in my first post.

Willie O'Ree for the Boston Bruins

Milt Schmidt for the Bruins

Henri Richard for the Canadiens

Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers

(Sorry if most of my knowledge tends toward football and hockey)

[Ponch8]

Originally Posted by Ponch8

Magic Johnson - LA Lakers

A few more Lakers Hall of Famers: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, James Worthy

[kunilou]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Duh. What was I thinking?

You were thinking of Bob Gibson, who played 16 seasons, all with the Cardinals.

[Loach]

Martin Brodeur has played his entire career with the New Jersey Devils. I believe this is his 22nd season.

[5 time champ]

Roger Wehrli 14 seasons, Larry Wilson 13 seasons labored in obscurity for the St Louis Football Cardinals.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Loach

Martin Brodeur has played his entire career with the New Jersey Devils. I believe this is his 22nd season.

If we're now talking current players, let us not forgot Daniel Alfredsson is now in his 17th season with Ottawa (13 as captain, a league high.) Jarome Iginla is enjoying his 16th season in Calgary.

[Guinastasia]

Doesn't necessarily mean they'll finish with that team yet -- Franco Harris played his last season in Seattle and Mike Modano signed with the Red Wings before he retired. (Although Dallas gave him a one-day contract so he could officially retire a Star)

So technically, current players probably don't count.

[ThisSpaceForRent]

The Captain...# 19 Steve Yzerman

Longest Captain of ANY North American sports team.

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Originally Posted by bobot

I don't think I'm mistaken here, but didn't Walter Payton play for the Chicago Bears only?

I was coming in to mention Sweetness but you beat me to it.

In addition to being the best point guard of all time, my Main Man, John Stockton spent his career with the Utah Jazz.

My other Main Man from the same period was David Robinson. The Admiral spent his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs.

[Gangster Octopus]

Jackie Robinson played ten years with Brooklyn Dodgers, before he was traded to the arch rival New York Giants. However, Robinson retired, instead of playing for the Giants, to take a job with Chock Full O'nuts

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

So technically, current players probably don't count.

Then I'll keep my own list in my own head with Brodeur on top. And you can't stop me.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Doesn't necessarily mean they'll finish with that team yet -- Franco Harris played his last season in Seattle and Mike Modano signed with the Red Wings before he retired. (Although Dallas gave him a one-day contract so he could officially retire a Star)

So technically, current players probably don't count.

I'll go with what we have.

Iginla may yet play for someone else in a "get the guy a ring" trade. I doubt Alfredsson will ever leave - in fact I doubt he'll play beyond this year at all - and Brodeur will certainly not.

[Omniscient]

Surprised it took that long for someone to mention Ernie Banks..Mr. Cub and all.

Few more.

Steve Yzerman (Red Wings) - Damn you!
Stan Mikita (Blackhawks)
John Havlicek (Celtics)

[Ponch8]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

Surprised it took that long for someone to mention Ernie Banks..Mr. Cub and all.

Post #16

[etv78]

Trivia question: Name the only player to play for a franchise in 3 different cities?

[runner pat]

Originally Posted by etv78

Trivia question: Name the only player to play for a franchise in 3 different cities?

Eddie Mathews-Braves. Boston, Millwaukee and Atlanta.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by Loach

Then I'll keep my own list in my own head with Brodeur on top. And you can't stop me.

Fine with me. I was just saying that you never know. And if we wanna go that route, chances are that Sidney Crosby's gonna be a Penguin for life. At least that seems to be the plan. Hell, Consol Energy Center has a capacity of 18,087 for hockey games. That should tell you something.

Tim Thomas is probably done. I doubt his "break" is going to end any time soon.

And I named Yzerman and Mikita in my first post. So neener neener neener!


Rocky Blier for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Would Joe Sakic count? He didn't change teams -- he stayed with the Nordiques after they moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Would Joe Sakic count? He didn't change teams -- he stayed with the Nordiques after they moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche.

Yup, that counts. I counted Shane Doan, who played for the Jets that become the Coyotes. Same franchise.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Schmidt hit 548 home runs with the Phillies. To my admitted surprise, that is the most homers ever hit by a player who only ever played for one team. (It isn't the most hit for one franchise - that's still Hank Aaron - but it's the most ever hit for one franchise by a guy who never hit one for anyone else.)

That was a statistic about him that I didn't know, but it doesn't surprise me. He retired when his numbers dropped too low for his own standards, and turned down opportunities to DH in the AL. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995, the only player elected that year in their first year of eligibility. He has impressive numbers for a 1980s ballplayer.