TUPATALK: Time, the great leveler
There's a quote from the 1950s concerning legendary baseball hitter Ty Cobb. Someone speculated how the batting wizard of the 1900s through 1920s would fare against pitching of the 1950s.
The answer was he'd probably hit only .300 against the great pitchers of the 1950s — far below his career average — but followed up with the reminder that he was now a 73-year-old man.
Despite the boisterous humor of that observation, truth is age — and the wear and tear of the body — catches up with us all.
Several years ago, I appreciated the news former dominant NFL running back Jim Brown wanted to try out in his 50's to play again. I wish they would have let him.
I remember reading about comeback tries by Mark Spitz, Jim Ryun and others. George Foreman made a successful return in his late 30's to the boxing ring and rose to the top rank of the heavyweight division. Michael Jordan returned for an encore. Tom Brady is already middle age as he retires from football. Forty-six-year-old Jack Nicklaus ruled the Masters in 1986.
These are wonderful sports stories of endurance, character and physical/emotional discipline — with a little luck thrown in. But, these examples are the exceptions. For everyone else time's erosion is unstoppable.
No one knows whether Tiger Woods will take another crack at the Masters. Perhaps he doesn't know yet.
His decision to stop playing for the weekend still caused a great deal of soberness and sadness, even for those of us who have never been devoted fans.
I respect what Tiger has accomplished and for how he digested unbelievable pressure during most his career and turned it into fuel for even more greatness.
Perhaps he still has many wins yet to ring up. The future has yet to be written.
But, for the moment, it appears the string is almost complete as far as rising to the top of the mountain.
I hope there is at least one unforgettable tournament within him, perhaps more. If not, Tiger can look back and know he danced on the game's pinnacle and remained for many years as the most feared golfer on the planet.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TupaTalk column
