All eyes will be on Yankee Stadium Sunday night when Derek Jeter gets his No. 2 retired by the New York Yankees, joining several legends in Monument Park.
Which pro sports teams have the most retired numbers?
Derek Jeter’s No. 2 will be the 21st number retired by the New York Yankees.
Photo by Marilyn Indahl/Getty Images
Jeter is the 22nd player in franchise history to have his number retired by the Yankees, the most of any team in baseball. Technically, No. 2 will only be the 21st number retired by the team, who retired No. 8 to dually honor both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra, a pair of Hall of Fame catchers.
But where do those 22 (or 21) retired numbers rank in all pro sports?
In hockey, the Montreal Canadiens have retired the most numbers with 15, which makes sense since they are basically the Yankees of the NHL. The Yankees have won 27 World Series in their history, while the Canadiens have captured 24 Stanley Cups in their storied history.
Montreal actually has honored 18 players, with three numbers retired for two different players — No. 5 for Bernie Geoffrion and Guy Lapointe, No. 12 for both Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer, and No. 16 for Henri Richard and Elmer Lach.
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However, there is one team that can soon top the Yankees. The Boston Celtics have retired 21 numbers in their history, which again makes sense because Boston has more NBA championships (17) than any other team.
But at some point during the 2017-18 season, Boston plans to retire No. 34 to honor Paul Pierce, who retired at the conclusion of this season. Pierce played 15 of his 19 seasons as a Celtic, is second all-time in franchise history in points, and won a title in 2008. He will be the 23rd number retired by the Celtics, one more than the Yankees.
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