The Ultimate Old Guy Sports Dream Team
As the cliché goes, age is just a state of mind.
And throughout sports history, some athletes have proven that to be true. Some have done it with one great individual performance or an entire season of age-defying prowess.
Relying on toughness, experience, old man strength, and maybe FiberCon or orthopedic back pillows, these 15 men are legends in every sense of the word.
No. 15: Ted Williams
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Not only did he play in four decades (from 1939-1960), he hit better than .300 in his first and last season.
Still, two other facts are equally incredible. In 1957, he nearly hit .400 (he finished with .388) at the age of 38. The next year, he won his sixth American League batting title.
No. 14: Joe Paterno
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He’s 83 and still the head coach of one of the biggest and most storied programs in all of college sports.
Although we can’t be certain how much he actually does in terms of game-day preparations, the results are hard to argue. The Nittany Lions have played in two BCS Bowls the previous five seasons.
No. 13: Minnie Minoso
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The Cuban-born left fielder was a star in the Negro Leagues and the Mexican Leagues before coming to the Major Leagues in 1949, earning nine All Star selections and three gold gloves. In 1963, he retired only to make short appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 1976 and 1980 (the latter at age 54).
He also pinch hit in a minor league game in 1993, at the age of 67. His eyes were still sharp: he walked.
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No. 12: Sam Snead
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Snead contended on the PGA Tour well into his 60s and remains the oldest man to make the cut at the US Open, doing so in 1973 at age 61. He finished third at the PGA a year later. He remains the oldest person to win a PGA event when he won the Greater Greensboro Open at age 65.
No. 11: Marv Levy
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Considering the hectic, draining lifestyle of a modern NFL head coach, the fact that Levy continued to coach the Buffalo Bills up until the age of 72 is nothing short of miraculous.
Spending two years (2006-07) as the team’s General Manager is also an incredible feat.
No. 10: Brett Favre
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Many NFL players have, especially quarterbacks, have hung around a roster into their forties. But considering that Favre started all 16 games for the Vikings last season, and so far, all three this season, Favre’s old guy prowess is unmatched.
No. 9: Julio Franco
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Franco enjoyed a fairly good career in the majors from 1982-99 before washing out and traveling to Japan. He returned with the Atlanta Braves in 2001 at age 43.
As a 45-year-old, he played in 125 games during the 2004 season and hit .309. After brief stints with the Mets and Braves again, he finally retired in 2007, at the age of 49.
No. 8: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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20 seasons in the NBA, as a center and arguably the best player in the league, makes Kareem one amazing old guy.
Near the end of the 1988-89 season—in which he played 74 games and average 10 points-per-game--he turned 42 and retired after playing in his 10th NBA Finals.
No. 7: Satchel Paige
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Paige was already (allegedly; no one knows for sure) 42 when he finally made it to the Majors after integration. He pitched well for the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns before retiring after 1953.
Then, in 1965, at the age of 59, he returned to start one game for the Kansas City Royals. He struck out one and allowed just one hit in three innings.
No. 5: George Foreman
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In 1994, Foreman won the WBA Heavyweight title for the third time and enjoyed three successful title defenses. He competed in heavyweight title fights up until 1997. By that time he was nearly 49 years-old.
No. 4: George Blanda
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Long before Gary Anderson and Morten Anderson became the famous “old” kickers of the NFL, Blanda earned his third All Pro selection in 1973, at age 43. He kicked for the Oakland Raiders until the age of 48 before retiring at the end of the 1975 NFL season.
But he remains most famous for what he did a few years earlier. In 1970, in three different games, a 43-year-old Blanda relieved an injured starter and threw touchdown passes for the AFC West winning Raiders.
No. 3: Jamie Moyer
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He may be 47 years old, but he still started 19 games for the Phillies this season. Not only did he finish 9-9 with a respectable ERA under 5.00, he threw two complete games, one of which was a shutout.
It’s remarkable that Moyer’s playing career has lasted even longer than Peter Rose’s banishment.
No. 2: Nolan Ryan
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Although Ryan was still striking players out half his age when he retired in 1993, it’s what he did a few years earlier that is most impressive.
In 1990, he led the AL in strike outs and threw his sixth no-hitter. A year later, at age 44, he outdid himself, throwing his seventh.
And that last season, at age 46, he also beat the crap out of Robin Ventura, who was 26 years old at the time.
No. 1: Tom Watson
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32 years after he won the British Open there in 1977, 60-year-old Tom Watson came to the 72nd hole at Turnberry with a chance to win again.
Stewart Cink had to play the role of spoiler and defeat him during the subsequent playoff, but Watson’s performance that week was the greatest display of old guy grit ever.
And just in case people thought his performance was some sort of fluke, at the next year’s Masters, he shot an opening round 67 and finished 18th.
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