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

[TheBoltEater]

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

Originally Posted by RickJay

Duh. What was I thinking?

No, what were the Padres thinking?

[RealityChuck]

MLB
Ted Lyons (White Sox)
Luke Appling (White Sox)
Addie Joss (Indians) (in the HOF, though he only played nine seasons).

[etv78]

Originally Posted by runner pat

Eddie Mathews-Braves. Boston, Millwaukee and Atlanta.

Correct of course.

[Cugel]

Originally Posted by penultima thule

the leading candidates for current AFL clubs are below:

And what about Jock McHale at Collingwood, a 17 year playing career overlapped by a 37 year coaching stint, 46 years all up (1903-1949)

[Mr. Greenjeans]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

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.

He also might lead the league in the number of tears shed during a retirement speech:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOPL...e_gdata_player

[chargerrich]

As a San Diego Chargers fan I was saddened to see both LT and Junior not finish stay with the Chargers but at least Dan Fouts did

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Originally Posted by TheBoltEater

No, what were the Padres thinking?

Trading a glove for a stick - Templeton was arguably the best hitting shortstop in baseball at the time, with a career .305 batting average with a .743 OPS and a Silver Slugger award while playing for St. Louis. He was never quite the same hitter in San Diego as he was in St. louis, but still won another Silver Slugger in 1984.

[zamboniracer]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

MLB

Addie Joss (Indians) (in the HOF, though he only played nine seasons).

Early, tragic death due to illness tends to cut short a career.

[kenobi 65]

Robin Yount -- 20 years with the Brewers, and won MVP awards as both a shortstop ('82) and center fielder ('89).

And, while not of the same level of talent as Yount, his contemporary Jim Gantner played his entire 17-year career with the Brewers.

[kenobi 65]

nevermind.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Dread Pirate Jimbo

Trading a glove for a stick - Templeton was arguably the best hitting shortstop in baseball at the time, with a career .305 batting average with a .743 OPS and a Silver Slugger award while playing for St. Louis. He was never quite the same hitter in San Diego as he was in St. louis, but still won another Silver Slugger in 1984.

Not only did Templeton fade as a Padre (he never hit over .300 again after the trade), but Smith's batting improved substantially after the trade (he went from a .231 hitter as a Padre, to hitting .272 as a Cardinal).

[Annie-Xmas]

Bruce Harper, NY Jet, 1977 - 1984

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Annie-Xmas

Bruce Harper, NY Jet, 1977 - 1984

I loved the Smidget!

[Annie-Xmas]

Sadly, "Smidget" isn't doing very well.

I know Bruce Harper. I love Bruce Harper. I am so very sad about this.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Annie-Xmas

Sadly, "Smidget" isn't doing very well.

I know Bruce Harper. I love Bruce Harper. I am so very sad about this.

Yeah, after I'd posted that, I saw your link in the other thread. Very sad, and way too common among former players.

I grew up in Green Bay; my father owned a hardware store, and we had a number of current and former Packers who came into the store. I vividly remember an offensive lineman named Derrel Gofourth, who loved hunting. He already had bad arthritis in his elbows from the pounding he'd taken (and, at that point, he was only about 28 years old)...he told me that, when the doctor told him he'd have to decide what angle he'd like his elbows to wind up in (since he was quickly losing mobility in them), he asked the doctor to put them in a sort of bent position, so that he could still shoot a deer rifle. I wonder what shape he's in, now, 30 years later.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by kenobi 65

Not only did Templeton fade as a Padre (he never hit over .300 again after the trade), but Smith's batting improved substantially after the trade (he went from a .231 hitter as a Padre, to hitting .272 as a Cardinal).

In fairness there's just no way you could have anticipated that. St. Louis traded Templeton because of a perceived attitude problem, for which there is some objective evidence. Nobody at the time anticipated that Templeton had seen his best days at age 25, nor did anyone think a hitter as bad as Ozzie Smith (though he was rightly regarded as a defensive genius) would become one of the best players in the league.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by RickJay

In fairness there's just no way you could have anticipated that.

Exactly so, and that's the point I was trying to make. At the time, it didn't seem like a bad trade for either team. With the benefit of hindsight, of course, we now can say, "What were the Padres thinking?", as TheBoltEater did.

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Originally Posted by kenobi 65

Exactly so, and that's the point I was trying to make. At the time, it didn't seem like a bad trade for either team. With the benefit of hindsight, of course, we now can say, "What were the Padres thinking?", as TheBoltEater did.

Yes, but without the benefit of hindsight, I stand by my earlier answer -- the Padres were thinking they were trading the best shortstop glove for the best shortstop bat at the time.