Oldbones
Hates Surprises
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
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I imagine the hardest thing is to retire and walk away from what you love, and from the concomitant adulation, even if your work product is clearly not as good as it once was, whether you are Frank Sinatra, the subject of another current post, or superstars Willie Mays and Warren Spahn, who stayed around too long in baseball. Here are four professional athletes who come to mind, who retired while on top:
Heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano. After knocking out nine of his last ten opponents (the only one who lasted was KO’d in a rematch), and with no challenging opponents on the horizon, in 1955 Rocky retired 49-0 at age 32.
Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax. Following a 27-9 1.73 ERA 300+ Ks, Cy Young award winning season Sandy, on advice of physicians, walked away in 1966 at age 30.
Browns running back Jim Brown. After completing his second best rushing season ever, leading the NFL in rushing again, for the eighth time in nine years, Jim packed it in in 1964 at age 29 for a movie career.
Tennis player Steffi Graf. In 1999, after winning the French Open and making the Wimbledon final that year, Steffi decided that it wasn’t fun anymore, and retired at 30.
Are there others?
Heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano. After knocking out nine of his last ten opponents (the only one who lasted was KO’d in a rematch), and with no challenging opponents on the horizon, in 1955 Rocky retired 49-0 at age 32.
Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax. Following a 27-9 1.73 ERA 300+ Ks, Cy Young award winning season Sandy, on advice of physicians, walked away in 1966 at age 30.
Browns running back Jim Brown. After completing his second best rushing season ever, leading the NFL in rushing again, for the eighth time in nine years, Jim packed it in in 1964 at age 29 for a movie career.
Tennis player Steffi Graf. In 1999, after winning the French Open and making the Wimbledon final that year, Steffi decided that it wasn’t fun anymore, and retired at 30.
Are there others?