Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
Why didn't the league retire #4 league wide like they did with #99?...
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The League could never retire #4 on the basis of its popularity. Virtually every team is likely to have a player wearing #4 most of the time and will boast numerous players throughout its history who have worn the number, even as far back as when Bobby Orr played.
#99 is entirely different. At the time Gretzky wore the number it had been worn by one (?) other player. By the time Gretzky had played a couple years and was so closely identified with the number no one else would have presumed to wear it. Simply put, by the law of averages #99 was a far easier number to retire than #4. But I suspect it will also be the last number the League retires.