The best New York athletes to wear every number
Table of Contents
“#The best New York athletes to wear every number”
Anyway: my list. And my new number owners. And an invitation (as if one were needed) to hear (as I did for weeks afterward 15 years ago) where I goofed:
00. John Davidson; 1. Pee Wee Reese …
2. Well, even in 2005 the Derek Jeter army was in force, and I may have been a little too cute by half in picking Secretariat, as I did. But there’s little que2tion who gets this number now since he still had his two finest seasons (2006, ’09) and 1,731 of his 3,465 hits ahead of him.
3. Babe Ruth; 4. Lou Gehrig; 5. Joe DiMaggio …
6. Joe Torre had already won all four of his championships with the Yankees by 2005 and probably should already have been given this over Carl Furillo. But it’s never too late to right a wrong. Plus, Furillo still has one of the coolest nicknames ever (“Skoonj”).
7. Mickey Mantle; 8. Yogi Berra; 9. Adam Graves/Clark Gillies …
10. Clyde Frazier had it solo in 2005, but that was two Eli Manning Super Bowls ago. Two titles apiece means we get to split this one in half. Who says no?
11. Phil Simms/Mark Messier; 12. Joe Namath …
13. Don Maynard had a nice run, and if you want to argue that he should keep a share at least, clear your throat and go ahead. But you say No. 13, and only one name pops to mind, and it isn’t Josh Satin. It’s yours, A-Rod.
14. Gil Hodges; 15. Thurman Munson; 16. Frank Gifford; 17. Keith Hernandez; 18. Darryl Strawberry; 19. Willis Reed …
20. Sorry, it’s still my list, so Chris Mullin still has a permanent hold on this one. But I also saw just about every at-bat of Jorge Posada’s career. He gets a share. And in 15 years, we may need to make some room for Pete Alonso, too.
21. Paul O’Neill still deserves a share. But nobody has gained more rushing yards in the 95-year history of the Giants than Tiki Barber. He needs to be in the picture, too.
22. Dave DeBusschere; 23. Don Mattingly; 24. Willie Mays …
25. Though I’ll always have a soft spot for Bill Melchionni, who taught me how to properly shoot a free throw years ago (oh, and also led the Nets to two ABA titles), fair is fair. This is Mark Teixeira’s now.
26. Orlando Hernandez; 27. Rodney Hampton; 28. Curtis Martin; 29. Catfish Hunter …
30. This one breaks my heart. Bernard King should absolutely have his number in the Garden rafters, and I will die on that hill forever. But 30 is a tie, and Bernard doesn’t have a piece of it — Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist do.
31. Mike Piazza; 32. Julius Erving; 33. Patrick Ewing; 34. Charles Oakley; 35. Mike Richter; 36. Jerry Koosman; 37. Casey Stengel; 38. Skip Lockwood; 39. Roy Campanella; 40. Joe Morrison; 41. Tom Seaver; 42. Jackie Robinson …
43. Spider Lockhart had a nice run, but R.A. Dickey won a Cy Young Award for the Mets by throwing knuckleballs all across the summer of 2012.
44. Reggie Jackson; 45. Tug McGraw; 46. Andy Pettitte; 47. Jesse Orosco …
48. Sorry, Ken Schroy. This is Jacob deGrom’s now and, I’m willing to bet, forever.
49. Ron Guidry; 50. Sid Fernandez; 51. Bernie Williams …
52. It was going to take a supreme parlay of talent and heart to take this number away from Buck Williams. And CC Sabathia did just that.
53. Harry Carson; 54. Goose Gossage …
55. We are at the start of a forest of football numbers, but Marvin Jones and Gary Reasons are going to have to surrender 55 to a baseballer, Hideki Matsui.
56. Lawrence Taylor; 57. Mo Lewis; 58. Carl Banks; 59. Kyle Clifton; 60. Larry Grantham; 61. Jeff Criswell; 62. Al Atkinson; 63. Karl Nelson; 64. Jim Burt; 65. Bart Oates …
66. Randy Rasmussen won a Super Bowl with the Jets, and that was good enough for a good long while. But David Diehl won two with the Giants, and so 66 is his now.
67. Dave Herman …
68. Back in ’05, this was a share between Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Mawae, and though they’re both Hall of Famers, Mawae did most of his best work in New York. It’s his solo now.
69. Hard to think anyone will protest Rich Seubert taking this one away from Jason Fabini.
70. Sam Huff; 71. Kerry Jenkins …
72. Jason Ferguson was a nice placeholder for Osi Umenyiora.
73. Joe Klecko …
74. Abdul Salaam wore it with great distinction for the Jets. But Nick Mangold wore it better.
75. George Martin; 76. Jumbo Elliott; 77. Phil Esposito; 78. Greg Bishop; 79. Roosevelt Brown; 80. Wayne Chrebet …
81. Andy Robustelli’s years of faithful service merit him keeping his left hand on this number, but another Giant, Amani Toomer, gets to keep his right hand on it.
82. Mickey Shuler; 83. George Sauer; 84. Zeke Mowatt; 85. Wesley Walker; 86. Verlon Biggs; 87. Howard Cross; 88. Al Toon; 89. Mark Bavaro …
90. The late Dennis Byrd owned it with grace for many years. But Jason Pierre-Paul was the better player.
91. Butch Goring was solo 15 years ago, and as an essential element of the dynasty Islanders he keeps a share. But Justin Tuck and his two rings merit co-owner status.
92. Michael Strahan; 93. Marty Lyons; 94. John Abraham; 95. Rick Lyle …
96. We left this one open 15 years ago because there were really no good candidates. Things might not have ended well between Muhammad Wilkerson and the Jets, but the good times were awfully good.
97. Cornelius Griffin; 98. Jessie Armstead …
99. Yes, it was a wonderful thing that Wayne Gretzky graced us with his presence as a Ranger the last three years of his peerless career. But he was, and is, an Oiler in the mind’s eye. Especially with Aaron Judge owning that number (and the town, when he’s healthy) now.
Vac’s Whacks
There hasn’t been a lot of glory to sprinkle on either side of the baseball divide, but if you’re on the fence and wondering about who is on the side of the angels, think about which side has people dipping into their own pockets trying to keep their minor league colleagues whole. And think about which side is trying to figure out who among them can invent the most onerous ticket-refund policy.
You trust me, right? Well, if, like me, you’ve actually been able to use a good blues song to help you actually escape the blues, check out this gem by the duo of Kevin Cronin (music) and Robert L. Ferrante (lyrics) called “Pinstripe Blues (No Baseball’s Got Me Down).”
I’m pretty sure the column photo the other day of Serby in the surgical mask goes directly to the Post’s column photo hall of fame (five-year waiting period waived) right alongside Serby in the coach’s headset and Wally Matthews in a cowboy hat.
So the Knicks technically weren’t eliminated from the playoffs this year until Wednesday, which means they were alive in June for the first time since 2000. Progress!
Whack Back at Vac
Robert Benedetto: Your column on Dean Meminger and Officer Bob Breen brought tears to my eyes. Let’s hope things quiet down and we can become a loving/helpful society once again.
Vac: I think that is one outcome all of us can root for without thinking twice.
Rich Close: Unfortunately horse racing is not what it used to be, but I have many unforgettable memories like yourself. Was there in July ’75 for the Ruffian/Foolish Pleasure match race. Don’t think I’ve ever been to a sporting event where the mood of the crowd changed so suddenly from great anticipation to total sadness.
Vac: Watched with my parents. Both cried when it happened. You don’t forget moments like that.
@dorth55: Thank you, Patrick Ewing. So happy you are healing from the coronavirus. New York basketball certainly misses peak Patrick, the warrior that you were in your playing days.
@MikeVacc: What he said.
Peter Drago: To me, the best sports movie has to be “Field of Dreams” and, “Dad, do you want to have a catch?” There are tears in my eyes even as I am typing the words. About 70 years ago I had my first catch with my dad in Brooklyn. How can there be so much magic in the simple act of tossing a ball back and forth?
Vac: That line get me every time. Every. Single. Time.
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