Top 50 Sports Jersey By Number

Best By the Number: 0-49 written by Joe Brackets exclusive sports writer for askhoffa.com!

I’ll admit it. I haven’t seen “42” yet. I’ve been incredibly busy lately and haven’t been able to find the time to go out and see it. I’ve made it very well-known that every player in Major League Baseball wearing No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day is one of my biggest pet peeves out there. But, we all know what, or should I say “who,” the number 42 represents on a baseball diamond. In fact, Jackie Robinson is probably the first person who comes to mind whenever you see anybody wearing his number.

And that got me thinking. No. 42 will always be Jackie Robinson, just like No. 3 will always be Babe Ruth, No. 23 will always be Michael Jordan, No. 43 will always be Richard Petty and No. 99 will always be Wayne Gretzky. But what about all the other numbers? Jersey numbers are such a part of sports that they’re synonomous with the individuals who wear them. That’s why the greatest honor a team can give a player is to retire his number.

Well, I’m going to give it a shot. I’m going to pick who I think is the greatest athlete ever to wear every number, all the way from 0 to 99. Some are incredibly easy. Many are hard. There are some numbers that have been worn by so many all-time greats it’s hard to pick just one, while others are incredibly light on candidates. Regardless, I’m making the attempt. Here’s the first half of my list: 0/00 to 49. Numbers 50-99 will come tomorrow.

0/00: Robert Parish
1: Oscar Robertson
2: Derek Jeter
3: Babe Ruth
4: Bobby Orr
5: Joe DiMaggio
6: Bill Russell
7: Mickey Mantle
8: Cal Ripken
9: Gordie Howe
10: Pele
11: Mark Messier
12: Terry Bradshaw
13: Wilt Chamberlain
14: Pete Rose
15: Bart Starr
16: Joe Montana
17: John Havlicek
18: Peyton Manning
19: Johnny Unitas
20: Barry Sanders
21: Roberto Clements
22: Emmitt Smith
23: Michael Jordan
24: Willie Mays
25: Barry Bonds
26: Rod Woodson
27: Juan Marichal
28: Marshall Faulk
29: Rod Carew
30: Martin Brodeur
31: Greg Maddux
32: Magic Johnson
33: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
34: Walter Payton
35: Frank Thomas
36: Jerome Bettis
37: Casey Stengel
38: Curt Schilling
39: Roy Campanella
40: Gale Sayers
41: Tom Seaver
42: Jackie Robinson
43: Richard Petty
44: Hank Aaron
45: Bob Gibson
46: Andy Pettitte
47: Tom Glavine
48: Jimmie Johnson
49: Ron Guidry

To many Latino baseball players, Roberto Clemente is as revered a figure (perhaps even more so) as Jackie Robinson. That’s why he gets the nod as No. 21 over Deion Sanders. It was difficult to pick between all those great sluggers who wore No. 44, but Hank Aaron is second on the all-time home runs list, which gives him the edge. No. 32 was another hard one, but Magic’s the first name that comes to mind when you think of all the legends that wore the number. That’s enough for me.

Weakest numbers on the first half of the list? Probably 36, 38, 46 and 47. No offense to the Bus, Curt Schilling, Andy Pettitte or Tom Glavine. The only non-player is Casey Stengel, who’s as identifiable with the number 37 as Jackie Robinson is with 42. You’ll also notice that there are five active players among the first 50: Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Martin Brodeur, Andy Pettitte and Jimmie Johnson.