Debate: Greatest Athletes By Number According to Sports Illustrated

I recently picked a Sport Illustrated issue that featured Greatest Athletes By Number. The way it worked is they each page debated on who represented the number the best. The gave a list of contenders and then decided a winner. It featured athletes all throughout history in MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL and NHL. For the purposes of this debate I am going to give you the verdicts of each number that Sports Illustrated wrote. At the end of list debate on whether you agree with the verdict or if someone represented the number better. Keep in mind five sports are being discussed for each number. So with that in mind here is the list:

00- Robert Parrish

1- Ozzie Smith

2- Derek Jeter

3- Babe Ruth

4- Bobby Orr

5- Joe Dimaggio

6- Bill Russell

7- John Elway

8- Yogi Berra

9- Ted Williams

10- Pele

11- Mark Messier

12- Tom Brady

13- Wilt Chamberlain

14- Pete Rose

15- Bart Starr

16- Joe Montana

17- John Havlicek

18- Peyton Manning

19- Johnny Unitis

20- Barry Sanders

21- Tim Duncan

22- Emmett Smith

23- Michael Jordan

24- Willie Mays

25- Barry Bonds

26- Wade Boggs

27- Juan Marichal

28- Marshall Faulk

29- Ken Dryden

30- Martin Brodeur

31- Greg Maddux

32- Jim Brown

33- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

34- Walter Payton

35- Frank Thomas

36- Gaylord Perry

37- Dok Walker

38- Curt Schilling

39- Roy Campanella

40- Gale Sayers

41- Tom Seaver

42- Jackie Robinson

43- Richard Petty

44- Hank Aaron

45- Pedro Martinez

46- Andy Pettite

47- Mel Blount

48- Jimmie Johnson

49-Ron Guidry

50- Mike Singletary 

51- Dick Butkus 

52- Ray Lewis

53- Don Drysdale

54- Rich Gossage

55- Orel Hershiser

56-Lawrence Taylor

57- Johan Santana

58- Jack Lambert

59-Jack Ham

60- Otto Graham

61- Curley Culp

62- Jim Langer

63- Gene Upshaw

64- Randall McDaniel

65- Gary Zimmermen

66- Mario Lemieux

67- Bob Kuechenberg

68-Jaromir Jagr

69- Jared Allen

70- Sam Huff

71- Alex Karras

72- Dan Dierdorf

73- John Hannah

74- Bob Lilly

75- Joe Greene

76- Marion Motley

77- Red Grange

78- Anthony Munoz

79- Roosevelt Brown

80- Jerry Rice

81- Knight Train Lane

82- Raymond Berry

83- Ted Hendricks

84- Randy Moss

85- Nick Buoniconti

86- Hines Ward

87- Sidney Crosby

88-Alan Page

89- Mike Ditka 

90- Julius Peppers

91- Sergei Fedorov

92- Reggie White

93- Dwight Freeney

94- Charles Haley

95- Richard Dent

96- Cortez Kennedy

97- Jeremy Roenick 

98- Casey Hampton

99- Wayne Gretzky