Legends in the Wrong Uniform

When the name Willie Mays gets brought up, most sane baseball fans associate the legendary outfielder with the San Francisco Giants. But at one point at the end of his career, Mays did play with the New York Mets.

SI.com did a unique feature in their Photo Gallery section in which they compiled a group of sports legends that quite didn’t look right wearing certain teams uniforms throughout their career.

The list makes you say, “Boy Michael Jordan looks weird in that Washington Wizards uniform.” Below is SI.com’s list.

Willie Mays
New York Mets, 1972-73
Mays led the Giants from 1951 through 1972, before being traded midseason to the Mets. In just a handful of at-bats, Mays had little impact on his new team.

Michael Jordan
Washington Wizards, 2001-03
Sure, he owned part of the team. But MJ just didn’t look right in a Wizards uniform and he failed to get his team to the playoffs.

Joe Namath
Los Angeles Rams, 1977
After 12 years with the Jets, Namath dragged his worn out knees to Los Angeles for one more shot at glory. He played in just four games, throwing three TDs and five INTs.

Bobby Orr
Chicago Blackhawks, 1976-79
After making his mark on NHL history in Boston, Orr joined the Blackhawks. He played just 26 games for Chicago.

Hank Aaron
Milwauke Brewers, 1975-76
After setting the all-time home run record with the Braves, Aaron spent two seasons in Milwaukee — the city in which he began his career with the Braves before they moved to Atlanta.

Patrick Ewing
Seattle Supersonics, 2000-01
Ewing spent one season with the Sonics and the next year in Orlando. He didn’t average double-digit scoring in either season.

Tony Dorsett
Denver Broncos, 1988
Dorsett followed up 11 seasons in Dallas with one forgettable season in Denver.

Babe Ruth
Boston Braves, 1935
After 15 years rewriting the record books in pinstripes, Ruth joined the Braves, who simply wanted him to boost attendance. Ruth had just 72 at-bats with the Braves.

Ray Bourque
Colorado Avalanche, 1999-2002
Actually Bourque did contribute to the Avalanche’s success, which included a Stanley Cup in 2001. But he just doesn’t look right out of the Bruins uniform he wore for 21 years.

Dominique Wilkins
Boston Celtics, 1994-95
‘Nique had 12 great seasons in Atlanta before bouncing around with the Clippers, Celtics, Spurs and Magic at the end of his career.

Michael Jordan

“I wanna be like Mike!”

Perhaps the most recognizable name in all of sports is Michael Jordan. From unbelievable highlights on the court to commercials and movies off it, “MJ” is often considered the No. 1 sports legend of all-time.

As the story goes, at 5’11, Jordan was deemed too short to play for his high school varsity team as a sophomore. But that following summer he grew four inches and his basketball career was born.

Following his high school career, Jordan received a scholarship to play for the University of North Carolina and was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 1981. He also made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown. Jordan left UNC one year before his scheduled graduation date after winning the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984. 

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick in the NBA draft after the Houston Rockets (Hakeem Olajuwon) and Portland Trail Blazers (Sam Bowie) passed on the former Tar Heel. In due time, the Trail Blazers selection of Bowie over Jordan is often viewed as the biggest blunder in NBA draft history.

One could fill an entire book with Jordan’s NBA accomplishments. Among some of the honors: 

14-time All-Star
Rookie of the Year—1985
Five-time MVP—1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998
Six-time NBA Finals MVP—1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
Olympic Gold Medalist—1984, 1992
Defensive Player of the Year—1988
Nine-time All-Defensive First Team
Seven-time The Sporting News MVP—1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998
11-time All-NBA—10 times first team, 1 time second team
Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year”—1991
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996
Two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion—1987, 1988
Select records

Most NBA Finals MVP awards—6
Highest single series scoring average NBA Finals—41.0 (1993)
Most scoring titles—10
Most All-Defensive First Teams—9
Most consecutive games scoring in double figures—866
Highest career scoring average—30.12
Highest career scoring average playoffs—33.45
While players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are considered some of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball, none hold a candle to Jordan’s NBA legacy. He’s often hailed as one of the greatest professional athletes in any sport and his trademark dunks still don the walls of many youngsters throughout America.