Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
Gordie Howe said he took #9 because of road trips. Players were accommodated on the train in numerical order, and low numbers got all the lower berths. As a rookie he wore #21, I think, and got an upper berth.
With a number like 99, you were probably dragged behind the train on a rope.
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Yup, that's why goalies always wore #1 and the d-men typically wore 2-7. Sometimes a forward would get #7 and the other top forwards would get 8 and 9.
I find it interesting that even though NHL teams haven't regularly taken overnight trains on road trips in decades, it's still rare to see a forward wearing a low single-digit number, and I don't know if any non-goalie has ever worn #1.