The Most Popular Jersey Numbers in Sports

Perhaps the primary measure of popularity for a professional athlete is the wide and immediate recognition assigned to the player's uniform number. Many well known sports professionals, legendary performers, have donned numbers that are as recognizable as the on-field accomplishments that have propelled the athlete to fame. Each major professional sport has permanently embedded a host of numbers and names in the memory of the national sports psyche.

  1. No. 23

    • This jersey number reached the peak of its popularity during the 1990s as it was the primary number worn by Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan, a player widely regarded as one of the greatest individual talents to ever enter the American sports landscape. The much heralded number was also worn by the National Basketball Association's two-time Most Valuable Player selection Lebron James, and is currently seen on the uniform of English football Hall of Fame inductee and soccer icon David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

    No. 32

    • Officially the jersey number worn by the former National Football League all-time leading rusher and Hall of Fame inductee Jim Brown, in addition to five-time NBA champion Earvin Magic Johnson. This jersey number was also donned by the great Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax and former Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson.

    No. 5

    • Number worn by New York Yankees centerfielder Joe DiMaggio, who holds the Major League Baseball hitting streak of 56 consecutive games. This jersey number was also worn by former Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Bench. The number is currently worn by six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and Chicago native Donovan McNabb.

    No. 12

    • This jersey number is considered the most popular in the history of the NBA as it was worn at some point by 327 athletes in a recent survey conducted by NBA Fanhouse. This most popular number has also been worn by three-time Super Bowl winner and New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady as well as by Hall of Fame NFL players (all quarterbacks) Terry Bradshaw, Jim Kelly, Joe Namath, Oakland's Ken Stabler, and former Dallas Cowboy and Naval Academy standout Roger Staubach. The NBA's all-time assist leader John Stockton also donned no. 12 during his Hall of Fame career.

    No. 8

    • Number worn by former NASCAR points champion Dale Earhardt Jr. in addition to five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. (Bryant wore his current number, 24, for the last two NBA titles). Baseball great Cal Ripken Jr., well-known in popular culture as the Iron Man for his consecutive games played record and the oft-quoted New York Yankees catcher Lawrence Yogi Berra also wore no. 8 throughout their careers.