Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the oldest player in an All-Star Game. He was 41 years and 302 days against the East on February 12, 1989. If a hockey player is lucky, they could have a great career and leave the game in their late 30s. However, a handful of hockey legends have defied the odds and played in their 40s, earning a place in the annual All-Star Game. Although one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, Worsley was selected for the 1972 NHL All-Star Game at age 42, becoming the oldest skater (at the time) to play in the event.
To this day, he remains the oldest netminder to be named an NHL All-Star. Messier played 25 seasons in the league and participated in 15 NHL All-Star Games, including the 2004 event held in Minnesota. At 43, he became the third oldest player to win the All-Star title in his final season. Doug Harvey is considered one of the best defenders to have played in the NHL.
In addition to winning six Stanley Cups with the Canadians, he won the Norris Trophy, a record seven times between 1954 and 1962, and eventually became the second-most winning defender once Bobby Orr won eight. Although he didn't skate in the NHL for 33 consecutive seasons, he played briefly in the World Health Association and is still the only player who dresses more than 50 years in the league. After six years away from the NHL, Howe played 80 games with the Hartford Whalers in the 1979-80 season, scoring the last 41 points of his legendary career. As a tribute to his status as the league's all-time leading scorer, Howe was called up to the 1980 All-Star Game at the age of 51, becoming the oldest player to win that honor.
Cousy retired as a player in 1963, but went on to coach Boston College and, eventually, the Cincinnati Royals. In 1970, Cousy returned, aged 41, as a Royals player at the end of the season, in an effort to increase ticket sales, which increased 77 percent. Dikembe Mutombo is a former NBA player best known for being one of the best blockers and defensive players of all time and has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. He is also one of the oldest people to play in the NBA.
Mutombo's career lasted 18 years and he played for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. Robert Parish was first drafted to the NBA in 1976 after graduating from college and played for 21 consecutive years. Parish is the third-oldest player in NBA history and has a record of 1,611 regular season games during his career. Bob Cousy was the first president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), which was created in 1954. The NBPA is the oldest union of the four major sports leagues in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA).
and NHL). The All-Star Game ended with a 1-1 draw in 1961 in San Francisco due to rain and a 7-7 tie in 2002 in Milwaukee, when the game lasted 11 innings and the teams ran out of available pitchers. Kevin Willis shares the record for most seasons played in the NBA with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki. Charles Jones' brothers (Wil, Caldwell and Major) played basketball at Albany State (as did Charles) and in the NBA.
Carter has played basketball since he was a child and began his professional career when he was chosen fifth in the 1998 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors, who traded Carter to the Toronto Raptors. During his NBA playing career, Cousy was a 13-time NBA All-Star and won the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 1957. During his first decade in the league, he won multiple scoring and MVP titles, playing six NHL All-Star Games. So far in his career, Carter has played for several NBA teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. The most hits by a player in a single All-Star Game is four by Joe Medwick, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.
Bob Cousy is the sixth oldest person to play in the NBA and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Stockton also has five of the six best seasons of assists in NBA history and the other one belongs to Isiah Thomas and also holds the record for the most games and consecutive games played with a team. The most number of runs won allowed by a pitcher in a single All-Star Game are seven by Atlee Hammaker, who in 1983 loaned the Grand Slam to Fred Lynn. The next 10 NBA players retired over the age of 40, and most of them left a lasting legacy in their sport and were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
