my retired number collection - dressed to the 9s

this is the tenth post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are the six people for whom the number 9 has been retired:

ted williams (retired by the red sox in 1960) 1996 topps ted williams tunnel opening day commemorative

i bought this card directly from topps through the mail back in 1996, and now it finally has a set place in my collection thanks to its display of the splendid splinter's number. the central artery tunnel in boston that opened in late 1995 is also the ted williams tunnel. williams also has a highway named after him in san diego, for what it's worth.

the red sox retired number 9 for williams in may of 1984 (along with joe cronin's number 4), making them the first red sox players to be so honored. unlike cronin, the red sox did not issue williams' number to anyone after he retired in 1960, making him the last member of the franchise to wear the number.

as a player, few were better than williams. he is currently the last person to hit over .400 in a season and he won six batting titles and two mvp awards while accomplishing the triple crown twice. elected to the hall of fame in 1966 in his first year of eligibility, i would submit his name as a candidate for the person who had the greatest american life. 

minnie minoso (retired by the white sox in 1983) 2001 topps archives

minoso had five different stints with the white sox, if you include his two "stunt" returns in 1976 and 1980. while he was not elected to the hall of fame until 2022, the white sox retired his number on may 8, 1983. the 2001 topps archives card i chose is, of course, a reprint of his 1964 topps card, and shows his number prominently on his sleeve. the white sox did not immediately retire his number, but with his final appearances in 1976 and 1980, he was officially the last player to wear the number for the team.

1964 was the final season of his "initial" major league career, and he only appeared in 30 games for chicago. however, in his previous 11 years on the southside, minoso had four top-4 mvp finishes and was the runner up to gil mcdougald in the 1951 american league rookie of the year voting. in all, he posted over 1,500 hits and had a .304 average as a member of the white sox.

roger maris (retired by the yankees in 1984) 2001 topps archives

the yankees retired number 9 for maris during their oldtimers game on july 21, 1984 (the same day the retired number 32 for elston howard - more on that in a future post). the timing for maris' number retirement is curious to me - is it because graig nettles, who had worn number 9 for the previous 11 seasons (and so became the final yankee to wear it) had left for san diego? in fact, one could argue that a dual retirement for both maris and nettles would make sense for the yankees.

anyway, i chose the 2001 topps archives card reprint of maris' 1961 topps in action card not just because it shows his number 9 clearly, but because home run number 61 was a huge thing for me as a young fan learning about the game.

maris' claim to fame is his 61 home runs in 1961, but he was a two-time mvp winner (one of two eligible players not in the hall of fame). as a yankee, maris hit just over 200 home runs in seven seasons, but helped them to five pennants and two world series titles during his tenure. 

bill mazeroski (retired by the pirates in 1987) 1965 topps

bill mazeroski was largely responsible for denying maris a third world series ring, thanks to his series ending home run in game 7 of the 1960 fall classic. a heralded defender, maz may be best known for that home run. i think it certainly kept him in the baseball conversations until the veteran's committee voted him in to the hall of fame in 2001. his 1965 topps card displays his number nicely.

his reputation as an elite defender is supported by the fact that he won eight gold gloves as a second baseman and at one time held the modern day all-time assist record for the position, as well as by modern metrics such as total zone fielding runs for which he sits atop the all-time leader board for second basemen. following his playing career which was spent solely with the pirates, maz coached for the pirates in 1973 and then served mainly as a spring training instructor. he was the last pirate to wear number 9, although the club did not officially retire the number until august 7, 1987. 

enos slaughter (retired by the cardinals in 1996) 2005 upper deck pastime pennants

slaughter's number 9 is mostly visible on his 2005 upper deck pastime pennants card, which was the best example i could find. i tend to think of enos slaughter as an old-timey player like tris speaker, but then i see him in the late 1950's topps sets and am reminded that he's a peer of ted williams'. speaker's career began in 1938 and ended in 1959, and although he played for four different franchises, he left his mark in st. louis cardinals history.

it was his "mad dash" in game 7 of the 1946 world series - he scored from first on harry walker's two-out double in the top of the ninth inning to give the cardinals a one-run lead - that is probably most well remembered. he never led the league in any category, but amassed some big numbers in his 13 years with st. louis - over 1,000 runs scored; more than 2,000 hits and over 1,100 rbi with a .305 batting average - that are worthy of his number being retired by the franchise.

thirteen cardinals wore number 9 after slaughter was traded to the yankees in 1954, including minnie minoso, roger maris, and terry pendleton (the last cardinal to wear the number) before the cardinals finally retired it on september 6, 1996. this was a full 11 years after the veteran's committee elected slaughter to the hall of fame, and it seems like the club was doing some catching up with retired numbers as they honored red schoendienst, slaughter, and the newly retired ozzie smith all during the '96 campaign.

reggie jackson (retired by the athletics in 2004) 1973 topps

this particular 1973 topps reggie jackson card of mine is not in the best shape, but i've had it for about 40 years. the one in my 1973 complete set is much nicer, so this one was available to represent reggie in this collection thanks to the prominence of his number on the front of the colorful a's vest jerseys. 

while the a's didn't retire reggie's number until may 22, 2004 (making olmedo saenz the last oakland player to wear the number), he was elected to the hall of fame in 1993 based on a stellar career that began with the franchise in kansas city. chosen second in the 1966 draft after the mets did mets things and took steven chilcott first overall, reggie joined the a's in 1967 and was an all-star earning mvp votes two years later. he won his lone mvp award in 1973, and twice led the american league in home runs, runs scored, and ops as a member of the a's.

he helped them to five straight postseason appearances, including three consecutive american league pennants and world series titles from 1972 through 1974, although he was injured in the 1972 alcs and did not appear in that year's fall classic. when he left the a's for baltimore after the 1975 season, reggie was the franchise's modern era leader in home runs and rbi. of course, the notoriety that he brought to his career following his time with the a's contributed to his status as a hall of famer, and i'll cover some of that later on, as graig nettles did not relinquish number 9 to jackson when he joined the yankees in 1977, and reggie settled for his third choice - 44. and, while jackson wore number 44 during his final season which came as a member of the a's, only number 9 is retired for mr. october in oakland.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the ten posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

giants - 3, 4

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9

reds - 1, 5, 8

braves - 3, 6

astros - 5, 7

mets

orioles - 4, 5, 8

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3, 6, 7

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

cubs

royals - 5

padres - 6

athletics - 9

angels

expos - 8

rangers - 7

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

5 - retired by 7 teams

6 - retired by 7 teams

7 - retired by 4 teams

8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)

9 - retired by 6 teams

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 64

running total of non-hall of famers: 8