Tom Brady, the 45-year-old Tampa Bay quarterback who is often said to be ageless, has smashed nearly every NFL record that he can – one notable exception is held by an ageless predecessor, a grizzled quarterback and kicker who finally stopped playing because his team cut him.
George Frederick Blanda was of Slovak heritage, and his dad was a Pittsburgh coal miner. He played his final NFL game on 4 January 1976, at the age of 48 years, 109 days, a record that still stands.
Blanda intended to keep playing, but he was not in the Oakland Raiders’ plans. “After 26 years in this business, I guess I can come to grips with the facts of life.
I just wish they’d said something,” Blanda grumbled to reporters after the Raiders let him go. Brady has been compared with Blanda lately because the seven-time Super Bowl champion has all but run out of things to accomplish.