List of Major League Baseball retired numbers

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In 1929, the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians began using uniform numbers so fans and scorekeepers could tell who was who on the field. By 1937, each league demanded that all teams participate in the use of uniform numbers.

On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig became the first Major League Baseball player to have his number retired by his team. Since then, over 120 other people have had their numbers retired.

On April 15, 1997, Jackie Robinson's #42 was retired by Major League Baseball, meaning that no future player on any major league team could wear it. Players wearing #42 at the time, some of whom said they did so as a tribute to Robinson, were allowed to continue wearing it, thereby grandfathering the number's retirement. Those nine players were:

The only numbers to be retired twice by the same team is 8 of the New York Yankees, 10 of the Montreal Expos, and 42 of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees retired in 8 in 1972 for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra, both catchers. Berra took number 8 in 1948 after Dickey stopped playing but before he was a coach. The Cardinals have retired number 42 for both 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee Bruce Sutter and Jackie Robinson. Presumably when Mariano Rivera, number 42, retires then that number will be retired for him, in addition to Jackie Robinson. Yankee Stadium currently does not have any plaque or monument in their Monument Park honoring Robinson. Number 10 is retired by the Expos for Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub.

Some have advocated giving Roberto Clemente's number 21 a similar treatment. They feel that Clemente's impact on the Hispanic community is equal to that of Robinson's on the black community. The target goal for the retirement was in time for the 2006 MLB All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, where Clemente played. RetireClemente21.com collected over 70,000 signatures for the effort.

Some teams do not retire jersey numbers, and instead celebrate their stars in other ways. The Toronto Blue Jays have a 'Level of Excellence,' where notable individuals in club history have their names posted under the fifth deck of the Rogers Centre.

Because fewer and fewer players stay with one team long enough to warrant their number being retired, some players believe that getting your number retired is a greater honor than going into the Hall of Fame.

[edit] Alphabetical list


Note: Some players who played before the advent of uniform numbers have received retirement honors. They are

[edit] Listing by number

[edit] External links

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