Jason English
Surprise Endings
by Jason English - September 22, 2007 - 7:15 AM

bonds.jpgThe San Francisco Giants are calling it an era. Barry Bonds won’t be returning next season, ending his 15-year stint by the Bay. Although Bonds became a star in Pittsburgh, it’ll be strange to see him in a different uniform next year (though I’m not sure he’ll have many suitors.)

Here are fifteen twenty-four other superstars who ended their careers in super-strange uniforms, courtesy of GameKult, The Sporting News and The Fowl Line:

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O.J. Simpson, San Francisco 49ers; Patrick Ewing, Orlando Magic; Joe Namath, Los Angeles Rams.
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Karl Malone, Los Angeles Lakers; Joe Montana, Kansas City Chiefs; Johnny Unitas, San Diego Chargers.

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Franco Harris, Seattle Seahawks; Michael Jordan, Washington Wizards; Emmitt Smith, Arizona Cardinals.

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Willie Mays, New York Mets; Gordie Howe, Hartford Whalers; Ron Santo, Chicago White Sox.

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Ray Bourque, Colorado Avalanche; Thurman Thomas, Miami Dolphins; Tony Dorsett, Denver Broncos.

What other sports legends forever tied to one city ended their careers in another?

UPDATE: Great responses, everyone. I found an old Uni Watch column from ESPN that really nailed this topic. Here are a few more…

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Dennis Rodman, Dallas Mavericks; Dale Murphy, Colorado Rockies, Hakeem Olajuwon, Toronto Raptors.

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Keith Hernandez, Cleveland Indians; Bernie Kosar, Miami Dolphins; Walt Frazier, Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Dominique Wilkins, Orlando Magic; Hank Greenberg, Pittsburgh Pirates; Earl Campbell, New Orleans Saints.

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Comments (48)

  1. babe ruth didn’t finish with the yankees

    posted by jason downs on 9-22-2007 at 8:40 am

  2. A few I can think of, all from Atlanta teams (since I grew up in Georgia):

    For the Braves, Hank Aaron (who spent his last couple seasons with the Brewers, although this was kind of a “return home” since he played with the Braves when they were there).

    Also for the Braves, my personal sports hero, Dale Murphy. When his skills declined, he went to the Phillies for a year or two and then to the Rockies, but will forever be a Brave. If only the sports world today had more people like him… (And the fact that he earned back-to-back league MVPs and is not in the Hall of Fame is an unearned slap-in-the-face.)

    And finally, Dominique Wilkins. He played virtually his whole career for the Atlanta Hawks. I don’t even remember where he ended up, but it was only a short time before he retired. Whenever I see footage of a spectacular dunk made by someone in a red jersey, I can’t help but think of ‘Nique.

    posted by Sandy on 9-22-2007 at 8:51 am

  3. Jr. Seau

    Played for San Diego, didn’t finish with them. Should have retired really.

    posted by Sara on 9-22-2007 at 8:59 am

  4. Nomar Garciaparra

    posted by Eileen on 9-22-2007 at 9:00 am

  5. how bout Pete Rose???

    Years in Cincy and then on to Philly.

    posted by al on 9-22-2007 at 9:05 am

  6. Jerry Rice played his final games with the Seattle Seahawks.

    posted by Pat O. on 9-22-2007 at 9:09 am

  7. Allen Iverson looks pretty strange in a Denver Nuggets uni.

    posted by Mike on 9-22-2007 at 10:04 am

  8. I hate to nitpick, but Michael Jordan never played for the Washington Wizards. He coached them for a little while after one of his retirements, but the team he played for was the Bullets.

    Note the jersey he’s wearing in that photo.

    posted by Jack on 9-22-2007 at 10:09 am

  9. Yes Jordan did play for Washington:

    60 games in 2001/02 and all 82 in 2002/03. He never coached them but was the team president. Why a card with him wearing a Bullets uni? Not sure since they switched to Wizards in the mid-90s. Unless the pics were from a “throwback” game.

    nba.com/playerfile/michael_jordan/

    posted by Pragmatic Cynic on 9-22-2007 at 10:26 am

  10. Sorry to nitpick right back, but you’re not right. That was a throwback Bullets jersey he was wearing for his last game. The Bullets changed their name in 1997. Jordan played for the Wizards from 2001 to 2003, and has never been a head coach.

    Though I’m sure I got something else wrong, so we’ll call it even.

    posted by Jason on 9-22-2007 at 11:04 am

  11. Bobby Orr signed with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1976 and finished his career there.

    posted by Tom W on 9-22-2007 at 11:41 am

  12. Michael Jordan did actually play for the Wizards. He came in off of retirement and played two seasons when he signed as a free agent with the Wizards in 2001.

    One other big name that comes to mind though is Wade Boggs. I didn’t think he’d every leave Boston. He looked a little weird in a Yankees uniform, but just completely out of place in a Devil Rays uniform.

    posted by Derek on 9-22-2007 at 12:13 pm

  13. Roger Maris ended his career as a St. Louis Cardinal

    posted by Tom on 9-22-2007 at 12:27 pm

  14. Um hello?!? – you missed the great one (Wayne Gretzky)… I won’t go on about how he changed the NHL forever when he went to LA from Edmonton.

    posted by Michael Surtees on 9-22-2007 at 1:29 pm

  15. Also on a hockey note:
    Bobby Orr, Chicago Blackhawks

    posted by Jeff Andrade on 9-22-2007 at 2:05 pm

  16. And how about
    Phil Esposito, NY Rangers
    Brad Park, Boston Bruins
    Gerry Cheevers, Philadelphia (WHA)

    posted by Jeff Andrade on 9-22-2007 at 2:07 pm

  17. I was kind of surprised not to see Karl Malone on the list. Something like 19 years with the Jazz, and just one with the Lakers.

    posted by John on 9-22-2007 at 6:31 pm

  18. This is a cool thing you’re doing here!
    I love it! Keep it up.

    Thanks

    posted by Kevin on 9-22-2007 at 10:06 pm

  19. Here are few guys in baseball this year winding down their careers in weird uniforms…

    Greg Maddux on the Padres.

    Sammy Sosa on the Rangers.

    Darin Erstad on the White Sox.

    Troy Percival on the Cardinals.

    Luis Gonzalez on the Dodgers.

    Frank Thomas on the Blue Jays.

    Mike Piazza on the A’s.

    Omar Vizquel on the Giants.

    And, since it wasn’t on the list, the all-time weirdest one…
    Babe Ruth on the Boston Braves.

    posted by Glenn B. on 9-23-2007 at 12:10 am

  20. Scottie Pippen as a Houston Rocket / Portland Trailblazer. That was just weird.

    posted by Nick on 9-23-2007 at 12:22 am

  21. Karl Malone’s up there.

    Hmm, looks like Kevin Garnett is gonna end up on that list soon enough.

    posted by Cat on 9-23-2007 at 2:07 am

  22. Indeed, Karl Malone is there. Not sure how I missed that, because I looked through it like three times. I didn’t recognize him in the Lakers uniform, which I guess is the point of this whole post.

    posted by John on 9-23-2007 at 11:14 am

  23. The 1962-1965 Mets had several players you’d normally associate with other teams: Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn.

    posted by Jonathan on 9-23-2007 at 1:20 pm

  24. Carlton Fisk. Twenty something years with the Red Sox then a short stint with the White Sox.

    posted by Cyndi on 9-24-2007 at 7:15 am

  25. Marcus Allen and the KC Chiefs. He had a HUGE falling out with Al Davis (Oakland and KC are bitter NFL rivals for those not in the know).

    posted by Shane on 9-24-2007 at 9:17 am

  26. Phil Neikro for the Braves….although technically he did finish with them. They brought him back for one game.

    posted by Drew on 9-24-2007 at 11:01 am

  27. Actually, Emmitt Smith resigned with the Dallas Cowboys so that he could retire as a Dallas Cowboy.

    posted by john schaffer on 9-24-2007 at 1:53 pm

  28. Albert Belle and the Orioles. The O’s should never have signed him anyway.

    posted by Ken on 9-24-2007 at 2:08 pm

  29. I don’t count those signed-with-his-former-team-to-retire-as-a-__________ cases. Though I wish we had that in real life. Could a guy who spent 20 years at a law firm before going out on his own return to the firm, so he could retire as an employee?

    Can someone out there try this with a former employer? Maybe I’ll call the A&P grocery store and see what they say.

    posted by Jason on 9-24-2007 at 2:56 pm

  30. “signed-with-his-former-team-to-retire-as-a-__________ cases”

    Ahh, I certainly appreciate the clarification. It’s your blog post, so you can make any rules up as you like. (grin)

    What do you say to the millions of Dallas Cowboy fans that DO count it as meaningful?

    No action necessary; just a hypothetical.

    posted by john schaffer on 9-25-2007 at 12:44 pm

  31. Don’t forget George Gervin. He played soooo many years in San Antonio, only to be traded to the Bulls in the end. I cried the day I found out I wouldn’t be able to see him play at Hemisfair Arena!

    posted by Manny from SA on 9-26-2007 at 7:12 am

  32. Pete Rose and Tony Perez with the Expos

    posted by Bill Kummer on 9-26-2007 at 8:25 am

  33. Carlton Fisk played 11 years with Boston and 13 years with Chicago. Not a short stint.

    posted by Vito Scotllo on 9-26-2007 at 8:39 am

  34. Charles Barkley ended on the Rockets. As a Houstonian I was thrilled… but it was so weird… he was Houston’s nemesis for years!

    posted by Rachel on 9-26-2007 at 4:51 pm

  35. I might be biased being a Red Sox fan, but seeing Dwight (Dewey) Evans in a Baltimore Oriole uniform was painful.

    posted by Mike on 9-27-2007 at 5:16 pm

  36. Although it was at the beginning of his career, I still find it strange to see a picture of Brett Favre in an Atlanta Falcons uniform.

    posted by Groovebug on 12-7-2007 at 9:00 am

  37. Cris Carter – Miami Dolphins

    posted by Eric on 12-8-2007 at 10:44 am

  38. How ’bout long time Eagle Randall Cunningham ending up in Dallas for a year? I know he was in Minnesota before and Baltimore one year after, but it was definitely weird as a huge Cowboys fan seeing Randall Cunningham QBing the’Boys w/ Aikman injured.

    posted by Jordan on 12-8-2007 at 5:16 pm

  39. Robert Parish with the Bulls. Hey, it got him another ring.

    posted by Tommy on 12-10-2007 at 4:31 pm

  40. I’d just like to say that in this day of “free agency” situations like this are/will be so common that articles like this will be irrelevant. Just a few of the names I could think of were Randy Moss, Terrel Owens, Junior Seau, A-rod, Shaq, The Rocket, K.G., possibly Kobe sometime soon, etc. I don’t fore-see any player at any sport (other than a handfull) staying with the team they originally signed with because of free agency.

    posted by Rusty on 12-10-2007 at 4:31 pm

  41. How about the recent big changes?? Zack Thomas in a Pat’s uniform, Shaq in a Suns uni?? I mean it was odd enough seeing him change to the Heat.

    I will say its going to be interesting to see Jason Kidd back with the Mavs.

    I had long forgotten about Ewing retiring with the Magic. The biggest blunder of all of those up there (pictured) was Bernie Kozar. I still can not understand why the acquired him even way back then.

    posted by Bubba on 2-20-2008 at 11:38 am

  42. I think most of the players pictured were with teams where they where never quite the same as where they started. Take Montana, wasn’t terrible in KC but not quite like with the Niners. You could also say the same for any basketball player up there…be that Ewing, Jordan, Olajuwon or Wilt.

    Some of the other players mentioned like Garnett are still getting the job done as a Celt. Or even Marcus Allen with K.C.

    Sad to see some end compared to how they started off.

    posted by John on 2-25-2008 at 12:58 pm

  43. Zach Thomas went to the Cowboys, not the Pats. & someone said Junior Seau should of retired? Are you kidding, he has played some good football! If he chooses to stay this year he has a good chance of finally getting a ring! ~ Biggest dissapointment for me of these pics, My Bills Thurman Thomas in a Fish Jersey! Geez.

    posted by Corey on 5-5-2008 at 9:29 am

  44. The Ron Santo move included another longtime Cub, shortstop Don Kessinger (I have the Santo baseball card still — currently a wonderful announcer for the Cubs on the radio side of WGN)

    Good call out with Babe Ruth … he finished with the Boston Braves … he also had a “designated runner” … at that time it was allowed (apparently, I don’t know all the ins-and-outs of it, sorry) that if you hit a homer you could have a runner waiting at first … you touch first, the runner finishes the route around the bases … I’m sure someone will clarify this …

    also tho, Ruth didn’t start with the Yankees remember … he was an outstanding pitcher with the Red Sox … he still has one of the lowest ERAs ever recorded … he was a submarine (more under- than overhand) pitcher …

    Ty Cobb finished his career with Philadelphia A’s

    posted by cormac on 5-7-2008 at 12:57 pm

  45. Ladies and gentlemen, announcing your new starting quarterback for the New York Football J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets!

    Me!

    posted by Brett Favre on 8-7-2008 at 9:13 pm

  46. yeah you can add one more now. that good for nothing qb brett “i am the god of football please worship me” favre. one wish – packers 35 jets 24 superbowl goes to rodgers!! come on a girl can dream right.

    posted by jen on 9-19-2008 at 3:58 pm

  47. Well I need to Rep.. 4 BoDyMoRE,MuRDaLaND…It was crazy ta C^ Neon Deon do his “highstep” n a RAVEN’s uniform… and don’t forget we have Willie Anderson (10+ w/Browns) and my fav TE Shannon Sharpe, I would finally like the RAVEN’s if we can get OCHO CINCO next year then we would win like 3 more SuperBowls……..

    posted by Hennesy1980 on 12-4-2008 at 1:54 am

  48. How about…

    Steve Carlton – Giants, White Sox, Indians and Twins

    Richie Allen – A’s

    Harmon Killebrew – Royals

    Dizzy Dean – Browns

    posted by Jim on 6-19-2010 at 5:38 pm

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