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I grew up with Drew Pearson, covered Michael Irvin and have the highest hopes for Dez Bryant. But should the Cowboys’ rookie receiver from Oklahoma State be allowed to wear the sacred No. 88?
The Cowboys revere uniform numbers, but they don’t retire them. Should they? You don’t see No. 8 or 12 or 74 running around at training camp, so why is 88 so readily given out? Even Antonio Bryant got a chance to scar the number.
Drew will always be 88 to me (Hail Mary anyone?), but I concede that for a generation it’s Irvin. Was thinking about this – what player owns which number – over the weekend when No. 1 overall draft pick Sam Bradford joined the fray.
Seems Bradford is switching from his college No. 14 to be No. 8 with the St. Louis Rams. Reason? Troy Aikman, of course.
As for the Cowboys, is No. 22 the NFL’s all-time leading rusher (Emmitt Smith) or a Hall of Fame receiver (Bob Hayes)? Is No. 54 a Super Bowl MVP (Chuck Howley), or a Super Bowl co-MVP (Randy White)? Does No. 80 conjure up images of a complimentary Super Bowl receiver in the ’70s (Tony Hill) or ’90s (Alvin Harper)?
There’s really only one number above debate. Only one player has ever worn No. 74 – Bob Lilly.
So let’s do this. Which Cowboy owns what uniform number?
1. Rafael Septien.
2. Anthony Wright.
3. Eddie Murray.
4. Mike Saxon.
5. Clint Stoerner.
6. Nick Folk.
7. Steve Beuerlein.
8. Troy Aikman.
9. Tony Romo.
10. Ron Widby.
11. Danny White.
12. Roger Staubach.
13. Jerry Rhome.
14. Craig Morton.
15. Toni Fritsch.
16. Steve Pelluer.
17. Don Meredith.
18. Chris Boniol.
19. Clint Longley.
20. Mel Renfro.
21. Deion Sanders.
22. Emmitt Smith.
23. Dwayne Goodrich.
24. Everson Walls.
25. Rod Hill.
26. Kevin Smith.
27. Thomas Everett.
28. Darren Woodson.
29. Kenny Gant.
30. Dan Reeves.
31. Roy Williams.
32. Walt Garrison.
33. Tony Dorsett.
34. Cornell Green.
35. Calvin Hill.
36. Larry Brinson.
37. James Washington.
38. Ron Francis.
39. Lousaka Polite.
40. Bill Bates.
41. Charlie Waters.
42. Troy Hambrick.
43. Don Perkins.
44. Robert Newhouse.
45. Manny Hendrix.
46. Mark Washington.
47. Dextor Clinkscale.
48. Daryl Johnston.
49. Brett Pierce.
50. D.D. Lewis.
51. Ken Norton.
52. Dave Edwards.
53. Mark Stepnoski.
54. Randy White.
55. Lee Roy Jordan.
56. Thomas Henderson.
57. Bruce Huther.
58. Mike Hegman.
59. Darrin Smith.
60. Don Smerek.
61. Nate Newton.
62. John Fitzgerald.
63. Larry Cole.
64. Tom Rafferty.
65. Andre Gurode.
66. George Andrie.
67. Russell Maryland.
68. Herb Scott.
69. George Hegamin.
70. Rayfield Wright.
71. Mark Tuinei.
72. Ed Jones.
73. Larry Allen.
74. Bob Lilly.
75. Jethro Pugh.
76. Flozell Adams.
77. Jim Jeffcoat.
78. Leon Lett.
79. Harvey Martin.
80. Tony Hill.
81. Terrell Owens.
82. Jason Witten.
83. Kelvin Martin.
84. Jay Novacek.
85. Kevin Williams.
86. Butch Johnson.
87. Jay Saldi.
88. Michael Irvin.
89. Billy Joe Dupree.
90. Jay Ratliff.
91. Matt Vanderbeek.
92. Tony Tolbert.
93. Anthony Spencer.
94. Charles Haley.
95. Chad Hennings.
96. Marcus Spears.
97. La’Roi Glover.
98. Greg Ellis.
99. Kevin Brooks.
