Fighter Georges St-Pierre surprised everyone by announcing that he will return to mixed martial arts when he fights Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the UFC’s Fight Pass Invitational 6 in December. Throughout history, other big names in their respective disciplines have also shaped the collective imagination by getting back into action as well. A matter of welcoming the rebirth of the APS, The newspaper brings you 10 great comebacks that have made waves in the sports world over the decades.
• Also read: Georges St-Pierre returns with a new mentality: “I no longer want to fight to prove I’m the strongest man in the world.”
1. Mario Lemieux
Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency
Forward Mario Lemieux, who had a phenomenal performance with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1980s and 1990s, caused quite a stir when he retired in 1997 with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After a three-season hiatus, the Magnificent decided to return to the game in the 2000-2001 season. After that, he played for five seasons and although he never reached his former level of play due to injuries, he still accumulated 229 points in 170 games. In his comeback year, he helped the Penguins advance to the third round of the playoffs. Most notably, he helped Canada win gold at the 2002 Olympics.
2. Michael Jordan
AFP
The man many consider the most prolific basketball player of all time decided to retire after three championships with the Chicago Bulls in 1993. He attempted an adventure in baseball, but his stint in the Chicago White Sox’s AA division was unsuccessful. Faced with that failure, he announced his return to the NBA in 1994, simply declaring, “I’m back.” And what a return! Jordan led the Bulls to three more titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998. He retired in 1998 to return a second time with the Washington Wizards in 2001 at the age of 38. Without registering the same success, he still averaged 21.4 points per game.
3. Tiger Woods
Getty Images via AFP
At the peak of his career in 2009, Woods suffered a car accident and his reputation took a hit when several stories of infidelity about him came to light. He returned in 2010 without much success and back problems required multiple surgeries in 2014, 2015 and 2017. During this difficult period he was also arrested for driving disabilities. If he regained any of his composure, it was in April 2019 when he won his fifth Masters tournament. It was his first major title in 11 years.
4. Muhammad Ali
AFP
Unbeaten in his first 29 professional fights, the legendary Muhammad Ali was sidelined from 1967 to 1970. At that time he was WBA and WBC world champion. He was suspended for almost three and a half years for refusing to enlist in the US Army to fight in Vietnam. Upon his return, Ali suffered his first loss in 1971 when he tried to regain his belts against Joe Frazier. He regained his titles in a legendary fight in Zaire in 1974 against George Foreman and in 1975 he got revenge on Frazier. In 1981 he retired.
5. Andre Agassi
AFP
Andre Agassi was the face of men’s tennis in the early 1990s, but his drug addiction led to his downfall. In 1995 he was number one in the ATP world rankings, but two years later he fell dramatically to 141st place. The American has bounced back brilliantly since returning to glory with triumphs at Roland-Garros and the US Open in 1998. In 2006, when he retired, he claimed eight Grand Slam tournament titles, five of which were won after his loss.
6. Monica Seles
AFP
Still on the tennis scene, Monica Seles has established herself among the queens of her sport since she was 16 in 1990. In 1991 she became the youngest world number one in the WTA rankings and even won eight Grand Slam titles before she was 20 years old. As she made her way to stardom, her career took a tragic turn when she was stabbed in the back mid-game by a deranged spectator. After a two-year absence, she made her comeback and even won the Australian Open in January 1996, but never regained her full talent after that.
7. George Foreman
AFP
It’s difficult to neglect the one and only George Foreman when it comes to returning to competition. The charismatic boxer became world champion for the first time in 1973, but announced his retirement at the age of 30 after a defeat in 1977. Ten years later, at 40, the sting returned to him. The most unlikely happened when he snatched the world title from Michael Moorer in 1994, 20 years after his first win. He was 45 at the time and successfully defended his title three times before losing it in 1997.
8th. tommy john
Getty Images/AFP
The Dodgers pitcher was 13-3 in 1974 when he sustained a serious elbow injury that the medical community had never seen before. To the point that the pundits gave it a 100 percent chance of returning to the game one day. After a delicate operation and a year off, he took the opportunity to learn a new shooting technique and was able to record 164 additional wins with the Dodgers, Yankees, A’s and Angels. When athletes suffer this injury today, it is referred to as a “Tommy John” operation.
9. Rocking lead
AFP
The case of running back Rocky Bleier is a real script. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968, he had to join the US Army in Vietnam after his rookie season. In August 1969 he was shot in the leg before being hit by a shell near him, severely injuring his foot. He recovered and underwent surgery in Japan to remove over 100 shrapnel from his foot. The medical staff told him that maybe one day he would be able to walk normally again. He fared much better, even returning to football in 1970-80 and winning the Super Bowl four times.
10 Bo Jackson
Getty Images/AFP
Returns aren’t always triumphant because they’re covered in success. The proof is the story of one of the most legendary athletes, Bo Jackson. From the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, Jackson emerged as a cultural phenomenon, excelling in baseball with the Kansas City Royals and football with the Los Angeles Raiders. His burgeoning football career ended in a playoff game in January 1991 when he dislocated a hip. Still, despite all the predictions, he made an unlikely return to baseball with the Chicago White Sox. In 1993, he hit a modest 16 homers and 45 RBIs before being forced to retire a year later.