I'm not sure if there were others, but Kenny Burroughs, Houston Oilers' WR, wore #00 in the '70s and '80s.....
Posted on 04/12/2006 7:38:22 AM PDT by Cyclopean Squid
How much trouble is a number worth?
Reggie Bush, projected as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, thinks it's at least worth petitioning the league.
"I want to see if I can keep No. 5," Bush told ESPN The Magazine on the set of a Subway commercial he was shooting in Los Angeles.
The former USC running back and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner has been wearing that jersey number since high school. NFL rules, however, don't allow for running backs to take that number -- 33 years ago the league adopted a numbering system to make it easier for officials to differentiate players by position.
Under the rule, quarterbacks, punters and placekickers wear numbers 1 through 19. Running backs and defensive backs are assigned 20 through 49, while wide receivers and tight ends are given numbers 80 through 89.
Two years ago, due to the increasing amount of retired numbers and more wide receivers and tight ends coming into the league, the NFL allowed those position players to wear either 10-19 or 80-89. A number of wide receivers have been wearing lower-numbered jerseys since, among them Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona (11), Plaxico Burress of New York and Braylon Edwards of Cleveland (17), Randy Moss of Oakland (18) and Troy Williamson of Minnesota (19).
Bush wants to push it one step further to stick with No. 5.
"I think someone else was able to get their number changed, but even if they turn me down I think it's worth a try," Bush said.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined to comment on Bush's plan to petition the league, though history is working against him. In 2004, running back Edgerrin James talked to the NFL about letting him wearing No. 5, which he had worn in Pop Warner, high school and at the University of Miami, but he was reportedly rebuffed.
Jersey numbers have turned into a big business. Players routinely have paid thousands of dollars for a jersey of their liking.
There has even been a lawsuit -- two years ago, Ifeanyi Ohalete agreed to sell No. 26 to his new Washington Redskins teammate Clinton Portis for $40,000. But Ohalete, who was released from the team before the season, sued after Portis didn't pay him half of the fee. The two eventually reached a settlement worth $18,000.
Bush has extra incentive to try to land No. 5. His Subway commercial, which debuted on Monday, encourages fans to "get inside No. 5" and features that number throughout the spot.
If Bush could somehow convince the league to allow him to wear No. 5, he's in luck if he gets drafted by the Houston Texans. No player on the team currently wears that number.
Said Bush: "If I have to pick a new number, I have no idea what it would be."
ESPN.com senior writer Darren Rovell contributed to this story
But can they put "He Hate Me" on the back of the jerseys?
I'm not sure if there were others, but Kenny Burroughs, Houston Oilers' WR, wore #00 in the '70s and '80s.....
I agree with you about #1. I would never want to wear it, and I think it takes a great amount of pretension to don it.
Only with "Ima Dumba$$" in parenthesis right below it.
I do not want my children (young sports leagues so far) wearing it. I just feel it is one of those humbling things you have to go through to create a team spirit. I also feel that players should have to earn the right to wear the team name on their jersies, kind of like Bill Parcells did with the star on the helmets when he came to Dallas.
>>If a RB lines up on the line, is he considered one of the eligible receiver? <<
Yes, but if you'll watch closely, rarely do non-receiver numbers line up ON THE LINE (remember the distinction from being out wide to being on the line). Anyone in the backfield (by definition, those not ON THE LINE) are eligible.
>>How about a punter/kicker?<<
If he's on the line, he's not a punter or kicker. They have to kick after a snap, which is a backward pass and requires them (or the holder) being in the backfield to receive. Thus, on a kick play, the kicker almost certainly wouldn't line up on the line and if it was a fake, it wouldn't be a kick play, so it would be treated by the officials as a pass or run -- hence all regular rules are applicable.
Both Randle El and Kordell Stewart have similar situations, like Vince Young likely will. The article notes they expanded the available numbers for receivers into what the QBs regularly wear.
Also remember that what you see on Saturday (NCAA) isn't the same as what you see on Sunday. The formation rules are a little less complicated in the NCAA, and as an NCAA official who works the wings (line of scrimmage) often, I'm grateful!
Oh, and I'd pick #12, because it is the number both Roger Staubach and Bob Griese wore, both classy gentlemen and great QBs.
Exactly. To everyone else it should be just a number.
to the player himself it *might* be something different/important/ritual.
50% of sports is rituals, moreso in college where you can throw in traditions as well.
Mike Williams was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Lions.
I'm just jealous I can't be as cool as you bigman.
"Unlike the NCAA, the NFL has rules on who has to line up where, as far as the 7 man line"
Are you sure about that? I have seen numerous calls in the NCAA for illegal formations(not enough men on the line=7)and it usually happens on punts,field goal attempts, and punts. I've coached Pop Warner and High School and the rule is the same, 7 men on the line with the Tackle covered. Unless the Tackle declares as an eligible reciever. I may be wrong though....
Guess I lost track of him cause there wasn't much said about him being drafted in the 1st round (10th overall pick, no less) compared to the wall-to-wall coverage of Clarett.
Might this be a side-effect of being with the Lions?
Don't misunderstand what I said: I didn't say there aren't formation requirements under NCAA rules. What I said was that the NFL has different rules as far as that goes. The NCAA doesn't require the end to be an eligible receiver. They do require 7 on the line with 5 of them numbered 50-79. Theorectically, there could be a 78 on one end and 79 on the other, where the only eligible receivers are those in the backfield, other than the passer (since 78 and 79 aren't eligible under any circumstances and 80 or another potentially legal receiver would be covered up).
As long as there are 7 on the line, with 5 numbered 50-79, and everyone inbounds, that's a legal formation. You can look at the NCAA rule book online and look under Rule 7, Snapping and Passing the Ball. Specifically, this stuff here is on page FR-90.
Then, there are some rather technical requirements for shifts (NCAA: movement of at least 2 offensive players; NFL: I don't know for sure, as Federation says a shift can be one person only, I'm told) and motion, but as far as formations ignoring shifts and motions, that's pretty much it.
There's no "declaring" or "reporting" in the NCAA. 50-79 are NOT eligible receivers, regardless of where they line up. If they receiver or bat a pass, its illegal touching. What pop warner or National Federation rules are, I'm not sure since I've never worked under either. I work in Texas, where we use NCAA rules for high school, jr. high (Texas UIL), and from what I understand, just about everything youth (non-scholastic) wise. Obviously, they are used for college ball as well. UIL has some modifications of NCAA rules, but they are all administrative, like timing, the use of a tee, goal post size, etc.
Brings to mind the Golden Boy, number 5, Paul Hornung.
Sorry about that, I did misunderstand what you were getting at. I didn't know interior linemen couldn't declare. That is why I love this site... you learn something new everyday!
Thanks.
An example of this in the college game can be found in the 2005 Ohio State - Michigan game.
Ohio State wanted to grind the ball at Michigan so they were using one of the backup OTs as a TE although his number was 79.
You'll hear it called an "Unbalanced Line" and it's in use in a LOT of High Schools that have more good linemen than positions.
That and Detroit likes to collect talented WRs like the Jets like to collect bad first round draft picks.
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