THEY SHOULD HAVE QUIT

Babe Ruth, pitcher-outfielder, Boston (AL), New York (AL), Boston (NL), 1914-1935--As an overweight 40-year-old in 1935, he batted .181 for the Boston Braves, with six homers in 28 games. Still, there was a wisp of greatness remaining, when on May 25 he hit three homers in a game, becoming the first batter to do so in both leagues. Less than two weeks later, he retired.

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Muhammad Ali, boxer, 1960-81--He was the greatest--as he would bellow to anyone within earshot--but a career that included an Olympic gold medal and multiple heavyweight championships ended at age 40 with beatings by Larry Holmes, a former sparring partner, and Trevor Berbick.

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Willie Mays, outfielder, New York-San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, 1951-73--The career numbers--.302 batting average, 660 home runs--don’t tell the story of 1973, when he batted .211 for the Mets and made an embarrassing error in the World Series.

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Mickey Mantle, outfielder, New York Yankees, 1951-68--He batted .298, hitting 536 homers and keeping the Yankees in baseball’s preeminent spot for more than a decade. In his final season, playing first base on legs that no longer could patrol center field, he batted .237 and made 15 errors.

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John Unitas, quarterback, Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers, 1956-73--Architect of the Colts’ overtime victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 championship game, he played out the string in San Diego on knees that no longer functioned effectively, completing 34 of 76 passes for 471 yards and three touchdowns, with seven interceptions.

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Steve Carlton, pitcher, St. Louis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago (AL), Cleveland, Minnesota, 1965-88--His 329 victories are second most in history among left-handers, behind only Warren Spahn’s 363, and among them are 27 in 1972 for a Phillies’ team that won only 59. Carlton won the Cy Young Award four times and led the National League in strikeouts five times. He was released by Minnesota with an 0-1 record and 16.76 earned-run average--and protesting that he could still pitch in the big leagues.

They Went Out On Top

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Jim Brown, fullback, Cleveland Browns, 1957-65--The NFL’s best, at 6 feet 2 and 228 pounds, he led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons, including his last, then walked away to an acting job, and then to an activist job. In his final season, he rushed 289 times for 1,544 yards and 17 touchdowns.

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Sandy Koufax, pitcher, Dodgers, 1955-66--He dominated baseball, three times winning more than 25 games, three times putting up earned-run averages of less than 1.90, four times pitching in the World Series, four times pitching no-hitters. Then he decided he could pitch no more. His arthritic left elbow hurt too much, and so he walked away into virtual seclusion. In his last season, he was 27-9, with a 1.73 ERA, leading the league in innings pitched, strikeouts and shutouts.

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Chris Evert, tennis player, 1969-1989--In 20 years, she won 157 singles titles, 18 Grand Slam events and more than $8 million in prize money, and for eight years she was ranked No. 1 in the world. She was ranked No. 4 when she retired at 34 to have children, and she now has three sons.

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Bjorn Borg, tennis player, 1973-1981--The longhaired Swede won 11 Grand Slam titles before stunning the sports world by announcing his retirement at 25. In his last full season, he won his sixth French Open title and reached the final at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He made an unsuccessful, short-lived comeback--with a wood racket, no less--in 1991.

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Rocky Marciano, boxer, 1947-1956--He walked away at 32 as a heavyweight champion with no more heavyweights to beat, having dispatched six challengers and compiled a record of 49-0, which has never been equaled by another heavyweight.

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Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, 1979-92--A special case, he averaged 24.3 points and 10 rebounds over a career that ended with back problems that required fusion surgery. In his last season as a player, in nearly constant pain, he averaged 20.2 points and 9.6 rebounds in 45 games. He now coaches the Indiana Pacers.