Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Watching the ND@BYU game and seeing Cougars' QB, Bear Bachmeier, wearing #47 inspires this.

Of course Otto Graham wore #60 early on until the NFL, early in his NFL career, instituted new rules to change that. Marion Motley wore #76 - a very strange # for a running back but also for a linebacker - or was it strange for a LB early on? I assume his changing his number to #36 was at the same time the NFL instituted the aforementioned new jersey # rules.

Doug Flutie wore #22 in college but not the case in the NFL. Sure-enough Bear will have to change his # (or maybe, possibly, not).

Not just QBs but any other positions in-general, a player wearing a unique jersey number. William Gholston wore #2 at Mich St but didn't wear it in the NFL. Any linemen who ever wore single-digit or teen #s?

And single-zero is the new one these days. Seemingly reserved for DBs, it looks like. I wonder if a QB will ever wear it.

I want to see #00 come back.

Thanks in-advance for examples and info/history of the matter!

I think the strict jersey numbering rules started in the mid 60s or so and lasted until the free for all that began about 5 years ago. In between, off the top of my head...

8 - Larry Wilson
17 - Harold Carmichael
17 - Richie Petitbon
90 - Larry Brooks (numbers in the 90s weren't a thing until the early 80s, AAFC exception)
98 - Mike Ditka (Eagles)
19 - Jim Nettles
18 - Hugo Hollas
14 - Ed Podolak
00 - Jim Otto
00 - Ken Burrough
13 - Ken Riley
13 - Jake Scott
18 - Emmitt Thomas

Didn’t John Hadl wear a higher number than most quarterbacks do today?

Also, when did uniform numbers become standardized by position?

Plenty more information in this thread: https://profootballresearchers.com/foru ... php?t=5674

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 9:53 pm Didn’t John Hadl wear a higher number than most quarterbacks do today?

Also, when did uniform numbers become standardized by position?

Yes, John Hadl wore Number 21.

Harrison Mevis (The Thiccer Kicker) was the Rams kicker for the first 5 weeks of the season and wore #92.
He was released after missing one field goal and having another blocked (in OT) against the Broncos in week 5.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... viHa00.htm

Plenty of good ones in the 40's the 1949 Colts 3 QB's wore 63, 66 and 67, respectively with YA Tittle in 63, always looked off to me

I always wondered why Giants LB Brad Van Pelt wore #10, since he started his career in 1973, after the NFL standarized the numbers we all knew by position into the early 2000s (WRs with numbers in the 10-19 range) and the current craziness brought by the expanding rosters in the COVID pandemic.
Other former Giants player who baffled me was DT Phil Tabor, assigned #80 when only the few pre-1973 grandfathered defensive lineman wore those numbers.

Gary Najman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2026 5:43 pm I always wondered why Giants LB Brad Van Pelt wore #10, since he started his career in 1973, after the NFL standarized the numbers we all knew by position into the early 2000s (WRs with numbers in the 10-19 range) and the current craziness brought by the expanding rosters in the COVID pandemic.
Other former Giants player who baffled me was DT Phil Tabor, assigned #80 when only the few pre-1973 grandfathered defensive lineman wore those numbers.

He was listed as a kicker/punter his first year ... to get around the rule so he could wear his college number -- so they could tell NFL he was a kicker who played LBer

The thread that Citizen posted sums things up nicely. What I would add is that the ALL America Conference used its own numbering system:
20s - Centers
30s - Guards
40s - Tackles
50s - Ends
60s - QBs
70s - FBs
80s & 90s - HBs

Browns and 49ers maintained that system in 1950-51 before NFL mandated its own system in 52, and Motley, Graham, Lavelli, Tittle et.al. had to switch numbers.

If you're looking for linemen wearing low numbers, how about Hall of Famers Mel Hein 7, Joe Stydahar 13 and Dan Fortmann 21. How about Red Grange in 77?