Tom Brady and the best 42-year-olds in sports history

At the ripe age of 42, Tom Brady is still playing at an elite level. In order to do so, though, the legendary quarterback has been limited in practice this season, citing age as the reason for his restricted participation.

The adjustment has benefited him so far, as a healthy Brady has tallied 911 yards and seven touchdowns through the New England Patriots’ first three games. He and the Pats have looked so dominant that their odds to win the Super Bowl are now +270. Brady is also one of the favorites to claim his fourth MVP award.

While there is still plenty of football to be played in the 2019 season, let’s take a look at five other athletes who achieved tremendous success while competing at the age of 42.

Ichiro Suzuki

The 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, Ichiro retired from Major League Baseball in March at the age of 45. The right fielder holds the record for the most hits in one season (262), which he achieved in 2004 with the Seattle Mariners.

At age 42, Suzuki entered his second year with the Miami Marlins. On April 29, 2016, he stole his 500th base in MLB against the Milwaukee Brewers and led off with a single to move ahead of Frank Robinson for 33rd on the all-time MLB hit list. Ichiro recorded his 3,000th hit of his MLB career on August 7 of that year and became one of just seven players to collect 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. The 10-time Gold Glove winner ended his career with 3,089 hits to land at No. 23 on the all-time list.

Jack Nicklaus

The greatest golfer of all time kept on winning, even in his 40s. In 1980 the Golden Bear won his fifth PGA Championship and fourth U.S. Open at the age of 40. He fell just short of a major win in his age-42 season, as he placed second at the U.S. Open in 1982. That year, however, Nicklaus accumulated eight top-10 finishes.

He won his last major at the age of 46 in the 1986 Masters, ended his career with the 18 major championships and finished second in a major 18 times—which doesn't include his second-place finish at the 1960 U.S. Open as an amateur. His 63 PGA Tour victories rank third all time, behind Tiger Woods (81) and Sam Snead (82).

Nolan Ryan

The Ryan Express enjoyed a prosperous 27-year career in Major League Baseball with the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. The leader in strikeouts (5,714), no-hitters (seven), double-digit strikeout games (215) and a plethora of other marks, played well into his 40s and retired at 46 in September of 1993.

In 1989 Ryan debuted as a pitcher for the Texas Rangers at age 42 and became the first person to play for all four MLB original expansion teams. That season he went 16-10 with a 3.20 ERA and led the league in strikeouts (301). He also made baseball history as the only pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts when he struck out Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics in August of 1989. Ryan was named an All-Star for the eighth and final time that season and came in fifth in the AL Cy Young voting.

Victor Espinoza

At age 42 the Hall off Fame jockey nearly achieved the first Triple Crown since Steve Cauthen accomplished the feat aboard Affirmed in 1978. Espinoza was chosen to ride California Chrome in 2014 and guided the horse to victories in the first two legs of the Triple Crown title but fell short in the Belmont Stakes.

A year later Espinoza received another shot with American Pharoah. He led the Thoroughbred to triumph in the Kentucky Derby, just before Espinoza’s 43rd birthday. He went on to claim the Triple Crown and earn a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with American Pharoah in 2015.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In June of 1989, a 42-year-old Abdul-Jabbar announced he would retire from the NBA at the end of his 20th season in the league. In his final three seasons, in which he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar made it to the NBA Finals. He won the championship in both 1987 and 1988 but got swept by the Detroit Pistons in the Finals in his last year of play.

Abdul-Jabbar retired with the record for most points in the NBA (38,387), most field goals made (15,837), most minutes played (57,446) and most games played by an NBA player (1,560), though Robert Parish would later break that record with 1,611. He was named an All-Star for the 19th time—another NBA record—in his final season of his career.