24 Athletes Who Became Major-League Rookies at 35 or Older

Professional sports careers tend to move fast. In many leagues, a player who has not broken through by his late 20s is already running out of chances. By 35, most athletes are considered veterans, and plenty have already retired.

That makes the players on this list unusual. Each made his debut in a major U.S. sports league at age 35 or older, sometimes after spending more than a decade in the minors, playing professionally overseas, leaving the sport entirely, or simply waiting for an opportunity that never seemed to come.

There is an important distinction here. Several of these athletes were already accomplished professionals in Japan, Korea, Europe, the Soviet Union, or other leagues before becoming MLB, NBA, or NHL rookies. Their late arrival does not mean they were inexperienced. It means their first appearance at this particular level came at an age when most careers are winding down.

Minnie Mendoza was 35 years and 127 days old when he finally reached the majors with the Minnesota Twins on April 9, 1970. That is more than a year younger than the age listed in the original version of this story, but still remarkably late for an MLB debut. Mendoza had been playing professionally since 1954 and spent years bouncing through the minor leagues before getting his chance. His entire major-league career lasted just 16 games, and he finished 3-for-16 with two RBIs.

Yoshinori Tateyama was already a veteran pitcher in Japan when the Texas Rangers gave him his first major-league opportunity in 2011. He debuted at 35 years and 149 days old on May 24 and remained with Texas into the following season. Tateyama appeared in 53 MLB games, all in relief, and struck out 61 batters in 61 innings. His American career was brief, but reaching the majors in his mid-30s after an established career overseas made the trip worthwhile.

Pablo Prigioni was anything but a basketball beginner when he made his NBA debut for the New York Knicks on November 2, 2012. The Argentine point guard was 35 years and 169 days old and had already spent years playing professionally in Argentina and Spain. He became an important rotation player almost immediately, appearing in 78 games during his first NBA season. Prigioni ultimately played four NBA seasons and 270 games, proving that an NBA rookie can arrive with considerably more experience than most veterans.

Jim Morris has the rare late-blooming sports story that actually became a Disney movie. Morris had left professional baseball and spent years teaching and coaching before giving the sport another shot. He signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization in 1999 and reached the majors on September 18 at 35 years and 242 days old. Morris struck out the only batter he faced in his debut, pitched into the following season, and later saw his unlikely comeback dramatized in the 2002 film "The Rookie."

Dae-Sung Koo reached the New York Mets in 2005 at 35 years and 245 days old after pitching professionally in South Korea and Japan. His MLB career lasted only one season, but Mets fans still remember him for something that had almost nothing to do with pitching. Koo famously ripped a double off Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, then scored from second base on a sacrifice bunt. He appeared in 33 games that year with a 3.91 ERA, but that improbable trip around the bases became his enduring MLB highlight.

Earle Brucker was just short of his 36th birthday when he debuted for the Philadelphia Athletics on April 19, 1937, at 35 years and 348 days old. Unlike many late rookies who barely got a cup of coffee, Brucker stuck around. The catcher played parts of five major-league seasons and hit .290 across 707 career at-bats. He even returned to the Athletics in 1943 at age 42, years after what already had been an unusually late start.

Takashi Saito did not merely reach MLB at 36 years and 54 days old. He became one of the league's better relief pitchers almost immediately. The longtime Japanese professional debuted for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006 and finished his rookie season with a 2.07 ERA, 24 saves, and 107 strikeouts in 78.1 innings. Saito went on to pitch seven major-league seasons, made an All-Star team, and finished with 84 saves and a 2.34 career ERA. Among the names here, his late arrival turned into one of the most successful MLB careers.

Butch Songin became a professional football rookie at 36 during the Boston Patriots' inaugural 1960 season in the American Football League, years before the AFL and NFL completed their merger. He was not just a ceremonial veteran hanging around the roster. Songin started 12 games at quarterback, threw for 2,476 yards and 22 touchdowns, and returned for two more AFL seasons. His inclusion needs that AFL context, but becoming the starting quarterback of a new franchise at 36 still qualifies as a wonderfully strange rookie story.

Hank Izquierdo spent most of his baseball life waiting for a chance that finally came with the Minnesota Twins in 1967. The Cuban catcher debuted on August 9 at 36 years and 142 days old after a professional career that had begun back in 1951. Izquierdo appeared in only 16 major-league games, batting .269 in 26 at-bats. His MLB stay was short, but simply reaching the majors after well over a decade in professional baseball put him in rare company.

Keiichi Yabu made his MLB debut for the Oakland Athletics on April 9, 2005, at 36 years and 193 days old after a long career in Japanese baseball. He worked exclusively as a reliever in the majors and eventually appeared in 100 games. Yabu's American career had an unusual gap, too. After pitching for Oakland in 2005, he returned to the majors with the San Francisco Giants in 2008, finishing his MLB career just days before his 40th birthday.

Satoru Komiyama already had a lengthy career in Japan before joining the New York Mets in 2002. He debuted on April 4 at 36 years and 201 days old and appeared in 25 games that season, all out of the bullpen. Komiyama went 0-3 with a 5.61 ERA in his only MLB campaign, then returned to Japan and continued pitching professionally. His Mets season was less a beginning than a one-year American chapter in a much longer career.

Art Jacobs waited until 36 years and 294 days old for his major-league debut with the Cincinnati Reds on June 18, 1939. The wait was much longer than the career that followed. Jacobs pitched exactly one inning in exactly one MLB game, allowing two hits and one earned run. Modern statistical records credit him with a save, giving him the odd distinction of recording one in the only major-league appearance of his life.

Jim Anderson was an established minor-league hockey veteran when NHL expansion finally opened a door. He joined the Los Angeles Kings during their first season in 1967-68 and made his NHL debut at age 37. Anderson played only seven NHL games, recording one goal and two assists, but his career outside the league was enormous. He spent the bulk of his playing life in the American Hockey League and was eventually inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame.

This is not the Hall of Fame Billy Williams who starred for the Chicago Cubs. This Billy Williams spent years grinding through the minors before finally reaching the Seattle Pilots in 1969 at 37 years and 63 days old. His major-league career consisted of only four games and 12 plate appearances. Williams went 0-for-10 with one walk and one hit-by-pitch, making his stay brief even by late-rookie standards. Still, after spending most of the 1960s at Triple-A, simply getting the call was an accomplishment.

Helmut Balderis was already one of the most accomplished hockey players ever produced by Latvia when the Minnesota North Stars brought him to the NHL. He debuted in 1989 at 37 years and 66 days old after years of elite play in the Soviet system. Minnesota had drafted him only months earlier at age 36. Balderis appeared in 26 NHL games, scoring three goals with six assists. Calling him an inexperienced rookie would be absurd, but technically his first NHL season arrived at an age when almost everyone else was considering retirement.

Chang-Yong Lim had been pitching professionally since the 1990s before the Chicago Cubs finally gave him an MLB opportunity in 2013. The veteran sidearmer debuted on September 7 at 37 years and 95 days old. Lim had already built a substantial career as a closer in South Korea and Japan and was working his way back from Tommy John surgery when Chicago signed him. His MLB stay lasted just six games and five innings, but getting there at all after that journey was remarkable.

Joe Strong was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1984 and then spent the next 16 years trying to reach the majors. His route included minor-league baseball and stops in China, Mexico, and Japan before the Florida Marlins finally called him up in 2000. Strong was 37 years and 245 days old when he debuted on May 11. He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings that night and stayed in the majors into 2001, finishing with 26.1 career innings. MLB has recognized him as the oldest Expansion Era debutant whose professional career began in an affiliated U.S. organization.

Connie Madigan finally reached the NHL with the St. Louis Blues during the 1972-73 season at 38 years and 125 days old. The defenseman had spent years playing professional hockey outside the NHL before getting his chance. Madigan appeared in 20 regular-season games for St. Louis, recording three assists, and also dressed for five playoff games. His NHL career lasted only that season, but becoming a rookie at 38 made him one of the league's most unusual late arrivals.

Connie Marrero debuted for the Washington Senators on April 21, 1950, just four days before his 39th birthday. The Cuban pitcher had already established himself in amateur and professional baseball before reaching MLB, and unlike many players on this list, he stuck around for years. Marrero pitched five major-league seasons, made the 1951 All-Star team, and finished with a 39-40 record and a 3.67 ERA over 735.1 innings. His rookie season arrived late, but it was hardly the end of the story.

Masumi Kuwata had already put together a 20-year career with Japan's Yomiuri Giants before trying Major League Baseball. He debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 10, 2007, at 39 years and 70 days old, becoming the first Japanese player to appear for the franchise. Kuwata had won 173 games in Japan, so the word rookie was purely technical by that point. His MLB chapter lasted 19 relief appearances, but reaching Pittsburgh after two decades as a professional made him one of baseball's most experienced first-year players.

Les Willis had already spent more than a decade pitching professionally when Cleveland finally brought him to the majors in 1947. He debuted on April 28 at 39 years and 101 days old after Cleveland selected him from Memphis in the Rule 5 draft. Willis appeared in 22 games that season, including two starts, and posted a respectable 3.48 ERA over 44 innings. It was his only year in the majors, but it came after a minor-league career that included multiple 20-win seasons.

Alex McColl was 39 years and 153 days old, not 151 days as the original data indicated, when he debuted for the Washington Senators on August 29, 1933. He had spent roughly 18 seasons in the minor leagues before getting the call, then posted a 2.65 ERA over 17 innings for a Washington team that won the American League pennant. McColl even appeared in the 1933 World Series. He returned at age 40 the following year and finished his two-season MLB career with a 3.70 ERA across 46 games.

Ken Takahashi had already spent 14 seasons pitching for the Hiroshima Carp when he arrived in Major League Baseball. The New York Mets used the left-hander for the first time on May 2, 2009, when he was 40 years and 16 days old. Takahashi did more than simply make an appearance, too. He pitched in 28 games that season and finished with a 2.96 ERA over 27.1 innings. It was his only MLB season, but statistically it was a pretty good one for a rookie who had already celebrated his 40th birthday.

Under the criteria used for this list, Diomedes Olivo remains the oldest player here. The Dominican left-hander made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 5, 1960, at 41 years and 227 days old. Olivo was already a celebrated pitcher in the Dominican Republic before reaching Pittsburgh, and he proved his debut was no gimmick. In 1962, at age 43, he appeared in 62 games, went 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA, and recorded seven saves. He remained in the majors through 1963, pitching his final game at 44.