40 Athletes Who Thrived in Their 40s and Beyond

In the world of sports, being an athlete can be incredibly rewarding, especially when you become one of the best in your field. However, along the way, many people may say you aren’t good enough or, even more often, young enough. Certain sports favor youth, with age often treated as a major factor in success. To stay on top of their game, athletes put their bodies through rigorous training and often face injuries that become harder to recover from as they age, leading many to retire.

Those doubts, along with thoughts of retirement, did not stop the athletes on this list. They not only continued competing as they aged, but also excelled. Drawing on statistics and data from professional sports reference sources and including material from various professional sports websites and other media sources, 24/7 Tempo has put together a list of enduring athletes whose careers thrived into their 40s.

The athletes on this list combined exceptional ability with remarkable longevity, and some overcame significant injuries along the way. Some reached the apex of their sport after a late start, while others had some of their greatest seasons after they turned 40. Using research from ESPN and sports statistics across multiple disciplines, these are the athletes who thrived even when considered past their prime.

Hank Aaron

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1954-1976
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; hit 755 home runs; 1957 World Series winner

Aaron holds the record for runs batted in with 2,297; total bases with 6,856; and 25 All-Star selections. He also performed well in the postseason, batting .362 with six home runs and 16 runs batted in over 17 games.

In 1957, he won his only world championship with the Milwaukee Braves and his only Most Valuable Player award. Even more impressive was his grace under pressure while pursuing baseball’s home-run record in the face of death threats from racists.

Kristin Armstrong

• Sport: Cycling
• Career: 2001-2016
• Age when retired: 43
• Successes: 3-time Olympic gold medalist; 2-time world champion; won 6 U.S. national championships

Armstrong overcame osteoarthritis in both hips in 2001, but had to give up one athletic pursuit – the triathlon – which enabled her to focus solely on cycling. She made history at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, coming out of retirement to win the gold medal in the women’s individual time trial.

She became the first cyclist to win three Olympic gold medals in the same discipline and was the oldest female cyclist to win an Olympic medal.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

• Sport: Basketball
• Career: 1969-1989
• Age when retired: 41
• Successes: Basketball Hall of Fame; retired as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer; 6-time NBA champion; 19-time All-Star

When he was Lew Alcindor, his dominance in collegiate basketball caused the NCAA to rewrite the rules. Then he rewrote the record books, leading UCLA to three straight national championships. After his name change to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his brilliance in the NBA continued. He won six NBA championships and retired as the league’s all-time scoring leader, a record LeBron James surpassed in 2023.

He is the league’s only six-time most valuable player and remains a prominent figure as an activist concerned with social justice.

George Blanda

• Sport: Football
• Career: 1949-1975
• Age when retired: 48
• Successes: Football Hall of Fame; 4-time Pro Bowl selection; 3-time AFL champion

Blanda played a then-record 26 seasons in professional football and retired as the sport’s all-time leading scorer, but some football fans will never forget the season he had in 1970. Substituting for the injured quarterback Daryle Lamonica, Blanda, at age 43, led the Oakland Raiders to four wins and a tie over a five-game period via last-second touchdown passes or field goals.

He also became the oldest player to start a championship game later that year, accounting for all the points in Oakland’s 27-17 loss to the Baltimore Colts.

Barry Bonds

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1986-2007
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: All-time home run leader; 7-time NL MVP; 14-time All-Star

Barry Bonds is baseball’s all-time home-run leader with 762 round-trippers. He also has seven Most Valuable Player awards, 12 seasons of 100 or more runs batted in, and 2,558 walks – the most of any player. When he turned 40 in 2004, he set baseball single-season records with 232 walks and a 1.421 OPS en route to his seventh NL MVP award.

His legacy remains clouded by allegations of performance-enhancing-drug use, which have contributed to his exclusion from baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Tom Brady

• Sport: Football
• Career: 2000-2022
• Age when retired: 45
• Successes: 7-time Super Bowl winner; 3-time MVP; 5-time Super Bowl MVP; 15-time Pro Bowl selection

As a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2000 draft, Tom Brady was not the most heralded quarterback to enter the NFL, but he retired as its most accomplished. Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories and was the MVP in four of them, then won another Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP award with Tampa Bay. He holds regular-season records for quarterback wins (251), starts by a quarterback (333), touchdown passes (649), and passing yards (89,214).

Chris Chelios

• Sport: Hockey
• Career: 1983-2010
• Age when retired: 48
• Successes: Hockey Hall of Fame; 3-time Stanley Cup winner; 7-time All-Star

Chelios had an incredibly long career in the brutal sport of hockey. The Chicago-born Hall of Famer played for four teams over the course of 26 years. Along the way, he was a member of three Stanley Cup-winning teams – two with the Detroit Red Wings and one with the Montreal Canadiens.

Oksana Chusovitina

• Sport: Gymnastics
• Career: 1988-present
• Age when retired: N/A
• Successes: Competed in eight Olympics, including the Tokyo Games at age 46

In a sport that prizes young athletes, gymnastics legend Oksana Chusovitina has had almost unheard-of longevity in her career. She competed in eight Olympics, including the Tokyo Games in 2021. Chusovitina competed in her first Olympic Games in 1992 for the Unified Team, composed of athletes from the former Soviet Union.

She won a silver medal on the vault when she competed for Germany in 2008. Representing her native Uzbekistan, she received a standing ovation after her Tokyo performance at age 46 and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017. Although she initially announced her retirement in Tokyo, she later reversed that decision and continued competing.

Roger Clemens

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1984-2007
• Age when retired: 45
• Successes: 7-time Cy Young winner; 11-time All-Star; won pitching triple crown twice; 2-time World Series winner

Clemens’ seven Cy Young awards are unmatched by any pitcher. He was in the top 10 in Cy Young voting five other times in his career, with stints with the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros. In 1986, he won both the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards.

The year he turned 43, Clemens led the National League with a 1.87 ERA in 2005. Allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs have contributed to his exclusion from baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Randy Couture

• Sport: Mixed martial arts
• Career: 1997-2011
• Age when retired: 47
• Successes: First UFC fighter to win championships in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions

Former Olympic wrestling alternate Randy Couture became the first UFC fighter to win championships in two divisions. After he was knocked out by Chuck Liddell in 2005, Couture retired. He then returned to the Octagon and beat Tim Sylvia to win the heavyweight championship at age 43.

Brett Favre

• Sport: Football
• Career: 1991-2010
• Age when retired: 41
• Successes: 1-time Super Bowl winner; 3-time MVP; 11-time Pro Bowl selection

Favre’s exploits led the Green Bay Packers to their first NFL title in 30 years when they beat the New England Patriots in the 1997 Super Bowl. His reckless abandon did come with a price: he led the league in interceptions three times. Besides his reputation as a bomb-throwing quarterback, Favre is famous for retiring multiple times.

After his second retirement, the three-time MVP played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, the season he turned 40, and led them to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the New Orleans Saints.

Roger Federer

• Sport: Tennis
• Career: 1998-2022
• Age when retired: 41
• Successes: 103 ATP singles titles; 20 Grand Slam singles titles; ATP top-ranked player for five years

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, the Swiss star won 103 ATP singles titles, including 20 Grand Slam singles championships, after turning pro in 1998. He earned more than $130 million in prize money during his career.

After several knee operations, Federer retired at the Laver Cup in September 2022 at age 41.

George Foreman

• Sport: Boxing
• Career: 1969-1997
• Age when retired: 48
• Successes: Won boxing heavyweight title in 1973; regained the title in 1994 becoming the oldest man to win the crown at age 45

George Foreman won the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal at the 1968 Games in Mexico City and paraded around the ring with a small American flag in his glove. Five years later, he knocked out heavyweight world champion Joe Frazier in an upset. In 1974, Muhammad Ali beat Foreman for the title.

Foreman retired in 1977 and returned to the ring at 38 years old. He regained the title after knocking out Michael Moorer.

Julio Franco

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1982-2007 (MLB)
• Age at final MLB game: 49
• Successes: 3-time All-Star; won batting title in 1991

Franco played on three All-Star teams and won the 1991 batting title while playing for the Texas Rangers. The ageless native of the Dominican Republic played for six years with the Atlanta Braves and two years with the Mets after he turned 40. He hit .300 or better in two of those seasons, played more than 100 games in four of those years, and finished his MLB career with a .298 batting average.

Darrell Green

• Sport: Football
• Career: 1983-2002
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: Football Hall of Fame; 2-time Super Bowl winner; 7-time Pro Bowl selection

Defensive back Darrell Green is nicknamed “The Ageless Wonder,” and with good reason. He played all of his 20 years in the NFL with Washington when the team was called the Redskins. The seven-time Pro Bowler was a key member of two of Washington’s Super Bowl champions. Of his 54 career interceptions, Green returned six of them for touchdowns.

Rickey Henderson

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1979-2003 (MLB)
• Age at final MLB game: 44
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; most stolen bases all time; 2-time World Series winner; 10-time All-Star; AL MVP

Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson is the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. The 10-time All-Star stole 1,406 bases in his 25-year career, the most ever. He led the league in thefts 12 times, and three times he swiped over 100 bases in one season. Though he played for nine teams, Henderson played most of his career with Oakland A’s, where he won one of his two world championships.

Gordie Howe

• Sport: Hockey
• Career: 1946-1980
• Age when retired: 52
• Successes: Hockey Hall of Fame; 4-time Stanley Cup winner; 6-time Hart Trophy winner

Howe spent 25 years with the Detroit Red Wings and was part of four Stanley Cup championship teams. He won the Hart Trophy six times as the most valuable player in the NHL and led the league in scoring six times. Howe was on the NHL All-Star roster twice after the age of 40.

He played alongside sons Mark and Marty for six seasons in the World Hockey Association – four with the Houston Aeros and two with the New England Whalers – before playing one final NHL season with the renamed Hartford Whalers. Howe played his final NHL game at age 52.

Bernard Hopkins

• Sport: Boxing
• Career: 1988-2016
• Age when retired: 51
• Successes: Became the oldest light heavyweight champion at 46; 55 career victories

Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins finished his career with a 55-8-2 record, 32 knockouts, and two no contests. He topped the achievement of George Foreman as the oldest boxing champion in 2011 when, at age 46, he defeated Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title.

In 2014, he unified the WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles at age 49 by beating Beibut Shumenov. Hopkins retired in 2016 after losing to Joe Smith Jr.

Randy Johnson

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1988-2009
• Age when retired: 45
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; 5-time Cy Young winner; 2001 World Series championship; won more than 300 games; 10-time All-Star

Johnson was known as “The Big Unit,” and his pitching ability lived up to his 6′-10″ frame. Besides winning 303 games, winning the Cy Young award five times (four times in a row), helping the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, and striking out 4,875 batters, Johnson also tossed two no-hitters.

The second was a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves in 2004, when he was 40, making him the oldest pitcher to achieve that feat. That same year, he led all of baseball with 290 strikeouts, the ninth time he did so.

Bernard Lagat

• Sport: Track and field
• Career: 1994-2020
• Age at final elite competition: 45
• Successes: Five-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016); won silver and bronze medals; at age 41, was the oldest member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team

Lagat, who was born in Kenya and later became an American citizen, holds multiple U.S. distance running records. In 2007, he won the first gold medal by an American in the 1,500 meters at the World Outdoor Championships. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Lagat, at age 41, placed fifth in the 5,000-meter run, three seconds behind the winner. He competed in five Olympics and won silver in the 1,500 in Athens in 2004 and bronze in Sydney in 2000. After ending his track career in 2016, he moved to road racing and finished 18th at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at age 45.

Willie Mays

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1951-1973
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; World Series winner; 24-time All-Star

Many believe Mays was the greatest MLB player ever. He was the consummate five-tool player – he hit for average and power, was fast, had a strong arm, and could field the ball. He had a lifetime batting average of .301, hit 660 home runs, led the National League in stolen bases four times, and won 12 Gold Glove awards.

Military service cost him most of two seasons in his prime. He was traded to the New York Mets from the San Francisco Giants in 1972 at age 41 and helped the Mets reach the World Series the following year.

Mark Messier

• Sport: Hockey
• Career: 1978-2004
• Age at final NHL game: 43
• Successes: Hockey Hall of Fame; 6-time Stanley Cup winner; 16-time NHL All-Star

Messier was an integral part of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty in the 1980s, winning five Stanley Cups with the team. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1991 and had an immediate impact. The Rangers had the National Hockey League’s best regular-season record in 1991-92 and again in 1993-94.

In 1994, Messier led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup win in 54 years, and he scored the winning goal in Game 7 of the Final. He won the second of his two Hart Trophies with the Rangers as MVP of the NHL. Messier left the Rangers for the Vancouver Canucks in 1997, then returned to New York in 2000 at age 39 and played four more seasons for the Rangers.

Warren Moon

• Sport: Football
• Career: 1978-2000
• Age when retired: 44
• Successes: Football Hall of Fame; 9-time Pro Bowl selection

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon led the American Football Conference in passing yards in 1990 and 1991 and threw a league-leading 33 touchdown passes in 1990. He led either the AFC or the NFC in pass completions three times. Moon, who began his career in the Canadian Football League, played parts of five seasons after the age of 40 for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dikembe Mutombo

• Sport: Basketball
• Career: 1991-2009
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: Basketball Hall of Fame; 8-time All-Star

Dikembe Mutombo became famous for wagging his finger at opponents after blocking their shots, which he did often. The 7′-2″ center from the Democratic Republic of the Congo led the National Basketball Association in blocked shots five years in a row and became the first player to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three times. He later won it a fourth time, tying the league record. Mutombo was also a strong rebounder, leading the league twice and averaging more than 10 rebounds a game for his career.

Martina Navratilova

• Sport: Tennis
• Career: 1973-2006
• Age when retired: 49
• Successes: Won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record 9 Wimbledon singles titles, as well as 4 US Opens, 3 Australian Opens, and 2 French Opens

Born in Prague, the Czech-born American became one of the greatest women’s tennis stars ever, dominating the sport in the 1970s and 1980s with her speed, power, and will to win. After she defected to the United States in 1975, she won the first of her 18 Grand Slam singles titles by defeating Chris Evert at Wimbledon in 1978.

Navratilova won 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles championships and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She retired from singles play in 1994, but continued to play in doubles matches. Navratilova won the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon in 2003, and won mixed doubles at the U.S. Open three years later.

Jack Nicklaus

• Sport: Golf
• Career: 1961-2005
• Age when retired: 65
• Successes: Won 73 PGA Tour events; 18 major championships, including a record 6 Masters titles

Jack Nicklaus, one of the greatest golfers in history, won 18 major championships, including a record six Masters titles. Nicklaus won three of his majors at age 40 or older. His last major victory came at the 1986 Masters, when he was 46. Besides his 73 PGA Tour triumphs, Nicklaus finished second or tied for second 58 times. He was the PGA Tour’s top winner eight times.

Phil Niekro

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1964-1987
• Age when retired: 48
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; won more than 300 games; 5-time All-Star

Throwing the knuckleball helped Phil Niekro to have a 24-year career in professional baseball. “Knucksie” logged more than 300 innings four times in his career, during which he won 318 games. Amazingly, he posted 121 wins after he turned 40. Niekro won his 300th game at age 46, a four-hit shutout while pitching for the New York Yankees.

Eileen Olszewski

• Sport: Boxing
• Career: 2006-2019
• Age at final bout: 50
• Successes: At the age of 45, Olszewski became the oldest world flyweight champion, male or female, in 2013.

Eileen Olszewski, nicknamed “the Hawaiian Mongoose,” is a former New York Knicks dancer who became a professional boxer at age 38. In 2008, five days before her 40th birthday, she won the WIBA flyweight title. In 2013, at age 45, she became the oldest boxer, male or female, to win a share of a world flyweight title.

Gaylord Perry

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1962-1983
• Age when retired: 44
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; won more than 300 games; 2-time Cy Young winner; 5-time All-Star

Over a 22-year career, the right-hander won 314 games, won 20 games or more five times, and won the Cy Young award twice, once in each league. The North Carolina native pitched four years after he turned 40. He posted his 3,000th career strikeout two weeks after his 40th birthday and earned his 300th win three years later.

Jacques Plante

• Sport: Hockey
• Career: 1952-1975
• Age when retired: 46
• Successes: Hockey Hall of Fame; 6-time Stanley Cup winner; 7-time Vezina Trophy winner

Goaltender Jacques Plante was the National Hockey League’s gold standard among netminders. He led the league in goals-against average seven times and won the Vezina Trophy seven times. He was 42 years old when he last led the NHL in goals-against average in 1970-71.

Plante also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 1962 and six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens. He also had NHL stints with the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins before finishing his professional career with the World Hockey Association’s Edmonton Oilers.

Jerry Rice

• Sport: Football
• Career: 1985-2004
• Age when retired: 42
• Successes: Pro Football Hall of Fame; 3-time Super Bowl winner; 13-time Pro Bowl selection

Jerry Rice was one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hooking up with San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young, the Hall of Famer caught 1,549 passes for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns. Rice also set an NFL record of 76 career 100-yard receiving games. He was selected to 13 Pro Bowls, the last one in 2002 at age 40 with the Oakland Raiders when he caught 92 passes for 1,211 yards.

Pete Rose

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1963-1986
• Age when retired: 45
• Successes: All-time hits leader; 3-time World Series winner; 17-time All-Star

Rose was nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his relentless style of play, and over his 24-year career, most of which was with the Cincinnati Reds, he became baseball’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), and plate appearances (15,890). He was crucial to the success of the vaunted “Big Red Machine” Reds teams that won back-to-back world championships in 1975 and 1976.

At age 44 in 1985, he set MLB’s career hits record. Rose agreed to placement on baseball’s permanently ineligible list in 1989 after an investigation found that he bet on Reds games while managing the team. In 2025, after Rose’s death, MLB ruled that permanent ineligibility ends at death, making him eligible for future Hall of Fame consideration but not automatically granting him entry.

Nolan Ryan

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1966-1993
• Age when retired: 46
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; all-time leader in strikeouts and no-hitters; 1969 World Series winner; 8-time All-Star

As a young flamethrowing pitcher with the New York Mets, Nolan Ryan was nicknamed “The Ryan Express.” The Texan threw very hard and was very wild, which helped him intimidate hitters over a 27-year career. Ryan is the all-time leader in strikeouts with 5,714. He struck out more than 300 hitters six times, including 301 in 1989 when he was 42 years old. Just as remarkable are his seven career no-hitters, the most of any pitcher; he threw the last one in 1991 at age 44.

Sam Snead

• Sport: Golf
• Career: 1934-1983
• Age at final PGA Tour start: 71
• Successes: 82 PGA Tour victories; 7 major championships

Sam Snead’s 82 PGA Tour victories have been equaled only by Tiger Woods. Snead won seven major championships but failed to complete the career Grand Slam, with the U.S. Open eluding him. He won the 1954 Masters, his last major, at age 41.

Dara Torres

• Sport: Swimming
• Career: 1984-2008
• Age at end of career: 41
• Achievements: 12 Olympic medals; competed in 5 Olympics

One of the most decorated American swimmers ever, Dara Torres won 12 Olympic medals – four gold, four silver, and four bronze. She competed in five Olympics, starting with the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where she won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay. In 2008, at age 41, she competed in the 50-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle and medley relays. She won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and silver in both relays.

Tom Watson

• Sport: Golf
• Career: 1971-2019
• Age when retired: 69
• Successes: 39 PGA Tour victories; 8 major championships

Tom Watson exuded a quiet confidence that earned him eight major championships over a career that included 39 PGA Tour wins. He enjoyed playing in the United Kingdom and won five Open Championship titles, beginning in 1975. In 2009, at age 59, Watson turned the clock back by almost winning his sixth Open Championship, losing in a playoff to Stewart Cink.

In 2018, he won the Masters Tournament Par-3 Contest at age 68, making him the oldest person to win that event.

Ted Williams

• Sport: Baseball
• Career: 1939-1960
• Age when retired: 41
• Successes: Baseball Hall of Fame; last player to hit over .400; won triple crown twice; 19-time All-Star; won batting title 6 times

Williams had a .344 career batting average and hit under .300 only once in a 19-year career. He hit 521 home runs despite missing most or all of five seasons while serving in the military. His on-base percentage of .482 is the highest in MLB history.

In 1960, his last year in baseball, Williams batted .316 at age 41. With a flair for the dramatic, he slugged a home run in his last at-bat.

Tiger Woods

• Sport: Golf
• Career: 1996-present
• Age when retired: N/A
• Successes: 82 PGA Tour victories; 15 major championships; youngest player to win the Masters at age 21

After turning pro in 1996, Woods dazzled the sports world by becoming the youngest player to win the Masters at age 21. His 82 PGA Tour wins tie him with Sam Snead for the most in Tour history, and his 15 major championships rank second to Jack Nicklaus’ 18. Personal problems and health issues have plagued his career, but he came back to win the Tour Championship in 2018 at age 42 and the Masters in 2019 at age 43.

Steve Yzerman

• Sport: Hockey
• Career: 1983-2006
• Age when retired: 40
• Successes: Hockey Hall of Fame; 3-time Stanley Cup winner; 9-time NHL All-Star; played all 22 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman played his entire Hall of Fame hockey career as a center for the Detroit Red Wings, helping the team win three Stanley Cups. He amassed 1,755 points over 22 seasons and topped 100 points in six consecutive seasons.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias

• Sport: Golf
• Career: 1947-1955
• Age when retired: 44
• Successes: 41 LPGA Tour victories; 10 major championships; earned her sixth AP Female Athlete of the Year honor after winning the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open

Babe Didrikson Zaharias excelled in multiple sports – baseball, track and field, basketball, tennis, and golf. She won gold medals and set or tied world records in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin and took the silver medal in the high jump at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

She went on to dominate women’s professional golf in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1951, the year she turned 40, Zaharias won nine events on the LPGA Tour. Three years later, after undergoing colon cancer surgery, she won the U.S. Women’s Open and earned her sixth AP Female Athlete of the Year honor. Cancer eventually claimed her life in 1956.