Ever thought of the significance of the numbers on the sports jersey, and where does the numbering come from?
A number on the jersey of the player would refer to his position in most of the sports. The numbers help the fans and referees to easily identify the position of a player on the field. In 1916, the Cleveland Indians were the first baseball team to use the numbers in their team uniforms.
Soccer
The soccer players in 1924 took the trends of the number further while playing in the National Challenge Cup. The soccer team was given numbered uniform based on the position in the team – where the goalkeeper had the number one jersey, defenders wearing two through six, and offensive players wearing seven through 11.
Jersey number 10 in the soccer team is given to the central attacking midfielder positioned just behind the forward player. Legendary players have won the number 10 in soccer - Diego Maradona and Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento).
Football
The jersey numbers were also used by professional football match by English premier league clubs Sheffield and Arsenal in August 1928. Again, jersey number 1 to 11 was used according to their position in the game. Again, the goalkeeper of the football team wore the jersey numbered one, defenders wore 2,3 and 4, central defender wore number 5, the midfielders wore number six, seven, eight, ten and eleven. The number nine reserved for the striker.
Over the period, the numbers assigned to the position have changed. But, the basic trend of numbering stands true even today. For example, the number one jersey will be worn by the goalkeeper on the most modern soccer games or football team.
In football, a rough 4-4-2 would look as:
1. Goalkeeper
2. Right-back
3. Left-back
4. Centre midfielder
5. Centre-back
6. Centre-back
7. Left-winger
8. Centre midfielder
9. Centre forward
10. Centre forward
11. Right-winger
In football, players are given a range of numbers. For example, a quarterback may choose a number from 1 to 19. The wide receiver may choose to wear a number between 10 and 19 or even between 80 and 89. The only condition is that no two players on a team can wear the same numbers.
Jersey number ten is the most iconic in the football and is being worn by football legends such as Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, Pele, and Dennis Bergkamp and many more players. Number 9 is worn by Ronaldo Luis, Luiz Suarez, KarimBenzema, Allan Shearer, and SamuelEto’o, Tores who are the forwards and pure strikers.
Some football players had their favorite numbers worn on the football games. Yakub opted for jersey number 22 in 2007 Everton, claiming the number to be the goal-scoring number. Yossi Benayoun, Chelsea had changed his number to 30, as it is double his lucky number 15.
Baseball
In baseball, though the numbers were assigned based on their position, it is no more the same now. The numbers have become an emotional attachment and superstition over the years of the game. The players stick to their preferred number. Johny Neves always swore the number seven, as the number seven when spelled backward is his last name. Again, David Wells, in honor of his favorite player Babe Ruth, always wore number three.
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