Greatest athlete from the big 4 sports over the age of 40
craig44
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there have been a fair amount of players who have been able to put in some great seasons after turning 40. after this season is there really anyone who has been better than Tom Brady?
In Baseball Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds, Carlton Fisk Satchell Paige, Roger Clemens and others have done very well after 40. I think Clemens 05 season was the best, although Ryans 87 and Units 04 were also fantastic.
Basketball: Jordan, Kareem, Malone, Stockton were all very good, but not on MVP caliber level.
NHL:Gordie, Selane and Jagr were great, but i must admit, hockey is my least strong sport. there are probably more.
NFL: I think the strongest over 40 were Favre, Rice, Moon, Testeverte and Brady.
I dont think anyone has dominated at this age like tom though. he has started 4 16 game seasons since turning 40. he has averaged over 30 TD per season with 40 this year. 40 touchdowns at 43 years old. his QB rating is also over 100 at age 43. 4600 passing yards. had he not been pulled in game 15, he might have thrown 43 TDs at age 43.
I think he is the greatest "old" athlete we have ever seen.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Comments
Throwing two no-hitters and leading the league in K's 4 times after turning 40 is kinda tough to beat IMO
George Blanda.......depending on how the question is interpreted.
Brady is the best over 40 I've ever seen, and it's not even close. He can play to his 50s if he chooses to.
Blanda lasted the longest in the NFL, but he only started one game at QB after turning 40. He was a placekicker for the vast majority of the time as well as being a backup QB. I wouldnt say he was ever really a great QB
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
You are correct about ryan. He was great after 40. he would probably go on my over 40 mount rushmore. I think he had 2 great and 2 very good seasons after 40. I will still side with a football or hockey player as they have to ply their trades while risking great bodily harm.
Brady also won an MVP after 40.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
has any other 40 year old won an mvp??
I wonder had Brady had a full training camp and full preseason with the new team how this year would have gone for him? It has taken a long time to get everyone in sync. if the last 3 games are any indication of what the bucs could have been this year with a full off season, I have to believe Brady would have thrown 50 TD and won another MVP.
If they keep the same crew together next year, do you think he will win MVP?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Look at David Ortiz’s stats at age 40 and you’ll have the answer to your question.
different game in a different era, but George Blanda played rather well until he was 48 years young. his story and career accomplishments are quite startling, especially for what he did in his 40's which might have been the peak for him. sitting on the bench and kicking when needed, and when the game is on the line, while also coming in as QB at crucial points in many games and winning shouldn't be downplayed.
For baseball, the answer is either Warren Spahn or Roger Clemens. You could make the case for Cy Young as well. Ortiz is DQ'ed because it was only one year. Ryan was good but the other three pitchers were better.
For hockey, the answer has to be Gordie Howe. He scored 103 points at 40 years old in the NHL, an MVP at 45 in the WHA after sitting out two years, scored 96 points at age 49, and then was an All-Star in the NHL a little over a month shy of his 52nd birthday. Jagr was never close to being a top player after 40. Selanne was pretty good for a couple years. Next choice would be a guy like Hasek (2.14 GAA and a Jennings trophy at age 43, a year after a 2.05 at age 42),
For football, it's Tom Brady and nobody else, unless you want a placekicker with no range like Morten Anderson.
For basketball, I'll defer.
For me in hockey it's Chris Chelios. He played until age 48 and at a productive pace through his age 46 season. The guy was ageless.
For hoops I will predict that if LeBron James continues on the path he is on and plays into his early 40s he will win the prize.
Hands down.
I cannot think of any Hall Of Fame basketball player who played into his 40s at the same level he played at in his 20s and 30s.
I think James could maintain this level of excellence if he avoids injury and puts in the work needed to maintain his body and motor.
@perkdog What part of that do you see as beyond reason? Or did you mean to click Like?
I think @craig44 makes sense here. I see the same things when looking at Brady's season, knowing everything I know about him from watching him before. Essentially, he is the same guy. The Tampa team/scheme/coaching etc are on a different level from the Pats, and not in a good way, so I don't think it's possible.....but if we could just magically meld this Bucs roster into a Patriots team I could see Bill and Tom going to a few more SBs.
Disagree. He was really good up through the 2002 Cup but he dropped off significantly after that.
Pitcher A: 1,089 innings, 141 ERA+, 1.058 WHIP
Pitcher B: 1,042 innings, 136 ERA+, 1.140 WHIP
Pitcher C: 1,373 innings, 142 ERA+, 1.212 WHIP
Pitcher D : 881 innings, 156 ERA+, 0.989 WHIP
Pitcher A is Trevor Hoffman's entire HOF career.
Pitcher B is Bruce Sutter's entire HOF career.
Pitcher C is Hoyt Wilhelm before the age of 40.
Pitcher D is Hoyt Wilhelm after age 40.
Having a few good years after age 40 is impressive; having a HOF career after age 40 is really impressive.
Another in a long line of posts idolizing Tom Brady. A fine QB and quite possibly the QB GOAT. Never played on a bad team.
The answer here is obviously Gordy Howe, who at the age of 41 played in all 76 games and scored 71 points_ THEN played for another 10 years._
Howe was pretty incredible. I do not have as much knowledge of Hockey. In looking at Howes stats, I noticed that he was retired ages 43 and 44 then came back to the WHA at age 45. was the WHA like a minor league compared to the NHL? I am just wondering the level of competition.
but then for him to come back at 51 and play a season in the NHL is a truly amazing feat.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
WHA was definitely a "watered down" league, however quite a few stars like Bobby Hull played in that league.
We had a WHA team in Minnesota and I saw a few games. Good NHL players (Mike "Shakey" Walton for the Fighting Saints) became great WHA players.
I think it was better than a minor league, but certainly not as good as the NHL.