5 of the Greatest Athlete Comebacks Ever

Everybody loves a good comeback story. Whether it's an athlete's return from an injury or illness, or just overcoming Father Time for one last shot at glory, there's something that just speaks to us about a once-great athlete becoming underdog and finding success again.

It's also a testament to human endurance and the ability to overcome. Comeback stories can be inspirational. 

Here are five of the best comeback stories out there. 

Mario Lemieux

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Mario Lemieux seemed like he was making a comeback for most of his career.

After eight stellar seasons in the NHL, during the 1992-93 season, Lemieux announced that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He left the team to undergo treatment but returned two months later on his last day of radiation to score a goal and record an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. His return prompted a 17-game win streak.

Over the next few years, Lemieux had to take time off due to a herniated back and fatigue brought on by radiation treatment, but he continued to play at a high level. In 1997 he retired and the three-year waiting period was waived so he could be immediately enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

That would be about enough to include him on this list, but Lemieux came back again in 2000 after he had bought the Penguins and played for five more seasons before finally retiring for good at age 40.

Rocky Bleier

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Rocky Bleier is a tougher man than you. You just have to accept it.

The halfback was drafted by the Steelers in 1968, but after his rookie year, he was drafted again—this time into the Vietnam War. There, his platoon was ambushed, and Bleier was hit with a grenade that sent shrapnel into his right foot. As a result, part of his foot had to be amputated.

Bleier rejoined the Steelers in 1971, but he wasn't anywhere near fully recovered. He was waived on two separate occasions. Finally, in 1974 he made the team and earned a spot in the starting lineup. From there, he helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in six years, even catching the winning touchdown in his final Super Bowl.

George Foreman

Lennox McLendon/Associated Press

There have been plenty of comebacks from retirement in sports. Athletes are notorious for not being able to stay away from competition. But there aren't many comebacks that occur a decade after retirement, and there are even fewer that end well.

George Foreman is the exception to that general rule. In 1987, after 10 years away from the sport, Foreman came back to mixed results. He won some fights but faltered when given a shot at a title.

That is, until 1994 when a 45-year-old Foreman managed to endure 10 rounds of punishment from Michael Moorer before managing to land a solid right hand that knocked Moorer out, earning Foreman the world heavyweight belt and making him the oldest fighter to ever win a championship at the time.

Bethany Hamilton

Matt Sayles/Associated Press

Getting my arm bitten off by a shark would be enough to keep me away from even a bath tub, let alone the same waters where it happened. But it didn't stop surfer Bethany Hamilton from returning to the ocean.

In 2003, a then-13-year-old Hamilton was attacked by a 1,400-pound tiger shark while surfing and nearly died from the blood loss. But she was determined to keep surfing and has since fulfilled her dream of becoming a pro surfer, winning a silver medal at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championship in 2009.

Hamilton is still competing and impressing today.

Ben Hogan

DENNIS LEE ROYLE/Associated Press

Although he played around 60 years ago, Ben Hogan is still revered as one of the greatest golfers of all time. But his career is even more remarkable when you consider what happened toward the end of it.

In 1949 at the age of 36, Hogan was involved in a head-on crash with a Greyhound bus. He barely survived by throwing himself over his wife to protect her, narrowly missing getting crushed by the steering wheel. He suffered a fractured left collarbone, a double fraction of his pelvis, a broken ankle and a chipped rib. Later on, he suffered near-fatal respiratory issues related to the crash.

Following all that, Hogan was too weak to even swing a club, and many thought he would never play golf again. But 16 months later, Hogan won the U.S. Open.

Hogan went on to win three straight majors later in his career, which had never been done before. It was deemed the "Hogan Slam." Overall, he won six majors after his accident and elevated his status from a great golfer to a legend.