Unretired number?

February 26, 2009 7:45 PM

Has any athlete ever had their number un-retired?

The only one I can think of is Jackie Robinson; but that is/was a tribute. Any athletes so disgraced that their school/team took their number down from the wall/rafters?

posted by beukeboom to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

Brett Hull's was unretired so his son could wear it.
Mario Lemieux's was unretired so he himself could have it when he made his comeback.
Stev Largent's was unretired and given to Jerry Rice when he joined the Seahawks.
Gary Carter's was unretired when the Expos moved to Washington - they gave it to another player.

thx google
posted by iconomy at 7:52 PM on February 26, 2009

Johnny Bench's number 5 (Cincinatti Reds) had been previously unretired when the previous wearer committed suicide - Willard Herschberger.
posted by kirstk at 8:00 PM on February 26, 2009

I believe Michael Jordan's #23 was retired after he retired the first time. At first he wore #45 whe he made his comeback but he switched back to #23 and he was fined for it.
posted by thekiltedwonder at 8:49 PM on February 26, 2009

The Toronto Maple Leafs only retired Ace Baily's number in 1933, all the other numbers raised to the rafters have been declared "honoured numbers" which can be reused if anyone can fit the shoes. Google it for details, I'm on my phone.
posted by furtive at 2:34 AM on February 27, 2009

When Barry Bonds went to the Giants, his godfather Willie Mays offered his #24, his usual number, but he declined so that he could wear #25, which is what his father Bobby wore while in San Francisco.
posted by BarnacleKB at 5:16 AM on February 27, 2009

The Toronto Maple Leafs only retired Ace Baily's number in 1933, all the other numbers raised to the rafters have been declared "honoured numbers" which can be reused if anyone can fit the shoes. Google it for details, I'm on my phone.

A slight correction: In addition to Ace Bailey's #6, the Maple Leafs have also retired the #5 of Bill Barilko, who this generation of Canadians knows as the subject of the Tragically Hip's "Fifty Mission Cap".

Speaking of hockey, when Brett Hull signed with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2004, the franchise unretired #9 for him, which had been previously worn by his father, Bobby Hull, when the team was still the Winnipeg Jets.
posted by heffalump at 7:31 AM on February 27, 2009

Also, the Detroit Red Wings retired Larry Aurie's #6 in 1938 under then-owner James Norris, and Aurie's jersey was displayed in the arena until the 1960s. Before the 2000-2001 season, team owner Mike Ilitch ordered it removed from the official list of retired numbers, and he won't explain why. Despite pleas from Aurie's family, the Red Wings have declined to hang Aurie's jersey in the rafters with other retired numbers, although his number has been kept out of circulation, having been reissued only once, to Aurie's nephew, Cummy Burton.

What Ilitch has against Aurie is utterly inexplicable, mostly because he won't explain it.
posted by heffalump at 7:42 AM on February 27, 2009

Okay, just a little more hockey. These numbers were retired by NHL franchises but then placed back in circulation when those teams moved to different cities (which is, frankly, pretty lame):

Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche)
#3 J. C. Tremblay
#8 Marc Tardif
#16 Michel Goulet
#26 Peter Stasny

Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes)
#2 Rick Ley
#9 Gordie Howe
#19 John McKenzie
posted by heffalump at 7:51 AM on February 27, 2009

Clarifications to iconomy's response:

Mario Lemieux's number was never retired. By the definition of jersey retirement, he was (and, still is) the only person permitted to wear #66 for the Penguins.

Steve Largent didn't have his number unretired. Rather, he personally granted an exception to Jerry Rice, which the Seahawks honored, to permit him to wear #80.
posted by Citrus at 9:03 AM on February 27, 2009

"[Wayne] Maki played two and a half seasons with Vancouver until being diagnosed with brain cancer in December 1972. He died on May 1, 1974, aged only 29. The Canucks unofficially retired his Number 11 jersey until Mark Messier, who had worn Number 11 with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers, joined the team."
posted by philfromhavelock at 4:13 PM on February 27, 2009

"Prior to the 1968-69 schedule, former Maple Leafs great Irvine "Ace" Bailey insisted that [Ron] Ellis wear his retired number 6 because he admired his high-caliber yet clean style of play."
posted by philfromhavelock at 4:16 PM on February 27, 2009

"When Guy Lapointe joined the Boston Bruins this season, it seemed only natural to assign him jersey No. 5, the number the defenseman had worn during his years with the Montreal Canadiens. It may have been natural, but the decision dismayed some Boston fans, especially relatives of the late Dit Clapper, who had worn No. 5 as a member of the Bruin teams that won the Stanley Cup in 1929, 1939 and 1941."
posted by philfromhavelock at 4:18 PM on February 27, 2009