23 the greatest NBA player of all time? This is one of those numbers where you dont even have to think for a second about who you are picking. Fun fact: With Williams away fighting in World War II, catcher Johnny Peacock wore No. Sid the Kid has won the Hart twice for regular season MVP and, just as importantly, he has won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP twice as well. When was the last time Mean wasnt attached to his name? Tim Tebow wore 15 in college, but its hard to honor a player with a number off four years of action. Why he's here: The recently retired Hunter earned five All-Star selections and nine Gold Gloves over his 19-year career. Parish stood tall against some of the all-time greats in his sport. LeBron James made a bold choice of wearing the same number as the man he was considered the heir apparent to. While Johnson had a couple of seasons wearing other numbers, the Big Unit was the clear choice here. 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. 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. The NHL doesnt like to give the Hart Trophy to goalies. Why he's here: Remember Mannywood? 31. Ovechkin is still an active player who, hopefully, has a few more years left in his career. He played more games at first base than anyone. Alex Rodriguez may have a bit of the taint of PEDs on him, but he would be a fine choice. Well, he could have been the first overall pick, and he still would have had a stellar career. However, he did wear No. Did you know that he still has more RBI than anybody in MLB history, or that hes third in hits? Honorable mentions: Chipper Jones, Ron Santo, Andre Dawson. Damon hit 235 homers and stole 408 bases in his career. George Constanza thought Seven was a great name for a kid because of Mantle. Simpson, NFL; Sandy Koufax, MLB; Bill Walton, NBA; Marcus Allen, NFL; Steve Carlton, MLB, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA; Larry Bird, NBA; Patrick Roy, NHL; Tony Dorsett, NFL; Jose Canseco, MLB; Harry Gant, NASCAR; Honus Wagner, MLB; Patrick Ewing, NBA; Scottie Pippen, NBA, Walter Payton, NFL; Shaquille O'Neal, NBA; Bryce Harper, MLB; Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA; Kirby Puckett, MLB; Thurman Thomas, NFL, Kevin Durant, NBA; Rickey Henderson, MLB; Frank Thomas, MLB; Phil Neikro, MLB; Mike Cuellar, MLB, Jerome Bettis, NFL; Robin Roberts, MLB; Gaylord Perry, MLB; Don Newcombe, MLB, Doak Walker, NFL; Dave Stieb, MLB; Lester Hayes, NFL; Casey Stengel, MLB; Bill "Spaceman" Lee, MLB, Curt Schilling, MLB; George Rogers, NFL;Pavol Demitra, NHL, Larry Csonka, NFL; Dominik Hasek, NHL;Roy Campanella, MLB, Gale Sayers, NFL; Shawn Kemp, NBA; Rick Sutcliffe, MLB, Dirk Nowitzki, NBA; Wes Unseld, NBA; Tom Seaver, MLB; Charlie Waters, NFL; Eddie Matthews, MLB, Jackie Robinson, MLB; Ronnie Lott, NFL; James Worthy, NBA; Mariano Rivera, MLB, Richard Petty, NASCAR; Dennis Eckersley, MLB; Troy Polamalu, NFL, Hank Aaron, MLB; Jerry West, NBA; Pete Maravich, NBA; George Gervin, NBA; John Riggins, NFL; Reggie Jackson, MLB; Willie McCovey, MLB, Bob Gibson, MLB; A.C. 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The Best Athletes To Wear Number 4, Ranked By Fans Thirteen may be an unlucky number to some but not to a few all-time greats. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. Plus, there was the playoff heroics for the Diamondbacks and Red Sox. Nobody was as defensively formidable as Robinson in his heyday. From 00 to 99: Picking the top pro athletes to wear each uniform number Injuries caught up to Santana and will keep him out of the Hall of Fame, but at his peak he was incredible. 6 for a few seasons in Miami, Russell wore it for his entire career a career, mind you, in which he averaged 22.5 rebounds per game. (Photo Credit: Rocky Widner/Getty Images . Why hes here: Ripken started his career with a bang he won the AL rookie of the year in 1982 and the AL MVP in 1983 and spent the rest of his time with the Orioles fashioning a no-doubt Hall of Fame career. USA TODAY. 25. There arent many great 18s in sports history, though we will shout out Dave Cowens quickly. The Best Athletes Who Wore #20 - Ranker 85 with a 0.45 WAR is good enough to beat out Che-Hsuan Lin. Before he did that, it was an unthinkable feat. When Gretzky retired, and the NHL retired his number as a whole. Shaquille ONeal wore No. Rivers has thrown for almost 400 career touchdowns and has made eight Pro Bowls. 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. Were talking about numbers. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. In a few years this choice is going to be even more obvious. P.K. 99, because it was a source of derision to don the number that Gretzky had made iconic. Soccer player of the century? He spent almost the entirety of his career with the Cowboys, making six straight All-Pro squads. There is great, and then there is Joe DiMaggio. Find out more. Playing tight end, he twice led the NFL in receptions and made five Pro Bowls. Want stats? It was one of the four years he led the league in rushing yards. 70, but he wore it when he made six straight Pro Bowls and three straight All-Pro teams, all for the Cowboys. He made five Pro Bowls and led the league in sacks once. Sanders is perhaps the best running back ever. Peppers was excellent for a long time as well, as he notched 11 sacks in 2017 as a 37 year old. Only Orr won it more times, and he did it during a time when there were fewer teams and a lot less competition for the award. Speaking of averaging a triple-double, the last guy to do that before Westbrook was Oscar Robertson, who wore the No. So lets give some love to T.O.s work on the field. 14 and also, four not wearing a number at all. No, seriously. Hasek won six Vezinas, but on top of that he won the Hart twice. Mays hit 660 home runs, stole 338 bases and finished in the top six of the NL MVP voting 12 times in a 13-year stretch (he won the award in 1954 and 1965). But the big stat is that Boston won 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons from 1956-57 to '68-69 with Russell in the lineup. Sure, Bourque wore seven until it was retired for Phil Esposito. This was still an easy choice, as Bourque is an all-time NHL great. Why hes here: Ruth was, without a doubt, the single most transformative player in baseball history. Why hes here: Armed with a sweet swing and an unparalleled batting eye, Carew won seven AL batting titles and hit at least .330 in 10 different seasons. The best player on the greatest dynasty in professional sports was Bill Russell. Once he won 10 races in a row. 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. For 20 years Duncan was a metronome in the NBA. The Steel Curtain defense was famous for its vicious front seven, but it needed Blount back there in the secondary patrolling as well. Were we really going to go with Mark McGwire? He was also a two-time First Team All-Pro, so some thought he was the best tight end in the league in his time. 52 is close to as a accomplished as the 2007 Cy Young winner. So when New York pulled off the massive deal to get Rodriguez, he switch to No. He created the archetype of the modern slugger, and his exploits on and off the field made him the perfect Jazz Age superstar. There he added five more rings, and in his career he won the MVP a whopping six times. Eck was the AL MVP and Cy Young winner in 1992 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004. With his incredible length, Hendricks blocked 25 field goals in his career. Still, Peyton is one of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks. The Wizard owned the web gem before the term existed, but beyond his lengthy highlight reel the longtime Cardinal was remarkably consistent, setting records for assists and double plays by a shortstop. Brown played tackle for the Giants from 1953 until 1965, being named an All-Pro six times en route to the Hall. Choose a TeamArizona DiamondbacksAtlanta BravesBaltimore OriolesBoston Red SoxChicago CubsChicago White SoxCincinnati RedsCleveland GuardiansColorado RockiesDetroit TigersHouston AstrosKansas City RoyalsLos Angeles AngelsLos Angeles DodgersMiami MarlinsMilwaukee BrewersMinnesota TwinsNew York MetsNew York YankeesOakland AthleticsPhiladelphia The best defensive player in the history of the game, Ozzie is No. What a slouch! While he never won a Cy Young, he finished second three times and led the National League in strikeouts twice. Honorable mentions: Robin Roberts, Jim Kaat. He also smacked 521 home runs, a total depressed by the prime seasons he sacrificed to serve as a Marine pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Roger Clemens would have been a good choice, but he wore a couple of other numbers. Honorable mentions: Nolan Ryan, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Randolph. Eventually, Johnson would take the title of the top driver on the NASCAR circuit. However, that's usually a goaltenders number, in hockey and especially in soccer. Honorable mentions: Rick Reuschel, Sam McDowell. 1 all-time. This was a really tough one. Most iconic NBA numbers: #34 - Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon | NBA News | Sky Sports Access NBA ID benefits League Leaders Team Stats Teams Players Live on Sky Most iconic. Considered one of the best defensive players ever, Russell led the Celtics to a whopping 11 titles. Honorable mentions: Clayton Kershaw, Will Clark, Roger Clemens. At least Daz, who wore No. 29 on occasion. 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. Outside of his rookie campaign, Mays wore 24 his entire career. Sure, the NFL is a passing league now. While he had brief stints in other numbers, during the bulk of his career, including his time with the Braves, he wore No. With the Patriots, though, he won three MVPs and made 14 Pro Bowls. Why hes here: Eight seasons into his career with the Red Sox, Boggs owned a .352 batting average and five AL batting titles. In fact, the iron man offensive lineman played in every game for 14 straight seasons. 31 is also often worn by goalies, but none was going to overthrow the Mad Dog. Why hes here: A second-ballot Hall of Famer, Alomar was named to the All-Star team 12 consecutive seasons, with the Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles and Indians. But he didnt wear that number anywhere else. Moses Malone was a great player who wore two, but he wore a few other numbers as well. 81 with the Patriots when he was setting NFL records. Tittle, NFL, Bart Starr, NFL; ThurmanMunson, MLB;Carmelo Anthony, NBA; Hal Greer, NBA; Earl Monroe, NBA, Joe Montana, NFL; Brett Hull, NHL; George Blanda, NFL; Whitey Ford, MLB; Len Dawson, NFL; Dwight Gooden, MLB, Dizzy Dean, MLB; John Havlicek, NBA;Jari Kurri, NHL; Matt Kenseth, NASCAR; Doug Williams, NFL; Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR, Peyton Manning, NFL; Dave Cowens, NBA; Charlie Joiner, NFL; Denis Savard, NHL; Bobby Labonte, NASCAR, Johnny Unitas, NFL; Willis Reed, NBA; Steve Yzerman, NHL; Lance Alworth, NFL, Bob Feller, MLB; Robin Yount, MLB; Tony Gwynn, MLB, Barry Sanders, NFL; Lou Brock, MLB; Mike Schmidt, MLB; Frank Robinson, MLB; Tony Stewart, NASCAR; Luc Robitaille, NHL; Ed Reed, NFL;RobNiedermayer, NHL; Josh Gibson, baseball, Roberto Clemente, MLB; Tim Duncan, NBA; Warren Spahn, MLB; LaDainian Tomlinson, NFL; Sammy Sosa, MLB; David Pearson, NASCAR; Roger Clemens, MLB; Deion Sanders, NFL, Emmitt Smith, NFL; Elgin Baylor, NBA; Clyde Drexler, NBA; Bobby Lane, NFL; Jim Palmer, MLB, Michael Jordan, NBA; LeBron James, NBA; Kirk Gibson, MLB; Calvin Murphy, NBA; Ryne Sandberg, MLB, Willie Mays, MLB; Kobe Bryant, NBA; Jeff Gordon, NASCAR; Moses Malone, NBA; Ken GriffeyJr., MLB; Lenny Moore, NFL; Rick Barry, NBA, Barry Bonds, MLB; FredBiletnikoff, NFL; Mark McGwire, MLB; K.C. Ichiro Suzuki, who also wore 51. Peterson has more rushing yards anad rushing touchdowns, and he once ran for over 2,000 yards in a season. Pedro didnt pitch then. Shout out to Steve Heinze, the hockey player who wore 57 for the pun, but hes no match for Santana. Josh Beckett wore No. Why hes here: Musial feasted on opposing pitchers during his 22-year career with the Cardinals. However, Greene was the face of the Steel Curtain defense, being named Defensive Player of the Year twice. Honorable mentions: Charlie Gehringer, Nellie Fox, Red Schoendienst. There has been some great players to wear the number 4 jersey, such as Dolph Schayes and Joe Dumars, but Adrian Dantley's career edges out the two, making him the best player to wear the #4 jersey. Quiz Source Peterson cant compete with that. Some leagues wouldnt let him do it, and when that was the case he wore No. Oh, and he won four Super Bowls. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Why he's here: Hershisher's legendary 1988 performance gives him the edge over comtemporary Kevin Appier. Few players in any sport can match Russell's leadership and championship rsum. Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. Do you have a sports website? Send a Message. Honorable mentions: Steve Carlton, Roy Halladay. For these purposes, is the number they are most known for. Athletes who wore #34 Quiz Stats - By geowiz85 We go from a Red Wings legend to the greatest Lions player of all time. Major League Baseball retired Robinsons number across the league. We have a run on linebackers. You can be forgiven for not expecting much out of Allen when he was drafted in the fourth round out of Idaho State. While he led the league in sacks only twice, his 198 career sacks are second-best in NFL history. Nobody beats the Babe. 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). He twice led the NFL in sacks, including a 22-sack season that almost broke the record. Christiansen isnt a big name, but he had some great years with the Raiders. 9 to Maya Moore at No. Michael Jordan changed the NBA. Why hes here: Ford was a stalwart in the Yankees rotation during the franchises glory years (well, one of their stretches of glory years). All Rights Reserved. Disagree with our picks? The man known simply as The Man, Musial won three MVP awards, finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting in 11 other seasons, was an All-Star 20 times, helped the Cardinals to three World Series titles and he finished his career with 3,630 hits (still fourth all-time) and 725 doubles (third all-time). 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 . He also wore it when he won four-straight Cy Youngs. There was no debate here. Honorable mentions: Warren Spahn, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa. We all know Aaron was the lon-time home run king, and still ranks second. And even though Barry Bonds eventually eclipsed Babe Ruths career home run total, the number 714 still holds a special place in baseball lore. Keep the linebackers coming! Category:Players who wear/wore number 2 - Basketball Wiki He played for all four of the Steelers Super Bowl-winning squads in the 70s, and he was once named the Defensive Player of the Year on a team with names like Joe Greene and Jack Lambert. This was really a battle between Russ and his contemporary Damian Lillard. The Pittsburgh hero led the NL in batting average four times, led the Pirates to a World Series championship twice and won the NL MVP in 1966. Montana wore 19 when he moved from San Francisco to Kansas City, but he spent only two years with the Chiefs. Why he's here: Two seasons at No. The Neon legend was born in Tallahassee, where Sanders was a two-time consensus All-America, and a Jim Thorpe . Orr hurt his knee, while Gehrig tragically developed ALS, known colloquially to this day as Lou Gehrigs disease. In his 22-year career, the right-hander with a devastating curveball won 289 games, struck out 3,701 (that total is still fifth all-time) and pitched nearly 5,000 innings in the majors (4,970, to be exact). Should we have just called him Mean Joe Greene? 12? Honorable mentions: Kershaw, Larry Walker, Luis Tiant. 84, but both also wore other numbers. Mathis also had a penchant for punching out balls, as he led the NFL in forced fumbles three times. Hes already eighth in goals in NHL history and has led the league in goals eight times. He was such a star that when he came out of retirement in '75 to play for the New York Cosmos of the upstart North American Soccer League, he instantly raised the profile of a sport that had been largely ignored by U.S. audiences. 3 to Lisa Leslie at No. On top of that, Guidry won five Gold Gloves. Troy Polamalu, who wore 43, was a great safety, but hes not The King.. Mathis got overshadowed by Dwight Freeney, but he was a great pass rusher in his own right. It seems voters feel that since goalies have the Vezina, the Hart should go to the non-goalie MVP. Karlsson toiled in relative obscurity when he was with the Ottawa Senators, but hockey fans still knew him. The Celtics' big man averaged 22.5 rebounds in his career; between his mastery of the glass and his shot-blocking skills, few players have been more intimidating in the paint. Fan Fuel: Greatest players to wear No. 23 - sportsnet.ca Not that it was necessary to do that. Sure, hes in the Hall of Fame, but the man was All-Pro six times and won Defensive Player of the Year once. This was not an easy one. Several of the greats share the same number (Looking at you, No. Stats: 1455 games played, 20.3 points per game, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, League: NBA 62. We dont think so. A full century after his career began, he is still the Babe Ruth of sports. The following is a list of the greatest players (in my opinion) to wear each jersey number, from 1-57 (with a few extras just for fun). Not even Wes Unseld can contend with the big German here. *Years refers to the time the player spent with the primary team listed with this number. 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. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Or a linebacker who wears the No. While he was an All-Pro only one time, that year he led the league in both sacks and forced fumbles. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 .more. The Chief is a Hall of Famer, but Westbrook will be joining him someday. However, he wore it for only two seasons as opposed to four wearing No. How can you argue with the guy known as Mr. We present them here for purely educational purposes. 46 for an extended period. Sure, he benefited from the neutral-zone trap, but he also leads the NHL in career regular-season games played, wins, and shutouts. Brett Hull had some great years wearing 16, but he wore some other numbers and also jumped around from team to team quite a bit. Guidrys name is forgotten in Yankees lore, which is fair given how many legends they have. Those were the first of 159 sacks he managed in his career, almost all of them coming while wearing the No. He played only nine games for the Red Sox and posted a 42 OPS+, but he also had one of the most memorable moments from. The Czech sniper is third in career goals in NHL history, even though he took off a few seasons to go play in the KHL. In 67 career playoff games, Rose hit .321 and helped his teams to three World Series titles (1975-76 with the Reds and 1980 with the Phillies). With his massive frame and vicious fastball, Johnson won five Cy Youngs and led the majors in strikeouts eight times. Sure, Jeter is a tad overrated because he spent his entire career playing for the Yankees and was their captain. Why he's here: The rest of the players who have worn No. Mark Messier would also make a fine choice. Playing alongside Ruth, Gehrig still won two MVPs and was on six title-winning Yankees teams. He wore No. Honorable mentions: Mel Ott, Paul Molitor, Duke Snider. "He had fame that transcended mere celebrity," Ron Fimrite wrote in SI in '99. Trout has been clearly the best player in MLB since his second year in the majors. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. A legend and an important historical figure, Robinson also was a heck of a player, winning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors and posting five straight seasons of 7.0 WAR or better. 99, but in every other season of his career he wore No. In his first five full seasons with the Cardinals, the colorful right-hander won 120 games (and saved 30), won an MVP and finished second twice, threw 1,531 innings and compiled a 3.04 ERA. The seven-footer teamed with Larry Bird and Kevin McKale in the iconic frontcourt that led the Celtics to three NBA titles in the 1980s. Prior to that, he made seven Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams and won two MVPs. His numbers may never be beaten. Weirdly, in the one season he won Defensive Player of the Year he wore No. He has more sacks, for example, with 137.5. Its also enough for him to represent No. Why he's here: Not a lot to choose from. Basically every starting goalie in the world of soccer wears. When the Ravens had the best defense in the NFL, Lewis was at the center of that. Enough said. When Geno was left off the NHLs top 100 players list, it caused an uproar. Why he's here: The future Hall of Famer wore No. Iconic NFL players with number 20 jerseys include Barry Sanders, Ed Reed, and Brian Dawkins, all Hall of Fame-level players whose career highlights are among the greatest moments in football history . The Babe was more than a baseball star and the most popular athlete of his era. Why hes here: Rapid Robert had already struck out 466 major-league hitters before he turned 20 years old, thats why. Well give a shout out to the underrated Elgin Baylor, who also wore 22. Witten will never make the football announcing Hall of Fame, but hes on his way to the NFL Hall when he finally retires. Why he's here: A three-time All-Star and Cy Young winner is the easy choice. Sidney Crosby gets a ton of credit, but Malkin actually has two Art Ross trophies, not to mention a Hart and a Conn Smythe, in his own right. 8, but it was also the number he wore his first couple of years in the league. The Greatest Athletes by Number (00-10) - Sports Illustrated Honorable mentions: John Smoltz, Adrian Beltre, Mickey Lolich. Honorable mentions: Kirby Puckett, David Ortiz, Felix Hernandez, Fernando Valenzuela. Ripken is best-known for his Iron Man streak of 2,632 consecutive games played (Lou Gehrig previously held the record at 2,130) but he also made the All-Star team 19 times and won the 1991 AL MVP, too. Parish earned those rings by taking on three of the league's. In 2015, he was an All-Star and won AL Comeback Player of the Year. Why he's here: The Pirate starting pitcher wore No. A lot of these athletes have worn other numbers as well. It was one of two Selkes he won, and for a time he even played defensemen for the Red Wings. 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. 84 when he was with the Vikings. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. Peppers came out of the gates with a bang, picking up 12 sacks as a rookie for the Carolina Panthers. So check out the list of athletes who wore 3 and help decide who deserves to rank the highest for wearing this iconic jersey number. This was a battle between two running backs, namely Faulk and Adrian Peterson. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. Why he's here: A pitcher in the 1940 and 1950s, Voiselle wore No. Why hes here: The Big Hurtwas one of the top right-handed hitters in history, leading the league in OPS four times and slugging 35 or more homer eight times. As a result of that popularity, many of the best players across basketball, baseball, and football have donned the number. We can see why. Dirk is the best player from Europe in NBA history. Heres how incredible Fedorovs all-around game was. But Rice is the best receiver of all time to this day. Injuries cut his career short, which is the only reason he didnt end up with 500 goals. 0:00. . 25. And yet Crosby has done it. He was also a fixture in the Fall Classic: Berra won 10 World Series rings, the most of any player in baseball history. Why he's here: Rincon wore No. Why hes here: A-Rod wore No. 3? Jack Lambert was also fantastic. Uniform numbers hold a special place in telling the story of the sport, so we thought wed take a look at the best players (Hall of Famers in most instances) who wore each uniform number. Why he's here: A few years ago, he looked like a budding superstar. As his career went on, though, Yzerman became an elite defensive forward, even winning a Selke. If not for that, he might have become the third-ever player to notch 800 goals. He already has three MVPs and should have even more than that. Kelce outdueled another NFL center, Jim Langer, for this honor. He also started the trend of NBA teams taking risks on European players, which gave us Pau Gasol but also Darko Milicic. Kramer played his entire career with the Packers, including winning the first two Super Bowls. He was also the captain when the Wings ended their 40-year Cup drought. Hes not in the Hall of Fame yet, but he will be one day soon (he was just 23 votes shy of being part of the Class of 2016). He then turned to 77, though, and wore it for well over a decade, including when he won four Norris Trophies. We didnt have to think about this for a second. There wasnt much of a challenge to Bonds. 1 So with all due respect to hockeys Terry Sawchuk, were going with the Italian soccer legend Buffon, who is arguably the greatest goalkeeper ever, depending on how you feel about Lev Yashin, who played in a different era of the sport. Why hes here: Look at the honorable mentions list. That is to say, Michael Jordan did indeed wear 45, but who thinks of him in that number? 56 is even close. Eighty-eight years ago this week, the New York Yankees became the first professional sports team to permanently wear numbers on their uniforms. It's the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers.. Pretty impressive. Brady and the No. Honorable mentions: Fergie Jenkins, Dave Winfield, Mike Piazza. Bettis is in the Hall of Fame, as is pitcher Gaylord Perry, but Perry wore a few numbers in his career. Thats amazing, but that was in the era of pitching when the mounds were raised. I chose players based on their individual statistics .