Ice Hockey · 1993 · Philadelphia, USA
Lemieux's Same-Day Comeback
Hours after his final radiation treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, Mario Lemieux flies to Philadelphia and scores in his first game back, launching one of the most improbable comebacks in sports history.
Goal + assist, same day as final radiation
Return
Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy
Season awards
~24
Games missed to treatment
Mario Lemieux announced on 12 January 1993 that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, while leading the NHL in scoring. He underwent 22 radiation treatments over several weeks, a punishing course that left him fatigued and away from the Pittsburgh Penguins for close to two months.
On the morning of 2 March 1993, Lemieux received his final radiation session in Pittsburgh, then flew to Philadelphia that same day to rejoin his team, without having practised in weeks. He received a standing ovation from the Flyers' notoriously hostile crowd during warm-ups, then scored a goal and added an assist in the game itself.
Lemieux went on a scoring tear over the rest of the season, leading the Penguins to a 17-game winning streak and winning both the NHL scoring title and the Hart Trophy as league MVP despite having missed roughly two months of the season to treatment. It remains one of the most improbable in-season comebacks in the history of professional sport, a cancer patient returning to competitive dominance within hours of finishing treatment.
