There’s the awkward deal in Arizona, where the Cardinals have decided that No. 99 isn’t retired after all. That number previously was put away in honor of Marshall Goldberg. Now it’s being dusted off and issued to J.J. Watt.
That move comes with the blessing of Goldberg’s daughter, who says he was a big fan of the game for his entire life and would be honored to have it worn by a player of Watt’s stature. Watt indicates he intends to honor Goldberg this season.
This is all fine, in my opinion. Most fans don’t have any idea who Marshall Goldberg is. If this causes many to be exposed to his story, I consider that to be a good thing.
Goldberg was a college standout in the ‘30s, winning a pair of national titles with Pitt. His single-season school rushing record there lasted until Tony Dorsett broke it in 1974. He played eight years with the Chicago Cardinals, helping them to their last NFL title (in 1947). He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the Navy in World War II.
But this case serves as a reminder that teams should probably be more selective when retiring numbers. Players who seem like all-time kind of guys today, after all, won’t necessarily be viewed the same 30, 40 or 50 years from now. Consider the New England Patriots. They’ve retired seven numbers. But now they’ve won six Super Bowls, with about 100 players who are more notable careers than either Jim Lee Hunt or Bob Dee.
The Saints have been the worst franchise at retiring numbers. The two numbers they retired belong to two players who combined to play only four seasons for them. Jim Taylor and Doug Atkins did their best work with other teams; neither is now one of the 300 most notable players in that franchise’s history.
I’m of the school of thought that it’s better to not retire numbers at all. Brazil and Argentina’s soccer teams, after all, haven’t retired No. 10, but nobody’s forgetting Pele or Maradona. The Cowboys didn’t retire 88, but that hasn’t diminished Drew Pearson or Michael Irvin; instead, you think about those guys when CeeDee Lamb is catching passes.
I looked over the list of 154 players who’ve had their numbers retired by teams. That’s according to the 2020 NFL Record & Fact Book. Of those 154, I would say there are 59 who are not familiar to 80 percent of fans. That is, I don’t think four of five fans can correctly identify what team guys like Ward Cuff, Stone Johnson, Jim Norton and Don Fleming played for. Or if they can vaguely recall what team they were with, they don’t know the player’s position, or the years that he played.
Doak Walker, for one example, is a name we all know. There’s the Doak Walker Award for college’s top running back. But I don’t think most fans have any recollection or knowledge of him playing for the Lions.
I put George Halas on this list. He’s still the most important Chicago Bear of all time – the father of that franchise -- but his greatness comes from his work as a coach and owner rather than for anything he did as a player. So I would argue against the No. 7 being retired by that team.
I am not, to clarify, suggesting that all of these players aren’t worthy. They can be debated on a case-by-case basis. But in general, I would say there are a good number of misses when it comes to retiring numbers.
| GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN? | ||
|---|---|---|
| No | Player | Team |
| 1 | Ray Flaherty | N.Y. Giants |
| 3 | Tony Canadeo | Green Bay |
| 4 | Tuffy Leemans | N.Y. Giants |
| 5 | George McAfee | Chicago |
| 7 | George Halas | Chicago |
| 7 | Dutch Clark | Detroit |
| 7 | Bob Waterfield | L.A. Rams |
| 7 | Mel Hein | N.Y. Giants |
| 8 | Larry Wilson | Arizona |
| 14 | Ward Cuff | N.Y. Giants |
| 15 | Steve Van Buren | Philadelphia |
| 18 | Frank Tripucka | Denver |
| 18 | Emmitt Thomas | Kansas City |
| 20 | Gino Cappelletti | New England |
| 20 | Lem Barney | Detroit |
| 22 | Buddy Young | Indianapolis |
| 28 | Willie Galimore | Chicago |
| 28 | Abner Haynes | Kansas City |
| 31 | Jim Taylor | New Orleans |
| 32 | Al Blozis | N.Y. Giants |
| 33 | Stone Johnson | Kansas City |
| 34 | Joe Perry | San Francisco |
| 36 | Mack Lee Hill | Kansas City |
| 37 | Doak Walker | Detroit |
| 37 | Jimmy Johnson | San Francisco |
| 39 | Hugh McElhenny | San Francisco |
| 40 | Joe Morrison | N.Y. Giants |
| 40 | Mike Haynes | New England |
| 40 | Tom Brookshier | Philadelphia |
| 42 | Charlie Conerly | N.Y. Giants |
| 43 | Jim Norton | Tennessee |
| 44 | Pete Retzlaff | Philadelphia |
| 45 | Ernie Davis | Cleveland |
| 46 | Don Fleming | Cleveland |
| 50 | Ken Strong | N.Y. Giants |
| 54 | Bob Johnson | Cincinnati |
| 56 | Bill Hewitt | Chicago |
| 56 | Joe Schmidt | Detroit |
| 57 | Steve Nelson | New England |
| 61 | Bill George | Chicago |
| 65 | Elvin Bethea | Tennessee |
| 66 | Bulldog Turner | Chicago |
| 70 | Art Donovan | Indianapolis |
| 70 | Al Wistert | Philadelphia |
| 70 | Ernie Stautner | Pittsburgh |
| 70 | Charlie Krueger | San Francisco |
| 73 | Leo Nomellini | San Francisco |
| 77 | Stan Mauldin | Arizona |
| 77 | Jim Parker | Indianapolis |
| 78 | Bobby Bell | Kansas City |
| 78 | Bruce Armstrong | New England |
| 79 | Jim Lee Hunt | New England |
| 79 | Bob St. Clair | San Francisco |
| 81 | Doug Atkins | New Orleans |
| 86 | Buck Buchanan | Kansas City |
| 88 | J.V. Cain | Arizona |
| 89 | Gino Marchetti | Indianapolis |
| 89 | Bob Dee | New England |
| 99 | Marshall Goldberg | Arizona |