“Passing the torch” has become part of the sports lexicon, a euphemism for a great but aging athlete or coach ceding his or her spot on center stage to a younger, brilliantly gifted successor. But, really, how often does it happen, either literally or figuratively?
A case can be made for a hobbled Joe DiMaggio playing his final season with the New York Yankees in 1951 with a rookie named Mickey Mantle temporarily occupying right field and primed to fill the cavernous void in center field that would be created after the farewell voyage of the Yankee Clipper.