Maestro Was Smart to Quit Before the Music Stopped

Athletes can’t remain on the stage as long as rock stars or else Michael Jordan could be giving us satisfaction as long as the other MJ, Mick Jagger. But, on Wednesday, the day Jordan retired, I had the same question I did on Jan. 30, 1969, when the Beatles appeared together for the final time in an impromptu concert on the roof of Apple Records headquarters in London.

Why now?

The answer for Jordan, as it was with the Beatles, is because now is the right time.

The two other athletes besides Jordan who had the most impact on sports in this country in the 20th century, Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali, quit too late.

Ruth played his last game on May 30, 1935, when he was 40. Wearing the uniform of the Boston Braves and batting .181, he grounded out in the first inning and benched himself.

Ali fought for the last time on Dec. 11, 1981, when he was 39. He lost a 10-round decision to Trevor Berbick in a fight that was held in Nassau, Bahamas, because no U.S. boxing commission would sanction it.

It was only a few months ago that Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their sixth championship and won his 10th scoring title. Maybe he could have made it seven and 11 in this bastardized season. But, maybe, at 36 next month, he couldn’t have.

It’s better for us to wonder than to know.

Here’s to you, Michael: Strawberry fields forever.

*

I have covered Jordan off and on since 1984, mostly off because I spent 13 years after that on the Olympic beat.

But, in that role, I was able to see firsthand his impact on the world.

Jordan alluded during his news conference Wednesday to the possibility that he helped change Chicago’s image. He was wrong. He did it single-handedly.

The first time I went to Moscow, in 1979, I told a cabdriver that I was there for a Chicago newspaper. He pointed his right arm toward me like he was holding a machine gun, made a rat-a-tat-tat noise and said, “Al Capone.”

When I was there again a few years ago, all anyone wanted to talk about when they learned I was a sportswriter from the United States was Jordan.

I marveled while driving through an Oslo neighborhood once to see that virtually every other garage had a Chicago Bulls backboard hanging from it.

MJ played in Peoria; he played in Peru.

The greatest tribute I ever saw to an athlete from other athletes occurred during the regional tournament in Portland, Ore., that the first Dream Team had to play in order to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Players from the South American teams gave cameras to their teammates on the bench so that they could have photographs taken of themselves playing against Jordan.

*

Who will be the next Jordan? . . .

Someone will come along. Then again, that’s what I said when Ali retired. . . .

It’s too late for Mike Tyson. His hints this week that he might become the other Mike to retire in 1999 was greeted with skepticism. He needs the money too badly. . . .

But, even with ticket sales lagging for his fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against Francois Botha, people will still fork over outrageous amounts to see him on pay-per-view. . . .

I understood Tyson’s appeal 10 years ago. I don’t understand it now. . . .

As of Wednesday, Chicago is back to being a Cub and Bear town. The same thing will happen to the Bulls that happened to the Blackhawks when Bobby Hull left for the World Hockey Assn. They’ll eventually lose about a third of their crowd. . . .

With no player taller than 6 feet 9, USC didn’t figure to be a threat to block many shots. . . .

Wrong. A 6-7 freshman, Sam Clancy, is tied for the Pacific 10 Conference lead in the category, and 6-4 guard Jeff Trepagnier is tied for fourth with Washington’s 7-footer, Todd MacCulloch. . . .

Bret Saberhagen, of Reseda and the Red Sox, will receive the Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity tonight in Boston. . . .

Jordan accepted an invitation to next week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on the Palmer Course at PGA West. He’ll play with Charles Barkley, former NFL wide receiver Roy Green and a pro to be determined. . . .

When they play Hope’s theme song, it will also be for Jordan. “Thanks for the Memories.”

*

While wondering how the Lakers could tell Elden Campbell wasn’t showing up for practice, I was thinking: The timing couldn’t be better for another Magic Johnson comeback, all those networks that carried Jordan’s news conference live must not have heard that the Clippers also had one, my crystal ball tells me the NFC championship will be decided by a kicker named Anderson or maybe Andersen.

*

Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com