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). See More by this Creator. To celebrate the NFL's 100th season, the USA TODAY Sports Network is . We feel comfortable saying Gonzalez is the best tight end ever. Find out more. Hes still had an excellent career. Jeters place among Yankees legends is secure, which is no small accomplishment for that franchise. Damon wore No. Do you have a sports website? Honorable mentions: Jim Maloney, Burt Hooton. Not too bad for a guy who wasnt even drafted out of college. Boston's greatest players to don each uniform number: 101 unforgettable Petty is simply known as The King, which may say it all. 1. Honorable mentions: Omar Vizquel, Dave Concepcion, Lance Parrish. I chose players based on their individual statistics . Mantles Yankees played in the World Series 12 times they won seven of those and The Mick hit 18 homers in 65 games, a record that will never be broken. Nobody was as defensively formidable as Robinson in his heyday. 22 currently, but he isn't the only one sporting that number. No other player wore it for than one. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Stevie Y played his entire career in Detroit and finished career with 692 goals and 1,063 assists. Do you have a sports website? Larry Murphy is a Hall of Fame NHL defenseman, and he would have been the choice if he had worn 55 his entire career. Once he won 10 races in a row. He also ended his time in the NFL with a ring with the Steelers, though by that point he was no longer a Pro Bowl-caliber back. 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 not an easy one. Pretty impressive. Yes, Sayers played only five seasons in the NFL, more or less. 9 for four games in 1944.. 10: Jo Jo White, Celtics. We want to briefly mention the underrated safety Dennis Smith as well. Why he's here: The 2015 AL Cy Young winner is the easy choice after just four MLB seasons. Matthews had a lengthy career, playing from the time he was 22 until he was 40. While he never won a Cy Young, he finished second three times and led the National League in strikeouts twice. With his incredible length, Hendricks blocked 25 field goals in his career. Instead he became one of the best pass rushers in the league. Allen was known for his massive arms and incredible strength, which helped him become an elite offensive lineman. It has been a popular jersey number for decades with success of athletes across the board. He wore it when he scored 100 points in one game. 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. Sorry, Kobe fans. 20 4 - Adrian Dantley. Peppers came out of the gates with a bang, picking up 12 sacks as a rookie for the Carolina Panthers. Marichal won 191 games and rolled up a 2.57 ERA in 328 games (320 starts) during the 1960s for the Giants. Fandom Apps Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Their name most likely is on the back of that jersey, but so is something else. For this number, were including guys who wore 00, like Robert Parish. And yet Crosby has done it. 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. So did Diego Maradona. 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. Green, NBA; Pedro Martinez, MLB; Kyle Petty, NASCAR, Lee Smith, MLB; Todd Christensen, NFL; Andy Pettitte, MLB, Jack Morris, MLB; Mel Blount, NFL; Tom Glavine, MLB; Jerry Lucas, NBA, Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR; Torii Hunter, MLB; Scott Young, NHL, Hoyt Wilhelm, MLB; Ron Guidry, MLB; Bobby Mitchell, NFL; Brian Savage, NHL, David Robinson, NBA; Mike Singletary, NFL; Dave Dalby, NFL, Jamie Moyer, MLB, Dick Butkus, NFL;Ichiro Suzuki, MLB; Randy Cross, NFL; Randy Johnson, MLB; Jim Ringo, NFL, Ray Lewis, NFL; Dave Edwards, NFL; Jamaal Wilkes, NBA; Mike Webster, NFL, Don Drysdale, MLB; Harry Carson, NFL; Randy Gradishar, NFL; Artis Gilmore, NBA, Randy White, NFL; Rich Gossage, MLB; Brian Urlacher, NFL; Chuck Howley, NFL, Orel Hershiser, MLB; Junior Seau, NFL; Lee Roy Jordan, NFL; Otis Wilson, NFL, Lawrence Taylor, NFL; Shawne Merriman, NFL; Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, Francisco Rodriguez, MLB; Tom Jackson, NFL; Dwight Stephenson, NFL, Jack Lambert, NFL; Derrick Thomas, NFL; Carl Banks, NFL; Wilber Marshall, NFL, Jack Ham, NFL; "Tiger" Tom Pistone, NASCAR; Seth Joyner, NFL, Chuck Bednarik, NFL; Otto Graham, NFL;Tommy Nobis, NFL; Otis Sistrunk, NFL, Curley Culp, NFL; Bill George, NFL; Josh Beckett, MLB, Jim Langer, NFL;Curtis "Crawfish" Crider, NASCAR, Gene Upshaw, NFL; Willie Lanier, NFL; Lee Roy Selmon, NFL; Ernie Holmes, NFL, Jerry Kramer, NFL; Elmo Langley, NASCAR; Randall McDaniel, NFL, Elvin Bethea, NFL; Tom Mack, NFL; Gary Zimmerman, NFL, Mario Lemieux, NHL; Ray Nitschke, NFL; Conrad Dobler, NFL, Reggie McKenzie, NFL; BobKuechenberg, NFL; Les Richter, NFL, Jaromir Jagr, NHL; L.C. The Greatest MLB Players of All Time to Wear Each Number from 1 to 50 Soccer player of the century? Honorable mentions: Mel Ott, Paul Molitor, Duke Snider. Theres more to Aaron than just his 755 homers. In the News: Aaron Rodgers, Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Allen Robinson, Jordan Love. 1 of 100 0 - Russell Westbrook Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports For this number, we're including guys. Tim Brown was also a great receiver but not quite on par with Owens. He won two MVP awards and finished second four other times he won the AL triple crown in two of those second-place years and his career on-base percentage of .482 is No. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Otto Graham, the Hall of Fame quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, wore 60. It was one of two Selkes he won, and for a time he even played defensemen for the Red Wings. In his 20 years with the Yankees, The Captain earned 15 All-Star nods, rapped out 3,465 hits, scored 1,923 runs and hit .310 and he was a cornerstone for five World Series-winning squads. However, 30 is a goalies number, and we wanted to give the honor to one of the best goalies to ever man the crease. The six players to wear this number have combined for -2.2 WAR in a Pirates uniform. Brown played tackle for the Giants from 1953 until 1965, being named an All-Pro six times en route to the Hall. Why he's here: There's a reason MLB retired No. He carried the Milwaukee Bucks to their only NBA title before joining the Lakers. 84, but both also wore other numbers. Athletes Who Wore #33 Athletes Who Wore #23 Athletes Who Wore #7 Athletes Who Wore #69 Athletes Who Wore #42 Athletes Who Wore #4 Athletes Who Wore #22 He played more games at first base than anyone. As smooth and regal a player who ever wore a Celtics . 18 in 14 of his 18 seasons, including the 2004 season when he helped the Red Sox win the World Series and end the Curse of the Bambino, and 2009, when he helped the Yankees to a World Series title. Pel was so much more. So did George Gervin. Thats amazing, but that was in the era of pitching when the mounds were raised. Were no fan of Schilling as a person, but this is about his skill on the mound. While he had brief stints in other numbers, during the bulk of his career, including his time with the Braves, he wore No. The long-time reliever is the best of a mediocre bunch. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Pedro didnt pitch then. And though he wasnt much with the bat early in his career, he did wind up with 580 career stolen bases and walked almost twice as many times as he struck out (1,072 to 589). Send a Message. Why hes here: Ford was a stalwart in the Yankees rotation during the franchises glory years (well, one of their stretches of glory years). Like Petty and Earnhardt, he won the NASCAR season title seven times. He had 767 receptions for 6,875 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air. > All Players To Wear Number 2. 12 will forever be synonymous, even though hes now a Buccaneer. Since the other choices at 14 werent incredibly obvious, Bob Cousy, Pete Rose, et al, we decided to honor Cruyff here. Still, Kuechenberg made six Pro Bowls as a guard for the Dolphins, including on the legendary undefeated Miami squad. NBA fans have representation, as well, with Joe Dumars, Charles Barkley, and Chris Webber among the famous players to wear the number. He was one of the first 7-footers shooting threes. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? He has more sacks, for example, with 137.5. MLB Players Who Wore Number 60 | Baseball-Reference.com For a guy who played basketball in college, Gates had quite the NFL career. Tim Tebow wore 15 in college, but its hard to honor a player with a number off four years of action. (Take that, Babe Ruth.) Parish earned those rings by taking on three of the league's legendary big men in the NBA Finals: Moses Malone in '81, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in '84 and Hakeem Olajuwon in '86. Hockey is also strongly represented with Brett Hull and Mike Bossy among others to sport the number in the NHL. The linebacker was a vital part of the Steel Curtain, and there wasnt much of a challenge to him here. 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?. 3, he didnt have much of a chance. No NBA player has ever wore No. Honorable mentions: Charlie Gehringer, Nellie Fox, Red Schoendienst. For a stretch, Hutchinson was probably the best guard in the league. In fact, the iron man offensive lineman played in every game for 14 straight seasons. However, he did wear No. Allen Iverson was a dynamic NBA player. Honorable mentions: Steve Carlton, Roy Halladay. When you think 99 in sports, there is only one player who comes to mind: the Great One. 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). The heart and soul of the Yankees dynasties of the '50s, Yogi Berra won three MVP awards and had a seven-year stretch during which he never finished lower than fourth in the voting. LeBron James made a bold choice of wearing the same number as the man he was considered the heir apparent to. Still, that was his number from 1980 until 1993, so he is our pick. Why he's here: Underrated Bobby Abreu is Drysdale's only real competition. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. Eventually, Johnson would take the title of the top driver on the NASCAR circuit. Even NHL players like Bobby Orr and Scott Stevens sported the 4 on their backs while making an impact in their sport. Sure, hes in the Hall of Fame, but the man was All-Pro six times and won Defensive Player of the Year once. MLB History: Top Five Players to Wear Number 42 Even though contracting HIV cut Magics career short, he played 11 full NBA seasons, making the All-Star Game in all those campaigns. Troy Polamalu, who wore 43, was a great safety, but hes not The King.. There was no fixed numbering until the 90s. As a result of that popularity, many of the best players across basketball, baseball, and football have donned the number. Always free! However, just including his time with the Giants he had a .312/.477/.666 slash line with 586 home runs. That makes Wilt the Stilt the choice. Like Murphy, hes in his sports Hall, but he did it all in 55. The Bus rumbled his way to a career 13,662 yards in his career. Why hes here: Musial feasted on opposing pitchers during his 22-year career with the Cardinals. Honorable mentions: Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Bench, Albert Pujols, Brooks Robinson, Jeff Bagwell. For 20 years Duncan was a metronome in the NBA. NFL 100: Greatest NFL players ever by jersey number - USA Today 88, and Eric Lindros may have been the choice if not for his unfortunate concussion issues. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. After all, he made seven All-Star teams and won one ERA title. Or a linebacker who wears the No. There wasnt much of a challenge to Bonds. If you are of a certain age, you probably remember Upshaw primarily as an executive with the NFLPA. He won the 1977 AL MVP when he batted .388 with 16 triples, 14 homers, 100 RBIs, 23 stolen bases and 128 runs scored for the Twins. Not even Wes Unseld can contend with the big German here. Fun fact: With Williams away fighting in World War II, catcher Johnny Peacock wore No. Why he's here: The Hall of Famer is easily the best of an otherwise unimpressive bunch. Kevin Garnett wore No. That includes wide receivers, mind you. P.K. 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. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. *Years refers to the time the player spent with the primary team listed with this number. Eighty-eight years ago this week, the New York Yankees became the first professional sports team to permanently wear numbers on their uniforms. He made seven straight Pro Bowls in the 2000s and was named to the All-Decade team by the Hall of Fame as well. Honorable mentions: Lou Whitaker, Pee Wee Reese, Richie Ashburn, Why hes here: Jeters career was nothing short of amazing. Few players in any sport can match Russell's leadership and championship rsum. Unfortunately for him, he spent half his career in other numbers. As a hitter, though, he was excellent. League: MLB Cy Youngs 511 career wins certainly never will. Robinson is even better than the last player to wear his number, Mariano Rivera. Honorable mentions: Juan Guzman, Gerry Staley. Jim Brown?) Years active: 1995-2014 Why hes here: A great pitcher with a number of iconic postseason moments, Schilling will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame one of these days. Lets not forget the world of auto racing, which brought us Dale Earnhardt. In the 1993-94 season he won the Hart with 120 points but also won the Selke for best defensive forward. He finished with 1,000 receptions, one of only 14 players to have done that so far, and he had 85 receiving touchdowns. 67 for five seasons, far more than any other player. For these purposes, is the number they are most known for. The tight end made eight straight Pro Bowls and three straight All-Pro teams, and he had a 12-touchdown season after his peak. For a player who made only four Pro Bowls, Ward had quite the career. There is great, and then there is Joe DiMaggio. Roger Clemens would have been a good choice, but he wore a couple of other numbers. Kramer played his entire career with the Packers, including winning the first two Super Bowls. Were hitting the ice though with Lidstrom. Why he's here: Not much to choose from, to be honest. The longtime Chief once led the NFL with 102 catches, and he ranks in the top 10 in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. From Diana Taurasi at No. 23 the greatest NBA player of all time? Not that this was super easy. Jim Brown played nine seasons in the NFL and led the league in rushing eight times and rushing touchdowns five times. The Hall of Famer was an easy choice. Why hes here: Rapid Robert had already struck out 466 major-league hitters before he turned 20 years old, thats why. He was also a fixture in the Fall Classic: Berra won 10 World Series rings, the most of any player in baseball history. Even though he wore 45 for a bit, LeBron also wore No. In spite of that, the Pitt Panthers product is second in career receiving yards and receptions. In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century across all sports by the International Olympic Committee. Sometimes Owens personality overshadowed his play. Vote up your favorite athletes to wear the number 2, then head over and check out some other iconic jersey numbers, including thebest players to wear No. Montana wore 19 when he moved from San Francisco to Kansas City, but he spent only two years with the Chiefs. William The Refrigerator Perry was the beloved face of the Chicago Bears defensive line, but Dent was the true star of the bunch. That doesnt mean being the all-time NFL leader in rushing yards isnt amazing. He was one of the first stars of NASCAR, and some still consider him the best driver ever. This was a battle between two running backs, namely Faulk and Adrian Peterson. Years active: 1976-1995 66. Rivers has thrown for almost 400 career touchdowns and has made eight Pro Bowls. Because of injuries, Mogilny played in only 990 games over 16 seasons, but the Russian managed 473 goals in that time. GALLERY: Top pro athletes bynumber, from 00 to 99, Jim Otto, NFL; Robert Parish, NBA; Ken Burrough, NFL, Russell Westbrook, NBA; Al Oliver, MLB; Gilbert Arenas, NBA, Oscar Robertson, NBA; Warren Moon, NFL; Ozzie Smith, MLB; Billy Martin, MLB; Pee Wee Reese, MLB, Derek Jeter, MLB;Moses Malone, NBA; Brian Leetch, NHL; Rusty Wallace, NASCAR;Al MacInnis, NHL, Babe Ruth, MLB; Dwyane Wade, NBA; Allen Iverson, NBA; Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR;Bronko Nagurski, NFL; Harmon Killebrew, MLB; Candace Parker, WNBA;Diana Taurasi, WNBA, Lou Gehrig, MLB;Brett Favre, NFL;Bobby Orr, NHL; Mel Ott, MLB; Duke Snider, MLB, Paul Molitor, MLB, Joe DiMaggio, MLB; Johnny Bench, MLB; Hank Greenberg, MLB; Paul Hornung, NFL; Brooks Robinson, MLB; George Brett, MLB; Nicklas Lidstrom, NHL;Dawn Staley, WNBA, Bill Russell, NBA; Julius Erving, NBA; Stan Musial, MLB; Al Kaline, MLB, Mickey Mantle, MLB; John Elway, NFL; David Beckham, soccer; Tiny Archibald, NBA;Phil Esposito, NHL, Cal RipkenJr., MLB; Yogi Berra, MLB; Troy Aikman, NFL; Steve Young, NFL;Carl Yastrzemski, MLB; Joe Morgan, MLB; Willie Stargell, MLB;Kobe Bryant, NBA, Ted Williams, MLB; Gordie Howe, NHL; Bob Pettit, NBA; Bill Elliott, NASCAR; Rocket Richard, NHL; Bobby Hull, NHL; Drew Brees, NFL; Roger Maris, MLB, Walt Frazier, NBA; Fran Tarkenton, NFL; Pele, soccer;Diego Maradona, soccer;Guy Lafleur, NHL; Chipper Jones, MLB; Lionel Messi, soccer, Isaiah Thomas, NBA; Mark Messier, NHL; Elvin Hayes, NBA; Yao Ming, NBA; Cale Yarborough, NASCAR;Teresa Weatherspoon, WNBA, Tom Brady, NFL; Joe Namath, NFL; Terry Bradshaw, NFL; John Stockton, NBA;Jim Kelly, NFL; Ken Stabler, NFL; Roger Staubach, NFL; Roberto Alomar, MLB, Wilt Chamberlain, NBA; Dan Marino, NFL; Alex Rodriguez, MLB; Steve Nash, NBA; James Harden, NBA, Pete Rose, MLB; Bob Cousy, NBA; A.J. 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. 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. He became the youngest person ever elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. 13 and, as legend has it, playfully posed with black cats before the 1951 playoffs began. Sure, Bourque wore seven until it was retired for Phil Esposito. The Best Athletes To Wear Number 4, Ranked By Fans The NFL and NHL have alsohad their fair share of famous athletes who wore 2 on their jersey like Matt Ryan and Brian Leetch. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Why hes here: Clearly, baseballs all-time hit king 4,256 of them, to be precise is eligible for this list. Why he's here: No one else in MLB history has worn No. Did you know that he still has more RBI than anybody in MLB history, or that hes third in hits? Emailed daily. While we briefly thought about Brett Favre, this really came down to Bobby Orr and Lou Gehrig. To purchase Any Given Number, go to SI.com/anygivennumber. After all, he was named to the NFL All-Pro team for six straight seasons. Abdul-Jabbar has more points than anybody in NBA history. Upshaw spent 15 seasons as an offensive guard, playing well enough to make it into the Hall of Fame with the Raiders. Injuries cut his career short, which is the only reason he didnt end up with 500 goals. But Ruth is maybe the best baseball player ever. He has been ranked world No. 84 for two seasons with the Rangers. 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. More about data coverage Number Year Or go to a franchise's uniform history: Choose a Team Uniform Numbers Share & Export Modify, Export & Share Table 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. 72 for his entire 13-year tenure with the White Sox. The Cincinnati Bengals dont have a storied franchise history, but they do have one of the greatest offensive tackles ever to their name. His highlight reel is unparalleled. 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. His best year may have been in a different number, but the bulk of his Hall-of-Fame career in Seattle came wearing 96, so hes still the choice here. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? LT was named Defensive Player of the Year three times with the Giants. A lot of these athletes have worn other numbers as well. 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.