Best Players by Number, and a Big Fumble

Mitchell and Ness, purveyors of throwback jerseys, recently posted their take on the "Best Football Players at Every Number".

(W)e decided to look at the best players at every number in the history of the NFL. We'll take any chance we get to reminisce about amazing players such as Jim Brown or Barry Sanders - it's almost like going back in time to a different era of the National Football League. It's also great to think about the current players who are putting together Hall of Fame careers right front of our eyes, reminding us to not take their talents for granted. After much debate, we’ve created a thorough list, picking players from past and present, to create the "Best Players by Number – Gridiron Edition".

Four Packers made their list.

The full breakdown is at their site, but here's what they had to say about the Bays who topped their respective numbers:

4 – BRETT FAVRE

Favre wore #4 over 20 seasons with the Falcons, Packers, Jets and Vikings. One of the best quarterbacks to play the game, Favre was a XXXI Super Bowl Champ, 2x NFC Champion, 11x Pro Bowler, 3x First-team All-Pro, 3x Second-team All-Pro, 3x NFL MVP, 5x NFC Player of the Year, and 4x NFL Passing TDs Leader. His #4 has been retired by the Packers where he was also inducted into their Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mentions: Jim Harbaugh, Jason Hanson

15 – BART STARR

Starr spent his entire 16 year career with the Packers where he won 5 NFL Championships and 2 Super Bowls. In more personal accolades, Starr was the 1966 NFL MVP, a 2x Super Bowl MVP, a 4x Pro Bowl selection, 1966 First-team All-Pro, and 2x Second-team All-Pro. Post-career, Bart’s #15 was retired by the Packers and he was inducted into both the Packers and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Shop Bart Starr jerseys here.

Honorable Mentions: Jack Kemp, Neil Lomax

66 – RAY NITSCHKE

Nitschke, known for this strength and toughness, was a middle linebacker who spent his entire 15-year career with the Packers. He was the anchor of a disciplined defense that helped win 5 NFL titles and the first 2 Super Bowls of the 1960s. Ray’s #66 has been retired by the Packers, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Nitschke was also voted as a member of the NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team. Shop Ray Nitschke jerseys here.

Honorable Mentions: Alan Faneca, Larry Little

92 - REGGIE WHITE

Multitalented, this (primarily) defensive end and defensive tackle played in the NFL for fifteen seasons during the 1980’s and 90’s. Playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Carolina Panthers, White became one of the most decorated players in NFL history! The second place all-time sack leader (198.5 sacks) was a two time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, thirteen time Pro-Bowler, and twelve time All Pro. He was selected to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, NFL 1990’s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 1980’s All-Decade Team. A Super Bowl XXXI champion, 1985 All-USFL, and 1986 Pro Bowl MVP, are a few of his many accomplishments. Also famous for his philanthropy as an ordained Evangelical minister, he has been given the name “Minister of Defense.” Shop Reggie White jerseys here.

Honorable Mentions: Michael Strahan, Haloti Ngata, James Harrison, Ted Washington

Two other Packers made the list, although they're represented by jerseys from other teams they played for; Eugene Robinson (Falcons) and Emlen Tunnell (Giants).

Those aren't bad picks, but come on. I know couple guys who would like to have a word with the author of this list.

#14 is Dan Fouts? And the only "honorable mention" they could come up with was Ken Anderson? Fouts was a great, to be sure. But Don Hutson was an immortal. Hutson was football's Babe Ruth, in his prime playing at a level far above his contemporaries. In 1942, Hutson had more receiving touchdowns by himself than eight of the other nine teams in the league. Seventy years after he retired, he still holds ten league records, and a couple of them are unlikely ever to be broken (most notably, leading the league in TDs 8 years in a row). All this, and he played defense too. He's one of the greatest to ever play the game, not to mention being the greatest receiver in the sport's history.

Also notably absent is Tony Canadeo, the "Gray Ghost".

Canadeo doesn't have the gaudy numbers that Hutson brings to the conversation, but he was still a dominant player for a decade. He was one of the greatest Packers ever to put on a uniform, already saying something, and did it on some of the worst teams Green Bay ever fielded. There's a good reason that his #3 was the second number retired by the team, and not to even include him as an honorable mention is a ludicrous oversight.

The NFL has a tendency towards myopia in its treatment of the pre-Super Bowl era. That continues to trickle down all across the sport, even to manufacturers of high-end collectibles.

Packers to (Finally) Retire #4?

ESPN.com has this news today:

Favre to Packers' HOF; No. 4 retired

by Rob Demovsky
Source: ESPN.com

Aug. 3, 2014

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Nearly six years after he was traded by the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre and his former team will come together for the first time on Monday, in what is being billed as a joint announcement by the former quarterback and the Packers Hall of Fame.

The announcement will be that Favre will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in the summer of 2015 and the uniform No. 4 that he wore for the Packers from 1992-2008 will be retired, according to a statement on Favre's website. It was not immediately clear when exactly the number retirement ceremony will take place.

The Hall of Fame, which is independent of the Packers but houses its museum at Lambeau Field, holds its induction ceremony annually in July. The museum is currently closed for construction as part of the renovations in the stadium's Atrium. It is scheduled to re-open next April.

"It was a tremendous honor to play 16 years for the Green Bay Packers. Now to have my name placed among others such as Starr, Hornung, Kramer, Taylor, Lambeau, Nitschke, Lombardi, Davis, White and Hutson is a special honor that I share with all of my teammates and coaches, and that would not have been possible but for the foresight of Ron Wolf, the greatest GM in the history of the NFL," Favre said in the statement.

Monday's announcement will take place at 1:30 p.m. local time at Lambeau Field and will include appearances by Packers Hall of Fame Inc. president Perry Kidder, Packers president Mark Murphy and former Packers president Bob Harlan, who is a member of the Packers Hall of Fame executive committee. Favre will not appear at the event but will speak via telephone, the team said in an announcement Sunday night.

The signs of a reconciliation between Favre and the Packers have been apparent over the past year. Murphy said this offseason that the two sides had discussions about a return visit to Lambeau Field by Favre this past season, but it did not work out. Murphy has said several times that he hoped to have Favre inducted into the team's Hall of Fame and have Favre's number retired before he is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Last month, in an interview on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Favre said Harlan has been working as a liaison between him and the Packers Hall of Fame regarding his induction.

"In spite of what people may think -- and I really don't pay attention to what people are saying, I just know the facts -- the facts are that I feel like the relationship is a good relationship," Favre said. "I've had contact with Mark Murphy on a regular basis in regards to how we're going to do this, the ceremony. Bob Harlan ... is working diligently. He's kind of spearheading the Packer Hall of Fame/jersey retirement ceremony, and I have been working with him diligently on getting this done."

Favre came to Green Bay in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 11, 1992. He led the Packers to two Super Bowls, won one and won three NFL MVP awards. He announced his retirement on March 6, 2008, but decided later that summer that he still wanted to play. By then, the Packers had decided to go forward with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback, a decision that divided Packers fans.

What followed was a drawn-out and, at times, ugly standoff that did not end until general manager Ted Thompson traded Favre to the New York Jets on Aug. 6, 2008. After one year with the Jets, Favre retired again but was convinced to come back and play for the Minnesota Vikings. He played two seasons in Minnesota, then retired for good.

"As time goes by, that's how I will be remembered -- as a Packer -- and that's how I want to be remembered," Favre said in the ESPN 1000 interview.

It's about time. I know there were hard feelings all around when he left—especially when he orchestrated his way to the (ugh) Vikings&mdahs;but that seems to have calmed all around. Amazing what winning the Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers has done for the fans. And Brett is certainly saying the right things now.

It's also good that the Packers are getting ahead of this before his inevitable induction into Canton. Better that the issue be settled and he can go into the Hall of Fame as a Packer, without any hesitation or reservation.

No More Number Five

I missed this when it first happened, but the Packers have released WR Terrell Sinkfield.

Sinkfield had been issued Paul Hornung's #5, only seen once since the Golden Boy left the game. Coupled with the release yesterday of quarterback Matt Brown (who wore Curly Lambeau's #1), that means we won't be seeing those iconic jersey numbers on the field for a little while longer.

No More Number One

Breaking news: just minutes ago, the Packers announced that they have waived quarterback Matt Brown.

This means Curly Lambeau's record as the only Packer to wear #1 is safe for now...

Number 5 in Your Programs?

Reader Trevor Whitlock sends us this tip:

the issuing of these 'uncirculated numbers' continued today. unfortunately, it looks like this is going to become common with the expanded rosters.

He also sent me a screencap. Check out the last sentence:

And sure enough, looking at the Packers' roster they've assigned Paul Hornung's #5 to Terrell Sinkfield.

Quick digression: an ad for Culver's? How did my Brooklyn-based browser pick that one up?

Although never technically retired, the number has been held out of circulation since the Golden Boy retired, with one notable exception; a one-year issuance to quarterback Don Majkowski in 1987. After that one season, the Majik Man requested a number change because, as he put it at the time:

People kept asking me how it feels to wear Paul Hornung's number. I kept hearing that, and I realized the impact Hornung had. I wanted to wear a number people could remember me for.

We'll see if Sinkfield feels this problem as keenly, if he even makes the 53-man roster. But now we have a second longtime "unofficially retired" number being issued this season, after undrafted free agent QB Matt Brown was given Curly Lambeau's #1 after 87-years on the sidelines.

Trevor's right that the increasing number of players will create these problems. It's ironic that they're being given to people who come in least likely to match the exploits of the previous wearer, but I wonder if that isn't by design: if Brown and Sinkfield make the team, perhaps the Packers will issue them the newly-freed number of one of their colleagues who didn't.

Also, two #7s? We'll see how long that lasts...

Number *Three* in Your Programs?

Continuing our series on the Press-Gazette's photo gallery from Training Camp in 1962.

From left, guard Jerry Kramer (64), kicker Ben Agajanian (3), quarterback Bart Starr (15) and fullback Jim Taylor go through drills as training camp begins on the practice field across from new City Stadium in mid-July 1962. Press-Gazette archives

Number 3 was retired for Tony Canadeo in 1952. So what is it doing on the practice field ten years later?

Canadeo should need no introduction. A ninth-round pick out of Gonzaga, his prematurely-gray hair earned him the nickname "The Gray Ghost." He played for the Packers from 1941-44 and again from 1946-52, spending the 1945 season in the Army. He was the first Packer (and third NFL player overall) to rush for 1000 yards in a season.

Canadeo retired after the final game of the 1952 season, where his number became the second to be retired by the Packers (Don Hutson's #14 had been taken out of circulation the year before). He immediately moved to the broadcast booth, broadcasting Packer games on television before joining the Packers' Board of Directors in 1958. The following year, he was elevated to the Executive Committee, which is where he was on November 18, 1961.

On that day, Vince Lombardi signed kicker Ben Agajanian to take over placekicking duties to replace Paul Horning, recently inducted into the Army. Known as "The Toeless Wonder" after having lost four toes on his kicking foot in an elevator while at the University of New Mexico, Agajanian had been in the league since 1945.

Green Bay Packers kicker Ben Agajanian (3) practices as training camp begins on the practice field across from new City Stadium in mid-July 1962. Press-Gazette archives

Agajanian had worn number 3 since college, and when he reported to Green Bay Lombardi issued it to him. Canadeo later told the Milwaukee Journal:

"Vince and I were good buddies. but Vince didn't give a damn. If Ben wanted No. 3, he could have it."

Later, Canadeo indicated that Lombardi might not have realized that the number had been retired, noting that he "hadn't told (Lombardi) anything" when Agajanian was given it.

It was truly a different era, a time before old highlights on television and mass-produced media guides, before retired numbers were proudly displayed under the main scoreboard. It seems plausible that Lombardi might not have realized that the number had been retired at all.

As inconceivable as it is that the Packers would re-issue #15 or #92 (or even #4) to an incoming player today, it did happen back then (more than once, even—but that's a story for another day).

"Number One in Your Programs, Number One in Your Hearts"

Football players, perhaps more than any other athletes, become identified with the numbers they wear. they don't have the same kind of effortless identification that baseball or basketball players have; professionals in other sports can go about the game with their faces in full view, but a football player's face is shrouded by his helmet.

His jersey number, therefore, takes on an enlarged importance. It's splashed across his chest, his back, his shoulders, so every fan watching can use it to pick him out on the field, out of the crowd of identically-dressed men wearing the same helmets.

Any Packer fan worth her salt knows the numbers. 14. 3. 15. 66. 92. Numbers than have become so identified with one man that the team has decided nobody will ever wear it again (even if there are a few glitches from time to time).

Then there is a second tier of retired numbers; numbers which aren't officially retired but are withheld anyway. Paul Hornung's number 5 has been kept off the field (except for 1987, when it was given to a player who later decided he didn't like the comparison). #4 is currently on the shelf, waiting for enough time to pass to heal the wounds between the Packers and Brett Favre.

Then there's good old number 1.

"King of the hill, top of the heap, A-number-one," if you listen to Old Blue Eyes.

One is, as the old song has it, the loneliest number. Everybody wants to collectively cheer "We're #1!", but few Packers have ever been personally associated with the number.

Packers fans rarely ever see the number 1 on a jersey, save annually in April at Rockefeller Center, where it is held aloft by a smiling freshly-minted young millionaire overflowing with confidence and promise.

The Packers have also occasionally used #1 for other special events:

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

But how about on the field?

According to John Maxymuk's excellent book Packers by the Numbers: Jersey Numbers and the Players Who Wore Them, the number one has only been worn by a single player, and then only for two seasons: 1925 & 1926.

That player was none other than Curly Lambeau.

Here's the beginning of Maxymuk's entry on the number. As he notes, Lambeau went on to wear #14 in 1927, #42 in 1928 and #20 in 1929 and 1930:

Technically, Maxymuk is right. No other player has worn the number 1 jersey. But we shouldn't be interpreted to mean that the digit hasn't been associated with anyone else in the organization. I can think of at least one other notable man who proudly wore the digit:

There it is, on the cap of Vince Lombardi. Where other men had their jersey numbers, Lombardi's gear was emblazoned with a proud number one. Truly "number one in their hearts".

It seems to me that the Packers have an unusual opportunity here. There is a uniform number that hasn't been worn in ninety years. It has only ever been identified with two men, both towering figures not only in Green Bay Packer history but the very history of the sport.

I propose that the team continues to keep the number out of circulation until August 2019, a mere seven ½ years away—it's lasted this long, why not?—and then retire it. If Lombardi and Lambeau both wore #1, I'm pretty sure no other Packer ever should.