pirate44
06-14-2005, 12:26 PM
1. Mike Tyson
He started his career 37-0, with 33 knockouts. He ended it a laughingstock, someone to be pitied.
2. Babe Ruth
He held more than 50 major-league records, and was the top draw in the sport, but he was a shell of himself by 1934. A career .342 hitter, he batted only .288 with 22 home runs in that '34 season. His home run totals in the 1930s read like this: 49, 46, 41, 34, 22. That should have ended his playing days. It didn't. Ruth wanted to manage. He wasn't going to manage the Yankees. He turned down a chance to pilot in the minors. The Tigers turned him down. Ruth had to sign a player's contract with the Boston Braves for the 1935 season for $20,000 (a quarter of what he had once earned with the Yankees).
At the press conference announcing his signing, Ruth said he would become the next manager of the Braves the following season, with the current manager Bill McKecknie elevated to general manager. That didn't go over too well with Boston's owners. Ruth hit only six home runs, and retired as a player after 28 games. Ruth was signed in 1935 as a gate attraction, not a future manager.
Willie Mays with the Mets was not a pretty picture. ( / Getty Images)
3. Willie Mays
The late, great sportswriter Jimmy Cannon wrote in 1971 of the 40-year-old Mays, "He carries the skills across the autumn, and he reminds me of those summer days years ago. ... There was a race, and people would have to negotiate a distance holding an egg on a spoon. The ones who were careful, walking gingerly, won. Every step was important, and if the egg rolled off the spoon the race was over. This is Willie Mays now."
After 20 great seasons as the best all-around player in the game, the egg fell off the spoon. In 1972, Mays was traded by the Giants to the Mets early in the season. Mays became a part-time player, batting .250 and hitting only eight home runs. In 1973, he batted .211 with six homers. He made an error, falling down in center field, in Game 2 of the World Series against the Oakland A's. In doing so, he became the poster child for terrible endings to great careers.
Mays lost two years of his prime to military service, and Hank Aaron had an uninterrupted career. Mays, in all likelihood, would have been the first player to break Babe Ruth's career home-run record. Because of that, the ending of Mays' career was much sadder than Hank Aaron's.
4. Franco Harris
OK, he wasn't pitied, or kept around as a gate attraction, but he deserves to be ahead of the other athletes on this list. Franco Harris finished the 1983 season — his 12th with the Steelers — with 11,950 rushing yards. That placed him second, only 362 yards behind Jim Brown, the all-time leader. Since Harris had run for 1,007 in '83, he had every reason to believe he would be acknowledged (if only for a short time, since 30-year-old Walter Payton had finished 1983 with 11,625 yards.) So, Harris needed 362 yards, before Payton rushed for 687 yards. Jim Brown's mark stood as the finishing line in Harris' great career.
Here's what happened. Harris missed training camp while negotiating with the Steelers who were looking for an excuse to unload him. He signed with a very good Seahawks team, who needed him when their star running back, Curt Warner, was lost for the season in the regular-season opener, suffering a serious knee injury.
Harris played eight games for the Seahawks. He played behind starting running backs David Hughes and Eric Lane. In a late September game between the Seahawks and Bears, Payton passed the 12,000-yard mark and zoomed past Harris for second place behind Brown. Harris had 14 rushes in that game for 23 yards. Payton had 24 carries for 116 yards.
Harris ran the ball 68 times in 1984, for only 170 yards. He didn't beat Payton to Jim Brown's record, and he never did reach Brown's mark. If you're going to hang around for records, you might as well break it.
Joe Namath lost out on the L.A. Rams' starting QB job to Pat Haden after just four weeks of the 1977 season. (Staff / Getty Images)
5. Joe Namath
Namath signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent after 12 years with the New York Jets. He lost the starting job to quarterback Pat Haden after just four weeks of the 1977 season. It was no fun being a second-string quarterback for a superstar player and movie star. Truth be told, with Vince Ferragamo on the roster, Namath was third string. Not a Hollywood ending, although it happened in Hollywood.
6. Jerry Rice
There are no records left to break. The man wanted to prove the 49ers wrong, he did that with two sensational years in Oakland. Then, his skills finally eroded in 2003. In 2004, he went to Seattle. He didn't lead them to a championship, and wasn't even on the field during the end of their playoff game. Now, he's fighting for a roster spot with Denver Broncos receivers 20 years younger than him. Why, Jerry?
7. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan had the storybook ending to his career. He hit the game-winning shot to win his sixth NBA championship in 1998. Or so we thought. If Jordan (or Rice, or anyone else) wants to tarnish his legacy because they enjoy playing or need money or the competition, that's their right. It's our right not to watch it. It was well reported that the Washington Wizard Jordan wouldn't let teammate Rip Hamilton leave practice sometimes until Rip would lose to Jordan in high-stakes bets. Jordan played two seasons and failed to make the playoffs in a diluted Eastern Conference. Like the Babe, he was a marvelous gate attraction, and occasionally turned back the clock.
8. Steve Carlton
He was a rookie in 1967, and was still one of the best pitchers in baseball in 1984 (13-7, 3.58 ERA). In 1985, he finished 1-8 and went on the disabled list for the first time in his 18 years playing. He never regained his form. Carlton became increasingly frustrated — experimenting with a knuckleball, for instance — and began the 1986 season just 4-8 with a 6.18 ERA. The Phillies released him, after 14 years of service. A week later, Carlton signed with the Giants. He won just one game for San Francisco. In August, he became the first lefthander to throw for 4,000 strikeouts, then was gone from the Giants the next day. He finished the season with the White Sox. His cumulative record in 1986 was 9-14 with a 5.10 ERA. It still wasn't enough. Carlton pitched for the Indians and Twins in 1987 and went 6-14 with a 5.74 ERA. In April 1988, after appearing in four games for the Twins, he was released and soon retired.
It wasn't a great way for one of the best pitchers of all time to bow out. Following his playing days, a series of bad investments meant Carlton had to open up (literally) to the media and the public. He is literally the player who said hello when it was time to say goodbye.
9. Early Wynn
Early Wynn was a Hall of Fame pitcher who ended his career with exactly 300 victories. A rookie in 1939, he entered the 1962 season with 292 wins. Wynn went 7-15 that season. The White Sox gave him three shots at the end of the season for 300. You couldn't blame them for releasing him, and allowing his former team, the Cleveland Indians, to pick him up for 1963. In his first start in '63, he pitched a complete game, only to lose on a ninth-inning home run. It got painstaking as Wynn couldn't grasp that last elusive victory. Finally, on July 13, the Indians staked him to a 5-0 lead. He made it through the fifth inning with a 5-4 lead, and the bullpen held it. It was the final start of his career. It was Wynn's eighth attempt at a 300th victory. And he was the first pitcher to win his 300th game without throwing a complete game.
10. Bobby Orr
Hockey fans revere Orr. But his performance in his two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks could not be held against him. His knee degenerated, and he was performing at far less than his usual level of play. This isn't a player who hung around for records, or even championships. It still wasn't pretty.
He started his career 37-0, with 33 knockouts. He ended it a laughingstock, someone to be pitied.
2. Babe Ruth
He held more than 50 major-league records, and was the top draw in the sport, but he was a shell of himself by 1934. A career .342 hitter, he batted only .288 with 22 home runs in that '34 season. His home run totals in the 1930s read like this: 49, 46, 41, 34, 22. That should have ended his playing days. It didn't. Ruth wanted to manage. He wasn't going to manage the Yankees. He turned down a chance to pilot in the minors. The Tigers turned him down. Ruth had to sign a player's contract with the Boston Braves for the 1935 season for $20,000 (a quarter of what he had once earned with the Yankees).
At the press conference announcing his signing, Ruth said he would become the next manager of the Braves the following season, with the current manager Bill McKecknie elevated to general manager. That didn't go over too well with Boston's owners. Ruth hit only six home runs, and retired as a player after 28 games. Ruth was signed in 1935 as a gate attraction, not a future manager.
Willie Mays with the Mets was not a pretty picture. ( / Getty Images)
3. Willie Mays
The late, great sportswriter Jimmy Cannon wrote in 1971 of the 40-year-old Mays, "He carries the skills across the autumn, and he reminds me of those summer days years ago. ... There was a race, and people would have to negotiate a distance holding an egg on a spoon. The ones who were careful, walking gingerly, won. Every step was important, and if the egg rolled off the spoon the race was over. This is Willie Mays now."
After 20 great seasons as the best all-around player in the game, the egg fell off the spoon. In 1972, Mays was traded by the Giants to the Mets early in the season. Mays became a part-time player, batting .250 and hitting only eight home runs. In 1973, he batted .211 with six homers. He made an error, falling down in center field, in Game 2 of the World Series against the Oakland A's. In doing so, he became the poster child for terrible endings to great careers.
Mays lost two years of his prime to military service, and Hank Aaron had an uninterrupted career. Mays, in all likelihood, would have been the first player to break Babe Ruth's career home-run record. Because of that, the ending of Mays' career was much sadder than Hank Aaron's.
4. Franco Harris
OK, he wasn't pitied, or kept around as a gate attraction, but he deserves to be ahead of the other athletes on this list. Franco Harris finished the 1983 season — his 12th with the Steelers — with 11,950 rushing yards. That placed him second, only 362 yards behind Jim Brown, the all-time leader. Since Harris had run for 1,007 in '83, he had every reason to believe he would be acknowledged (if only for a short time, since 30-year-old Walter Payton had finished 1983 with 11,625 yards.) So, Harris needed 362 yards, before Payton rushed for 687 yards. Jim Brown's mark stood as the finishing line in Harris' great career.
Here's what happened. Harris missed training camp while negotiating with the Steelers who were looking for an excuse to unload him. He signed with a very good Seahawks team, who needed him when their star running back, Curt Warner, was lost for the season in the regular-season opener, suffering a serious knee injury.
Harris played eight games for the Seahawks. He played behind starting running backs David Hughes and Eric Lane. In a late September game between the Seahawks and Bears, Payton passed the 12,000-yard mark and zoomed past Harris for second place behind Brown. Harris had 14 rushes in that game for 23 yards. Payton had 24 carries for 116 yards.
Harris ran the ball 68 times in 1984, for only 170 yards. He didn't beat Payton to Jim Brown's record, and he never did reach Brown's mark. If you're going to hang around for records, you might as well break it.
Joe Namath lost out on the L.A. Rams' starting QB job to Pat Haden after just four weeks of the 1977 season. (Staff / Getty Images)
5. Joe Namath
Namath signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent after 12 years with the New York Jets. He lost the starting job to quarterback Pat Haden after just four weeks of the 1977 season. It was no fun being a second-string quarterback for a superstar player and movie star. Truth be told, with Vince Ferragamo on the roster, Namath was third string. Not a Hollywood ending, although it happened in Hollywood.
6. Jerry Rice
There are no records left to break. The man wanted to prove the 49ers wrong, he did that with two sensational years in Oakland. Then, his skills finally eroded in 2003. In 2004, he went to Seattle. He didn't lead them to a championship, and wasn't even on the field during the end of their playoff game. Now, he's fighting for a roster spot with Denver Broncos receivers 20 years younger than him. Why, Jerry?
7. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan had the storybook ending to his career. He hit the game-winning shot to win his sixth NBA championship in 1998. Or so we thought. If Jordan (or Rice, or anyone else) wants to tarnish his legacy because they enjoy playing or need money or the competition, that's their right. It's our right not to watch it. It was well reported that the Washington Wizard Jordan wouldn't let teammate Rip Hamilton leave practice sometimes until Rip would lose to Jordan in high-stakes bets. Jordan played two seasons and failed to make the playoffs in a diluted Eastern Conference. Like the Babe, he was a marvelous gate attraction, and occasionally turned back the clock.
8. Steve Carlton
He was a rookie in 1967, and was still one of the best pitchers in baseball in 1984 (13-7, 3.58 ERA). In 1985, he finished 1-8 and went on the disabled list for the first time in his 18 years playing. He never regained his form. Carlton became increasingly frustrated — experimenting with a knuckleball, for instance — and began the 1986 season just 4-8 with a 6.18 ERA. The Phillies released him, after 14 years of service. A week later, Carlton signed with the Giants. He won just one game for San Francisco. In August, he became the first lefthander to throw for 4,000 strikeouts, then was gone from the Giants the next day. He finished the season with the White Sox. His cumulative record in 1986 was 9-14 with a 5.10 ERA. It still wasn't enough. Carlton pitched for the Indians and Twins in 1987 and went 6-14 with a 5.74 ERA. In April 1988, after appearing in four games for the Twins, he was released and soon retired.
It wasn't a great way for one of the best pitchers of all time to bow out. Following his playing days, a series of bad investments meant Carlton had to open up (literally) to the media and the public. He is literally the player who said hello when it was time to say goodbye.
9. Early Wynn
Early Wynn was a Hall of Fame pitcher who ended his career with exactly 300 victories. A rookie in 1939, he entered the 1962 season with 292 wins. Wynn went 7-15 that season. The White Sox gave him three shots at the end of the season for 300. You couldn't blame them for releasing him, and allowing his former team, the Cleveland Indians, to pick him up for 1963. In his first start in '63, he pitched a complete game, only to lose on a ninth-inning home run. It got painstaking as Wynn couldn't grasp that last elusive victory. Finally, on July 13, the Indians staked him to a 5-0 lead. He made it through the fifth inning with a 5-4 lead, and the bullpen held it. It was the final start of his career. It was Wynn's eighth attempt at a 300th victory. And he was the first pitcher to win his 300th game without throwing a complete game.
10. Bobby Orr
Hockey fans revere Orr. But his performance in his two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks could not be held against him. His knee degenerated, and he was performing at far less than his usual level of play. This isn't a player who hung around for records, or even championships. It still wasn't pretty.