Fun read-- Jersey Numbers

[dmac]

Remember when everyone wore a jersey that had a number 1-5, single or double digits? That's when we were nice to the zebras and they could hold up either 1 or 2 hands to signal the jersey number for the offending player.

who was the first to wear 6-0 on their jersey? I don't remember!

http://www.nba.com/features/behind_the_numbers.html

[Horry For 3!]

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
by Greg Ruder, Spurs.com

Number 20 wasn’t the number of his boyhood idol. It isn’t the day of the month his first-born was born. And it isn’t the number his father wore and passed down to his son.

“I guess you could just say I like the way it looks,” said Manu Ginobili, starting shooting guard for the San Antonio Spurs. “The interesting story is how I came to wear the No. 20 in the first place.”

Ginobili was signed by the San Antonio Spurs on July 18, 2002, after several seasons spent in the Italian league. At the press conference to announce his signing, he actually held up a jersey with the No. 6 on it.

“The only two numbers I have ever worn in my career were No. 6 and No.10. [The Spurs] originally gave me No. 6, but that was only one season after [Dallas Head Coach and former Spurs point guard] Avery Johnson had left the Spurs, and there was an outcry from the fans who supported Avery in San Antonio," says Ginobli.

Not wanting to start off his NBA career on a bad note in a new city, Ginobili willingly gave up the No. 6 and asked instead for the No. 10. The Spurs, however, had other ideas.

“[The Spurs] told me that they had just given No.10 to Speedy Claxton (signed June 26, 2002) a couple weeks before, so at that point I really didn’t have a preference. So like I said before, I guess I thought that the No. 20 just looked good, so that’s what I took!”

[samikeyp]

Nice read. Numbers always facinate me so I like to hear the stories behind them. When the NBA started...a lot of players had funny numbers (i.e. Mikan's 99) then the trend went to the "1-5" set and in the last 10 years or so....more players are busting out with non-traditional numbers. In the NCAA and high school you have to have a "1-5" for the reason dmac said. FIBA rules allow 1-15.

[slayermin]

Mike Schmidt wore no. 20.

[Darrin]

FYI:

Lindsey Hunter wears number 10 in tribute to his younger brother who passed away in 2001. He originally wore Chauncey Billups' number 1 in his first stint with the Pistons (1993-2000).