Mike Cox

In 1971, Roberto Clemente led the Pittsburgh Pirates to Major League baseball’s championship. The star right fielder got a hit in every game and won his second World Series Most Valuable Player Award. I watched Clemente as both of us grew up, and the 1971 season was an exclamation point to an incredible career.

In 1972, my favorite player was slowed by injuries and only played in 102 games. He still hit .312, and late in the year, collected his 3000th hit; a guaranteed ticket to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

To knowledgeable fans, Roberto Clemente was slowing, but no one wanted to see him retire. He was so exciting and his talent so overpowering, he was more fun to watch at half speed than many of his contemporaries were at full speed. At 37, Clemente still had lots of game left.

On New Years Eve of that year, he was on a plane delivering aid to his native Nicaragua, which had been hit by an earthquake. The plane crashed and Roberto Clemente died. Number 21 was no more.

The loss of his life was devastating. He was Nicarauga’s most famous person and an example of all that is great in humans. The empty space he left behind has never been filled.

But from a sports point of view, Clemente left at the right time. He was still in full control of his skills, his popularity was as high as ever, and he had just topped off his career with a milestone few achieve. It was a good time to go.

Most of us remember sports stars refusing to give up. Ricky Henderson and Jerry Rice begging for a chance to keep playing, Willie Mays trying to catch a fly ball in a Mets uniform, Johnny Unitas holding a clipboard for the Chargers. Michael Jordan playing poorly for the Wizards. It is a sad sight.

Few athletes are able to walk away while still effective. Most wait too long. John Elway and Lance Armstrong are exceptions. Clemente didn’t get to decide for himself, and no one knows if he would have made the right choice.

But golf is different. The old guys can still play, still compete. Tom Kite and Craig Stadler have come close in tournaments lately, and there isn’t a golf fan on Earth who doesn’t think Jack Nicklaus could still win if he worked on his game.

Nicklaus announced he would retire from competitive golf this year at St. Andrews after playing the British Open. At the birthplace of golf, we all watched Jack Nicklaus retire from his sport in style. As he posed on the Swilcan bridge, the crowd roared its approval. No other sport offers such a cool way to send off its heroes.

Although Nicklaus missed the cut, he shot even par on his last day and birdied the final hole. It was a fitting tribute to golf’s greatest player, a classy retirement, and no one had to die tragically for it to happen.

That’s a whole lot better than the Rusty Wallace farewell tour.