Emotional farewells that rival Mo’s

1. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Strumming a guitar in center field at Yankee Stadium in 1999, about a month after the Yankee Clipper died, Paul Simon reprised his famous lines from the 1968 hit “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel. (“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you, ooh, ooh, ooh … what’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson, Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away, hey, hey, hey … hey, hey, hey”). 

2. The Luckiest Man

Wiping tears from his eyes as he gave his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig, afflicted with the ALS that would claim his life in 1941, said: “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” 

3. The Captain is overcome

As the Rangers honored Mark Messier in 2006 by retiring his famed No. 11, the Blueshirts’ noted leader sobbed on the ice at Madison Square Garden. As goalie Mike Richter put it, “Mark Messier Night, sponsored by Kleenex.”

4. Lefty for Hank

Loyola Marymount stars Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers were best friends, and 12 days after Gathers collapsed and died on the court, Kimble paid him a memorable tribute. The high-scoring guard shot his first free throw left-handed as an homage to Gathers – preserved as perhaps the most famous free throw in college basketball history. By the way, Kimble drained it.

5. A nice torch

When the Montreal Forum closed in 1996, the Canadiens had all of the franchise’s living captains literally pass the torch. The roster, arranged in order of their captaincy, included Maurice Richard, Yvon Cournoyer and Bob Gainey and ended with then-captain Pierre Turgeon leading the team in a honorary lap around the rink. 

6. Jimmy V says goodbye

The former championship coach at N.C. State was dying of cancer when he accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian award at the 1993 ESPYs. The man they called “Jimmy V” delivered one of the most memorable speeches in sports history, closing with, “Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. I thank you and God bless you all.”

7. As Good as it Gretz

Wayne Gretzky hung up his skates for good at Madison Square Garden on April 18, 1999, earning tributes across the NHL. The Garden painted his famed No. 99 on his favorite spot on the ice behind each net. Bryan Adams tweaked the lyrics to “O Canada,” subbing “We’re going to miss you, Wayne Gretzky” for “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.” And during the Star Spangled Banner, John Amirante changed “Land of the free” to “Land of Wayne Gretzky.” In the 2-1 loss to the Penguins, Gretzky produced his last point, an assist on a Brian Leetch goal, and was named first, second and third star

8. Chanting for the warrior

Paul O’Neill announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2001 season, and the popular Yankees right fielder received a touching serenade during Game 5 of the World Series against the Diamondbacks. The fans at Yankee Stadium began chanting “Paul-O-Ne-ill,” an appreciation for his nine years in pinstripes.  

9. The end for Elway

John Elway captured his second straight Super Bowl in 1999 as the Broncos routed the Falcons, earning MVP honors in the process. Elway went out on top of the sport by retiring from the NFL after the game. Other stars who did the same: Ray Lewis with the Ravens after last season, Michael Strahan with the Giants after Super Bowl XLII in 2008 and Ray Bourque with the Avalanche after the 2001 Stanley Cup. 

10. Splendid Splinter goes deep

In his final at-bat in the major leagues on Sept. 28, 1960, Ted Williams homered against the Orioles’ Jack Fisher at Fenway Park. It was Williams’ last swing on a baseball field, a lasting moment of his Hall of Fame career.

11. Mo's last game in The Bronx