Some players wished they had retired before their last match. Some farewells in sport have been shocking. What are the worst?
Sir Donald Bradman
In his last Test at the Oval in 1948, Bradman made the most famous duck in Test history.
All the Don needed was four runs to guarantee a Test match batting average of 100. Instead he was fooled by an Eric Hollies’ googly and bowled second ball for nought.
The irony was the bowler was one of the worst batsmen in English first class cricket.
Hollies averaged five in 616 first class innings and in 515 matches only scored 1673 runs, while taking 2323 wickets.
Mike Tyson
Prize fighters rarely leave on top but of all the pathetic exits from the sport none is worse than Mike Tyson.
Once the most feared fighter on the planet, a man who achieved 24 of his 44 career knockouts in the first round, Tyson threw in the towel against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.
McBride had been knocked out by fighters with losing records but he can claim Tyson as one of his 35 wins in 46 fights.
Tyson conceded afterwards his will to fight had vanished and he retired instantly, promising not to “disrespect” the sport by losing to “this calibre of opponent again”.
Zinedine Zidane
In 2013 UEFA named Zinedine Zidane as its greatest footballer of the last 50 years. In 1998 the Frenchman was a national hero, scoring two goals in the World Cup final as his country beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.
In the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, Zidane played his 108th and last international for France. It was a nightmare!
Tied 1-1, in extra time against Italy, Zidane was ordered off after head-butting Italian Marco Materazzi. France went onto lose the final on penalties.
Zidane has always maintained a racial slur was the trigger for his infamous head-butt. In 2010 Zidane said he would rather “die than apologise”.
Ayrton Senna
Deaths have not been uncommon in Formula One, but the most dramatic and heart-breaking was that of Brazilian Ayrton Senna.
Senna, a three-time World Champion and winner of 41 Grands Prix was killed while driving at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.
The recent film Senna showed Ayrton to be a dashing driver and charming and driven personality.
Leigh Matthews
332 games, 915 goals, four premierships, eight best and fairest awards at Hawthorn – there was very few things Leigh Matthews did not achieve as a player.
However his last season, in 1985, was full of controversy.
In Round 12, Matthews struck Geelong player Neville Bruns in an off-the-ball incident, breaking Bruns’ jaw.
No report was laid because video review facilities were then unavailable. However, after much public outcry, the VFL launched an investigation and subsequently deregistered Matthews for four weeks.
He was also charged by the police and fined $1000, later changed to a 12 month good behaviour bond on an assault charge – this was a major factor in his retirement.
Matthews’ final game was the 78-point grand final loss to Essendon.
Keith Murdoch
Colin Meads once said there were only two players he genuinely feared – Walter Spanghero and Keith Murdoch.
Murdoch was a prop who toured the UK with the 1972-73 All Blacks. Against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park, Murdoch scored the winning try in a 19-16 victory over Wales.
Later that night at the Angel Hotel, which was closed at the time, Murdoch knocked out security guard Peter Grant while trying to attain alcohol in a booze-fuelled celebration.
Murdoch was sent home in disgrace, but never returned to New Zealand, going into exile in the outback of Australia.
In 2001 he was a suspect in a murder case. Murdoch was later cleared.
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