Sports stars who decided to retire early
In part three David Long looks at sports stars who decided to quit early in their careers when they could have so easily carried on. But for a number of reasons, they decided to accept that you’re a long time retired and looked for other avenues to explore.
James Ryan – Rugby. Age retired: 25. Not many people have decided to walk away from the All Blacks, especially during the game’s professional era, but James Ryan did just that. Laurie Mains in 2005 named Ryan as ‘potentially one of the great All Black locks’, but after a number of injuries
Ryan decided that he didn’t want to attempt to make another comeback, so hung up the boots as he was entering his prime years. Ryan always felt there was more to life than rugby and according to Linkedin, he’s now a finance and commercial professional in Switzerland.
Bjorn Borg – Tennis. Age retired: 26. The Swede won every Wimbledon Championship between 1976 and 1980 and triumphed at the French Open six times. But after losing to John McEnroe in the final of the
US Open in 1981 he knew he didn’t have the motivation to continue and walked off the court before the ceremonies began. He played just one tournament in 1982 and announced his retirement in January 1983. He’d made his millions and felt burnt out from the pressures of being a tennis professional so started a new career making men’s underwear.
Philippa Gould – Swimming. Age retired: 17. New Zealand women who set world records are a rare breed – Gould set four. She swam at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 as a 15-year-old and ended her career at the Empire Games in Cardiff in 1958. In between, she gained her greatest fame. On one day in
January 1957, she set world records for the 200m and 220yds backstroke and 14 months later she set world marks in the 100m and 110yds. But an age when many are still deciding what sport to focus on,
Gould had retired. Andrew Luck – NFL. Age retired: 29. He was outstanding at college and a good NFL player, but his body couldn’t stand up to the pounding a quarterback gets, particularly when he’s not playing for a great team. A shoulder operation forced him to miss the entire 2017 season, but the following year was a superb
one for him, throwing
39 touchdowns and
15 interceptions. Then in August
2019 he made the stunning announcement that it was all over. ‘‘I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s taken the joy out of this game. The only way forward for me is to remove myself from football." He was criticised by Indianapolis Colts fans for quitting the team when he did. But really, it’s his life and he can do what he wants with it.
Justine Henin – Tennis. Age retired: 28. The first time Belgian Justine Henin retired in May 2008 she was ranked No 1 in the world and favourite for the upcoming French Open. Not only was it a stunning move, but she also insisted that she be removed from the world rankings immediately. Henin made a comeback in
2010 and was pretty successful, making it to the final in Brisbane and the Australian Open in her first two tournaments. But after losing to compatriot Kim Clijsters in the fourth round at Wimbledon she quit the game for the final time.
Rocky Marciano – Boxing. Age retired: 32. The Brockton Blockbuster is the only heavyweight champion to have retired undefeated and held the crown from 1952 to 1956. He finished with a record of 49 wins from 49 fights, with
43 of those victories coming by knockouts. Given that it takes so many boxers two or three goes before they finally hang up the gloves for good, it’s remarkable that Marciano never made a comeback.
Mark Richardson – Cricket. Age retired: 33. Retiring at the age he was isn’t a big deal, but it was surprising that Richardson pulled the plug given that he didn’t play in his maiden test until he was 29 and wasn’t showing any signs of decline. The words ‘prolific run scorer’ and ‘Mark Richardson’ were never used in the same sentence, however he was the rock at the top of the New Zealand batting order and his presence was missed.
Norman Whiteside – Football. Age retired: 26. Also coming from Northern Ireland and making his debut for Manchester United at the age of 16, it was no surprise Whiteside was hailed as the next George
Best. He held the record for the youngest player ever to appear in a
World Cup, playing for Northern Ireland in Spain in 1982 at 17 years and 41 days, beating Pele. However, he never got the chance to emulate his compatriot as knee injuries plagued his career, even after he shifted to Everton and he was forced to retire at just 26.