10 of the most inspiring athletic career comebacks in sports history
- Sometimes, athletes retire before they're ready — this can lead to a return to the game they love.
- It doesn't always go well, but these 10 sports legends returned to their sports and won championships and broke records.
- Most famously, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA and won three more championships before once again retiring.
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Plenty of sports legends go out on top, and many more overstay their welcome. These 10 sports legends all decided that they weren't quite ready to give up the game, and made a return to the field, court, ring, or rink.
From the iconic Michael Jordan fax to the surprise return of Marshawn Lynch in the final week of the regular NFL season, all of these returns brought joy to their fans, and even changed the face of their sport. When Magic Johnson returned to basketball, he gave people hope across the world that HIV wasn't a death sentence — you could even play professional basketball while living with it.
Keep scrolling to learn more about the 10 of the most inspirational comebacks in sports history.
Read the original article on InsiderMario Lemieux was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame immediately after his retirement in 1997, but he returned to the ice three years later.
Lemieux is widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time, and the Hockey Hall of Fame waived its waiting period to immediately induct him in 1997. But perhaps they should have waited — in 2000, Lemieux announced his intentions to return to hockey. He cited his son as a reason for the return: He just wanted to watch his dad play.
Lemieux lasted another five years in the NHL and retired in 2006. During that time, he had the highest points-per-game average amongst NHL players, was named captain of the North American All-Stars team, and earned Canada a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics.
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Magic Johnson retired from basketball after revealing his HIV-positive diagnosis, but returned in 1996.
Johnson played in the NBA from 1979 to 1991, before announcing he had contracted HIV, and would be retiring immediately. After that, he was part of the 1992 Olympics "Dream Team," and was voted to the All-Star team that year. While he announced his intentions to return to the NBA in 1992, he then retired again before the season began. Johnson then left basketball behind for four years.
After a brief coaching stint for the Lakers in 1994, Johnson once again stepped on the court in January 1996 at age 36. The team made it to the first round of the playoffs, and Johnson considers his final comeback "a success." He retired in May of that year, proving that his diagnosis would not stop him from living his life.
Marshawn Lynch, a Super Bowl champion, has retired twice.
Lynch first retired in 2016 after a Super Bowl win in 2013. However, after sitting out the 2016 season, he applied for reinstatement and played for the Oakland Raiders, his hometown team, for two seasons. He then retired once more.
Cut to the end of 2019: Lynch once again returned to the NFL and his beloved Seahawks in the final week of the regular season. While the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs, he scored three touchdowns, putting him in fourth place on the all-time postseason rushing touchdowns' list — he has 12.
Andy Pettitte retired from playing major league baseball for two years before returning in 2013.
Pettitte retired from the Yankees formally in 2011, though he returned as a guest instructor in 2012 — and then almost immediately returned to the minor leagues. Two months later, he returned to the major leagues. He officially re-signed with the Yankees to play for the 2013 season.
Though he only played for one last season, he achieved many milestones. He became the 47th pitcher in history to win 250 games, became the Yankees' all-time strikeout leader (he has 2,000), and is tied for most starts in Yankees history, with 438 starts.
Olympic medalist Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired from boxing to concentrate on his promotional company in 2007. He returned just 21 months later.
Mayweather is regarded as one of the best and most talented boxers of all time — he remains undefeated as a fighter in every phase of his career. When he returned again in 2009, he boxed for another 11 matches, and retired again in 2015.
Mayweather returned for a fight against Conor McGregor in 2017, won again, and retired once more — though he teased a 2020 comeback.
Roger Clemens retired from baseball in 2003, but he returned to the sport a year later to play for his hometown team, the Houston Astros.
Clemens, a World Series champion and All-Star pitcher, took a year off the sport before announcing his intention to play for the Astros in 2004. He stayed there for three seasons, won his seventh Cy Young Award, and then rejoined the New York Yankees for a season. He played his final game in 2007.
Though his legacy has been tainted by accusations of using performance-enhancing drugs — which he denied — Clemens remains a decorated and beloved player.
After the 2012 Olympics, Michael Phelps stated, "I'm done. I'm finished. I'm retired. I'm done. No more." He returned to swimming two years later.
Phelps was already the most decorated Olympian ever when he retired in 2012, but after two years away from the sport, the swimmer was ready to return to the pool.
He ended up qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, broke multiple records, and won his 28th and final Olympic medal before leaving the sport for good as — still — the most decorated Olympian of all time.
Record-breaking quarterback Brett Favre returned to football five months after formally announcing his retirement.
After 15 years with the Green Bay Packers, Favre announced his retirement from football in March 2008. "I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. And that's really what it comes down to," he stated during his retirement press conference.
However, in August 2008, Favre announced that he was returning to the sport and signing with the New York Jets. He remained there for a season, was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons — setting NFL records still — and retired for good in 2011.
George Foreman returned to boxing after 10 years in 1987.
Foreman left the sport in 1977 when he lost a match to Jimmy Young. During his 10-year retirement, Foreman became a born-again Christian, and even became an ordained minister.
Though he never officially retired, Foreman waited a decade before returning to the ring in 1987 at age 38. He boxed for another 10 years with only three losses, cementing his spot as one of the greatest of all time. He even became the oldest heavyweight champion of all time.
Michael Jordan returned to basketball in 1995 via a fax that simply stated: "I'm back."
Jordan was retired from basketball for 17 months, and dabbled in minor league baseball, before triumphantly returning to the NBA in 1995. He returned for another four years and three NBA championships — the second "threepeat" of his career.
The basketball icon retired again 1999, returned again in 2001 for two more years, and then finally retired for good in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards.
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