So apparently we started this post over three years ago, not too long after we posted about the best #79 in NFL History–which was at least somewhat special (to at least one of us at ZB) as it was the number that Managing Editor Andy wore in high school. The number 51 was even more special (to me), as it is the number that I wore in high school–that it came up in the random draw we’ve done for numbers so quickly after #79 was pure luck.
So why did we never post it? Much like several of our other posts–in particular The Best #80 in NFL History and The Best #56 in NFL History–there didn’t seem to be much doubt who the best #51 in NFL history was–Dick Butkus. Surprisingly, when we circled back on this after Butkus passed away last week at the age of 80, we were kind of surprised to see that using ProFootballReference.com’s Approximate Value calculator, he wasn’t the “most valuable” #51 in NFL history–although I suspect that is due to career length, overall team quality, and perhaps flaw in their calculation.
Dick Butkus – When you think #51 in the NFL, Butkus is generally who you think about–at least if you’re not old enough to have seen him play (we’re not), you’ve seen him on TV and you’ve seen the highlights–he was voted the most feared tackler of all-time by the NFL Network…in 2009, more than 30 years after he retired. Picked third overall by the Chicago Bears out of Illinois, he was the hometown kid that made his hometown proud–he was a 2x NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 5x first team All-Pro (3x second team), 8x Pro Bowler, on the All-Decade teams of the 1960’s and 1970’s (despite only playing until 1973), the NFL 75th Anniversary Team, the NFL 100th Anniversary Team, was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (1979)…the accolades go on and on. Would be an absolute shock if someone said he wasn’t the best #51 in NFL history.
Sam Mills – Based on the Approximate Value calculator from PFR, Sam Mills is the best #51 in NFL history. His story is truly inspiring–standing just 5 foot 9 inches tall, he was unable to make the Cleveland Browns (1981) or the Toronto Argonauts (1982) as an undrafted free agent after his Pop Warner coach helped him get a tryout. Browns coach Sam Rutigliano recommended to his friend Carl Peterson, then running the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL that he give Mills a look. Wearing #54, he became the anchor of their defense, helped them win two USFL Championships, and then followed his coach Jim Mora to the New Orleans Saints in 1986, where he donned the #51. He ended up being a 1x first team All-Pro, 2x second team All-Pro, 5x Pro Bowl player for the Saints and Panthers, had his number retired in Carolina, and was elected to both the Saints and Panther Hall of Fames, finishing his career with 1,265 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 11 interceptions, 22 forced fumbles, 23 fumble recoveries, and 4 defensive TDs. Sadly he passed away from cancer in 2005, but was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Takeo Spikes – Coming in second in the Approximate Value list, Spikes played from 1998 to 2012 and is often named to the list of best players to play in the NFL and never appear in a postseason game…although often he isn’t even the best #51 on that list, because Butkus also never played in a playoff game. Drafted 13th overall in 1998, Spikes donned #51 for five different teams–the Bengals, the Bills, the Eagles, the 49ers and the Chargers. He played in 219 games, amassed 1,431 tackles, 29 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries and 19 interceptions. Great numbers, but not enough that I would put him in the conversation with Butkus.
Randy Cross – Can’t have a number in the 50-79 range without discussing at least one offensive lineman…and Cross is higher on the AV list than Jim Richter by a good margin. Cross was a mainstay on the 49ers 80’s dynasty, starting 180 games at guard and center from 1976-1988, earning 3x first team All-Pro, 1x second team All-Pro, 3x Pro Bowl and winning three Super Bowl championships during his career. As an offensive lineman…that’s about all he gets for accolades.
Other players wearing #51 worth mentioning include LB Ken Norton Jr., James Farrior, Jim Richter & Dominic Raiola. Most notable current players wearing #51 are Cesar Ruiz and David Long, although 3rd overall pick in the 2023 draft Will Anderson of the Houston Texans will likely move up that list quickly.
I swear, the numbers we choose for this really are random, I really do draw these out of a hat–although I was tempted to throw this one back, because even I had trouble believing that we got them back to back. I mean, we have covered the best #79, #80 and #81 already–but that was over the course of eight years that we wrote those three, and they weren’t consecutive. Plus, kind of like the question of who is the best #80 in NFL history, in the end it’s not really a debate who the best #56 in NFL history is, right?
We can all agree that the all-time greatest player to wear #56 was…Marty Schottenheimer, right? Seriously, he did wear it for his first three seasons playing for Buffalo, before switching to #57, and finishing his career with #54.
At the same time…it’s a pretty good list of players in NFL history that wore #56–maybe not quite as good as #55 will be, but there are five Hall of Famers that wore it as their primary jersey, a couple more Hall of Famers that wore it for part of their career, and a few pretty good players that aren’t in the Hall that wore it. There’s even a few that are wearing it today–including at least one that may make an updated version of this article someday, if he keeps playing like he has in his first couple of seasons…which his career will probably wrap up right around the time we finish this list.
When I first drew #57 for our Best in NFL History series, per usual I thought of Vikings that I could remember with the number, and the only player that popped into my head was Dwayne Rudd. Or as he’s typically known here in Minnesota (and I believe in Cleveland) Dwayne “Effing” Rudd. No worries, he didn’t make the cut.
Bring in the 50’s, I figured we would have a bunch of linebackers to choose from, but none immediately jumped to mind–I looked up the ProFootballReference.com Jersey Number page first, and realized that Rickey Jackson (who I did see play) and Tom Jackson (who I just missed play) would probably duke it out, although there were a couple other names I recognized on the list.
It wasn’t until I flipped to #57 in my Best By Number book that I realized even looking at the PFR page, I missed the guy that will get my vote–the other player who wore #57 as his primary jersey number in the Hall of Fame.
Almost eight years ago now we started this series, and apparently more than five years since our most recent, thanks to the COVID19 shut down that has us working at home, we’re going to try to get back into our By The Numbers series.
We’ve seen quite a few go down this path over the years—many just using a list of their opinions as way to drive pageviews–but our audience of Hall of Fame fanatics, combined with our non-traditional approach of bouncing around by picking numbers out of a hat leads to better content (in our opinion).
So, with the goal of getting us back to averaging more than one of our number posts per year, we finally get into the trenches with number 79.
Nearly a year later, and we’re finally back with our latest number segment. In the last 358 odd days, a lot has happened—including a certain popular pro football website absconding with our idea. Of course, they actually pay their writers, so they’ve already made it quite a bit further (maybe even all the way) than we have with five numbers in three years…
Of course, our posts our still better. And the original.
Interestingly enough, when I Googled their site to see if I could find an example, the first one I came across just happened to be the same number that we randomly drew today—the number 14.
There have been a lot of famous players to wear #14 in the history of the NFL, including Hall of Famers (and the best #25 in NFL History) Fred Biletnikoff, who wore #14 for the first two years of his career, Curly Lambeau, who was better known as #1 (according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame) and as the Packers owner/coach than a player, and John “Blood” McNally who apparently wore whatever number he could find.
As for players who wore (or are wearing) #14 as their primary number, here’s the best: (more…)
When I randomly drew #36 as the next number in our By the Numbers series to write about, I thought it would be a great number to debate, especially given the Hall of Fame candidacy of Jerome Bettis, whom many (including yours truly) feel will likely get the nod next year. But in starting the research, a few things surprised me:
Somehow, we’ve never actually done a post questioning whether or not Bettis is actually worthy of the Hall of Fame. Assume that will be rectified soon, because even though I have him picked to get voted in, I’m not sure he would get my vote.
There are shockingly few big name #36’s in NFL history. Or really any sport, actually–in Best by Number (the book that inspired this series), Meadowlark Lemon is given the nod as best #36 across all sports–a guy who played in games that weren’t even real. Basketball & hockey are pretty much not mentioned (at least names I recognize). And baseball? Let’s just say when Jerry Koosman makes the top six, you’re not exactly talking about a storied number.
So who was the Best #36 in NFL history? Hit the jump to find out…
So apparently we started this post over three years ago, not too long after we posted about the best #79 in NFL History–which was at least somewhat special (to at least one of us at ZB) as it was the number that Managing Editor Andy wore in high school. The number 51 was even more special (to me), as it is the number that I wore in high school–that it came up in the random draw we’ve done for numbers so quickly after #79 was pure luck.
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