This past weekend out of the ravages of time emerged Tom Watson.  “Who’s Tom Watson?” some of you might ask.  Well he’s the 59 year old guy who darn near walked off with the British Open Golf Tournament.  Came in second, he did, ‘cause he lost at the very end to a guy named Cink because he couldn’t sink a final 12 foot putt.

But he did just about everything else right for four days of history as he captured the world’s attention with the best Inspirational story of the past month.  Tom Watson was magnificent, not for a 59 year old guy, but truly magnificent no matter what his age.

And what struck me the most was that while doing it, he was havin’ a ball.

“When all is said and done,” Watson said, “one of the things I hope that will come out of my life is that my peers will say, ‘You know, that Watson, he was a hell of a golfer.'”

After watching Tom all weekend grace the world with his extraordinary story, I’d like to add to that, that Tom Watson is a hell of a man.  He had focus, he had smarts, he played with a refreshing kind of confidence and in the end, he had humility.

It’s made me think back on a few other athletes who defied their ages.

On May 18, 2004 Randy Johnson, a future Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, became the oldest player ever, at age 40, to throw a perfect game. He did so against the Atlanta Braves at Turner field.

Johnson was dominant, striking out 13 batters while throwing just 117 pitches, 87 for strikes.  Just how dominant was Johnson?  His final pitch of the game, a strike to Eddie Perez, hit 98 mph on the radar gun.

Then there’s Brett Favre who will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.  Favre has two performances worthy of acknowledgement. The first was the remarkable season he had in his final season with the Green Bay Packers.  Favre had the best completion percentage of his career (66.5), threw for over 4,100 yards (third most of his career), threw 28 touchdown passes, and had his third best year in terms of QB rating, all at the age of 38.  38 may seem like a young age to some of us, but not in Pro football.

Then the next year, playing for the New York Jets he torched the Arizona Cardinals for six touchdown passes, and became the oldest quarterback to throw six touchdowns in a single game.

On May 1, 1991 when Nolan Ryan woke up, he did not feel good. He said his whole body ached and he felt every bit his age, 44.

As soon as the game started though, Ryan began to feel much better. So much better in fact, he was clocked at 96 mph during the fourth inning.  Pitching against The Toronto Blue Jays, arguably baseball’s best hitting team that season, Ryan finished the day with his seventh career no-hitter.

Needless to say, Ryan holds the record for the oldest pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter.

How ‘bout Mr. George Foreman?

Yes, the same George Foreman whose name is printed on the grill in your kitchen.

In 1994, Foreman challenged Michael Moorer for the World Heavyweight title. For the first nine rounds, Foreman was out-punched and out-fought Moorer.  However, when the 10th round began, Foreman mounted a comeback, connecting on a number of jabs. Finally, a short right hand caught Moorer on the chin and down he went.

With the victory, Foreman owned the record for longest time between world championships (20 years).  Even more impressive, at the age of 45, Foreman became the oldest fighter ever to win the World Heavyweight crown.

Football Hall of Famer, George Blanda. George Blanda played pro football for 26 seasons – longer than any other person. However, he’ll probably be remembered best for his 1970 season with the Oakland Raiders. That year, in a five-game period, George provided Oakland with four wins and one tie with last-second touchdown passes or field goals – at age 43. He was the oldest person to play in an NFL game: 48 years, 109 days.

In Pro Basketball, when you hit 30, you’re considered ‘old’.  When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left the game in 1989 at age 42, no NBA player had ever scored more points, blocked more shots, won more MVP awards, played in more All-Star Games, or logged more seasons. His list of personal and team accomplishments is perhaps the most awesome in league history,

These are the ones I remember.  To play on a world-class level well into one’s 40s is always an amazing accomplishment, but to nearly win the British Open at 59 is out of this world, out of the question.

A reporter thanked Tom Watson for the week that was. And then he made a request.  “Could you help us with a good headline after today’s round?” he said.

“A good headline?” Watson said. “‘The Old Fogey Almost Did It.'”