What are some of the worst examples of pro athletes who tried to continue playing long after their physical skills had diminished?
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.
Rickey Henderson. The San Diego Surf Dawgs? Seriously?
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[ul]
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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.
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.
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.
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!).
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.
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.
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
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…
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.
I guess you’d be a fan of Formula 1 Rejects, 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
Seeing Johnny U in a Chargers uniform makes me want to vomit.
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.)
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?
YouTube link to 37-year old Jess Willard being beaten up by 24-year old Jack Dempsey, Dempsey treating it like a dirty job that had to be done to get the belt.
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.
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.