Numbers game...

[wdm1219inpenna]

Hello all,

I was born in '66 and got to thinking which athletes from the 4 major sports (baseball, football, basketball & hockey) are most associated with #66. For me it's Mario Lemieux for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ray Nitschke for the Green Bay Packers.

The only 00 I remember was Jim Otto from the Oakland Raiders.

12 is rather difficult as so many great NFL quarterbacks wore that #.

I'd like this "game" if you will, to be where we each select a different number, and list the most famous athletes or athletes most/best assicoated with said number.

I'll start with #4. Lou Gehrig (New York Yankees) Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers, though other teams too).

I'm curious to see what numbers and names you folks select, given the wide range of ages here.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

[chuckymack]

I actually remember phone numbers via jersey number association. For example, the last four digits in my phone number are 3358 -- so, for me, my phone number is Dorsett/Maualuga.

As far as the number game goes, I really only follow basketball and football, but I'll bite.

1. Warren Moon

2. Tim Couch

3. John Kitna

4. Brett Favre

5. Bart Starr

6. Mark Sanchez

7. Boomer Esiason

8. Steve Young

9. Drew Brees

10. Eli Manning

11. Alex Smith

12. Roger Staubach

13. Kurt Warner

14. Andy Dalton

15. Tim Tebow

16. Joe Montana

17. Philip Rivers

18. Peyton Manning

19. Johnny Unitas

20. Barry Sanders

21. Deion Sanders

22. Emmitt Smith

23. Michael Jordan

24. Champ Bailey

25. Reggie Bush

[wdm1219inpenna]

I shall reply to my own then....

1 - Billy Martin

2 - Derek Jeter

3 - Babe Ruth

5- Paul Hornung, Joe DiMaggio,

6 - Julius Erving

7 - Mickey Mantle, John Elway

8 - Yogi Berra, Steve Young, Troy Aikman

9 - none come to mind readily

10 - Fran Tarkenton

11 - Danny White

12 - Staubach, Namath, Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Ken Stabler

13 - Alex Rodriquez, Dan Marino

14 - Dan Fouts

15- Thurman Munson

16 - Whitey Ford, Joe Montana, Len Dawson

17 - ?

18 - Peyton Manning

19 - Johnny Unitas

20 - ?

21 - ?

22 - Emmitt Smith

23 - Michael Jordan, Don Mattingly

24 - Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr.

25 - Barry Bonds

32 - Franco Harris

33 - Tony Dorsett

34 - Walter Payton

41 - Tom Seaver

42 - Jackie Robinson, Mariano Rivera

44 - Reggie Jackson, Henry Aaron

45 - Tug McGraw

70 - Jim Marshall

75 - Ed Too Tall Jones

81 - Terrell Owens

82 - John Stallworth

88 - Lynn Swann, Michael Irvin

99 - Mitch Williams

[BBTV]

I'm not sure how 99 can be anyone other than Wayne Gretzky. I naturally lean locally, and especially to the players I watched as a kid (when I really cared about this stuff), so my initial reaction is to say Jerome Brown for 99, but I have to concede that it's Gretzky's.

72 is Refrigerator Perry. Probably just because that's the first Super Bowl I can remember, but every single time I see that number, I instantly think of him.

As for your question marks -

17 can be Harold Carmichael, who was all-decade in the '70s. Or Steve Deberg, who had a slightly less-distinguished career.

20 is Barry Sanders or Mike Schmidt.

21 (I hate to say it) might be Deion Sanders. I'm sure there's a better one though.

[theSLVRBCK]

I'll play ... I won't say these numbers belong to these "athletes" but I will say that these are the people I associate with these numbers. I mostly follow football, and the icons from my teams usually claim ownership to certain numbers even over icons from other sports (ex: Wuerffel over Elway, MJD over Magic). I also had to add NASCAR into the mix as a few of the numbers instantly translate to certain drivers.

1 - Warren Moon

2 - Rusty Wallace

3 - Dale Earnhardt

4 - Brett Favre

5 - Joe DiMaggio

6 - Mark Martin

7 - Danny Wuerffel

8 - Steve Young

9 - Ted Williams

10 - Chipper Jones

12 - Jim Kelly

13 - Dan Marino

15 - Tim Tebow

16 - Joe Montana

18 - Peyton Manning

19 - Johnny Unitas

20 - Barry Sanders

21 - Deion Sanders

22 - Emmit Smith

23 - Michael Jordan

24 - Jeff Gordon

28 - Fred Taylor

29 - John Smoltz

30 - Nolan Ryan

31 - Greg Maddux

32 - Maurice Jones-Drew

33 - Larry Bird (although it's really close with Larry and Scottie Pippen.)

34 - Bo Jackson

42 - Jackie Robinson

43 - Richard Petty

44 - Hank Aaron

47 - Tom Glavine

48 - Jimmie Johnson

51 - Dick Butkus

52 - Ray Lewis

55 - Junior Seau

56 - Lawrence Taylor

71 - Tony Boselli

78 - Bruce Smith

80 - Jerry Rice

81 - Tim Brown

91 - Dennis Rodman

92 - Reggie White

99 - Wayne Gretzky

[BBTV]

34 is a really tough one. I go Herschel Walker, but Bo Jackson is totally valid as well.

32 is also tough. MJD is clearly a local pick, which is fine, but really he's not part of this discussion (unless he's having the same discussion with his friends.) I go with Magic Johnson, but OJ Simpson, Jim Brown, Steve Carlton, and several others are on the short list. 32, like 7 and 12 is one of those "glamour" numbers that just seem to be reserved for stars.

[NJTank]

Here is some odd numbers

37 Casey Stengel

39 Larry Csonka

[leopard88]

3 - Dale Earnhardt Babe Ruth

5 - Joe DiMaggio/Brooks Robinson

8 - Steve Young Cal Ripken

9 - Ted Williams

10 - Chipper Jones Pele

18 - Peyton Manning

19 - Johnny Unitas

20 - Barry Sanders Frank Robinson

23 - Michael Jordan

32 - Maurice Jones-Drew Jim Brown/O.J. Simpson (yes I went there)

33 - Larry Bird (although it's really close with Larry and Scottie Pippen.)

34 - Bo Jackson Walter Payton

42 - Jackie Robinson

43 - Richard Petty

44 - Hank Aaron

52 - Ray Lewis

77 - Red Grange

80 - Jerry Rice

88 - Lynn Swann

99 - Wayne Gretzky

My selections/corrections are in BOLD.

[BBTV]

Csonka is a good one for 39, but I'd go with Dominik Hasek.

37 is really tough. Maybe some day Steven Strasburg will be there if his arm doesn't explode. It's just an ugly number that not a lot of greats have worn... at least not in my lifetime.

EDIT:

Yeah, Walter Payton is probably 34 if I put some thought in to it. At first thought though, I go with Jackson or Walker, probably just because I was getting in to collecting cards when they were huge and Payton was winding down at that point.

#1 has to be Ozzie Smith.

#22 probably Emmit Smith

#38 Curt Schilling (slim pickings here)

[John in KY]

I actually remember phone numbers via jersey number association. For example, the last four digits in my phone number are 3358 -- so, for me, my phone number is Dorsett/Maualuga.

As far as the number game goes, I really only follow basketball and football, but I'll bite.

1. Warren Moon

2. Tim Couch

3. John Kitna

4. Brett Favre

5. Bart Starr Paul Hornung

6. Mark Sanchez

7. Boomer Esiason

8. Steve Young

9. Drew Brees

10. Eli Manning

11. Alex Smith

12. Roger Staubach

13. Kurt Warner

14. Andy Dalton

15. Tim Tebow

16. Joe Montana

17. Philip Rivers

18. Peyton Manning

19. Johnny Unitas

20. Barry Sanders

21. Deion Sanders

22. Emmitt Smith

23. Michael Jordan

24. Champ Bailey

25. Reggie Bush

Fixed it for you - assuming you wanted a Packer as your wearer of #5. Bart Starr wore #15.

[BBTV]

15 for Tebow is absolutely insane, unless you're going just by college stats. "Best Ever" should include more than just that.

I don't know a lot of 15s, but HOFer Hal Greer wore that for the 76ers, as did Steve Van Buren for the Eagles, and Bart Starr for the Packers. All better choices.

[DustDevil61]

Do you really have to make me pick between Ozzie Smith and Warren Moon? Brett Favre and Bobby Orr? I'll limit my choices to no more than 3. Anyways, here goes--off the top of my head; I'll pick those who I associate most with a number, not necessarily who's actually best (some homer picks will be included):

0-Russell Westbrook

1-Ozzie Smith, Warren Moon

2-Derek Jeter

3-Babe Ruth, Chris Paul

4-Brett Favre, Bobby Orr

5-Joe DiMaggio, Carlos Boozer

6-Jay Cutler

7-John Elway

8-Troy Aikman, Deron Williams, Steve Young

9-Steve McNair

10-Eli Manning

12-John Stockton, Terry Bradshaw

13-Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Mehmet Okur

14-Jeff Hornacek, Ty Detmer

15-Bart Starr

16-Joe Montana, Bo Jackson (baseball)

17-Phillip Rivers

18-Peyton Manning

19-Johnny Unitas, Keyshawn Johnson

20-Barry Sanders

21-Deion Sanders, Sammy Sosa

22-Emmett Smith

23-Michael Jordan

24-Paul Millsap, Kobe Bryant (gag), Jeff Gordon

25-Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Al Jefferson

27-Vladimir Guerrero, Eddie George

28-Marshall Faulk

32-Karl Malone, Magic Johnson

34-Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson (football), Walter Payton

35-Kevin Durant

42-Jackie Robinson, Ronnie Lott

44-Hank Aaron

51-Randy Johnson

56-Lawrence Taylor

58-Derek Thomas

66-Mario Lemieux

74-Merlin Olsen

75-Deacon Jones, Howie Long

78-Bruce Smith

80-Jerry Rice, Rod Smith

81-Terrell Owens

87-Sydney Crosby

88-Michael Irvin, Lynn Swann

89-Steve Smith (Panthers)

90-Neil Smith (when with Chiefs)

91-Dennis Rodman, Kevin Greene

92-Reggie White

93-Ron Artest (Pacers, Kings)

99-Wayne Gretzky

00-Greg Ostertag

[theSLVRBCK]

34 is a really tough one. I go Herschel Walker, but Bo Jackson is totally valid as well.

32 is also tough. MJD is clearly a local pick, which is fine, but really he's not part of this discussion (unless he's having the same discussion with his friends.) I go with Magic Johnson, but OJ Simpson, Jim Brown, Steve Carlton, and several others are on the short list. 32, like 7 and 12 is one of those "glamour" numbers that just seem to be reserved for stars.

Yeah, the MJD is a complete homer pick. And it is mostly solidified by my remembering reading that he chose the number because all 32 teams, including the Jags passed on him in the first round and it was forever going to motivate him.

[dfwabel]

Outside of all poor sportsradio topic for callers...hasn't Dave Dameshek done this since he got his NFL Network podcast (and had gotten to 99 weeks ago)?