Some sportsmen are line fine wines (apparently). They continue to get better with age.
Some sportsmen remain active well into their later years, and still perform to a standard that can help them to perform on the international level. In most cases, the older they get, the bigger the welcomes they get. Look at The Masters for instance, or snooker players. Here are some of the best.
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Fred Davis
Fred Davis holds the record as the oldest professional sportsman. In 1992, at the age of 78, he was still a professional snooker player. He was a shadow of his former self, but he was still able to give the wave of young talent a good game. Davis was overshadowed by his brother, Joe until his retirement from the World Snooker Championship in 1946. Like Joe, Fred was a converted billiards player, who now turned to snooker after the collapse of professional billiards in the 1930s. By 1957, and the brief collapse of professional snooker, Fred had become eight-time World Champion, a record that even today makes him the second most successful player of all-time in that competition. In the 1960s, the World Championship returned in a challenge format, and although Fred lost in three challenges against John Pulman, he was still considered Number 2 in the world. In 1969, professional snooker was reborn. At 56, Fred was still at the heart of the new movement. He continued to compete in the World Championship. In 1978, aged 65, he reached the Semi Finals of the World Championship. He then pushed Perrie Mans all the way, before losing and breaking a million British hearts. He was ranked Number 4 in the world at the end of the season. In 1980, the World Billiards Championship was reborn, and Fred decided to enter to try to match his brother's feat of being the only World Professional Billiards and Snooker Champion. Fred won the Billiards title twice in 1980, making the 67 year old the oldest World Champion in any sport of all-time even to this day. Fred's final appearance at The Crucible Theatre, the home of the World Snooker Championship, came as a 71 year old in 1984. Fred only retired in 1994 due to eye and back trouble, probably as a result of age catching up with him. He died 4 years later.
Steve Davis
Steve Davis is no relation to Fred, but both have enjoyed great longevity. Steve was a six-time World Champion in the 1980s, and until Stephen Hendry came along, was considered the best player of all-time. Davis' form wavered in the late 90s, but in 2003, he got back into the Worlds top 16. He remained there, ranked Number 15 in the World at the age of 50. He is the oldest player since Fred Davis to be ranked in the top 16 players in the world. What makes his achievement more remarkable, is that snooker now has over 200 active professionals, compared to 50 or so when Fred made his Crucible farewell.
Chris Chelios
Chris Chelios has become the man known for his age. You can barely go a game without hearing "The 45-year-old Chris Chelios". Having been a great player for two and a half decades, Chelios is still one of the top defensemen in the NHL. He was captain of the United States in 2006, aged 44. What's more, is that he shows no sign of stopping soon. Chelios has won the Stanley Cup on many occasions in his long career.
Gordie Howe
Another famous Red Wing, Mr Hockey, Gordie Howe, played in the NHL, and the WHA, for over 25 years. Howe scored over 801 goals in his NHL career, and won many scoring titles, and has a type of hat-trick named after him. Howe came back to the NHL in 1979-80, when the Hartford Whalers were absorbed into the NHL. At the age of 52, he played in the All-Star game, making him the oldest player to play in it. In 1997, Howe came back to play one more game for the Detroit Vipers, aged 67. Considering the physical game that hockey is, that's a superb performance.
George Blanda
George Blanda played 26 seasons of American Football, in both the NFL and the AFL. He won the Super Bowl under John Madden in Oakland. Blanda had the ability to play in a multitude of positions, including Quarterback and Kicker. That helped his longevity no end, and he ended his career primarily as a kicker. A month short of his 49th birthday, Blanda was released from his contract with the Raiders. At 45, he played in the AFC Championship game as kicker for the Raiders. He is the oldest ever starting Quarterback in a championship game, he last played QB at the age of 43.
Syd Barnes
Sydney Barnes is considered the greatest bowler in the history of international cricket. He rarely played in the top level, i.e. Test Matches, or even County Cricket. He preferred to play in the Minor Counties, for his home county of Staffordshire. He could bowl anything, inswing, outswing, pace, spin, seam. He was a one-man-band with the ball in his hand. When Don Bradman suggested that Bill O'Reilly was a better bowler than Barnes, because he could bowl the googly, Barnes response was "It's quite true. I never bowled a googly. I never needed it." Quite a response. His record at amateur level was phenominal. He had over 5,500 wickets at an average of 7 - you won't find a bowler at professional level around 20 today (the lower the better). He had a career average at first-class and test standard of about 17. He played first-class cricket for the Minor Counties in 1930 at the age of 57, taking 2 for 57. He took 8 for 41 against South Africa three years previously. Barnes played well into his sixties, and was formidable to the last.
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova is considered the greatest female tennis player of all-time. She won 18 Grand Slams in Singles, and won many more in Doubles and Mixed Doubles. She was Wimbledon Champion in Singles at the age of 33, and reached another Final in 1994 at the age of 37. She is the oldest player to reach a Slam Final in Singles since 1990. She continued to play doubles however, and in 2003 she won her 20th Slam at Wimbledon, in Doubles. She won the Mixed Doubles at the US Open with Bob Bryan in 2006, her Final title, at the age of 49.
Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus won 18 Career Majors, and is regarded as one of the best golfers of all-time. In 1986, at the age of 46, he made a 30 on the back 9 at Augusta to pinch the title, and win his 6th Masters. He is the oldest player to win a major since then. He took part in the Masters, as he had the right to, all the way through his career, and at 58, he finished 6th in 1998. For a 58 year old to come 6th in The Masters with the wealth of talent in professional golf, it shows his ability. In 2005, his final year on tour, he took part in The Open Championship at St. Andrews. At 65, he managed to finish only 3 over par, he was 1 over going into the last two holes. He almost made the cut, but he needed to get to level par, and a bogey at the Road Hole ended his bid. To be one of the best 100 scoring golfers at 65 is a brilliant achievement.
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio was a star in Argentine Motor Racing in the 1940s, and after the war he moved to Europe to compete in the big races there. He entered Formula One, and in 1951, the 40 year old won his first World Championship. Fangio went on to win four more World Championship titles. The last of these came in 1957 after one of the greatest drives ever. At the German Grand Prix, Fangio was leading before coming in to make a pit stop. The Maserati mechanics were completely useless, and as he rejoined the track, he was 45 seconds behind. Over the remaining 11 laps of the Nurburgring, Fangio started to charge up to the leaders, Collins and Hawthorn. He passed Hawthorn early on the lap, and passed Collins nearer the end of it to take the chequered flag and secure his final World Title, at the age of 46. He vowed he would never drive that hard again. Indeed, he only ever drove in Formula One twice more after that.
