Why didn't the league retire #4 league wide like they did with #99?...
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.
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Originally Posted by Textcritic
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.
Wilf Paiement
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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.
Well, technically there was 5 players to have worn #99. The first three all played for the Canadiens in the same season, way back in the 1934/35 season.
Well, technically there was 5 players to have worn #99. The first three all played for the Canadiens in the same season, way back in the 1934/35 season.
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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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.
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.
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