We’ve all heard the saying “it’s all in the numbers,” and nowhere does that hold more true than in the world of sports. Win-loss records. Statistics. Time keeping. The very foundation of sport itself is built on keeping things in order via numbers.
There’s another area where numbers play a very important role in sports—for some fans more than others—and that’s in the area of player identification or jersey numbers as they are more commonly called.
Fans buy replica jerseys with a player’s number on them. Public address announcers give starting lineups with numbers included. TV analysts tell us what’s going on by calling out numbers, and the list goes on and on.
So now that we’ve established that numbers are an indispensable part of sports, let’s have a little fun with them.
A long, long time ago when I was the editor of Saints Digest, the official team fan magazine of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, I compiled list of who I thought was the best player to ever wear a particular black-and-gold number. And that was interesting because in their first season of 1967, the Saints had a player named Obert Logan who wore…you guessed it…No. 0.
As I started thinking back on this, I immediately thought it would be a fun challenge to come up with the same type of list for some of the college football teams we spotlight at Hall & Arena, and in a snap, 20-25 Alabama Crimson Tide players came immediately to mind.
Since I don’t believe Bama has ever had a player wear No. 0. what follows is my list of Alabama greats by jersey number 1 to 99. And for the numbers that have been sported by a handful of greats, I will include honorable mentions (HM).
And away we go…
1 — Al Bell
2 — Jalen Hurts; HM: David “The Deuce” Palmer, Pierre Goode
3 — Van Tiffin; HM: Trent Richardson, Calvin Ridley
4 — Joey Jones; HM: Mark Barron, Tyrone Prothro
5 — Andrew Zow; HM: Roy Upchurch
6 — Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix; HM: Blake Sims
7 — Jay Barker
8 — Julio Jones; HM: Greg Gantt
9 — Amari Cooper; HM: Freddie Kitchens
10 — A.J. McCarron; HM: Walter Lewis, Bart Starr
11 — Mike Shula
12 — Joe Namath; HM: Pat Trammell
13 — Tua Tagovailoa; HM: George Teague, David Smith,
14 — Richard Todd; HM: Gary Hollingsworth, Steve Sloan, Jake Coker
15 — Tommy Wilcox; HM: Mal Moore, Freddie Milons
16 — Paul Ott Carruth
17 — Philip Doyle; HM: Greg Richardson, Kenyan Drake
18 — Reggie Ragland
19 — Jeremiah Castille
20 — Sherman Williams
21 — Dre’ Kirkpatrick; HM: Freddie Robinson
22 — Mark Ingram: HM: Johnny Musso, Tony Nathan
23 — Reggie Myles
24 — Kevin Turner
25 — Linnie Patrick; HM: Rolando McClain, Derrick Lassic
26 — Bobby Humphrey; HM: Ricky Moore, Landon Collins
27 — Siran Stacy
28 — Don McNeal; HM: Javier Arenas, Dee Milliner
29 — Minka Fitzpatrick; HM: John Mangum
30 — Dont’a Hightower; HM: Steve Bowman
31 — Sam Shade
32 — C.J. Mosley
33 — Anfernee Jennings
34 — Damian Harris; HM: Robert Stewart
35 — Kerry Goode; HM: DeMeco Ryans
36 — Chris Goode
37 — Shawn Alexander; HM: Rory Turner
38 — Glen Coffee
39 — E.J. Junior
40 — David Ray
41 — Courtney Upshaw; HM: Roman Harper, Vaughn Mancha
42 — Major Ogilvie; HM: Eddie Lacy
43 — Antonio Langham
44 — Craig Turner
45 — Murry Hill
46 — Joe Carter
47 — Woodrow Lowe
48 — Desmond Holoman
49 — Rashard Johnson
50 — Wayne Hall
51 — Evan Mathis; HM: Tommy Cole
52 — Harry Gilmer
53 — Jimmy Carroll
54 — Wes Neighbors
55 — Derrick Thomas
56 — Greg Gilbert
57 — Dwight Stephenson; HM: Marcel Dareus
58 — Wayne Davis
59 — George Bethune
60 — Chris Samuels
61 — Tobie Sheils
62 — Terrence Cody
63 — Jim Bunch
64 — Mike Burkett
65 — Chance Warmack
66 — Roger Shultz
67 — Joe Dismuke
68 — Will Friend
69 — Jon Stevenson
70 — Ryan Kelly; HM: Wesley Britt
71 — Andre Smith; HM: Cyrus Kouandjio, Ross Pierschbacher
72 — Willard Scissum
73 — John Hannah; HM: Billy Neighbors
74 — Cam Robinson
75 — Barrett Jones; Griff Redmill
76 — D.J. Fluker
77 — Barry Krauss; HM: Bill Condon, James Carpenter
78 — Jon Hand
79 — Byron Holdbrooks
80 — Wilbur Jackson; HM: Eric Curry
81 — Mike Pitts; HM: Lamonde Russell
82 — Ozzie Newsome; HM: Irv Smith Jr., Clay Whitehurst
83 — Kevin Norwood
84 — Bill Battle
85 — Howard Cross
86 — Keith McCants
87 — Dwayne Rudd
88 — Ray Perkins; HM: Jesse Bendross, O.J. Howard
89 — Kris Mangum
90 — Thomas Boyd
91 — Bob Baumhower
92 — Quinnen Williams
93 — Marty Lyons; HM: Jonathan Allen
94 — Sylvester Croom; HM: John Copeland
95 — Curt Jarvis
96 — Randy Edwards
97 — John Mitchell; HM: Cornelius Bennett
98 — Jackie Cline
99 — Raekwon Davis
And there you have it. This list is certainly not complete, but it is comprehensive dating from the 1931 season when Bama began putting numbers on jerseys. It should also be noted that some Alabama standouts like Derrick Henry, Lee Roy Jordan and even Kenny “The Snake” Stabler wore multiple jersey numbers during their time at the Capstone so for purposes of this list they were not included at either number.
This list is also very much a subject for debate because, well that’s what these kinds of listings are really for if truth be told. So scour it, toss it around, and let me know if I’ve missed someone. If you like the list, let me know. If you disagree with any selections, by all means leave me a comment and let me know that, too.
It’s been fun putting this together and taking a trip down memory lane as I did so, but I’m really interested to see if any of you diehard Bama fans out there have strong opinions about it one way or the other. With that said, the floor is open, the debate begins, and I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say. H&A
Cover photo: Kerry Goode (35)
