Here’s another book that will be sure to spark debates among sports fans.
It’s what we do. Who’s the best? Who’s the greatest? We could argue all day.
And that’s what ESPN host Mike Greenberg and his producer, Paul Hembekides, help sports fan do. They play a numbers game in a fast-paced look at sports legends and the numbers we associate them with.
Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own (Hyperion Avenue; $25.99; hardback; 317 pages) is more than just assigning a uniform number to a player and saying that athlete “owns it.”
For example, golfing great Jack Nicklaus never wore a uniform number while on the links. But Greenberg writes that the number 18 — signifying the Golden Bear’s major championships — tops the number worn by quarterback Peyton Manning. Joe Louis had 25 title defenses, Vin Scully was in the broadcast booth for 67 seasons with the Dodgers, and Rocky Marciano was unbeaten in 49 professional fights.
Greenberg runs the gamut from No. 1 to No. 100, and just about every legend is represented, from Red Grange to Tiger Woods.
It’s “heated debate with zero consequence,” Greenberg writes.
And there will be some sharp disagreements. Right off the bat, I took issue. Greenberg, who lives in the New York City area, assigned No. 7 to John Elway. Not a bad choice, since Elway won two Super Bowls in five appearances and had a slew of eye-popping statistics to back it up. But No. 7 has to be Mickey Mantle — at least in my book. With 12 World Series appearances and seven championships, the Mick owned No. 7. A powerful switch-hitter who played hurt—and many times hung over — Mantle was the guy.
Take away Greenberg’s subway tokens for that one.
It’s what we do. Who’s the best? Who’s the greatest? We could argue all day.
And that’s what ESPN host Mike Greenberg and his producer, Paul Hembekides, help sports fan do. They play a numbers game in a fast-paced look at sports legends and the numbers we associate them with.
Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own (Hyperion Avenue; $25.99; hardback; 317 pages) is more than just assigning a uniform number to a player and saying that athlete “owns it.”
For example, golfing great Jack Nicklaus never wore a uniform number while on the links. But Greenberg writes that the number 18 — signifying the Golden Bear’s major championships — tops the number worn by quarterback Peyton Manning. Joe Louis had 25 title defenses, Vin Scully was in the broadcast booth for 67 seasons with the Dodgers, and Rocky Marciano was unbeaten in 49 professional fights.
Greenberg runs the gamut from No. 1 to No. 100, and just about every legend is represented, from Red Grange to Tiger Woods.
It’s “heated debate with zero consequence,” Greenberg writes.
And there will be some sharp disagreements. Right off the bat, I took issue. Greenberg, who lives in the New York City area, assigned No. 7 to John Elway. Not a bad choice, since Elway won two Super Bowls in five appearances and had a slew of eye-popping statistics to back it up. But No. 7 has to be Mickey Mantle — at least in my book. With 12 World Series appearances and seven championships, the Mick owned No. 7. A powerful switch-hitter who played hurt—and many times hung over — Mantle was the guy.
Take away Greenberg’s subway tokens for that one.
Mike Greenberg But hey, that’s the point of this book. Many will argue that Elway is indeed who one thinks of when No. 7 is mentioned. “The Drive” against the Browns was awesome.
“It is hard to imagine there will ever be an athlete as beloved in any city as John Elway is in Denver,” Greenberg writes.
It’s a generational thing, perhaps. We can discuss it over a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. Can’t quibble with that number.
Many of the numbers that Greenberg assigns are slam-dunks — Bill Russell (No. 6), John Havlicek (No. 17) and Michael Jordan (No. 23), to keep it in the basketball family.
In baseball there is Ozzie Smith (No. 1), Derek Jeter (No. 2), Babe Ruth (No. 3), Joe DiMaggio (No. 5), Pete Rose (No. 14), Roberto Clemente (No. 21), Willie Mays (No. 24), Jackie Robinson (No. 42) and Henry Aaron (No. 44). And in hockey, Bobby Orr (No. 4), Gordie Howe (No. 9), Mario Lemieux (No. 66) and Wayne Gretzky (No. 99) are perfect selections.
I was curious to see who Greenberg would present No. 12 to, but it really was no surprise. You knew it had to be the G.O.A,T., Tom Brady. Same with No. 32. You had candidates like Sandy Koufax and even O.J. Simpson (if you could stomach that), but was there anyone who owned that number better than Jim Brown?
It was a nice touch to dedicate 72 to the perfect Dolphins of 1972, and 60 to the number of matches played between women’s tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The number of Grand Slams won by Serena Williams (in addition to her singles titles) could have yielded to the Dolphins’ No. 39, Larry Csonka, but I understand that you have to get Serena in there somewhere.
Without revealing every number (why buy the book at that point?), other athletes receive Greenberg’s attention.
They include Pat Summitt, Richard Petty, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson, Walter Payton, Bob Gibson, Rod Laver, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Billie Jean King, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain.
What would have been fun: The inclusion of 1/8, for Eddie Gaedel. He certainly owned that number.
What Greenberg sets out to accomplish in Got Your Number is a fun time for sports fans, and he achieves that goal. He has a sharp wit and is not afraid to make fun of himself, as the title of one his previous books, Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot, can attest.
The book has plenty of the kind of nuggets that sports fans love. And a reader does not have to follow it in numerical order.
Got Your Number is a fun read. And if you should happen to disagree with Greenberg’s choices, or have a different opinion than a friend, that’s OK too.
That’s what sports fans do.
“It is hard to imagine there will ever be an athlete as beloved in any city as John Elway is in Denver,” Greenberg writes.
It’s a generational thing, perhaps. We can discuss it over a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. Can’t quibble with that number.
Many of the numbers that Greenberg assigns are slam-dunks — Bill Russell (No. 6), John Havlicek (No. 17) and Michael Jordan (No. 23), to keep it in the basketball family.
In baseball there is Ozzie Smith (No. 1), Derek Jeter (No. 2), Babe Ruth (No. 3), Joe DiMaggio (No. 5), Pete Rose (No. 14), Roberto Clemente (No. 21), Willie Mays (No. 24), Jackie Robinson (No. 42) and Henry Aaron (No. 44). And in hockey, Bobby Orr (No. 4), Gordie Howe (No. 9), Mario Lemieux (No. 66) and Wayne Gretzky (No. 99) are perfect selections.
I was curious to see who Greenberg would present No. 12 to, but it really was no surprise. You knew it had to be the G.O.A,T., Tom Brady. Same with No. 32. You had candidates like Sandy Koufax and even O.J. Simpson (if you could stomach that), but was there anyone who owned that number better than Jim Brown?
It was a nice touch to dedicate 72 to the perfect Dolphins of 1972, and 60 to the number of matches played between women’s tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The number of Grand Slams won by Serena Williams (in addition to her singles titles) could have yielded to the Dolphins’ No. 39, Larry Csonka, but I understand that you have to get Serena in there somewhere.
Without revealing every number (why buy the book at that point?), other athletes receive Greenberg’s attention.
They include Pat Summitt, Richard Petty, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson, Walter Payton, Bob Gibson, Rod Laver, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Billie Jean King, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain.
What would have been fun: The inclusion of 1/8, for Eddie Gaedel. He certainly owned that number.
What Greenberg sets out to accomplish in Got Your Number is a fun time for sports fans, and he achieves that goal. He has a sharp wit and is not afraid to make fun of himself, as the title of one his previous books, Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot, can attest.
The book has plenty of the kind of nuggets that sports fans love. And a reader does not have to follow it in numerical order.
Got Your Number is a fun read. And if you should happen to disagree with Greenberg’s choices, or have a different opinion than a friend, that’s OK too.
That’s what sports fans do.
RSS Feed
