Happy Returns: 24 Athletes Who Came Out of Retirement

Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks by unanimous decision in September 1978, and in doing so he became the first man to win the world heavyweight championship three times. He retired the following June but returned to the ring in October ’80 for another heavyweight title match, this one against Larry Holmes. The 38-year-old Ali lost in 10 rounds and finally retired for good in ’81.

Björn Borg played in only one tournament in 1982, then retired at age 26 in ’83. He returned in ’91, but he failed to win a single match in two years and 12 tournaments before hanging up his racket again in ’93.

After learning he had tested positive for HIV before the 1991–92 season, Magic Johnson retired from the NBA. He returned as coach of the Lakers for 16 games at the end of the ’93–94 season, and later made a comeback as a player midway through the ’95–96 season before retiring again after that campaign.

Gordie Howe retired for the first time in 1971 at age 43, but returned after two years to play with his sons on the WHA’s Houston Aeros. He also played one season for the Hartford Whalers in 1979–80 before retiring again at age 52. At age 69, he made one final foray into professional hockey, signing a one-game contract for the International Hockey League’s Detroit Vipers.

Sugar Ray Leonard scored a knockout win against Bruce Finch in February 1982. The boxer retired later that year but said in December 1983 that he would return to the sport, the first in a string of retirements and comebacks for Leonard. He fought Kevin Howard in May 1984 but retired again in the post-fight press conference; he returned to the ring again in 1986 but retired in 1987, then came back in 1988 and retired for the fourth time in 1991. A 40-year-old Leonard made his final comeback with a fight against 34-year-old Héctor Camacho; Camacho won the fight and then Leonard retired for the final time with a career record of 36-3-1.

George Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977 but returned to boxing a decade later at 38 years old. In his first fight back in March 1987, he beat Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman kept fighting for another 10 years before retiring in 1997 with a career record of 76–5.

Unhappy with his role with the Eagles, quarterback Randall Cunningham retired from the NFL after the 1995 season. He took one season off, then joined the Vikings in ’97 and played five more seasons before retiring again.

After winning three titles in a row with the Bulls from 1991–93, Jordan shocked the sports world by retiring before the start of the ’93–94 season. He played minor league baseball for the White Sox in ’94 before returning to the hardwood in ’95 and winning three more championships with Chicago. Jordan retired once more in ’99 and became part-owner and president of basketball operations for the Wizards, then returned in 2001 for two more seasons with Washington before calling it a career in ’03.

Deion Sanders signed a seven-year contract with Washington in 2000 but played only one season with the team before calling it quits. He signed a one-year deal with the Ravens in ’04 and played two seasons in Baltimore before departing the league again in ’06.

Mario Lemieux retired from the Penguins after the 1997 season and, months later, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He returned to the ice in December 2000 and played until January ’06.

Though not related to Mario, Claude Lemieux also unretired from professional hockey. He ended his first stint in the NHL with the Stars in 2003, then played the following season in a pro league in Switzerland before retiring from the sport. In ’08, he played for the Sharks’ minor league affiliate and briefly returned to the NHL with San Jose in early ’09.

Facing a suspension for the NFL’s substance-abuse policy after testing positive for marijuana, Ricky Williams announced his retirement from the league in 2004, but he returned to the Dolphins in ’05 and played pro football through the ’11 season.

Despite holding the No. 1 world ranking, Justine Henin announced her immediate retirement from tennis in May 2008. She returned to the court in January ’10 and played for another year before a chronic elbow injury prompted her to retire again.

Famed Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced his retirement in March 2008, but he ended up signing with the Jets that summer and played with them for a season. He retired again after the stint with New York, but signed in the summer of ’09 with the Vikings and played with them for two years to complete his career.

After competing in the 1984, ’88 and ’92 Olympics in freestyle swimming, she took a seven year break from competition before coming back for the 2000 Summer Games. In ’08, she qualified for her fifth Olympics at age 41 before finally hanging up her swimsuit in ’12 with 12 Olympic medals to her name.

Randy Moss retired from the NFL before the 2011 season, but early in the next offseason, the wide receiver announced his intent to play again. He signed a one-year deal with the 49ers for the ’12 season, his last in the NFL.

Andy Pettitte had two separate stints with the Yankees, from 1995–2003 and from ’07–13. The second stint included a one-year retirement in ’11, but he returned to the team in ’12.

Rasheed Wallace retired from the Celtics in 2010, but he came back in October ’12 to sign with the Knicks for the upcoming season. He suffered an ankle injury in February ’13, after which he ended up returning for one final game in April before retiring again.

Michael Phelps retired after the 2012 Olympics but came out of retirement in ’14 and ended up winning five gold medals and a silver medal at the ’16 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro before retiring again.

At age 22, Martina Hingis retired from tennis for the first time in 2003 due to injuries. She returned to competition in ’05 then retired again in ’07, again due to injuries. She came back once more in ’13 and climbed to the world No. 1 ranking before retiring for the final time in ’17.

Marshawn Lynch announced his retirement after the 2015 season but returned to the NFL with the Raiders for the ’17 and ’18 seasons. The running back also made a brief appearance with the Seahawks during the ’19 season.

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten retired in April 2018 and joined the Monday Night Football broadcast team for one season before returning to the gridiron with the Cowboys for the ’19 campaign. He signed a one-year contract with the Raiders for the following season, then retired again in early ’21.

In March 2019, Rob Gronkowski retired from the NFL at 29 years old. The longtime Patriots tight end sat out the ’19 season but returned to the league with the Buccaneers and old pal Tom Brady in ’20 and ’21. After those two seasons in Tampa Bay, Brady announced his own retirement from the game in February—but he quickly changed his mind, in March announcing his decision to return.