Today's Tidbit... The First Three Retired Jersey Numbers
Only exceptional players have their jersey numbers retired, so one would think that well-known superstars would have been the first three players to have their numbers removed from the rotation. As it turns out, the first two players with retired numbers fall into that category, while the third does not.
The first retired number came in 1925 when some football teams did not yet wear numbers. Illinois decided to have mercy on future opponents and anyone who might be issued #77 by framing the jersey and declaring it unavailable to future generations of Illini.
News of Grange's numeric retirements spread quickly, and the students at Stanford decided they should do the same for their multi-sport star, Ernie Nevers, and his #1 jersey. Like Grange, Nevers signed a contract and played pro football on a barnstorming tour in Florida shortly after the season. He would go on to a Hall of Fame career playing for the Duluth Eskimos and Chicago Cardinals, in addition to playing three seasons with baseball's St. Louis Browns.
Unfortunately for Nevers, mistakes happen, and someone issued jersey #1 to Fred Swan for the Washington game the following season, a game Stanford won 29-10. However, the student executive committee reiterated the need to keep #1 off the backs of future Stanford players, and that has remained the case ever since.
The third player to have his number retired also hailed from a California college and, like Nevers, spent time in the NFL and major league baseball. Larry Bettencourt, a center, captained the St. Mary's Gaels football team in 1927. He blocked punts in six consecutive games and earned All-American status while acting like a gentleman, so they retired his #20 from the playing field.
Bettencourt signed a whopping $6,000 bonus with the St. Louis Browns and played in three seasons with them, ending his baseball career in 1932. He then went pro a second time by playing football for the Green Bay Packers in 1933.
So, while some fans likely knew Red Grange was the first to have his number retired, and others might have known Nevers was the second, few are likely to be familiar with Larry Bettencourt, much less know he was the retiring sort. If you were among the few and knew about Bettencourt's place in history, feel free to brag in the comments below.
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