Zdeno Chara and Dikembe Mutombo have more in common than most might think.
The Boston Bruins defenseman’s combination of age and height will bring him alongside the NBA legend in ultra-select sports company, according to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter. At 6-foot-9, Chara is the tallest player in the NHL and he became the oldest earlier this month when Matt Cullen retired. That means Chara, 42, now joins Mutombo in sharing these sports distinctions simultaneously.
“With the retirement of Matt Cullen, Zdeno Chara (43 on March 18) became the oldest player in the NHL,” Porter wrote in his “Sunday Hockey Notes” column. “Chara is the first athlete since Dikembe Mutombo to be both the tallest and oldest active player in one of the four major sports. The finger-wagging Mutombo, who stands 7 feet 2 inches, was 42 in 2008-09, the same season Chara won the Norris Trophy.”
Chara joked on Instagram earlier this month about being the NHL’s oldest player, saying age is just a number. However, his height is a matter of fact, as is the current status he shares as a twin peak alongside Mt. Mutombo.
