The 20 Greatest Injury Comebacks in Sports History
Comeback kids.
Image via Complex Original
Injuries and comebacks are a part of sports, that's just the way it goes. Some athletes have suffered debilitating injuries that have robbed them of their athletic gifts, never to realize their potential, or others who were derailed in the midst of their primes, never to be the same as before. Then, every now and again, you have an athlete who comes back from a career threatening injury and takes over their sport such as Adrian Peterson. After shredding his knee last season, nearly every sports analyst said he would never be the same again. Surprise, surprise. They were wrong. AP had one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory. He led the planet in rushing and fell only nine yards short of Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record with 2,097 yards as the front runner for MVP and Comeback Player of the Year honors. Not all comebacks have to end in struggle, so to commemorate this one, we've compiled a list of The 20 Greatest Injury Comebacks in Sports History.
RELATED: The 25 Greatest Sports Careers Ruined by Injury
20. Jamal Crawford
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Torn ACL
Accolades After Injury: 2010 NBA Sixth Man of the Year
J-Crossover tore his ACL in his second season in the NBA at the young age of 21. He had barely proven himself, but after his injury, Crawford eventually developed into the player we see today. He's a dynamic and streaky scorer with a plethora of dribble moves, crossovers, and fakes that are nearly unstoppable like this one. He's made a nice lane for himself as a super-sub that changes the pace of the game.
19. Chris Paul
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Torn Meniscus
Accolades After Injury: 2x All-Star, 2x All-NBA 1st Team
With speed and athleticism at his size, Chris Paul was drawing Isiah Thomas comparisons. But a nagging knee injury early in his career questioned those comparisons. He eventually returned to form, but suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in 2010. Bum knee and all, Paul is arguably the best point guard in the game today. Plus he made the Clippers relevant and that is no easy feat.
18. Willis Reed
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Torn Thigh Muscle
Accolades After Injury: 2x NBA Finals MVP, 1x All-Star, 1971 All-NBA 2nd Team
One of the greatest moments in sports history was created by the torn thigh muscle Willis Reed suffered from during the 1970 NBA Finals. After missing Game 6, Reed returned for the final game against the Lakers and made both of his only shot attempts to help lead the Knicks to their first NBA Championship.
17. Grant Hill
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Broken Ankle
Accolades After Injury: 1x All-Star
At his peak, Grant Hill was one of the elite players in the NBA and was headed to the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, multiple injuries to Hill's left ankle disrupted his career. From 2000-04, Hill missed 281 regular season games and 15 playoff games all due to his ankle. He returned in 2004 and made the All-Star team in 2005 as a member of the Magic. Hill moved on to Phoenix where he established himself as one of their better defenders and experienced some of his greatest health as an NBA player. Tracy McGrady is crying somewhere reading this.
16. Adrian Dantley
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Torn Ligaments in Wrist
Accolades After Injury: 1984 NBA Scoring Champion, 3x All-Star, 1984 Comeback Player of the Year
Adrian Dantley started off his NBA career right by taking home Rookie of the Year honors in 1977. But tearing ligaments in his shooting wrist in 1983 had many doubting if he'll be able to play at a high level again. Not to worry though, Dantley took home the Scoring Title a year later in '84 as well as the Comeback Player of the Year. Dantley enjoyed his most successful stint in the NBA with the Utah Jazz from 1979-1986, racking up two Scoring Titles and six All-Star nods en route to a Hall of Fame career. Going from torn ligaments to an NBA Scoring Title is flat out ridiculous, and it no doubt solidifies Adrian Dantley as one of the greatest injury comebacks in sports history.
15. Bernard King
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Torn ACL
Accolades After Injury: 1x All-Star, 1991 All-NBA 3rd Team
Bernard King was a New York legend, and he was unstoppable on the court. He became the first player in 20 years to score 50 points in consecutive games and will be forever remembered for his 60-point game on Christmas Day in 1984. In his prime, he tore his ACL and the Knicks released him after feeling like he would never return to prominence. King gradually improved every year, and had his crowning moment in 1991 when he finished 3rd in the NBA in scoring and made the All-Star team. Like T.I. said, "King Back"
14. Stephen Strasburg
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Torn UCL (Tommy John Surgery)
Accolades After Injury: 1x All-Star, Silver Slugger Award
Tearing the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow of your throwing arm usually spells doom for most pitchers, but not Stasburg. After having Tommy John surgery and starting rehab in 2010, Strasburg showed flashes of brilliance on the mound in April of 2012 for the Nats, tallying a National League best 34 strikeouts, and 1.13 ERA, on his way to NL Pitcher of the Month honors. If that wasn't badass enough, Strasburg finished the year with a 15-6 record along with a 3.16 ERA, and claiming a spot on the All-Star team. We're looking forward to what should be a stellar career.
13. Amar'e Stoudemire
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Microfracture Knee Surgery, Detached Retina
Accolades After Injury: 5x All-Star, 2007 All-NBA 1st Team
Amar'e Stoudemire has gone through trials and tribulations when it comes to injuries. After a few years in the NBA Stoudemire had microfracture knee surgery. Most players who've had microfracture surgery (Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber, etc.) were robbed of their athletic ability, but Amar'e came back focused and added a midrange jumper into his game. A few years later, Stoudemire suffered a severe eye injury and was forced to wear goggles. He came back averaging 23 points and 9 rebounds and helped lead the Suns all the way to the 2010 Western Conference Finals.
12. Earl Morrall
Sport: Football
Injury: Shoulder
Accolades After Injury: 1972 Comeback Player of the Year 1972 Super Bowl Champion
After a devastating shoulder injury the year before, not many expected Earl Morrall to suit up again. Taking over for the injured Bob Griese, Morrall took the helm of the 4-0 Dolphins and helped the team to a perfect record en route to an AFC Championship. However, Morrall didn't start in the Super Bowl of that year, because of a bad performance in the AFC Championship and the return of a healthy Griese. It didn't end up too bad for him though. Morrall won the Comeback Player of the Year, an AFC Player of the Month award, and a championship. How many players can say they did that?
11. Joe Namath
Sport: Football
Injury: Broken Wrist, Knee
Accolades After Injury: 1974 NFL Comeback Player of the Year
Broadway Joe was plagued with knee injuries since his senior year at Alabama, and underwent four knee operations during his pro years in order to compete at an All-Star level. Namath even had to have his knee drained at halftime of several games just so he could finish. The height of Namath's career came in a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, not only did he take home MVP honors, he showed that the AFL was a legit standard bearer for talent. This also paved the way for a the AFL-NFL merger. Not enough for you? Three days before Super Bowl III an intoxicated Namath guaranteed a win and he's been giving us drunk quotables ever since.
10. Tommy John
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Torn UCL (Tommy John Surgery)
Accolades After Injury: 1976 NL Comeback Player of the Year, 3x All-Star
You know your injury is revolutionary when it gets named after you. Tommy John is the godfather of the elbow surgery that has become very common in Baseball. After the surgery, John won the 1976 Comeback Player of the Year after many people thought he would never pitch again. He went on to make multiple All-Star teams, and pitched for 14 more seasons.
9. Tom Brady
Sport: Football
Injury: Torn ACL (Tommy John Surgery) & MCL
Accolades After Injury: 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, 4x Pro Bowler, 2010 AP NFL MVP
Tom Brady is viewed by many as a machine, but even machines break down every once in a while. Such was the case in 2008 when Brady went down vs. the Chiefs in the season opener with a torn ACL and MCL. One year later, Brady racked up 378 yards and two touchdowns in his first game back, en route to finishing the season with 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns. The three-time Super-Bowl winner also took home the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, but hasn't won a ring since.
8. Pele
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Knee
Accolades After Injury: 1970 World Cup, 1970 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball
Heralded by many as the greatest soccer player of all time, Pele is a global icon. He arrived in Sweden for the 1958 World Cup sidelined by a knee injury, but his teammates pushed for the 17-year old's inclusion onto the Brazil team. After making his debut in the third match of the tournament, Pele would go on to score in the quarterfinal against Wales, becoming the youngest goalscorer in World Cup history. Pele followed that up with a hat trick against France in the Semis and a two goal performance in a 5-2 Finals victory over Sweden.
After controversy and injury in the following two World Cups, Pele returned for his final World Cup in 1970. He was influential in Brazil's performance and added two assists and a goal in the Final against Italy. An immortal of the game, Pele fought through injury and adversity to exemplify the true meaning of word champion.
7. Drew Brees
Sport: Football
Injury: Torn Labrum
Accolades After Injury: Super Bowl XLIV MVP, 5x Pro Bowler, 2x NFC MVP
Much like a knee injury to a running back, an injury to the throwing arm of a quarterback almost always spells certain disaster. After turning down an offer from the Chargers, and with the Dolphins pulling out over uncertainty, Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints just before the start of the 2006 season. He led the Saints from 3-13 to 10-6 and the NFC South division crown. The following season he tied a team record with 28 touchdowns, but wait, it gets better. In 2009, Brees brought New Orleans a Super Bowl championship and was an MVP candidate. Brees is now a perennial chart-topper in yards, touchdowns, and QB rating. Now that torn labrum is nothing more than a blip on an otherwise outstanding career. How are the Chargers doing with Phillip Rivers, again?
6. Jim Plunkett
Sport: Football
Injury: Knee, Shoulder
Accolades After Injury: 1980 Comeback Player of the Year, 1980 Super Bowl MVP, 1980 Super Bowl Champion
Jim Plunkett's story rivals that of your typical rise and fall comeback sports story: star player in college who gets bitten by the injury bug, falls off, but finds a way back to the top. Since winning the Heisman in 1970 while at Stanford, Plunkett found himself suffering from bad knees and chronic shoulder ailments that plagued most of his NFL career with the New England Patriots. Fast forward a few years, and Plunkett found himself riding the pine in a third string role for the Oakland Raiders. But just like any comeback story, things have to end on a good note right? When starting QB Dan Pastorini went down with a broken leg, Plunkett's number was called and he led the team all the way to a Super Bowl victory, while claiming Comeback Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP honors. Truly a rise and fall, and rise again story indeed.
5. Chris Carpenter
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Torn UCL, Torn Glenoid Labrum, Torn Oblique
Accolades After Injury: 3x All-Star, 2005 NL Cy Young Award, 2009 NL Comeback Player of the Year, 2006 and 2011 World Series Champion
Chris Carpenter is the definition of heart. Tearing the glenoid labrum in the shoulder of your pitching arm is more than enough to make a pitcher call it quits. But Carpenter kept it all the way G and returned to the mound a year later after surgery in 2003. He really started killing it in '05, posting an impressive 213 strikeouts and a .283 ERA on his way to earning a spot on the NL All-Star team, and picking up the NL Cy Young Award in the process. He kept the heat on the following season making to the All-Star team for a second year straight, and later leading his team to a World Series Championship.
Everything started looking up for Carpenter, until he tore his UCL in the elbow of his pitching arm the following season, requiring Tommy John Surgery, causing him to miss the entire 2007 season. Two years later, Carpenter returned to form helping the St. Louis Cardinals win another title, and the 2009 Comeback Player of Year. Two major surgeries to your pitching arm in five years, 2 comebacks, and a bunch of hardware to show for it shows what determination can get you.
4. Joe Montana
Sport: Football
Injury: Spinal Disc Injury & Lower Back Surgery
Accolades After Injury: 1986 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year, 1990 Super Bowl MVP, 2x AP NFL MVP
The legendary Joe Montana was already dominating the NFL before he suffered a career-threatening back injury in the first week of the 1986 season. The injury was so gruesome that doctors told Montana that he should consider retirement. Montana responded by coming back two months after the injury and won the 1986 Comeback Player of the Year. He then went on to win a Super Bowl and two league MVPs.
3. Mario Lemieux
Sport: Hockey
Injury: Herniated Disc, Cancer
Accolades After Injury: 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2x Hart Memorial Trophy Winner
It is a true tragedy for the best player in a sport to suffer from a herniated disk along with a life-threatening disease at the prime of their career. Such was the case with Mario Lemieux when he announced he had Hodgkin's Lymphoma in January of 1993. Lemieux would persevere as few could; he got past a bad back, and energy-draining radiation treatments to achieve unthinkable accolades that season. He finished with a second straight Scoring Title, and took home both the Pearson Trophy and the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy. Once he returned, Lemieux guided the Penguins to 17-straight wins to finish first overall for the first time in franchise history. Lemieux also notched the third highest points per game total (2.67) in NHL history that season. It's hard to imagine how much better Mario Lemieux would have been without the disease and injuries.
2. Peyton Manning
Sport: Football
Injury: Multiple Neck Surgeries
Accolades After Injury: 1x Pro Bowler
Image: manning.jpg
Multiple neck surgeries to one of the greatest field generals the game has known left many in doubt as to whether the 12-time Pro Bowler would ever play another down. The Colts, his only team, didn't want to take a chance and put their future first by drafting Andrew Luck (can't blame them). The Broncos, on the other hand, took a chance on him. A chance that resulted in the best record in the AFC. Peyton racked up over 4,500 yards and 37 touchdowns this, making a favorite for both the MVP and Comeback Player awards. We're guessing Manning is way passed being happy with just playing again and now has his sights set on a certain game in February down in New Orleans.
1. Adrian Peterson
Sport: Football
Injury: Torn ACL & MCL
Accolades After Injury: 1x Pro Bowler, 2012 NFL Rushing Leader
A torn ACL and MCL would easily spell the end of anyone's career, especially a heavy-duty running back. Then again, not everyone is Adrian Peterson. Peterson brushed aside his devastating knee injury he suffered in December 2011 to make it back just 10 months later for the 2012 season. AP would go on to lead the league in rushing with 2,097 yards, and come within nine yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's 28-yr old single season all-time rushing record. He also received his fifth career Pro Bowl nod and carried the Vikings to the playoffs. Don't call it a comeback, he's been here for years.