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05-11-2003, 11:19 AM
Retired Numbers
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For more than two decades, none of them were seen inside Lambeau Field. Not in representation of the Green Bay Packers, at least.
But that changed Thursday when a construction crew began the process of mounting the Packers' retired numbers of 3, 14, 15 and 66 at the north end of Lambeau Field, to be displayed within the stadium bowl for the first time ever.
"I like to put parts of our tradition every place we can within this new building," said Packers President/CEO Bob Harlan. "In the past we had the numbers hanging in our hallway in the old administration building, but I felt like we needed to get them out in public."
Respectively, the retired numbers honor halfback Tony Canadeo (3), receiver Don Hutson (14), quarterback Bart Starr (15) and linebacker Ray Nitschke (66).
The first to be officially retired was Hutson's in 1951, and his 14 hasn't graced a Packers uniform since his career ended in 1945.
Canadeo's 3 was retired in 1952 in conjunction with his retirement. Starr's 15 came next in 1973, two years after he ended his 15-year career.
The last to be retired was Nitschke's 66 in 1983, more than a decade after the linebacker retired in 1972.
Of the foursome, Nitschke is the only honoree that had his number worn by two other players between the end of his career and his number's retirement (Paul Rudzinkski in 1978 and Mike Lewis in 1980).
However, Canadeo's 3 is the only number to be worn in a game by a Packers player after it was retired.
That happened in 1961, when kicker Ben Agajanian was assigned the number by mistake, nine years after it was retired. A midseason pickup to handle kicking duties while halfback/kicker Paul Hornung addressed military service requirements, Agajanian first wore the number in the Packers' 35-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams (Nov. 19).
These days professional sports teams are hesitant to retire numbers because of the burden it places on equipment staffs to assign usable ones. This is especially true in football, where during last week's mini-camp the Packers had 90 players listed on their roster, including those in NFL Europe, plus five tryout players
http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2003/05/08/1/
Related Information
: Photo Gallery
For more than two decades, none of them were seen inside Lambeau Field. Not in representation of the Green Bay Packers, at least.
But that changed Thursday when a construction crew began the process of mounting the Packers' retired numbers of 3, 14, 15 and 66 at the north end of Lambeau Field, to be displayed within the stadium bowl for the first time ever.
"I like to put parts of our tradition every place we can within this new building," said Packers President/CEO Bob Harlan. "In the past we had the numbers hanging in our hallway in the old administration building, but I felt like we needed to get them out in public."
Respectively, the retired numbers honor halfback Tony Canadeo (3), receiver Don Hutson (14), quarterback Bart Starr (15) and linebacker Ray Nitschke (66).
The first to be officially retired was Hutson's in 1951, and his 14 hasn't graced a Packers uniform since his career ended in 1945.
Canadeo's 3 was retired in 1952 in conjunction with his retirement. Starr's 15 came next in 1973, two years after he ended his 15-year career.
The last to be retired was Nitschke's 66 in 1983, more than a decade after the linebacker retired in 1972.
Of the foursome, Nitschke is the only honoree that had his number worn by two other players between the end of his career and his number's retirement (Paul Rudzinkski in 1978 and Mike Lewis in 1980).
However, Canadeo's 3 is the only number to be worn in a game by a Packers player after it was retired.
That happened in 1961, when kicker Ben Agajanian was assigned the number by mistake, nine years after it was retired. A midseason pickup to handle kicking duties while halfback/kicker Paul Hornung addressed military service requirements, Agajanian first wore the number in the Packers' 35-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams (Nov. 19).
These days professional sports teams are hesitant to retire numbers because of the burden it places on equipment staffs to assign usable ones. This is especially true in football, where during last week's mini-camp the Packers had 90 players listed on their roster, including those in NFL Europe, plus five tryout players
http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2003/05/08/1/