Retiring numbers
PBA and NCAA Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson’s jersey number 6 was retired by the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta during its University Week, a rare occurrence in Philippine sports. Very few varsity teams have retired players’ numbers, since they represent an institution and not themselves. De La Salle University, for example, only has a handful of retired college numbers, including those of Kurt Bachmann (33), Lim Eng Beng (14), Renren Ritualo (4), Manilla Santos (14) and Ian Lariba (the only individ- ual sport athlete to be so honored by the school).
Many other schools have retired jerseys only upon an athlete’s passing. Retiring jerseys from individual sports or relay events would be awkward, as they usually don’t have numbers (or dates) on them.
In the PBA, six franchises have officially retired jerseys. The Alaska Aces have the most with seven. Some jerseys are unofficially retired, since having such ceremonies is a purely discretionary matter. In an odd occasion, when Benjie Paras came out of inactivity to briefly suit up for San Miguel Beer in the 20022003 season, he “borrowed” (with permission)
Hector Calma’s retired number 14, the same number he wore as a two-time Most Valuable Player with Shell.
When 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell died last year, the association announced that it was retiring his legendary number 6 throughout the league. At the time, the 25 active players wearing the number (including LeBron James) would not be compelled to change their numbers. The new Russell rule would only be applied moving forward. No future players from any team will be allowed to wear number 6. Some players have had their numbers retired by multiple teams. Kobe Bryant had both of his jersey numbers (24 and 8) retired by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Boston Celtics now have 24 retired jersey numbers, the most in the league by far, a testament to their consistent greatness. Russell is only the third athlete in a major professional team sport in the US to have his number retired league-wide, after Jackie Robinson (Major League Baseball) and Wayne Gretzky (National Hockey League).
Immortalizing an athlete by retiring their jersey number in a team sport is just one way to commemorate their transcendent accomplishments. The NBA put Jerry West on its logo, as the PBA did with Robert Jaworski. In 1994, the Chicago Bulls erected a statue in tribute to Michael Jordan. This was imitated by other teams, and now there are nine, in all, among them likenesses of Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Julius Erving and most recently, Dirk Nowitzki. Schools have their own individual Halls of Fame and special places to display players’ memorabilia, as the Ateneo de Manila has had (the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame or ASHOF), for example.
Retiring jerseys is less common in the Philippines probably because there are no permanent playing venues, no true home courts for local teams. A retired jersey is meant to hang from the rafters of a coliseum, a constant reminder of greatness, a motivator for future players of that team. On the flip side, not having them displayed may also be a reminder that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the one on the back. As is the number that goes with it.