10 greatest sports stars to leave, only to come back

This is Bobby Ewing turning around in the shower, revealing to his wife Pam that his supposed death and an entire season of “Dallas” was just a dream.

This is Bob Newhart waking up in bed with his first TV wife, Suzanne Pleshette, rendering his entire second eponymous series — the one with Larry, his brother Darryl and his other brother Darryl — also a figment of the imagination.

After Mike Francesa proclaimed to Newsday earlier Tuesday morning that “it’s time to go back to WFAN,” the Daily News’ Bob Raissman broke the news that the Sports Pope indeed will soon be “back after this” on the local airwaves from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

So much for that four-month “retirement” and that year-long “farewell” tour that reminded me of every rock band ever — Eagles, Kiss, etc. — that has gouged fans out of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars with the implication that they wouldn’t play together again.

Of course, there also have been plenty of headlining sports stars through the years who have retired only to come back and resume their legendary careers. Here are my top 10: