# People who gave up an activity they were incredible at to take up something they were not good at. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870 "2015-10-17T02:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/21 "2015-10-17T17:48:38Z")
Ulysses S. Grant ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/22 "2015-10-17T17:54:22Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > Michael Jordan: Retired from basketball to play baseball. Wasn’t good at the game, returned to the NBA. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’d disagree that MJ wasn’t “good” at baseball. I mean, shit, he was good enough to become a professional at it, I’d say that qualifies pretty easily as “good”. He obviously wasn’t the great, great athlete in baseball he was in basketball but he was no slouch at baseball either. And the persistent rumor is that Michael Jordan’s temporary leave of absence from the N.B.A. was not voluntary. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/23 "2015-10-17T18:05:34Z")
There was a French(?) writer who in his later years completely committed himself to learning all aspects of chess, openings, endgame, strategy etc. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/24 "2015-10-17T18:31:10Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > There was a French(?) writer who in his later years completely committed himself to learning all aspects of chess, openings, endgame, strategy etc. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name. 😕 You’re not thinking of Marcel Duchamp, are you? ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/25 "2015-10-17T18:41:05Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > You’re not thinking of Marcel Duchamp, are you? Yes! But I now realize that he wasn’t actually bad at chess. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/26 "2015-10-17T21:36:56Z")
Who knows how good Jordan might have been at baseball if that’s where he had concentrated his energy from the beginning. Taking up the game at thirty something after not playing since high school and then batting .200 in AA? Maybe he still wouldn’t have learned to hit a breaking pitch, but he might have been another Dave Winfield. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/27 "2015-10-17T23:46:06Z")
Jesse Ventura had middling success as a wrestler, more success as a wrestling announcer, back to middling success as an actor, the success running for political office, then became professional crackpot. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/28 "2015-10-18T02:34:04Z")
I used to spend all my time pleasuring women, and now I play blues piano in bars. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/29 "2015-10-19T09:34:45Z")
Lucien Bernhard more or less invented modern poster art, then chucked it all to become a less than mediocre painter. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/30 "2015-10-19T13:21:59Z")
Every singer/ song writer/ band that gave up producing popular music to devote themselves to “art”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/31 "2015-10-19T14:16:09Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Every singer/ song writer/ band that gave up producing popular music to devote themselves to “art”. 🙂 Got any particular examples in mind? I’m sure there are some, but there are also examples of artists who got better as they got artsier (e.g. The Beatles). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/32 "2015-10-19T14:22:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > O.J. Simpson. Great athlete to being so-so actor. To being an even worse murderer ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/33 "2015-10-19T14:31:10Z")
Charles Barkley and his pursuit of golf. It’s the most god awful, pathetic, cringe-inducing swing you’ve ever seen. > [@Acsenray](#): > > And the persistent rumor is that Michael Jordan’s temporary leave of absence from the N.B.A. was not voluntary. Can you elaborate? I hadn’t heard and am most curious. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/34 "2015-10-19T14:45:46Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > To being an even worse murderer Well, the people he wanted dead, are. Seems like his goals were achieved. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/35 "2015-10-19T15:20:45Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Shelley Long > > John DeLorean > > and, in honor of Halloween, Dr Frankenstein Who are these people and what did they do? > [@madsircool](#): > > To being an even worse murderer He got away with it. That’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/36 "2015-10-19T15:22:54Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > O.J. Simpson. Great athlete to being so-so actor. I don’t know if looking at what professional athletes do after they’re retired really counts; it’s not like OJ gave up playing football to act, or Charles Barkley quit the NBA to play comically bad golf. Or for that matter, politicians who weren’t re-elected don’t count either, as they didn’t necessarily “quit”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/37 "2015-10-19T15:44:55Z")
Curt Schilling was a considerably more successful baseball player than he was video game developer. But I don’t know if he retired for that or just because he was at the end of his baseball run. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/38 "2015-10-19T15:57:00Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Charles Barkley and his pursuit of golf. It’s the most god awful, pathetic, cringe-inducing swing you’ve ever seen. > > Can you elaborate? I hadn’t heard and am most curious. Rumours abound that he was ‘suspended’ for gambling offenses. A quick google search will turn up any number of theories on the specifics. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/39 "2015-10-19T16:12:39Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > O.J. Simpson. Great athlete to being so-so actor. > [@madsircool](#): > > To being an even worse murderer And an even more worse robber and kidnapper. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870/40 "2015-10-19T16:44:56Z")
Two more in music kinda fit and I don’t believe have been mentioned: - **Garth Brooks** and his attempt to repackage himself as Aussie rocker Chris Gaines. - **Chris Cornell** aka, best hard rock vocalist everrr from grunge legends Soundgardern and super group with ex Rage folks Audioslave, did a solo album of R&B/dance tracks produced by legendary hip hop producer **Timbaland** that bombed mightily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-gave-up-an-activity-they-were-incredible-at-to-take-up-something-they-were-not-good-at/734870.md?page=3)