If you are a long-time reader of Open Mike — first off, thank you! — then you know that we have a distinct fascination — borderline obsession — with uniform numbers, especially the locals. Twice in the past 16 years, we’ve updated an all-time list of local uni numbers — 0 to 99 — and that never fails to stir a reaction.
Some of those calls were easy — Who but Joe Namath is 12?
Some were, shall we say, a bit less simple than that. In the lists I compiled in both 2005 and 2020, I had Dave DeBusschere at No. 22. That didn’t exactly sit well with Islanders fans, and understandably so: The late Mike Bossy wore No. 22 with distinction and honor for many years. I decided they should share the number.
Which leads to this new chapter: What are the most popular New York numbers when you take into account all nine of our teams from the four main sports?
We’ll take a look at the present athletes in a minute.
For starters, here are the most popular numbers, based on players who were good enough to have those numbers retired (for the purpose of this discussion, we’ll leave out the numbers that are now retired league-wide in the sports: (Jackie Robinson’s 42, Bill Russell’s 6) as well as Willie Mays’ 24 with the Mets, which was a mostly symbolic gesture reflecting his status in baseball New York).
Four players
3: Babe Ruth (Yankees), Drazen Petrovic (Nets), Harry Howell (Rangers), Ken Daneyko (Devils).
9: Roger Maris (Yankees), Andy Bathgate (Rangers), Adam Graves (Rangers), Clark Gillies (Islanders).
Three players
1: Billy Martin (Yankees), Ray Flaherty (Giants), Ed Giacomin (Rangers).
4: Lou Gehrig (Yankees), Tuffy Leemans (Giants), Scott Stevens (Devils).
5: Joe DiMaggio (Yankees), Jason Kidd (Nets), Denis Potvin (Islanders).
7: Mickey Mantle (Yankees), Mel Hein (Giants), Rod Gilbert (Rangers).
10: Phil Rizzuto (Yankees), Eli Manning (Giants), Clyde Frazier (Knicks).
14: Gil Hodges (Mets), Y.A. Tittle (Giants), Ward Cuff (Giants).
15: Thurman Munson (Yankees), Earl Monroe (Knicks), Dick McGuire (Knicks).
19: Willis Reed (Knicks), Jean Ratelle (Rangers), Bryan Trottier (Islanders).
23: Don Mattingly (Yankees), John Williamson (Nets), Bob Nystrom (Islanders).
32: Elston Howard (Yankees), Julius Erving (Nets), Al Blozis (Giants).
Two players
2: Derek Jeter (Yankees), Brian Leetch (Rangers).
8: Yogi Berra (Yankees), Bill Dickey (Yankees).
11: Vic Hadfield (Rangers), Mark Messier (Rangers).
12: Namath (Jets), Dick Barnett (Knicks).
16: Whitey Ford (Yankees), Frank Gifford (Giants).
22: DeBusschere (Knicks), Bossy (Islanders).
27: John Tonelli (Islanders), Scott Niedermayer (Devils).
31: Mike Piazza (Mets), Billy Smith (Islanders).
37: Casey Stengel (Yankees), Stengel (Mets) — as manager for both.
42: Mariano Rivera (Yankees), Charlie Conerly (Giants).
So what’s the most popular number now among our athletes, some of whom are great, some of whom are very good (though maybe not jersey-retirement quality?
No. 20 is a good place to start, and if Pete Alonso (Mets) and Chris Kreider keep humming along their career paths, they could well join the Yankees’ Jorge Posada (the only retired 20 so far). And though he’s just six games into his career, the Jets’ Breece Hall will probably inspire some folks to start wearing “20” to MetLife Stadium (sprinkled among the Namath 12s and the Klecko 73s).
No. 1 is another: Jeff McNeil is a batting champ now, and you’ll see a wave of 1s at Citi Field next year; Sauce Gardner is another Jets rookie who will likely inspire a buying spree at nfl.com; and Obi Toppin is probably the most exciting basketball player in New York right now, and you already see plenty of No. 1 Knicks jerseys at the Garden.
The Yankees’ Aaron Judge has probably already permanently supplanted Wayne Gretzky, whose 99 isn’t retired by the Rangers, but whose presence in that jersey made it (and still does) a popular one. The Giants’ Leonard Williams has it in him to make 99 a regular fixture at MetLife, too.
Vac’s Whacks
It’s just not possible to write a biography better than “The Last Folk Hero: the Life and Myth of Bo Jackson,” which is Jeff Pearlman’s best book yet. And that’s saying something.
We remain a divided country, but few things unite us — well, at least 49 states not named “Alabama” — more than watching a college football stadium crowd rush the field and tear down goalposts at the expense of Nick Saban.
Bobby Ojeda will be going into the New York Baseball Hall of Fame next month, thanks in large part to his 18 regular-season wins and two key postseason wins as an unsung member of the ’86 Mets. And his voice is still sorely missed in the SNY studio.
Well, if 5-1 for the Giants and 4-2 for the Jets seems impossible … what would 6-1 and 5-2 feel like? I mean: Why stop dreaming until they give you a reason, am I right?
Whack Back at Vac
Howard Luxenberg: The Guardians’ leadoff batter is like witnessing a revival of vintage baseball. The guy can hit, run and certainly knows the strike zone. Be nice to have someone of his ability hitting in front of Judge.
Vac: See ya in five years, Steven Kwan!
Ron Gambardella: Looks like the Mets pulled a Ralph Kramden on their way to the $64,000 question (World Series) and the Padres were their “Swanee River.”
Vac: That WhackBack is dedicated to all of you who, like Ron and me, used to think Channel 11 was the greatest place on earth because that’s where “The Honeymooners” was.
@MikeCordaro1: What would George Steinbrenner do? He wouldn’t do nothing, which approximates what Hal has done the last couple of years.
@MikeVacc: Believe it or not, there was a time if you told someone “the next owner of the Yankees will be nothing like Steinbrenner,” that would’ve elicited a huge sigh of relief.
Vic Copello: After listening to Bob Costas call the Yankees-Guardians on TBS, can we have him call the play-by-play for every national MLB baseball game and NFL football game? We don’t need some nonstop talkative analysts by his side. He is so informative and without any schtick.
Vac: I just thought Bob might want to know that not everyone was comparing him to Johnny Unitas as a Charger this week.
