Welcome back to a continuation of our weekly blog detailing the greatest athletes at every number. Last week, we showcased athletes from #10 to #19, and now we’re moving on up into the 20s. It’s time for week 3 of WLTL’s most iconic athletes at every number.
#20 - Barry Sanders (Honorable Mentions: Mike Schmidt and Ed Reed)
With the first number on our list, we have a player many consider to be the greatest running back of all time. Barry Sanders was mainly a backup in his first two years at Oklahoma State, however, it was in his junior year when his legend began. Sanders took over the starting job and had one of the single greatest individual seasons of all time, easily running away with the Heisman. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989 (and was nearly passed up for a fellow Sanders, cornerback Deion.), and Lions head coach Wayne Fontes offered Sanders the #20 to honor the late Lions running back Billy Sims, who was a top running back of the 80s. Sanders’ #20 obliterated the NFL for a complete decade, as he retired as a Lion in 1999, only 1,457 yards short of Walter Payton’s record, though many (including eventual record holder Emmitt Smith) believe that he easily could’ve taken Payton’s crown. Though he barely recorded any postseason success, the 1997 MVP changed the football world and deserves the crown as the greatest #20 of all time.
#21 - Roberto Clemente (Honorable Mentions: Deion Sanders and Tim Duncan)
A humanitarian and legend of the game, Roberto Clemente started at #13 for the first few weeks of his MLB career. After teammate Earl Smith had his number reassigned, Clemente jumped on the now empty #21 because it matched the number of letters in his name: Roberto Clemente Walker. His 17-year career in the majors saw him obtain 13 All-Stars, 12 Golden Gloves (a record for outfielders shared with Willie Mays), 2 World Series titles, and the 1971 World Series MVP. Even more notable from Clemente was his charity work, promoting baseball throughout Central America and the Caribbean to millions of youths as well as providing disaster relief. He tragically lost his life while on a cargo plane delivering such aid, as it crashed off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. Clemente is a baseball legend and a player who used his influence to promote real change in the world. His Pirates #21 has few challengers for the most iconic number in baseball history.
#22 - Emmitt Smith (Honorable Mentions: Clyde Drexler and Kaka)
The other competitor for the title of greatest rusher of all time. Emmitt Smith had lots of collegiate success at the University of Florida, however many NFL teams thought he would be too small and too slow for the pros. The Dallas Cowboys decided to take a chance on the young Smith and, following the longest rookie holdout in team history, Smith made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season and never looked back. From 1990 - 2002, the triplets (Smith, quarterback Troy Aikman, and wide receiver Michael Irvin) terrorized the NFL with fast, hard-hitting offense. Smith’s contributions helped the Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl victories. The first-ballot Hall-of-Famer has many records to his name, the most notable of which being the most career rushing yards of all time at 18,355. Emmitt Smith’s place in Canton was carved through his hard work and his devotion to the game, and it’s the same efforts that give him this honor as the most iconic #22 in sports history.
#23 - Michael Jordan (Honorable Mentions: LeBron James and Ryne Sandberg)
In high school, Michael Jordan idolized his brother Larry and wanted to be just half as good as him. While Larry wore #45, Jordan then took half of Larry’s number, and the #23 stuck. He wore that number to the 1982 NCAA National Championship, where his game-winning jump shot for North Carolina was a major turning point in his career. In the 1984 draft, Jordan was taken 3rd overall beneath Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie (the drafting of whom is considered the worst draft in North American sports history) by the Chicago Bulls. Jordan’s hype was electric, and his rise into superstar status was rapid, with an immediate turnaround in the Bulls organization coinciding with it. While they were stopped 3-times in a row by the Detroit Pistons, they got over the hump in 1990 and swept them in the Eastern Conference finals, and followed it up with a victory over Los Angeles Lakers. This began the Bulls’ first three-peat, as they won out from 1990-1993 over the Lakers, Trailblazers, and Suns. Jordan retired from basketball for two years, during which he attempted a baseball career. Because of this, the Bulls retired his #23 in 1994, however, nobody anticipated Jordan’s return to the team in 1995. In the 1995 Eastern Conference finals, with Jordan wearing his brother’s #45, Nick Anderson of the Orlando Magic stole the ball from Jordan, leading to the game-winning basket for the team. Anderson commented that “45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to.”. Jordan responded by dropping 38 points in #23 the next night to draw the Bulls level in the series. While they would lose the series, this convinced Jordan to remain in #23 for the remainder of his career. It was the next season in 1996, with the addition of former rival Dennis Rodman, the Bulls had their second three-peat: beating the Seattle Supersonics in 1996 and the Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998. He then had his second retirement in Chicago. While his final stint in Washington was greatly unsuccessful, Jordan’s legacy was already firmly defined in Chicago, and the #23 is a legendary piece of basketball history that nearly every player who dresses in it, credits Jordan for. With the number 23, it was out of the question that the top honors had to go to the 14-time All-Star, 10-time scoring leader, 6-time NBA champion, 6-time NBA finals MVP, 5-time NBA MVP, and the greatest basketball player of all time.
#24 - Kobe Bryant (Honorable Mentions: Jeff Gordon and Willie Mays)
For the worst draft-day trade in sports history, we have to look at the 1996 NBA draft. Legends of the game like Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, and others were all taken by their respective teams, however, there was one major outlier. Kobe Bryant was taken 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac. The Hornets have since been the laughingstock of the NBA for years, and are likely going to remain in their rut for even longer. The legendary tandem of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers back to relevancy following the end of the “Showtime” era. They made the Western Conference finals in 1998 and 1999 and, with Kobe clad in #8, they had their three-peat from 2000-2003 with finals victories over the Indianapolis Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and New Jersey Nets. It was only a final upset by the Detroit Pistons in 2004 that stopped them, and that loss led management to ship O’Neal off to Miami, leaving Kobe to carry the team. After some middling years in the league, 2007 saw a change in Kobe. He left the #8 for #24, citing that he believed that he had grown since his start in the league, and was ready to make a change. It was that #24 (following yet another finals upset, this time by the Boston Celtics) that led the Lakers to back-to-back finals victories in 2009 and 2010. While #6 was always out of reach, Bryant retired with a firm legacy as one of the most influential basketball players of all time. He was a controversial figure, but his brilliance was undeniable, and that brilliance is what propels him to the pedestal as the greatest #24 of all time.
#25 - Barry Bonds (Honorable Mentions: Al Unser Sr. and Mark McGwire)
#25 had to go to the controversial Home Run King of baseball. Barry Bonds began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and immediately made an impact. In 4 years, Bonds won his first MVP, alongside his first Golden Glove, his first Silver Slugger, and the World Series title. However, this began a tough stretch for Pirates fans, as they failed three times in a row to escape the NLCS, and Bonds’ high salary demands ended up landing him in San Francisco. While he initially wanted to wear #24 because it was the number he mainly wore in Pittsburgh as well as his father’s former number with the team, the public commotion around the unretiring of Willie Mays’ legendary number became too much, and he instead took up #25. While he never saw playoff success with the number he did in Pittsburgh, Bonds retained his dominant form and began to crush home run after home run for over a decade with the team until, finally, it happened. On August 7th, 2007, in front of a home crowd, he hit home run #756. Bonds’ legacy will forever be tainted by his use of illicit substances, but in an era where the vast majority of the league used them, is it hard to blame him? His crown may be gold or paper mache based on your views, but we cannot deny that his legacy has stood the test of time as an all-time figure of the legendary San Francisco Giants.
#26 - Wade Boggs (Honorable Mentions: Rod Woodson and Billy Williams)
In our already legendary list, we have yet another player with not one, but two numbers retired during their time in the league. One of the most underrated lefties in baseball history, Wade Boggs began his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1982. Boggs has openly stated that he went with the number 26 for no particular reason, it just stuck out to him. Boggs was one of the top hitters in the league, with his record for consecutive AL seasons with 200+ hits only being surpassed by the legendary Ichiro Suzuki. He brought the Red Sox to the 1986 World Series, where they unfortunately choked away the championship over a miserable two-game stretch. In 1992, he made his way to the rival New York Yankees, where he helped the team achieve their first World Series championship in 18 years in 1996. He finished his career with the expansion Tampa Bay Rays in 1999. Boggs was one of the most elite contact hitters during his time in the league, and his skills as a base hitter propelled him to first-ballot Hall of Fame status in 2005, as well as the face of the number 26 in this list.
#27 - Ayrton Senna (Honorable Mentions: Scott Niedermayer and Vladimir Guerrero)
Throughout all of sports, some names stretch far beyond their discipline. Even if you’ve never watched Formula 1, you know the name Ayrton Senna. Senna had trouble getting into a ride during his first year in the sport, but eventually signed with Lotus for the 1985 season, during which he notched his first pole position and his first win on the same weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix. It was in 1988 that Senna took hold of one of the most iconic rides in Formula 1 history; the McLaren MP4. It was during his 6-year tenure with McLaren that Senna piloted the car to three World Championship titles, losing only to Alain Prost in 1989 and 1993, and Nigel Mansell in 1992. Ayrton’s rise to become the face of sport was electric, as the young driver had a reputation for his hard-nosed driving and his brilliant understanding of the car’s mechanics. Had it not been for his fatal accident in 1993, we would’ve been able to witness the full extent of his greatness. Even with his limited time in the sport, Senna’s legacy was undeniable, and his #27 McLaren is one of the single greatest race cars of all time.
#28 - Marshall Faulk (Honorable Mentions: Steven Gerrard and Darrell Green)
#28 was a very close battle amongst several all-time players, but we ultimately had to go with the St. Louis standout Marshall Faulk. After being a Heisman snub in 1992, Faulk was drafted 2nd overall to the Indianapolis Colts. With the team, he became the first player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP in the same season. While his stay in Indianapolis was tumultuous, he made the career-defining move of becoming a St. Louis Ram in 1999. Faulk became the catalyst for “The Greatest Show on Turf”, as he joined a legendary Rams offense that obliterated the NFL en route to the 1999 Lombardi. However, the lightning-in-the-bottle soon ran out in St. Louis, as Faulk’s injuries began to stack up and led to his early retirement in 2006. While he left the league with a whimper, his efforts were enough for St. Louis to retire his number, as well as the all-time honor of becoming a first-ballot hall-of-famer in Canton. Marshall Faulk’s legacy will be defined by his role in one of the greatest offenses in NFL history and the numerous records he set along the way, unquestionably making him worthy of being the greatest #28 of all time.
#29 - Eric Dickerson (Honorable Mentions: Satchel Paige and John Smoltz)
From Ram to Ram, it’s time to give a spotlight to one of the earlier superstars of the position. After playing his college ball at SMU, Dickerson was drafted by the Rams in 1983 and he got off to a rocketing start, achieving Pro Bowl and Rookie of the Year honors. In year two, Dickerson became a member of the exclusive 2,000 rushing yards club, as well as breaking O.J. Simpson’s record for 100-yard games. After some contract disputes in 1985, Dickerson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1987. Dickerson kept up his form with the Colts for 5 years, before eventually being traded to the Raiders, followed by the Falcons, before ceremoniously retiring as a Ram with a one-day contract in 2017 after being out of the league for 24 years. Dickerson rewrote the standard for what it meant to excel at the runningback position, and his greatness has been the inspiration for many players at the position who followed him over the years. While he gets overshadowed by many members of the runningback generation who succeeded him, Dickerson undoubtedly has earned his place as the greatest #29 of all time.
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