Last year at this time, as the calendar was about to turn to 2023, Uni Watch reader Marc Mayntz came up a really fun infographic featuring the then-current or most recent No. 23 to appear in a game for all 153 MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS teams. This year, as you can see above, he’s prepared something similar for No. 24, but with a few key differences. Here’s his explainer:
Nine leagues are represented this year (MLB, NFL, CFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, PWHL, MLS, and NWSL), plus NASCAR and Formula 1, encompassing 196 teams/drivers.
Players/drivers are listed in alphabetical order.
White jerseys are retired numbers, with the following exceptions:
- Rick Barry never wore a white jersey with the Warriors, so I used his home gold jersey from the championship 1974-75 season.
- Miguel Cabrera’s No. 24 has not yet been officially retired by the Tigers, but it presumably will be, probably when he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- Champ Bailey’s No. 24 has not been officially retired by the Broncos, but the Broncos have said that it will never be issued again, thus making it de facto retired.
- I went with the white Lakers jersey for Kobe Bryant, since that is what he wore for his 81-point game.
All other squares are the most recent players who wore No. 24 for that team (as of about Dec. 10). There’s no real rhyme or reason to which version of a jersey I picked; it basically came down to an intersection of historical accuracy and aesthetic recognizability, with a dash of sentiment here and there.
The NNOB jerseys should be easily identifiable, but just in case anyone is confused:
- Yankees: Willie Calhoun
- Celtics: Sam Jones
- Giants and Mets: Willie Mays
Four of the six PWHL teams do not curently have a No. 24 on their roster (or at least they didn’t on Dec. 10), and neither does NWSL expansion team Bay FC, so I used the city name for those teams.
Formula 1 driver Zhou Guanyu is alphabetically last and the only F1 driver from China. His name is spelled in Hànzì, just like on his car.
No. 24 is a very popular soccer goalkeeper number, so I tried to approximate those kits to the best of my ability.
Finally, my personal favorite by far is the 1964-65 Tony Perez Reds jersey with the pinstripes and arched lettering under the number.
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Great stuff, and a fun way to get ready for the new year. Please join me in thanking Marc for sharing this excellent project with us!
I was wondering why Wayne Simmonds was representing the Leafs (instead of the obvious choice, Bryan McCabe), until I read the parameters. Always read the article first people!
24 is my favorite number due to the shapes of the digits. What a majestic graphic to see all the jersey 24s together!
When the Nats came to DC, I had two jerseys: A 2005 home and a throwback 1950s pinstripe, both with 24 and no name on back. When I wore the modern jersey, folks tended to assume I was supporting Nick Johnson, who wore the number. And fair enough; Johnson was a favorite player of mine even before he came to DC. The throwback jersey, though, sparked many great conversations with older folks who would reminisce about favorite players on either Senators team who might have worn 24 for a minute or a season or two. The boring truth was it’s just my favorite number, and also the auspicious year of the city’s then-last World Series victory. If I bought a new Nats jersey, I’d have to think about getting 19 on the back. And since 19 was one of the first numbers I ever wore in youth baseball, it was a childhood favorite.
That looks like a ton of work. Thanks for making it.
Great 24 graphic and the can reminds me of James Bond movie intros: the barrel of a gun and James steps into focus…
Uh-oh, whisker fatigue.
Marc – thank you for all your hard work and heart you put into this project. It is glorious!! Happy New Year.
Where’s James Blackberry?
Sorry: James BRADBERRY.
Nice work, Marc!
No disrespect to you or to William Byron but 24 ‘is’ Jeff Gordon’s number…you shoulda rep’ed the rainbow or fanned the flames there.
Unfortunately, numbers are not retired in NASCAR, so my hands were tied by my arbitrary rules.
Love the wide representation across various leagues. Well done Paul.
Thanks, but the credit all goes to Marc, not to me!
My bad, well done Marc!
Thanks to Kary Klismet! Really appreciate your kindness!
Right On, always love extra Christmas gifts, myself…
Congrats to you, Cool beans to Kary
Can anyone point me to the Packers’ No. 24? Looks like it might be third from lower right corner, bottom row, but no Williams has worn 24 for the Packers. Wood, sure, but not Williams.
Its right under the “Y” in Year. Kyu Blu Kelly
Gotcha. Thanks, Aaron. Kelly was with the Packers for a month this season, playing in one game. Marc did well to dig up that one.
Great work, Marc. I love these infographic things.
I’ve seen these done for the best players at each roster number for a variety of cities and have wanted to do one for Washington. I have all the players picked out but, unfortunately, I don’t know how to do the graphics – so I’m always impressed and a tad jealous when I see them done so beautifully.
No Ty Law on the graphic? Very sad.
Take it up with Robert Kraft and Joshuah Bledsoe, I just work here.
No Raiders HOF CB “Old Man Willie” Brown?
If the Davis family had retired the number, he would be there “..going all the way.”
This would look good as a jigsaw puzzle.
Hmm…the only #24 to win the Indy 500 is missing…Driven by Graham Hll
link
Hill is arguably one of the greatest racing drivers ever. He is the only racer to have the Indy 500, 24 Hours of LeMans and the Monaco Grand Prix. Throw in he was Formula One world champion in 1962 and 1968, and he’s a worthy entrant
Agreed, but not the most recent.
Thank you to everyone who expressed their appreciation. This project (both last year and this year) provides many moments of nostalgia and zen, and I am happy to keep it up for 2025 where there are only 3 retired numbers, one of which I am VERY excited to try my hand at…
That would be great Marc! Gonna hold ya to it…