The 12 Best Athletes to Wear No. 12

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Dec 11, 2012

The 12 Best Athletes to Wear No. 12

Terry Bradshaw

In recognition of 12/12/12, SI.com presents the 12 best athletes to wear the No. 12, beginning with Terry Bradshaw. The Steelers do not retire jersey numbers, but you will probably never see another Pittsburgh quarterback wear 12. One of the best quarterbacks of all time, Bradshaw threw for 212 touchdowns and finished with a 107-51 record and four Super Bowl rings.

Tom Brady

A two-time MVP, a seven-time Pro Bowl quarterback and a three-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He has shown no sign of slowing down either: he holds a 29:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio through Week 14 and is a front-runner for the 2012 MVP award.

John Stockton

Utah's Hall of Fame point guard was an assists machine. He led the league in assists for nine consecutive years and finished with the all-time record: 15,806. That's 3,800 more than any other player.

Roberto Alomar

On the short list for the game's greatest second basemen, the 12-time All-Star led the Blue Jays to consecutive World Series titles (1992, '93). Alomar finished his career with 2,724 hits.

Dickie Moore

The number 12 jersey has some history with the Montreal Canadiens. Jean Beliveau wore it for a year before it became the property of Dickie Moore. Moore tallied a then-record 96-point season in 1958-59. After his 12-year tenure with the Habs, Moore handed the number off to another future great -- Yvan Cournoyer.

Jim Kelly

The Buffalo Bills have retired just one jersey in the franchise's history -- Jim Kelly's number 12. Kelly and the Bills were the AFC regular season champions for four consecutive years. Kelly was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, after throwing 237 career touchdowns.

Yvan Cournoyer

After getting the #12 jersey from Dickie Moore, Cournoyer wore it throughout his 16-year NHL career -- all of which was spent with the Canadiens. When it was time for Courneyer to finally take off his sweater, he had scored 428 goals and recorded 435 assists.

Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach wore number 12 at Navy -- where he won the Heisman Trophy -- and he wore it with the Cowboys -- where he won the Super Bowl twice. Staubach finished with a career record of 85-29.

Jarome Iginla

During his rookie 1996-97 season with the Flames, Jarome Iginla wore No. 24. The next year he switched to No. 12, and it has suited him quite nicely. Iginla has scored 516 goals in his 15-year career at Calgary, 81 of which have been game-winners.

Ken Stabler

Quarterback Ken Stabler wore number 12 for 10 years with the Raiders and two years with the Oilers. In that time, he appeared in four Pro Bowls and helped his team win Super Bowl XI.

Dwight Howard

Still only 27, Dwight Howard is on his way to being recognized as one of the NBA's all-time best centers. Howard averages well over a double-double per game: 18.4 points and 13.0 rebounds. After Howard left Orlando for Los Angeles in the offseason, it's uncertain whether the Magic will retire his number. Orlando still hasn't retired Shaquille O'Neal's jersey because of the way he left town.

Joe Namath

After coming through on his guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III, Joe Namath became a star. The Jets' number 12 would finish with a Hall of Fame career that included 27,663 passing yards. <italics>Honorable Mentions: </italics> <italics>Bob Griese, John Brodie, Randall Cunningham, Adam Oates, Peter Bondra, George Yardley, Maurice Stokes</italics> Click here for The 11 Best Athletes to Wear No. 11.