Old but good

[afro-elf]

Part one

The List: The best 40-somethings
Page 2 staff

MJ turns 40 today, and he plans another retirement at the end of this season. With Jordan, it's hard to know what his basketball future holds, but we wouldn't bet against him hitting the hardwood for another round or two.

If MJ attempts another comeback, he'll certainly have a chance to enter P2's Geezer Hall of Fame, which honors the best athletes over the age of 40. But if he really hangs 'em up for good at the end of this season, he just won't have enough playing time in his golden years to make the list of true geezer greats.

And they are (muted Lawrence Welk drumroll please):


Howe played into his 50s, finishing up with the Hartford Whalers.


1. Gordie Howe
Howe played until he was 52 years old -- and in his last season, he played in every one of the New England Whalers' 80 games. By then, he was 11 years past his peak -- Howe had his best season when he was 41, in 1968-69, when he racked up 103 points on 44 goals and 59 assists for the Red Wings.

But he wasn't far past his peak. In his first season with the World Hockey Association's Houston Aeros, he won the league MVP award -- at the age of 45. He led the Aeros to two WHA titles. In 1977-78, the season during which Mr. Hockey turned 50, he scored 34 goals and added 62 assists during the regular season for the Whalers, then added another five goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games.

Howe played 33 seasons, beginning his career in 1947 and not retiring until 1980. One of the all-time greats before he tired of a brief stint in the Red Wings' front office and returned to the ice, Howe took a chance when he unretired. "If I failed badly," Howe said, "people would remember me more for trying to make a stupid comeback at 45 than for all the other things I did in hockey."

He didn't fail.

2. George Blanda
At age 43, in 1970, Blanda, the Raiders' kicker and backup QB, had one of the most remarkable seasons in NFL history and was awarded the Sporting News AFC Player of the Year Award, among other honors. One month:

Oct. 25: With the score tied 7-7 against the Steelers, Blanda came in, threw for three TDs, kicked a figgie, and the Raiders won, 31-14.

Nov. 1: Oakland trailed Kansas City, 17-14. With three seconds left, Blanda kicked the game-tying FG from 48 yards.

Nov. 8: With the Raiders losing to the Browns, 20-13, Blanda replaced starting QB Daryle Lamonica. His 14-yard TD pass tied the game with just over a minute left, and his 52-yard FG won it with three ticks on the clock.

Nov. 15: Blanda entered with four minutes left and the Raiders, pinned down on their own 20, down 19-17 to the Broncos. Eighty yards later, he found Fred Biletnikoff for paydirt and another W.

Nov. 22: Four seconds left. Oakland 17, San Diego 17. Blanda: 16-yard field goal. Raiders win again.

Blanda, who played 26 years in the NFL and retired at 48, enjoyed what most would consider an excellent full career after the age of 40. During his nine geezer years with the Raiders, he was Mr. Clutch in his role as backup QB, and he was one of the game's best placekickers, averaging 96 points per season.


Jerry Rice is 40 and still going strong: over 1,000 receiving yards in 2002.


3. Jerry Rice
Rice celebrated his 40th birthday last Oct. 13 by catching seven passes for 133 yards in Oakland's losing effort at St. Louis. So far, as a 40-year-old, he's caught 82 passes (including 14 in the postseason), and he's still going strong. The man's been able to maintain, which you know, if you've watched him through the years, means he's only continuing to exhibit Hall-of-Fame stuff.

4. George Foreman
On Nov. 5, 1994, at the age of 45, Foreman regained the world heavyweight boxing title -- knocking out Michael Moorer, 26, to become boxing's oldest champ. He retired in 1997 with a pro record of 76-5 with 68 KOs.

Foreman had returned to the ring in 1987 after a 10-year absence. In his "second career," he compiled a 31-3 record, winning 17 of 20 bouts after he turned 40. Wrote Page 2's Jason Whitlock just a few months ago, "George Foreman is the only other top-flight athlete [besides Rich Gannon] I can remember who was better late in his career than he was in his prime."