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Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking thenumber formerly worn on their uniform out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future player from the team may wear it, unless the original player permits it; however, in many cases the number cannot be used at all. Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances,[1] or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers includebaseball,cricket,[1]ice hockey,basketball,American football, andassociation football. Retired numbers are often referred to as "hanging from the rafters" as they are so displayed in the team's home venue, either emblazoned on jerseys with the players' names or made into appropriately colored/styled banners.[2]
The first number officially retired by a team in a professional sport was that ofice hockey playerAce Bailey, whose number 6 was retired by theToronto Maple Leafs in 1934.[3]
Some teams in sports with eleven players per side (such asassociation andgridiron football) have retired number 12 in honor of their fans, or the "twelfth man".[4] Similarly, theSacramento Kings andOrlando Magic retired number 6 in honor of their fans, the "sixth man". A team may decide to retire a number in honor of tragedies involving the team's city or state. For example, the number 58 was retired in 2018 by theVegas Golden Knights hockey team in honor of the 58 victims killed in the2017 Las Vegas shooting.[5]
If a jersey is retired and an active player is still wearing it, the player is usuallypermitted to wear the number for the remainder of their playing career with that team. If the player later becomes a coach or manager for the same team, and if the sport is one in which coaches and managers wear uniform numbers, then the player may wear the retired number for the duration of their career with the team in this capacity.
However, in some cases, the player may still elect to change their number. For instance, in 1987 theBoston Bruins of theNational Hockey League decided to retire jersey number 7 in honor ofPhil Esposito, who had become a star while playing for the team. At the time #7 belonged toRay Bourque, who was the Bruins' captain and had become a star in his own right. On the night of the ceremony honoring Esposito, Bourque took to the ice wearing his normal #7 jersey, which he had worn since breaking into the league in 1979. He skated over to the Hall of Famer, took off his #7 jersey, and handed it to Esposito in what was referred to as Bourque's "surrendering" of #7 to Esposito. Underneath was a jersey numbered 77, which would become as associated with Bourque as #7 had been with Esposito in Boston.[6] Bourque's new jersey number would eventually join Esposito's in the rafters ofTD Garden, as the Bruins retired his #77 following his 2001 retirement.
In rare cases, a number may be retired because of the player's endeavors in other fields. For example, former college football starGerald Ford's number 48 was retired by theUniversity of Michigan football squad under his future career as the 38thPresident of the United States.[7]
Teams also take numbers out of circulation without formally retiring them, though it is generally understood that those numbers will never be issued again. For example, thePittsburgh Steelers have only officially retired three numbers:Ernie Stautner's #70,Joe Greene's #75 andFranco Harris' #32.[8] However, they have not reissued the numbers of several of their greatest players since they retired, and it is understood that no Steeler will ever wear them again. For example, Bradshaw's #12 had not been reissued since he retired in 1984. Similarly, except for a pair of quarterbacks in the mid-1980s, theGreen Bay Packers have not re-issuedPaul Hornung's number 5 since he departed from the team following the 1966 season. TheDallas Cowboys do not officially retire numbers, but it is generally understood thatRoger Staubach's #12,Bob Lilly's #74,Troy Aikman's #8, andEmmitt Smith's #22 will never be issued again (though the Cowboys have occasionally used Lilly's 74 in the preseason). Additionally, afterPeyton Manning was released by theIndianapolis Colts, ownerJim Irsay stated that no Colt would ever wear Manning's #18 again, though it was not officially retired until 2017.[9][10][11] After he departed from the team in 2004, the Lakers removedShaquille O'Neal's #34 from circulation, only officially retiring it in 2013.[12]
Some teams either formally or informally take a jersey out of circulation when a player dies or has their career ended by serious injury or disease. For instance, between 1934 and 2016, theToronto Maple Leafs only retired a player's number if he experienced a career-ending incident while playing for the team. As a result, they had only retired two jerseys in their history during that time;Ace Bailey's #6 was retired after he suffered a career-ending head injury[13] andBill Barilko's #5 was retired after his disappearance and presumed death on a fishing trip (his death was confirmed years later with the discovery of the wreckage of the plane on which he was flying).[13] TheNew York Yankees retiredLou Gehrig's #4 after he was forced to retire due toamyotrophic lateral sclerosis. TheNew York Jets did not reissue the #90 ofDennis Byrd following a career-ending neck injury, and it was understood long before its formal retirement in 2012 that no Jet would ever wear it again.[14] Similarly, afterWayne Chrebet was forced to retire after suffering multiple concussions, the Jets took his #80 out of circulation but have not yet retired it; Byrd andCurtis Martin were the most recent Jets to have their numbers retired as both were done on the same day. AfterMagic Johnson retired because of his HIV disease, the Lakers retired his jersey #32.
In 2008,Princeton University retired the number 42 for allPrinceton Tigers sports teams in honor ofBill Bradley andHeisman Trophy winnerDick Kazmaier.[15]UCLA retired the same number in 2014 for allBruins sports teams in honor ofJackie Robinson, who had played in four sports at the school before hisHall of Fame baseball career. Although Robinson never wore #42 at UCLA, the school chose it because of its indelible identification with Robinson.[16]
In2011,Michigan Wolverines football unretired all of the numbers that it had retired to create legends jerseys worn by its best players. The unretired jerseys wereBennie Oosterbaan's No. 47,Gerald Ford's No. 48,Ron Kramer's No. 87, The Wistert Brothers' (Whitey Wistert,Al Wistert,Alvin Wistert) No. 11 andTom Harmon's No. 98.[17][18] In2015, the Legends program was discontinued, and the numbers re-retired.[19]
On December 18, 2017,Kobe Bryant became the only player to have had two numbers (8, 24) retired by the same franchise,Los Angeles Lakers.[20]
Sometimes, if a player had been part of multiple franchises, both may elect to retire the number the player used per team. For example,Hank Aaron has the number 44 retired by both theAtlanta Braves and theMilwaukee Brewers both because of his achievements and because he wore the same number for both teams.
In some cases, a team may retire a number in honor of a player that never played for them out of respect. Following Bryant's Kobe death in 2020, theDallas Mavericks announced that number 24 would no longer be issued by the team (despite Bryant spending his entire career with the Lakers). While the number has not been issued since then, it is not honored in the rafters as an official retired number.[21] Similarly, theNew Orleans Pelicans retired number 7 in honor ofPete Maravich's basketball contributions to the state of Louisiana, both during his college career atLouisiana State University (LSU) and his professional career with the city's former NBA team, theNew Orleans Jazz.[22] In addition, from their establishment in 2004, theCharlotte Bobcats did not issue number 13 out of respect toBobby Phills, who played with the city's former NBA team, theCharlotte Hornets, who had already retired the number in 2000. In 2013, the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to the Pelicans. The following year, the Bobcats also re-branded, bringing the Hornets name back to Charlotte. Additionally, the original Charlotte Hornets' history from 1988 to 2002 was transferred to the renamed team. In 2014, the Pelicans returned the number to circulation, while the new Hornets had the number retired; it currently hangs from the rafters of theSpectrum Center.[23][24] In the2016–17 season,Cheick Diallo became the first Pelicans player to wear #13 after its reactivation.[25]
Three players in the major North American sports leagues have had their numbers retired by all teams in their respective leagues, those beingJackie Robinson, the first Black player in the modern era ofMajor League Baseball,Wayne Gretzky, argued by many to be the greatest hockey player in NHL history,[26][27] andBill Russell, the most successful player in NBA history in terms of total championship wins.
Robinson had hisnumber 42 retired league-wide in 1997. However, players who were wearing the number at the time werepermitted to retain it for the duration of their careers, if they chose to do so.Mariano Rivera, the last remaining player to wear the number, retired at the end of the2013 season. April 15 has been designated asJackie Robinson Day to honor the anniversary of Robinson's MLB debut; on this day, all players, managers, coaches, and umpires wear 42.
Wayne Gretzky, who retired as theNational Hockey League's all-time leader in goals, points, and assists, had his number 99 retired league-wide at the2000 NHL All-Star Game.[28] On August 11, 2022, the NBA announced that it would retireBill Russell's number 6 jersey league-wide,[29] allowing players already wearing the number to continue to do so.
Association football has a far shorter history of players wearing squad numbers; from the introduction of numbers of shirts in the 1930s until the 1990s, the players on a team almost always wore numbers 1 to 11, irrespective of which players were selected. This meant that players often wore many different numbers during their time with a club and even during the same season, and were not as readily associated with a specific number as players in North American sports. Nonetheless, some star players were associated with a particular number and this, along with squad numbers becoming more common since the 1990s, has led some clubs to retire numbers.
AS Roma,AC Milan,Ajax,Birmingham City,Inter Milan,Napoli,Liverpool,Manchester City,Lens,Lyon,Nantes andSwansea City have all retired shirt numbers; Milan retiringFranco Baresi's #6 shirt andPaolo Maldini's #3 shirt (with the caveat that one of Maldini's sons can wear the shirt if they play professionally for the club).[31] Swansea retired the shirt number ofBesian Idrizaj after his death from a suspected heart attack. Manchester City, Lens and Lyon all retired the shirt number ofMarc-Vivien Foé after his death on the field in the2003 Confederations Cup. Liverpool retired the #20 shirt ofDiogo Jota after his death in a car accident in July 2025.
FIFA have rejected all attempts by national teams to retire numbers due to its rules which included teams must be numbered consecutively in official competitions such as theWorld Cup.[32] These include theCameroon national team attempting to retire Foé's number,Argentina and the #10 ofDiego Maradona,[32] andThe Netherlands and the #14 ofJohan Cruyff.
InAustralian rules football, some clubs may exercise the right to retire a particularguernsey number, either to honour a past player or to simply cease use of the number. Examples include theHawthorn Football Club, who retired their No. 1 guernsey prior to the beginning of the2011 AFL season as the tribute to the fans, according to Max Bailey, the last person to wear the #1 guernsey, had his career cut short by multiple injuries to his right knee, and thanked the fans in his comeback attempts, and theCollingwood Football Club, who retired their No. 42 guernsey in honour ofDarren Millane, a Collingwood premiership player who was killed in a car crash in 1991.[33]
InNASCAR, only once has a number been unofficially retired; that is in theWhelen Modified Tour, where number 61 is retired forRichie Evans after his death in 1985. NASCAR unofficially retired the number 3 in honour ofDale Earnhardt Sr. after hisdeath on the track at the2001 Daytona 500. Following his death, Earnhardt's old team changed to the number 29, and the replacement driver (Kevin Harvick) drove the 29 car through the 2013 season.Dale Earnhardt Jr. made two special appearances in a number 3 car in theBusch Series in 2002 and again in the renamed Nationwide Series on 2 July 2010 at Daytona, but otherwise the number 3 was absent from all three national touring series until 2009, whenAustin Dillon drove a number 3 in theCamping World Truck Series.[34] Dillon is the grandson of Earnhardt's longtime friend and car ownerRichard Childress, and he drives forRichard Childress Racing. After winning the Truck Series title in2011, he drove the #3 car in theNationwide Series in 2012 and 2013, and returned the number to theCup Series in 2014 when he began competing full-time in that series for RCR.Ty Dillon, Austin's brother (another grandson of Childress), ran the number 3 in the Camping World Truck Series and began driving the number 3 in the Nationwide Series, now known as the Xfinity Series, in 2014.[35]
From 2004 to 2006, drivers in theInternational Race of Champions used their numbers from their primary racing series. However, the #3 was retired as a result of Earnhardt's death and any driver who drove the #3 in their primary racing series would drive #03 instead. As such,Hélio Castroneves, who drives #3 in theIndyCar Series, drove the #03.
Following the 198924 Hours of Daytona, months after his fatal plane crash,IMSA retiredAl Holbert's #14.[36]
CART retired the use of #99 after the fatal accident ofGreg Moore in 1999. However, since theIndyCar Series unification took place in 2008, that recognition has since been abandoned. For a brief time during the early-mid 1990s, CART unofficially retired #14 (in honor ofA. J. Foyt), allowing it only to be carried only by an entry ofA. J. Foyt Enterprises. After the open wheel split in 1996, the rule in CART competition was lifted.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing retired the use of #74 after the fatal accident ofDaijiro Kato in 2003, #48 after the fatal accident ofShoya Tomizawa in 2010, #58 after the accident ofMarco Simoncelli at theSepang Circuit in 2011, and #39 after the death ofLuis Salom at theCircuit de Catalunya in 2016. In January 2019, #69 was retired in honour ofNicky Hayden, who died in a cycling accident in May 2017. In 2021 number 50 was retired in honour ofJason Dupasquier who was killed after an accident at theMugello Circuit.[37]
TheFormula One World Championship, which has allowed drivers to choose their own permanent number since the 2014 season, retired the use of #17 after the death ofJules Bianchi in 2015, caused by critical injuries sustained in a crash at the2014 Japanese Grand Prix.[38] Additionally, no drivers are allowed to use #1 as it is reserved for the defending champion, regardless of whether they use it or not. A driver's permanent number can only be reallocated two consecutive seasons after their last race.[39]
TheFIA Formula 2 Championship, formerly known as theGP2 Series, retired #19 after the death ofAnthoine Hubert in a crash during the2019 Spa-Francorchamps FIA Formula 2 round.[40][41]
TheFIA World Rally Championship, which has allowed drivers to choose their own number since the 2019,[42] retired the use of #42 after the death ofCraig Breen in 2023 during the test for2023 Croatia Rally.[43][44]
Australian Cricket retiredPhillip Hughes' One-Day International shirt number, 64, in remembrance of him, after his death during a match in 2014.[1]
In 2017, BCCI unofficially retiredSachin Tendulkar's One-Day International shirt number 10.[45]
TheCricket Association of Nepal retiredParas Khadka's shirt number, 77, following the retirement of the country's most successful captain in August 2021.[46]
In other sports such asRugby League andRugby Union, despite the long history of the games, it used to be the case that because each number represents the particular positions on the field, the retirement of jersey numbers was impossible. However, as more leagues have gone over the use of squad numbers the retirement of numbers is now possible. The first recorded example in Rugby League was in May 2015 whenKeighley Cougars withdrew number 6 following the death ofDanny Jones during a match.[47]
Following the death of former playerRoger Millward,Hull Kingston Rovers withdrew the number 6 shirt Millward used to wear.Terry Campese who had been allocated that number for 2016 was allocated squad number 32 instead.[48] In December 2024, Hull Kingston Rovers announced that the number 6 shirt had been 'unretired' for use bySteve Prescott MBE Man of SteelMikey Lewis from the2025 season onwards.[49]
In 2014, theNewcastle Knights retired the number 16 jersey for every game from Round 4, following a career-ending neck injury toAlex McKinnon that left him a quadriplegic.
InFinnish ice hockey, if a player's number is retired, family members can use the retired number if they play for the same organization.Timo Nummelin had his number 3 retired byTPS, and later his son,Petteri Nummelin, wore number 3 for the team.[50]
Following the death ofWouter Weylandt in the2011 Giro d'Italia cycle race, organizers decided that they would not reassign Weylandt's bib number of 108 in future editions of the race.[51]
In December 2020, following the death of professional wrestlerJon Huber, who wrestled under the ring name "Mr. Brodie Lee" in the American promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), the promotion retired the red strap version of theAEW TNT Championship belt that had been used up to that point in honor of Huber, who was the championship's second title holder; the belt was given to Huber's eldest son.[52] A black strap version of the championship is now used.[53]
In ceremonies beforeGermany's opening game ofEuroBasket 2022 againstFrance on September 2 inCologne, theGerman Basketball Federation retired the #14 that Hall of FamerDirk Nowitzki[a] had worn for the men's national team. Since then, a replica of Nowitzki's jersey has hung from the arena rafters at all Germany men's home games.[54]
On June 3rd 2019, the Pleasant Valley High School held the Schyler Herman Memorial Soccer Game. The varsity goalkeeper's jersey and number, double zero (00), was retired. Making her the last Pleasant Valley athlete to wear the number. Schyler Herman passed from ALL/AML Leukemia on October 31, 2018 at 10:47PM.[55]
In 2006,singer-songwriterBilly Joel became the first person outside sport to be awarded a retired number in the history ofMadison Square Garden,New York. The number chosen (12) equalled the number of performances he gave there between January 23 and April 24, which broke the venue's record for the most consecutive sold-out concerts by an artist during the same tour (the previous best of 10 shows was set byBruce Springsteen in 2000).[56][57]
Media related toRetired numbers at Wikimedia Commons
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