1. Ted Williams – 1960, age-41 season: 113 games, .316/29hr/72rbi, .451 obp, .634 slug%, 1.096 ops, All-Star selection
Ted Williams Dies
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- Teddy Ballgame made sure he went out on top. After a dismal season in 1959, where the Splendid Splinter hit a career-low .254 with 10 homers in 103 games, it looked as though the “greatest hitter to ever live” had lost it. He bounced back in ’60 to post his 15th .300-season and smacked a homerun every 10.7 at bats, including his final-ever at bat on September 28th, 1960 at the age of 42. Also, keep in mind this was 1960, when a 42-year-old was roughly in the equivalent shape of a 60+ year old today…

  1. Gordie Howe – 1968-69, age-40 season: 76 games, 44 goals, 59 assists, 103 points, All-Star selection
Gordie Howe
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- He’s called Mr. Hockey for a reason. Gordie Howe’s career spanned 25 years and five decades. In ’68-’69 he tallied his first career 100-point season in the NHL. It would prove to be his only 100pt season in the NHL, though Howe would go on to have two 100-point seasons in the World Hockey Association, before returning to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers at the ripe young age of 51.

  1. Tom Brady – 2020, age-43 season: 16 games, 4633yds/40td/12int, 102.2 rating, three rushing TD
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Atlanta Falcons
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- In Brady’s first season with the Bucs, all he did was throw for his highest yardage total since 2015, post his second-career 40+ TD season, finish third in the NFL in passing yards and tied for 2nd in TD’s. He also took a Buccaneers team to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Don’t be desensitized by the fact we’ve seen Brady excel for the last two decades. His passing output increased by 6000 yards and 16 touchdowns from 2019-to-2020, while his QB rating jumped from 88.0 to 102.2. Anyone who says he’s lost a step is just silly. What’s even sillier? The fact he’s 43 bleeping years old and just put up the numbers he did.

  1. David Ortiz – 2016, age-40 season: 151 games, .315/38hr/127rbi, .401 obp, .620 slug%, 1.021 ops, All-Star, 6th in MVP voting
Division Series - Cleveland Indians v Boston Red Sox - Game Three
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- Power was never an issue for Big Papi, who hit 30, 35 and 37 homers respectively in the three seasons leading up to his final campaign. But Ortiz took his production to peak heights in 2016, tallying 169 hits, the third-highest total of his career. Ortiz led the league in doubles (48), RBI (127), slugging percentage (.620) and OPS (1.021). To put those last two stats in perspective, the league average for slugging percentage in 2016 was .417 while the league average for OPS was .739.

  1. Tom Brady – 2017, age-40 season: 16 games, 4577yds/32td/8int, 102.8 rating, 1st Team All-Pro, NFL MVP
Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots v Atlanta Falcons
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- There wasn’t much of a book on playing QB past the age of 40 before Tom Brady came along to re-write any existing notion over the last four seasons. He kicked off the 40+ tour by winning his 3rd league MVP award in 2017 while leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Though the Pats ultimately fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game, it was anything but the fault of Brady, who threw for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards. Oh yeah, and to get the Patriots there, he engineered a patented 4th quarter comeback vs. the Jaguars in the AFC Championship just days after suffering a severely lacerated throwing hand.

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