Uniform numbers

[Steviek]

Something I always ask is this: I believe that in 1973 they outlawed that new defensive linemen wore numbers from 80-89, so why Phil Tabor was assigned number 80 in 1979 by the Giants?

Great question, I always wondered about that as well. Also, Brad Van Pelt came into the league as a LB in 1973, but was allowed to wear #10. I think he got away with that because he was listed as either a backup kicker or punter, and was allowed to continue to wear it throughout the rest of his career.

There are a few others. Michael Morton, a return specialist, wore #1 with the Bucs in 1982-83. His natural position was a RB, but I guess he also "gamed" the rule by being called a "specialist", a category shared with QBs, Ks and Ps.

Michael Jackson, the Browns WR (who incidentally played one game as Michael Dyson to honor his father), was somehow allowed to wear #1 for his first two seasons in the league in 1991-92, before switching to #81 in 1993.

I also recall seeing a few obscure backup WRs wear numbers in the high teens in the early '90s when teams ran out of numbers in the '80s, well before the WR number rule was adjusted.

[JWL]

Mike Pritchard wore 35 in the 1990s even though he was always listed as a WR to my knowledge.

[TodMaher]

Are 0 or 00 allowed again? I thought that was cool.

I also liked it very much when Ken Burrough wore 00. The thing that I most liked is that he was the only player at that time (1975-1981) who wore that number, and most interestingly, I never heard a sportscaster quoting the reason why he was allowed to have that number in the first place.

The current system started in 1973, pre-1973 players kept their old numbers.

[TodMaher]

What I want to know is why Denard Robinson still wears 16. He wore it his rookie year because he was listed as a QB. That experiment is over, though.

He's a wide receiver and wide receivers are allowed to wear that number.

Okay, so now he is a receiver. I did not know that. I had thought he was still a running back.

He was officially listed on the depth charts as a WR his rookie year (2013), last year they listed him as RB, and now he's back to WR.

[conace21]

In practice, players often wore college numbers.
Reggie Bush wore 5, Randy Moss wore 18 with the Vikings, and Deion and Charles Woodson wore 2.

Keyshaw Johnson wanted to wear 3, but when he wasn't allowed, he took 19 since no numbers in the 80's were available. An 80's number opened up in the regular season, but he was allowed to keep 19.