We’ll continue with the conversation of the greatest uniform numbers. Last week, I did 0 - 9, and this week we will continue 10 - 19. I got a lot of emails in response to the previous posts. Happy to hear from you guys, but maybe you can post a reply on the blog so the world can see what you wrote!
Again my full disclosure: This list will reflect some of my biases in that it will be North American centric, and will probably have some age bias, despite my best attempts to be fair. Hey - this is for fun. Brain surgery it ain’t.
10. I had trouble coming up with a great number 10, so I first went with Guy Lafleur. However, I am told that Pele was the greatest soccer player ever and is still considered so decades after his career zenith. For years, he was the only soccer player I could name, so I go with him. Sorry, Guy.
11. Mark Messier or Isiah Thomas? I thought this would be close, but then I fact-checked Messier’s career. Two world championships (same as Isiah), second all-time scoring, and a jersey retired for two teams (Rangers and Oilers). Plus, the greatest leader in the history of the sport. Sorry, Isiah - this was actually not that hard.
12. Tom Brady over John Stockton. When Brady retires, he will be considered one of the three best QBs ever, if he is not already. Let’s put it this way, one-helmet catch and one blow to the knee. If neither of those happened, he is clearly top three, maybe number one. Stockton is a great player, followed closely by three great quarterbacks from the same era: Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and Ken Stabler. If anyone says Joe Namath, I will find you and hurt you! Namath was a less-than-mediocre quarterback.
13.) Very competitive: Wilt Chamberlain, Alex Rodriguez, or Dan Marino. Wow…all three are arguably the best to play at their respective positions ever. Only Wilt has won a championship of the three, and he did it with two of the greatest single-season teams ever (68-13 76ers and 69-13 Lakers). Factor in his off the court accomplishments, and I go with him.
14. Nobody will agree with me, but I go with Don Hutson over some elite competition: Pete Rose, Ernie Banks, Bob Cousy, and Otto Graham. Hutson was the greatest receiver who ever lived. Don’t believe me? Read this article and tell me if you still don’t. Check out his 1942 season compared to his peers, and be in awe. Rose was a great player, and longevity counts, but I don’t think he was ever dominant as much as he was just very good for a very long period of time. I would put him in the Hall of Fame at this point.
15. Bart Starr was the greatest quarterback who ever played the game, making this an easy choice. I actually had trouble coming up with a prominent #15 other than Starr, and could only come up with Thurman Munson, who was a terrific player but not in Starr’s league. It seems like this number has not yielded a lot of great athletes, though Carmello Anthony is still you. Starr wins easily. And, if you doubt he is the greatest quarterback ever, read this article and tell me if you are unconvinced.
16. The greatest quarterback ever followed by the second greatest quarterback ever. Joe Montana is the best athlete to wear #16 who ever lived. Four Super Bowl MVPs says it all. Sorry Brett Hull fans - this one ain’t close.
17. This belongs to John Havlicek, an 8-time world champion and perhaps the most overlooked superstar in NBA history. He was a great clutch player - the best of his era after Bill Russell retired - a regular season MVP, and the best 6th man ever. Plus, he was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer when he retired. Are you struggling to think of another great athlete who wore 17? Me, too. Try Dizzy Dean and Jari Kurri.
18. As much as I’d like to go with Dave Cowens and have back-to-back Celtic teammates, this one goes to Peyton Manning. If he did not play in the same conference as Tom Brady, he’d probably have the Super Bowl rings at this point, and when he retires he will own the NFL record book. Plus, he’s a geniunely good guy who does a lot for charity, and his commercials are the best of any athlete today.
19. It’s gotta be Johnny U, given Cots quarterbacks back-to-back positions. Like Manning, he was a bit of an under-performer in the playoffs, but he also owned the record book in his day as did Manning. Though he was not the QB Bart Starr was, he was great enough to have been selected the best of the last century. My apologies to Bob Feller, one of the great pitchers ever. Feller pitched three no-hitters, 12 one-hitters, and was thought to throw harder than Nolan Ryan (several players faced both men and most gave the edge to Feller). He served four years in the military during WW2 (the first pro athlete to volunteer), and in his first full season back won 26 games with 348 strike-outs, and a 2.18 ERA. Can I change my vote? I gotta make this one a tie.
If you are keeping track for generational bias, here goes:
Nine of the athletes achieved their greatness before I was born, or at least before I started following sports. Seven of the athletes I remember clearly but have retired. Only three (Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning) are presently playing. It would make sense that current athletes are under-represented, as their stories are not yet completely written. If I were to do this list in ten years, undoubtedly a few current players (Albert Pujolos) would make the list.