His Philadelphia Athletics didnt actually wear uniform numbers until 1931 (Grove was 30-4 with a 2.06 ERA that year), so Grove only wore 10 in 11 of his seasons, but he still gets the nod here (he led the AL in ERA six of those 11 years, btw). Carew made the All-Star team in 18 of his 19 seasons in the majors and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot (1991). In the middle of his career he lost a few seasons to injury, but that hasnt stopped him from putting up incredible numbers. Orlando Magic ( 20, 21) Greg Anthony. The number 2 has become one of the most popular jersey numbers across a wide variety of sports. But thats OK. Brett was a wizard at the plate during a 21-year career he even led the AL in average (.329) and doubles (45) in his Age 37 season that garnered 13 All-Star nods, the 1980 AL MVP (when he hit .390) and the 1985 World Series title for Kansas City (he hit .370 against St. Louis in the series). He led the league in receiving touchdowns three times and finished his career with 1,078 receptions. Why hes here: Koufax's numbers from 1962 to 1966 are staggering: Three Cy Youngs, a 113-34 record, five straight ERA titles, three seasons of more than 300 strikeouts. Oh, and he won six Super Bowls alongside Bill Belichick. 34 with the Lakers, and that was an incredible run. Why hes here: Only one player in baseball history (Jeff Kent) ever hit more home runs as a second baseman than Sandbergs 277 career dingers at the position, and in 1990 he became the second NL second baseman since the legendary Rogers Hornsby to ever hit at least 40 home runs in a season. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. He's sixth in career hits and has a career batting average of .310. As smooth and regal a player who ever wore a Celtics . The 30+ Top Athletes To Wear Jersey Number 1, Ranked By Fans COLLECTION What's Your Number? Blyleven had to wait a long time after he retired, but he was eventually elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011. Quiz Source The Greatest Athletes by Number (00-10) - Sports Illustrated Honorable mentions: Lou Whitaker, Pee Wee Reese, Richie Ashburn, Why hes here: Jeters career was nothing short of amazing. This is a stacked number, but its still such an easy choice to go with Mays, who is in the conversation about the greatest players in the history of the sport. Why he's here: The Hall of Famer wore No. Hes still had an excellent career. Orr is the choice at number 4, for far more than the Stanley Cup-winning goal he scored for the Bruins in 1970. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. Why he's here: The middle reliever is the only player in history to post a postive WAR while wearing No. When all is said and done, we might recognize Trout as the best player in MLB history. The Chief is a Hall of Famer, but Westbrook will be joining him someday. He also accumulated 2,460 hits in 19 seasons. Unfortunately for him, he spent half his career in other numbers. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Hasek won six Vezinas, but on top of that he won the Hart twice. The NBA also has a rich history of players to rock the number with champions like Kawhi Leonard,Kevin Garnett, andKyrie Irving all sporting the 2 on their backs. With his massive frame and vicious fastball, Johnson won five Cy Youngs and led the majors in strikeouts eight times. 53, thats not going to happen for any young Dodgers players. That game was an aberration for Larsen, who otherwise had a middling career, but it was right on track for Berra, who was on the receiving end of 173 shutouts. 35 the entire time. Still, we cant deny the Minister of Defense. In the News: Aaron Rodgers, Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Allen Robinson, Jordan Love. And while his two Super Bowl wins came with great supporting casts, he provided the signature moment of those wins. 72 for his entire 13-year tenure with the White Sox. 42 for all teams. Bryant had some great years wearing No. Goose Gossage had a fine career in baseball, but as a relief pitcher, and well go with a starting linebacker over a reliever any day of the week. Some other excellent NFL stars wore 75, including Jonathan Ogden and Deacon Jones. 9 for four games in 1944.. 10: Jo Jo White, Celtics. Branca, a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, wore no. 3 the first 10 years of his career, with the Mariners and Rangers, but a mildly well-known slugger had long ago claimed that number with the Yankees. Why he's here: The Pirate starting pitcher wore No. Honorable mentions: Jim Thome, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire. 96 for four seasons. Honorable mentions: Jim Edmonds, Red Ruffing, Dustin Pedroia. 8 with the Indians and White Sox, but it wasn't available in Baltimore due to a certain future Hall of Famer. Some may call this heresy. By geowiz85. At this point he is no longer the player he used to be, but Witten can only add to his legacy at this point as one of the best tight ends ever. The NFL and NHL have also had their fair share of famous athletes who wore 2 on their jersey like Matt Ryan and Brian Leetch. NFL 100: Greatest NFL players ever by jersey number - USA Today He was also the captain when the Wings ended their 40-year Cup drought. Despite only pitching those five full seasons, Dean still was elected to the Hall of Fame. Thats amazing, but that was in the era of pitching when the mounds were raised. No player in NHL history has more goals, assists or points. We do want to shout out Chad Johnson, in part because he changed his named to Chad Ochocinco in honor of his number. Injuries cut his career short, which is the only reason he didnt end up with 500 goals. However, he wore it for only two seasons as opposed to four wearing No. No one looks back at Belle's two-year Oriole career fondly, but he did put up some big numbers for the Birds. The striking, photo-driven book, SI takes a comprehensive look at jersey numbers 00 to 99, across all sports and eras, to decide which elite pro athlete wore each digit best. As his career went on, though, Yzerman became an elite defensive forward, even winning a Selke. MLB History: Greatest Players to Wear Jersey Numbers 1-57, and Beyond All Rights Reserved. For these purposes, is the number they are most known for. Because of injuries, Mogilny played in only 990 games over 16 seasons, but the Russian managed 473 goals in that time. Gehrig finished with 493 homers and a .340 career batting average, and he was even better in the World Series the Iron Horse hit .361 and popped 10 homers in 34 games as his Yankees claimed the title six times in seven tries. All rights reserved. Like we said, the NFL was weird then. Why hes here: Ryan is the greatest strikout pitcher in baseball history of course. He deservedly is in his sports Hall of Fame, unlike another guy who wore 47, Jack Morris. Honorable mentions: Kershaw, Larry Walker, Luis Tiant. Honorable mentions: Eddie Mathews, Darell Evans, Kevin Brown. Why he's here: Rincon wore No. Major League Baseball retired Robinsons number across the league. In a 20-year career, all with the Red Wings, the Swede won a whopping seven Norris Trophies for being the top defenseman. He spent almost the entirety of his career with the Cowboys, making six straight All-Pro squads. By the time he was finished, Robinson had a pair of MVP awards for Cincinnati in 1961 and for Baltimore in 1966and he had collected 586 career home runs. Munoz played 13 seasons, and the only seasons he missed the Pro Bowl were his first and last. Why hes here: Rapid Robert had already struck out 466 major-league hitters before he turned 20 years old, thats why. Honorable mentions: Fergie Jenkins, Dave Winfield, Mike Piazza. Or write about sports? LT was named Defensive Player of the Year three times with the Giants. The iconic athletes are also indelibly linked to a number, or numbers, they wore. Yes, a lot of that is because of what a trailblazer he was as the man who broke the color barrier. Why he's here: The other choices are Ryan Madson and Justin Masterson. Lemieux is the rare player who is considered one of the top-10 athletes in his sport but also makes you ask, What could have been?. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. Kelce outdueled another NFL center, Jim Langer, for this honor. 66. For now, though, there is only one choice at 23. Sure, hes in the Hall of Fame, but the man was All-Pro six times and won Defensive Player of the Year once. Before him, defensemen were just that: defenders. You can be forgiven for not expecting much out of Allen when he was drafted in the fourth round out of Idaho State. Why he's here: Five Cy Youngs, 303 wins, 4,875 strikeouts.The Big Unit is the obvious choice. Few players were as reliable while also being incredible on the court Hes the greatest Spur of all time and a 15-time All-NBA team member. McDavid is in only his fifth season, but hes already the best player in the NHL. Boston's greatest players to don each uniform number: 101 unforgettable When Gretzky retired, and the NHL retired his number as a whole. 81. This was a neck-and-neck battle between Randle and Dwight Freeney, but in the end the guy currently in the Hall of Fame gets the nod. No. In the course of his 16-year career, Elway matured from rawly talented escape artist to field general. He made eight All-Defense teams to go with 10 All-NBA teams. That doesnt mean being the all-time NFL leader in rushing yards isnt amazing. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 88, and Eric Lindros may have been the choice if not for his unfortunate concussion issues. The NFL was weird then. So check out the list of athletes who wore 2 and help decide who deserves to rank the highest for wearing this iconic jersey number. A full century after his career began, he is still the Babe Ruth of sports. The NFL and NHL have alsohad their fair share of famous athletes who wore 2 on their jersey like Matt Ryan and Brian Leetch. Once he led the NHL in assists with 66, unheard of for a blue liner. 24. 70. Payton wore it during his entire career with the Bears. Kevin Garnett wore No. George Constanza thought Seven was a great name, Five of the most lopsided trades in NFL history, Giants banking on their prototype first-round pick, Kraken stun defending champion Avs in Game 7, Steph Curry puts on record-setting Game 7 show in win, Playoff Butler shows out in Game 1 win over Knicks, Phillies manager provides update on Harper's return, MLB implements unusual rule to avoid pitch clock violations, Former Giants wonder if Rodgers can handle NY media, Brooks fined for dodging media, has no regrets over LeBron comments, Zac Taylor on Joe Mixon: 'His future is here with the team'. The Team clue is for the team that that athlete is most notable for while wearing the #23, not their current teams. Ichiro Suzuki, who also wore 51. Can you imagine a 6-foot-7 linebacker? Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Since the switch, A-Rod has often been the center of controversy, but hes also won a pair of AL MVP awards and popped 342 homers in 11 seasons. Honorable mentions: Ted Simmons, Luis Tiant, Don Mattingly. He won 266 games and threw three no-hitters in his 18-year career with the Indians, and that total would have undoubtedly been higher had he not missed three-and-a-half seasons (when he was 23 to 26 years old) serving in the military during World War II. Where would baseball be without No. 31. McDavid is clearly going to be the kind of player who dominates the NHL for years at a time. The competition was slim, so you could say Johnson lapped them all. Its rare for a middle linebacker to get a ton of awards love, but Lewis managed to be named Defensive Player of the Year twice. Classic: Type in answers that appear in a list. If not for that, he might have become the third-ever player to notch 800 goals. He helped change the position, showing that a tight end could be a de facto receiver out there. (Yes, he pitched too.) The lanky right-hander won the AL Cy Young three times and finished in the top five of the voting five other times in his 19-year career. His numbers blow everybody elses out of the water, and even in this pass-happy era nobody has topped Rices numbers yet. The hype surrounding Crosby before he was drafted was hard to live up to. In those seven seasons he had 574 receptions for 9,142 yards and 90 touchdowns. Frankly, thats more impressive than anything Gibson did, and it was one of five times Pedro led the majors in ERA. Petty is simply known as The King, which may say it all. For 20 years Duncan was a metronome in the NBA. 73 for 11 seasons. While the number he wore, number 42, has always been special and acknowledged throughout the Majors Leagues, especially since Jackie Robinson's induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, the day has . Eventually, Johnson would take the title of the top driver on the NASCAR circuit. Why he's here: A two-time Cy Young winner who lead his league in ERA and strikeouts three times each, Santana was the clear choice here. He wore it when he won four MVPs. If you're the Babe Ruth of podiatrists, suddenly podiatry sounds like a pretty cool line of work to be in.
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