Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

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Alex Zanucci is another one you can add. One of the greatest drivers never to get to perform in F1 and who crashed and lost both of his legs. Given a year or two would have been a even more major star than he was.

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Zanardi. I think he actually does some touring car racing now and then.

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

Peter Shilton’s record 125 cap England career ended in a 2-1 defeat to Italy during which he dropped a horrible clanger and gifted Italy the first goal.
With the ball in his hands and English and Italian players starting to head back up the pitch he chose to drop the ball on the floor to launch a long kick up field, but he hadn’t taken a look around first and an Toto Schillaci was behind him ready to steal the ball as soon as it hit the floor.

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

Baseball: old people like to cite Willy Mays' return to New York, with the Mets, and his subsequent errors in the World Series and general "looking old" as an unsavory way to wrap things up. Going from memory his stats that season weren't that bad at all for a 73 year old, but I guess people would have preferred the Say Hey Kid wrap it up in general obscurity in San Francisco. Also, Donnie Moore.

Basketball: littered with players who held on too long. The most frustrating ones are the career one-team players who ended up with another team (or two) at the end of their career. Dave Cowens, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon come to mind. As does Michael Jordan. I mean seriously, he could have retired a Bull after pushing off of Russell and winning a sixth NBA title in 1998. Wow, what better ending could there be? Instead he came back and played for a terrible Wizards team while bitching at Kwame Brown the whole time. Ugh.

Football: Peyton Manning (hasn't happened yet but is inevitable).

Golf: Ian Baker-Finch, or one of the many players who won a major championship only to lose their swing entirely and end up commentating because they can no longer play.

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

Michael Jordan was still really good though.

edit: Would have been really sick if he could have ended his career with a >50 FG%

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

brett favre...








wait, nevermind.

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

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Basketball: littered with players who held on too long. The most frustrating ones are the career one-team players who ended up with another team (or two) at the end of their career. Dave Cowens, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeen Olajuwon come to mind.

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When I read your post, I thought this was a mistake. Then I checked Hakeem's career bio and found out he got traded to the Toronto Raptors for his last year. I immediately wanted to throw up. I don't think I never knew that though; I must have just blocked it out of my mind or something.

Re: Worst career starts (and finishes)
 

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Michael Jordan was still really good though.

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I definitely don't disagree, but his ultimate departure was totally inelegant relative to the way he COULD have gone out: shooting hand raised as the ball went through the net to secure the Bulls' sixth title in eight years. He obviously had plenty of gas in the tank and chose to take the car out of the garage >3 years later and instead wound his career up with a different team by missing the playoffs completely. Who talks about his last game with the Wizards?

Fact is, there are so VERY few elite athletes who have the chance to go out on top and ACTUALLY DO. Sandy Koufax (although I think they lost the WS that year, can't remember, he obviously still had game but was breaking down and got out largely on his terms), Jim Brown, Bill Russell, John Elway. One could argue that guys like Ray Borque do too because of the whole winning the title thing while still being able to contribute. MJ could have added his name to that short list but decided against it.