Squad number

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In team sports, the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number or uniform number is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish the player from the rest of the field. The number is typically displayed on the rear of the jersey, often accompanied by the surname. Sometimes it is displayed also on the front and/or sleeves. It is used to identify the player to officials, other players, and official scorers; in some sports, it is also indicative of the player's position.

Contents 1 Association football 2 American Football 2.1 NFL 2.2 NCAA and high school 3 Canadian Football 4 Rugby football 5 Cricket 6 Basketball 7 Baseball 8 Ice hockey 9 Auto racing 10 Australian Rules Football 11 Other sports 12 Retired numbers 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Association football

Main article: Squad number (association football)

In association football, numbers were traditional assigned based on a player's position on the field, with the starting 11 players wearing 1-11 (with the goalkeeper generally wearing number 1), and the substitutes wearing higher numbers.

The move to a fixed number being assigned to each player in a squad was initiated for the 1954 World Cup, where each man in a country's 22-man squad wore a specific number for the duration of the tournament. In 1993, England's The Football Association switched to persistent squad numbers, abandoning the mandatory use of 1–11 for the starting line-up. The first league event to feature this was the 1993 Football League Cup Final between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday,^{[citation needed]} and it became standard in the FA Premier League the following season, along with names printed above the numbers. Most European top leagues adopted the system over the next five years.

[edit] American Football

Main article: Uniform number (American football)

[edit] NFL

A system of assignment of jersey numbers was initiated in American football's NFL in 1952;^[1] it was updated and made more rigid in 1973.^[2] Numbers are always worn on the front and back of a player's jersey, and so-called "TV numbers" are worn on the sleeve or shoulder. The Cincinnati Bengals were the last NFL team to wear jerseys without "TV numbers" on a regular basis in 1980, though since then several NFL teams have worn throwback uniforms that predated "TV numbers" without them, since as of 2008 "TV numbers" are not mandated under current NFL rules. (The same can't be said for players last names on the back of jerseys, which are required to be on all uniforms, even throwbacks that predated the last name rule.) Most recently, the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers wore throwbacks without "TV numbers".

Many uniforms also feature numbers either on the front, back, or sides of the helmet (in pro football, these were most famously worn on the San Diego Chargers "powder-blue" uniforms). Players have often asked the NFL for an exception to the rule. In 2006, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush requested to keep the number 5 he wore in college. His request was declined, and he was assigned number 25 by the team.^[3]

Below is the numbering system established by the NFL, and in place since 1973:^[2]

• Numbers 1 to 19 are worn by quarterbacks, kickers, and punters.

• Since 2004,^[4] Wide receivers are also allowed to wear numbers between 10 and 19 if they so choose, even if there's an 80-89 number available.

• Numbers 20 to 49 are worn by running backs, tight ends (between 40-49 when an 80-89 number is unavailable), cornerbacks and safeties.
• Numbers 50 to 59 are worn by linebackers and offensive linemen.
• Numbers 60 to 79 are worn by members of both the offensive line (the tackles, guards and centers) and defensive line (the defensive ends, defensive tackles or nose guard).
• Numbers 80 to 89 are worn by wide receivers and tight ends.
• Numbers 90 to 99 are worn by linebackers and defensive linemen.
• Numbers 0 and 00 are no longer used, though they were issued in the NFL before the number standardization in 1973. George Plimpton famously wore 0 during a brief preseason stint at quarterback for the Detroit Lions. Jim Otto wore number "00" ("aught-oh") during most of his career with the Oakland Raiders. Wide receiver Ken Burrough of the Houston Oilers also wore "00" during his NFL career in the 1970s.

It should be noted that this NFL numbering system is based on a player's primary position. Any player wearing any number may play at any position on the field at any time (though players wearing numbers 50-79 must let the referee know that they are playing out of position by reporting as an "ineligible number in an eligible position"). It is not uncommon for running backs to line up at wide receiver on certain plays, or to have a large lineman play at fullback or tight end in short yardage situations. Also, in preseason games, when teams have expanded rosters, players may wear numbers that are outside of the above rules. When the final 53-player roster is established, they are reissued numbers within the above guidelines.

This numbering system originated in football's past when all teams were using some variation of the single wing formation on offense. When teams switched to the T-formation in the 30s and 40s, the numbers were taken with them to whatever position evolved from the old single wing position. This numbering system originated in college football and was used only informally in the NFL until 1952; under the original somewhat informal system, the backs were numbered 1-4, and the line 5-8. Tailbacks, left halfbacks or flankers (1-back) were given 10's, Blocking backs or quarterbacks (2 backs) were given numbers in the 20s, fullbacks or 3-backs) were given numbers in the 30s, and right halfbacks, what would become simple the halfback or running back (4-backs) in the 40's, centers in the 50's, guards in the 60's, tackles in the 70's, and ends in the 80's. In earlier times, defensive players would wear a number that reflected their offensive position as many players played both offense and defense. For example, quarterbacks and halfback would usually play in the defensive back field and so had numbers in the 10s, 20s and 40s. Fullbacks were linebackers and had numbers in the 30s; Centers and guards were linebackers as well and has numbers in the 50s and 60s respectively. Guards and tackles played the defensive guard and tackle positions and had numbers in the 60s and 70s respectively. Ends had numbers in the 80s. Split ends (e.g. Emlen Tunnell) would be cornerbacks and tight ends (e.g. Fred Dryer, Buck Buchanan} would be defensive ends but all would have numbers in the 80s. The original numbering system was based on the single wing offense and went as follows: Tailback or left halfback (e.g. Frank Gifford) had a number in the 10s. The blocking back, which evolved into the quarterback in the T formation, had a number in the 20s (e.g. Bobby Layne and John Hadl, and Doug Flutie during his college career). The fullback had a number in the 30s and the right halfback had a number in the 40s. One the line the center was in the 50s, the gurards were in the 60s, the tackles were in the 70s and the ends were in the 80s. The CFL had a very different number system with the ends in the 70s, making wide receivers up until recent times having 70s numbers. The AAFC had a different numbering system with quarterback in the 60s (Otto Graham), fullbacks in the 70s (Marion Motley), halfbacks in the 80s, ends in the 50s (Mac Speedie), tackles in the 40s (Lou Groza), guards in the 30s and centers in the 20s. When the AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, the AAFC players kept their old uniform numbers which caused confusion and resulted in the NFL going to a standard numbering system in 1952. This resulted in many star players having to change their numbers in mid-career. Examples are Otto Graham going from 60 to 14, Norm Van Brocklin going from 25 to 11 and Tom Fears going from 55 to 80.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] NCAA and high school

In college football, a less rigid numbering system is employed. The only rule is that members of the offensive line (centers, guards, and tackles) that play in ineligible positions must wear numbers between 50-79. Informally, certain conventions still hold, and players often wear numbers in the ranges similar to their NFL counterparts; though the lowest numbers are often the highest prestige, and thus are often worn by players at any position. Kickers and punters are frequently numbered in the 40's or 90's, which are the least in-demand numbers on a college roster. The increased flexibility in numbering of NCAA rosters is needed since NCAA rules allow 85-player rosters; thus teams would frequently exhaust the available numbers for a position under the NFL rules.

Individual schools often have superstitions or traditions involving certain numbers. It may be a great honor to be given the number "1" uniform, for example, at the University of Michigan (worn by Anthony Carter, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and Braylon Edwards), or to be linebacker #55 at the University of Southern California^[5]. Perhaps most famously, Syracuse University historically reserved number "44" for its best running backs, including Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Floyd Little,^[6] finally retiring the number permanently in 2005.

On high school and other lower youth teams, jerseys with different number ranges are different sizes, and since many of these teams don't reorder jerseys every year, players are often assigned numbers based more on jerseys that fit them rather than specific position (though the rules on numbering the offensive line still apply).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Canadian Football

Canadian Football follows the same general rules as American football, with some minor exceptions. Defensive backs are allowed to wear single digit numbers. Linebackers and offensive linemen may wear numbers from 40-49 which are "ineligible numbers." Consequently running backs cannot wear numbers from 40-49 since they are "ineligible." Quarterbacks may wear numbers from 1-29 and in the 80s. Wide receivers and tight ends may wear numbers from 70-79, which are "eligible numbers," in addition to single digits and (more recently) numbers 80-89. Since 70-79 are "eligible numbers," offensive linemen cannot wear them.

[edit] Rugby football

See main articles: Rugby union positions and Rugby league positions.

When included in the starting lineup, a player's rugby shirt number determines their position rigidly in both codes of rugby football (except in the Super League competition, which uses unique squad numbering in the same way as the soccer examples cited above). Indeed, rugby union has a position named simply for the shirt normally worn by that player, the "Number 8", although it is not necessary for the player in the "Number 8" position to be wearing the number eight on his shirt. Several clubs (Leicester and Bristol particularly) used letters instead of numbers on shirts, although have now fallen into line with the rest of the clubs.

[edit] Cricket

The 1995-96 World Series Cup in Australia saw the first use of shirt numbers in international cricket, with most players assigned their number and some players getting to choose their number, most notably Shane Warne wearing 23 as it was his number when he played junior Aussie Rules for St Kilda Football Club. Other countries soon adopted the practice, although players would typically have different numbers from tournament to tournament, and it wasn't until several years later that players would consistently wear the same number year-round. Ricky Ponting (14) still uses the same number as in that initial season.^[7]

Player numbering was first used in the Cricket World Cup in 1999, where the captains wore the number 1 jersey and the rest of the squad was numbered between 2 and 14. An exception was that South African captain Hansie Cronje retained his usual number 5 with opener Gary Kirsten wearing the number 1 which he had also done previously.

Shirt numbers no longer remain exclusive to the short forms of the game, and navy blue numbers are now used on the playing whites in the Sheffield Shield to aid spectators in distinguishing players, but this innovation is unlikely to be used in Test cricket in the next few years. However, a recent fashion that has been taken up by several nations is the process of giving a player making his Test debut an appearance number, along with his Test cap, for reasons of historical continuity. The number is in the order a player makes his Test debut. If two or more players make their debut in the same match, they are given numbers alphabetically based on surname. For example, Thomas Armitage is Test player #1 for England. He made his debut in the very first Test Match, against Australia, on March 15, 1877, and was first in alphabetical order amongst that England XI. Graeme Swann is the most recent debutant for England, making his debut on December 11, 2008 against India. He is Test player #641 for England. These numbers can be found on a player's Test uniform, but it is always in discreet small type on the front, and never displayed prominently.

[edit] Basketball

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American basketball leagues at all levels traditionally use single and double digits between 0 and 5 (i.e. 0, 00, 1-5, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55). The NCAA and most amateur competitions mandate that only these numbers be used. This eases non-verbal communication between referees, who use fingers to denote a player's number, and the official scorer. In college basketball, single-digit players' numbers are officially recorded as having a leading zero. Teams can have either a "0" or "00" but not both.

The National Basketball Association has always allowed other numbers between 0 and 99, but use of digits 6 through 9 are less common than 0 through 5.

Players in FIBA-sanctioned contests, including the Olympic Games wear numbers from 4 to 15. Leagues that operate under FIBA rules but are not directly sanctioned by FIBA, such as the Euroleague, allow all numbers between 0 and 99.

Customarily, especially at high school and lower levels, uniform numbers are higher on physically larger uniforms (except 0 and 00, which are usually worn by centers), so centers and power forwards, typically the tallest players on their teams, tend to wear higher uniform numbers, but this is by no means an infallible rule.

[edit] Baseball

Main article: Uniform number (Major League Baseball)

At one time, a baseball player's number was specifically related to his place in the batting lineup. The regular starting eight wore numbers 1 through 8, while the backup catcher wore number 9. Starting pitchers generally took numbers 10, 11, 12 and 14, (avoiding the superstitious #13, although some pitchers tried it, perhaps most notably the star-crossed pitcher Ralph Branca), while reserve pitchers and position players took the remaining numbers, 15 through 26. It is still extremely rare for a pitcher to wear a single-digit number. Josh Towers, who is currently a free agent, wore #7 for the Toronto Blue Jays until 2007. In 1997, Jeff Juden wore #7 when he was pitching for the Cleveland Indians; however, Juden wore conventional two-digit numbers with all other teams he was on during his career.

Even to this day, low numbers are generally associated with being an everyday player, and many players try to get one, no matter what it is. This is also due to the fact that in Spring Training, minor league players unlikely to make the roster are usually given very high numbers, and many players feel that the higher the number, the less likely you are to make the team after Spring Training.^{[citation needed]}

Notable exceptions to this rule are Manny Ramirez and So Taguchi, who both wore #99 at some point in their careers. Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams also wore #99. Many regular Yankees players now have higher than usual uniform numbers because the team has retired more numbers than any other team in MLB.

Other players have become attached to a specific number, for whatever reason (including superstition), try to acquire it as they join a new team, sometimes needing to "bribe" the number's current owner on his new team, a practice Rickey Henderson often did to obtain his preferred #24. Sometimes they will use a variant. For example,Carlton Fisk wore #27 for the Boston Red Sox, and upon being traded to the Chicago White Sox, switched his number to the highly-unusual #72. Former Red Sox pitcher Eric Gagné, who typically wears #38, wore #83 because #38 was not available with long-time pitcher Curt Schilling wearing it. Before joining the Toronto Blue Jays, Roger Clemens had always worn #21 with the Red Sox, but Carlos Delgado wore it in Toronto, so Clemens gave Delgado a $15,000 Rolex watch for it (Delgado then switched to #25).^[8]

There are also several cases in which a player seeks out a number in tribute to someone else. For example, David Ortiz, after leaving the Minnesota Twins as a free agent to sign with the Boston Red Sox, chose #34 in honor of longtime Twins outfielder Kirby Puckett. In 2006, J. T. Snow wore #84 in tribute to his father, Jack (who wore #84 as an NFL player), who died in the previous off-season.

Lou Gehrig was the first player in Major League Baseball to have his number (#4) retired.

Major League Baseball has not re-issued #42 because it has been retired league-wide in honor of Jackie Robinson, although all players who currently wore the number upon the mass-retirement of #42, such as Mo Vaughn, were allowed to keep it under a grandfather clause if they were wearing the number in honor of Jackie Robinson. However, some players voluntarily switched to other numbers, others retired, and still others were denied the number when they switched teams. The only player left wearing #42 is Mariano Rivera, the closer for the Yankees.

[edit] Ice hockey

Ice hockey does not have any formalized uniform numbering rules. Historically, in the National Hockey League, starting goaltenders wore #1, the backup goalie wore #30, and the other players (the "skaters") wore low numbers (generally #2-#28). It is still traditional for goaltenders to wear either #1 or numbers near #30 (in a range from approximately #29 to #35.) Some well-known goalies with non-traditional numbers include José Théodore (#60) and Ron Hextall (#27; #72 when #27 was unavailable). Evgeni Nabokov and Ed Belfour have both worn #20 in honor of their mentor, legendary Russian goalie Vladislav Tretiak.

In recent years, it has become more common for players to wear numbers in the 30s and above. This is due in part to many teams having retired lower numbers. The Montreal Canadiens, for example, have only three single-digit numbers left un-retired.

A number of players have worn higher numbers up through #99 (though #99 itself is now retired league-wide in the NHL to honor Wayne Gretzky). For example, Jaromir Jagr wore #68 in honor of the year of the Prague Spring and his grandfather's death; Alexander Mogilny wore #89 to honor the year he defected to the United States from the former Soviet Union; and Sidney Crosby wears #87 because his birth date is August 7, 1987, written "8/7/87" in the U.S. date format.

Doubling of a single-digit number has occasionally been used for players whose numbers were unavailable. For example, Phil Esposito switched to #77 when he joined the New York Rangers where #7 was worn by Rod Gilbert; and Ray Bourque, who succeeded Esposito in wearing #7 for the Boston Bruins, switched to #77 to allow the Bruins to retire Esposito's original #7. That same season, Paul Coffey switched to #77 when he was traded from Edmonton to Pittsburgh. In addition, Gretzky wore #99 because #9, which he wore in tribute to Gordie Howe, was taken on his junior team. Going the other way, Todd Bertuzzi, who wore #44 for many years, switched to #4 when he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, since #44 was already in use by alternate captain Rob Niedermayer.

#84 was the final number to have never been worn NHL, until Canadiens forward Guillaume Latendresse first wore the number on September 29, 2006. The last player to wear a form of zero in the NHL was Martin Biron, who wore #00 with the Buffalo Sabres in three games in 1995-96. By the time he returned to the Sabres in 1998, the NHL had changed its rules to disallow the number, and he was not allowed to grandfather his previous jersey number. He instead changed to #43, which he wears to this day.

Because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays retired #12 in honor of Mark Bavis' death. Bavis had played from 1994-96, and wore #12 for the majority of his career. When the Stingrays retired #12, Ryan Brindley, who had worn #12 during the 2001 Kelly Cup season, switched from #12 to #55 for the rest of his stint with the Stingrays.

[edit] Auto racing

In most auto racing leagues, cars are assigned numbers. The configuration of stock cars, however, makes the numbers much more prominent. (Aerodynamic open-wheel cars don't have nearly the amount of flat surface that a stock car has.) Numbers are often synonymous with the drivers that carry them. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. will always be associated with the number 3, while Richard Petty is associated with #43, Wood Brothers Racing with #21, and Jeff Gordon to the #24.

In NASCAR, numbers are assigned to owners and not specific drivers. Drivers that spend a long time on a single race team often keep their numbers as long as they drive for the same owners. When drivers change teams, however, they take a new number that is owned by that team. Jeff Burton, for example, has raced for 3 different teams, and had 4 different numbers in that time. In 1994 and 1995 he raced the #8 car, then owned by the Stavola Brothers. From 1996 to mid-2004 he raced for Roush Racing, and drove the #99 car. After leaving Roush Racing for Richard Childress Racing, he changed to car #30 (for the rest of the 2004 season) and now races #31 (also an RCR car). The #99 car he used to drive for Roush is now driven by Carl Edwards.

Formula One car numbers started to be permanently allocated for the whole season in 1974. Prior to this numbers were allocated on a race-by-race basis by individual organisers. From 1974 to the mid 1990s, the numbers 1 and 2 would be allocated to the reigning world champion and his team mate, swapping with the previous year's champions. Numbers were reallocated occasionally as teams departed and joined the series, but this scheme persisted until the late 1990s.

Numbers are assigned annually now, first to the reigning World Champion (who receives number 1) and then his team-mate (who receives number 2); after that the numbers are assigned to constructors sequentially according to their position in the previous season's Constructors' Championship, so that numbers are allocated (if the reigning champion is not driving for the reigning constructor's champion team) from 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and so on (skipping 13 with the seventh-placed team using 14 and 15). The only stipulation is that the World Drivers' Champion is entitled to the number 1 car regardless of the constructor's results; this is relevant when the winning driver's team failed to win the Constructors Championship, or if the winning driver changes teams after winning the championship for example, when Damon Hill moved to the Arrows team for the 1997 season. This situation happened again in 2007 when 2006 champion Fernando Alonso left Renault to join McLaren, earning him and his rookie teammate, Lewis Hamilton, the numbers 1 and 2. Previously, teams had been assigned the same numbers from year-to-year, only exchanging for 1 and 2 when the championship was won. As a result Ferrari are infamous for having carried 27 and 28 for many years.

If the winning driver retires, nowadays rules states that car number 1 is traditionally not allocated; the winning constructor then receives numbers 0 and 2. Damon Hill received car number 0 in 1993 due to Nigel Mansell's move to the CART series in the U.S., and again in 1994, this time due to Alain Prost's retirement. Ronnie Peterson received number 1 in 1974, although he didn't win the championship the previous year, due to Jackie Stewart's retirement, the team was allowed to keep #1. Raul Boesel drove for Team Green in 1996 after the team won the 1995 CART championship, and the team chose to keep the #1.

In the Indy Racing League, #1 has not been used by a majority of champions in the 2000s because of team or sponsor requests to keep their normal numbers in order to keep their team identity, similar to NASCAR. Buddy Lazier, who won the 2000 championship for Hemelgarn Racing, kept the #91 after fans voted to keep the traditional #91 identity. Sam Hornish, Jr. never wore #1 after any of his three championships -- after the 2001 and 2002 seasons, Panther Racing kept its #4 (Jim Harbaugh is one of the co-owners), and after the 2006 season, the Penske Racing #6 stayed as the #6. In 2004, Tony Kanaan, driver for Andretti Green Racing's #11 7-Eleven sponsored car, won the championship and kept the #11 to keep the sponsor's identity with the #11.

[edit] Australian Rules Football

In Australian rules football, players traditionally wear numbers on the backs of their guernseys, although some competitions (the WAFL is one example) may feature teams who wear smaller numbers on the front, usually on one side of the chest. The number being worn is usually not relevant to the player's position on the ground, although occasionally a club will allocate the #1 guernsey or an otherwise prestigious number to the team captain (such as the Richmond football club, which allocates #17 to its team captain in honor of Jack Dyer, who wore that number with distinction). Port Adelaide assigns #1 to the team captain. In these situations, it is usually customary for players who reliquish the captaincy to switch to another.

AFL clubs do not retire numbers, but instead will often choose to give their more prestigious numbers to highly-touted draftees or young up-and-coming players who are shown to have promise and may share certain traits with the previous wearer, such as position or playing style. Essendon, for example, usually assigns #27 to a ruckman, which is famously identified with Simon Madden.

Sons of famous players will often take on their father's number, especially if they play at the same club. Sergio Silvagni and his son Stephen, for example, both wore #1 for Carlton. Matthew Scarlett wears his father John's #30 at Geelong. In contrast, some sons of famous players also prefer to take on other numbers in the hopes that it will reduce the burden of having to fulfill high expectations. Notable examples of this are Gary Ablett Jr. at Geelong (who wears #29 instead of his father's #5) and Jobe Watson at Essendon, who passed up Tim's #32 in favor of #4.

Clubs will often feature retiring champions "passing on" their famous guernsey numbers to the chosen successors, usually in ceremonial fashion, such as a club function or press conference.

[edit] Other sports

Other sports which feature players with numbered shirts, but where the number that may be worn is not relevant to the player's position and role are:

• Field hockey
• Volleyball
• Lacrosse

In water polo, players wear swim caps bearing a number. Under FINA rules, the starting goalkeeper wears #1, the substitute goalkeeper wears #13, and remaining players wear numbers 2 though 12.

[edit] Retired numbers

Retiring a player's number is an honor bestowed on a successful player, usually after the player has left the team or retires from the game. In fact, with players changing teams more recently than in the past because of trades and free agency, many players and fans feel that having a number retired is an even greater honor than being inducted into the Hall of Fame. That particular team or franchise will retire the number that the player wore during their time there, meaning no other player is permitted to use that number in the future (unless the honored player permits it).

The first number retired by a team in a professional sport was #1, retired by the New York Giants in honor of Ray Flaherty.^[9]

In rare cases, a number may be retired because of the player's endeavours in other fields. For example, former college football star and U.S. President Gerald Ford's #48 was retired by the University of Michigan football squad.^[10]

It is also a common practice for teams to take certain numbers out of circulation without formally retiring them. However, it is generally understood in these cases that these numbers will not be worn again. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers have not issued the jersey numbers of several of their greatest players (most notably Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and Joe Greene). Although the Steelers have only retired one number in their history -Ernie Stautner's #70- it is generally understood that no Steeler will ever wear these numbers again. Similarly, with the exception of a pair of quarterbacks in the mid-1980s, the Green Bay Packers have not re-issued Paul Hornung's #5 since his departure from the team following the 1966 season. In the NHL, the #66 worn by Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins has not been worn by any player in the league since his retirement, presumably as a sign of respect to a player whom many believe would have become the greatest hockey player of all time had it not been for recurring health problems. In NASCAR, only once has a number been officially retired; that is in the Whelen Modified Tour, where #61 is retired for Richie Evans after his death in 1985. It is generally understood that NASCAR will probably never issue the #3 again in deference to the late Dale Earnhardt. It is rumored that one day his son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will want to drive a #3 car, but that is only speculation. However, Austin Dillon, a Richard Childress Racing developmental driver for his grandfather, has aspirations of using #3, since it was the number used by Childress in his NASCAR era from the 1970s until 2001.

Although the practice originated in, and is still mostly restricted to North American sports, some football (soccer) clubs have started doing this as squad numbers have become common. A.S. Roma, A.C. Milan, Internazionale, Napoli, Manchester City, Lens and Lyon have all recently retired shirt numbers. The last three of these clubs all retired the shirt number of Marc-Vivien Foé after his death on the field in the 2003 Confederations Cup; the Cameroon national team also attempted to retire Foé's number, but FIFA prevented them from doing so. FIFA also rejected an attempt by Argentina to retire the number of Diego Maradona. Some teams have also retired #12 in honor of their fans, or the "Twelfth Man".^[11]

Main article: 12th Man (football)

Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in the modern era of Major League Baseball, had his number retired league-wide in 1997 (although those players who were wearing the number at the time were permitted to retain it for the duration of their careers — as of the 2007 season, Mariano Rivera is the only remaining active player wearing the number). In 1999, Wayne Gretzky's #99 was likewise retired league-wide by the National Hockey League upon his retirement from the game (in this case, no other NHL player had worn #99 at the time).

In Finnish ice hockey, if a player's number is retired, family members (most notably his son, or son-in-law) can use the retired number if he plays for the same organization. Timo Nummelin had his #3 retired by TPS, and later his son, Petteri Nummelin, wore #3 for the team. Similarly, Italian AC Milan has promised to retire Paolo Maldini's #3 once he retires, but with a provision that it could be used by his sons if either of them makes the club's first team squad. ^[12]

In Australian Rules Football, a player's number may be retired for the first season of their retirement before being used again. Due to the high amount of players on a single-season squad (44), it would be nearly impossible to permanently retire numbers.

See also:

• Retired numbers in football (soccer)
• List of Major League Baseball retired numbers
• List of the National Hockey League retired numbers
• List of National Football League retired numbers
• List of National Basketball Association retired jersey numbers

[edit] See also

• Competition number in individual sports

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• English football's experiments with numbering
• Article in The Guardian about the number 1 goalkeeper jersey
• Overcompetitive.com - tongue-in-cheek look at the traditions behind numbers 1 to 11 in football
• Baseball Hall of Fame, with uniform numbers
• Retired numbers for NFL franchises
• More than just a number? The importance of a squad number.