i know the 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts card that i chose shows drysdale as a brooklyn dodger, and that is is the los angeles dodgers who retired his number, but the card shows his 53 so well that i decided to use it anyway. it took drysdale a while to make it to the hall of fame - he was elected on his 10th ballot which came in 1984 - but the dodgers took quick action to formally retire the number once he was voted in, holding a ceremony on july 1, 1984 for both him and fellow inductee pee wee reese.
big d spent his entire career with the dodgers, winning 209 games and striking out 2,486 batters between 1956 and 1969. he was the national league's cy young award winner in 1962, and in 1968 he threw six consecutive shutouts and set a then record of 58.2 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. given his longevity with the dodgers, drysdale remains high on the franchise's all-time leader board in many categories. he is third all-time in wins and strikeouts, and first (no surprise) in hit batsmen.
according to baseball reference, drysdale's number was issued to tom paciorek in 1970, but he switched to 17 for the 1971 season. if not for paciorek wearing the number for his "cup of coffee" experience in the 1970 season, drysdale would have been the only dodger to ever wear number 53.
retired numbers by team (through the 49 posts so far):
yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 32, 37, 42, 44, 46, 49, 51
giants - 3, 4, 11, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 36, 42
pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 40, 42, 44
guardians - 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 42, 455
red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 26, 27, 34, 42, 45
phillies - 1, 14, 15, 20, 32, 34, 36, 42
cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24, 42, 45, 85
reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 42
braves - 3, 6, 10, 21, 25, 31, 35, 41, 42, 44, 47
astros - 5, 7, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 49
mets - 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 31, 36, 37, 41, 42
orioles - 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 33, 42
dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14, 19, 20, 24, 32, 34, 39, 42, 53
twins - 3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 28, 34, 36, 42
white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 35, 42, 72
brewers - 1, 4, 19, 34, 42, 44
tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16, 23, 42, 47
cubs - 10, 14, 23, 26, 31, 42
royals - 5, 10, 20, 42
padres - 6, 19, 31, 35, 42, 51
athletics - 9, 24, 27, 34, 42. 43
angels - 11, 26, 30, 42, 50
expos - 8, 10, 30, 42
rangers - 7, 10, 26, 34, 42
major league baseball - 42
rays - 12, 42, 66
diamondbacks - 20, 42, 51
blue jays - 32, 42
rockies - 17, 33, 42
mariners - 11, 24, 42
nationals - 11, 42
marlins - 42
retired number frequency:
8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)
10 - retired by 10 teams (retired by expos for two players)
14 - retired by 10 teams (retired by mets and dodgers for same person)
18 - retired by 3 teams (includes mets who will formally retire the number in 2024)
20 - retired by 11 teams (retired by orioles, reds, and guardians for same person)
24 - retired by 8 teams (retired by giants and mets for same person)
29 - retired by 4 teams (retired by twins and angels for same person)
31 - retired by 4 teams (retired by cubs and braves for same person; retired by cubs for two players)
34 - retired by 8 teams (retired by astros and rangers for same person; retired by brewers and a's for same person; retired by a's for two players)
37 - retired by 2 teams (retired by mets and yankees for same person)
42 - retired by 30 teams (retired by cardinals and yankees for individuals in addition to jackie robinson)
44 - retired by 4 teams (retired by brewers and braves for same person)
53 - retired by 1 team
running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 161
running total of non-hall of famers: 58