# Athletes whose final game/match was winning a championship **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 3, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516 "2023-07-03T21:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/1 "2023-07-03T21:30:56Z")
Pete Sampras did it, though he waited about a year before confirming for sure he was done. He won the US Open and then reflected on it a bit and decided that was indeed it. Kareem Abdul-Jabar lost to my Detroit Pistons in the 1989 Finals. Close, no cigar. Who else was able to win a championship and then ride off into the sunset? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/2 "2023-07-03T21:36:45Z")
Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/3 "2023-07-03T21:41:52Z")
Hideki Matsui 2009 Yankees. MVP of the World Series also. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/4 "2023-07-03T21:42:42Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50. Hey, very impressive. I didn’t realize that. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/5 "2023-07-03T21:49:31Z")
Nico Rosberg won the 2016 F1 championship in the middle of Lewis Hamilton’s 7 year long run of domination and then up and quit. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/6 "2023-07-03T21:50:04Z")
Alex Rios’s last game was his Kansas City Royals winning the 2015 World Series. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/7 "2023-07-03T21:54:12Z")
I imagine with the roster size of NFL teams, it’s pretty much guaranteed that _someone_ is going to retire after winning the Super Bowl. Looks like Chad Henne retired after this last one. Andrew Whitworth retired after the Rams won. Manning is probably the most high-profile one. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/8 "2023-07-03T22:28:10Z")
Otto Graham won his last NFL championship in 1955 as Quarterback of the Browns before retiring. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/9 "2023-07-03T22:32:43Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Hideki Matsui 2009 Yankees. > MVP of the World Series also. Hideki Matsui played for three more years after that, though. Joe DiMaggio did retire after winning the 1951 World Series. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/10 "2023-07-03T22:42:36Z")
April 14, 1960 - Maurice “Rocket” Richard played his last NHL game as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs to win their fifth Stanley Cup in a row. I’m sure there were other NHL’ers, but Richard was probably the most noteworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/11 "2023-07-03T22:57:17Z")
Raymond Bourque winning the 2001 Stanley Cup David Ross winning the 2016 World Series (yes, I know he went on to be a manager but that doesn’t count, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/12 "2023-07-03T23:03:15Z")
In 1948, Donald Bradman was captain and lead scorer of the best cricket team in the world. They finished their tour without a single defeat, against the 2nd best team in the world. Then Bradman retired. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/13 "2023-07-03T23:20:08Z")
Michael Jordan did it twice retiring after each threepeat. The second one after hitting the game winning shot in the last game. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/14 "2023-07-03T23:24:52Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Michael Jordan did it twice retiring after each threepeat. And, he subsequently un-retired each time, as well. His actual final NBA game was with the Wizards, in 2003, five years after the Bulls’ second three-peat. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/15 "2023-07-03T23:24:56Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Michael Jordan did it twice retiring after each threepeat. The second one after hitting the game winning shot in the last game. Uh, didn’t he come back on the Wizards and his final game was not a championship? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/16 "2023-07-03T23:26:36Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Uh, didn’t he come back on the Wizards and his final game was not a championship? That is correct (see my simulpost above). The Wizards failed to reach the playoffs in Jordan’s final season as a player. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/17 "2023-07-03T23:33:44Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > I’m sure there were other NHL’ers, but Richard was probably the most noteworthy. There’s also Bill Barilko from the Maple Leafs (as described in the song “Fifty Mission Cap”). ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/18 "2023-07-03T23:34:49Z")
Bill Russell of the Celtics won the '69 NBA championship in game 7, his last game as a player(/coach). It was his 11th title in 13 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/19 "2023-07-03T23:51:05Z")
John Elway retired after winning his 2nd consecutive super bowl. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516/20 "2023-07-03T23:53:41Z")
Jerome Bettis retired after winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers. David Robinson retired after winning his second championship with the Spurs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-whose-final-game-match-was-winning-a-championship/986516.md?page=2)