Boston retiring Ray Bourque’s jersey number makes sense, is a given, will be great. He had a Hall of Fame-caliber career there for two decades.
You retiring Ray Bourque’s jersey number is just stupid.
He played for you for less than one season. While his contributions were notable in those couple of months, they weren’t exactly rafter-hoisting material. He wasn’t in the top two defensemen on your team.
You rented him for a Cup run. He used you for the same purpose. He’s a Bruin through and through. Your decision is idiotic.
Perhaps they were retiring his number in tribute to the overall greatness he has meant to the game and to defensemen in general, and to show him that . . . crap, the words aren’t coming. I think it’s for PR just as much as in tribute to him.
Didn’t the Devil Rays retire Wade Boggs’ number as well, after the latter hadn’t spent more than two or three years there?
I don’t understand yer beef. The city and team must of taken Ray to their heart. That’s cool. It was a great story. Hell, I got misty when he lifted the cup, and I don’t even like hockey. Point is, he meant something really special to their team. If it’s not your team too, why the fuck do you care?(I’m assuming you are not an Av’s fan)
Hell, I think my Dodgers should have retired Kirk Gibson’s number, even though he did only play a couple of seasons with them. He provided an unforgetable World Series moment in a Dodger uniform. Bourque provided an unforgetable Stanley Cup moment in an Av’s uniform.
spooje - I will try to remember that when I’m in the old folks’ home, watching sports with people wearing three-digits.
Not to pollute my own thread, but then there’s former NBA baller Malik Sealy, whose pro basketball career was unremarkable at best. But he dies in a car accident, and up goes the jersey number.
There is some history for unofficially retiring the jersey of a person who dies prematurely. But it often fades out after a decade or two.
Officially retiring jerseys used to be for the elitest of the elite. For many years of outstanding play for one team.
Now it can be for whatever. People like the ceremony, so let’s do it more. Bullshit.
Maybe the standard will be raised when a girder collapses at an arena from the weight of all the retired jerseys, killing thousands.
Maybe he could get a trophy named after him like Bill Masterton. Granted, Masterton did die due to injuries in a game, but he was an unremarkable player.
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Hate to ask but got a cite? There are examples of numbers not being used even though they are not offically retired. Last season nobody wore 21 in Dallas out of respect for Guy Carbonneau, and nobody on Long Island has worn 19, even though I’ve heard that they may give it to Yashin.
Just sticking to the pros, as there are a slew of them at the collegiate level:
From the Pittsburgh Penguins:
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As for other unofficially retired jerseys, according tothe Hockey Journal, the Boston Bruins have three “unofficially” retired jerseys - Bourque’s 77, Cam Neely’s 8, and 24 for some reason.
On the Detroit Red Wings, some guy from long ago named Larry Aurie’s number 6 is unofficially retired. And no one has worn Vladimir Konstantinov’s 16 since his debilitating car accident several years ago. Here it notes that the St. Louis Rams have unofficially retired Eric Dickerson’s 29.
I could go on.
Do you think you just scored a point? Allow me to be the first to tell you that you have not.
I said retiring jerseys used to be done for the reasons I stated. Robinson’s and Gretzky’s league-wide jersey retirements are very recent developments.
And if you do not see the difference between Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky, and Malik Sealy and Ray Bourque’s stellar Avalanche career, I’m afraid I can’t help you.
Wasn’t this Terry O’Reilly’s number? Didn’t he also coach the B’s for a short period?
As a long time Kings’ fan, I remember the days when L.A. and Boston would meet in the playoffs and there were some pretty brutal games there for a couple of years. I recall hating the B’s because of some pretty darned talented players at the time…Cashman, Middleton, Cheevers, et al. But the one guy I really despised was O’Reilly. Gritty two-way player…hated him, but secretly would’ve loved to have had him playing for the Kings. I think this is the highest compliment a fan from another team can pay a player.
Or was this Cam Neely’s number? Damn, it’s so hard to keep track of these musical players without a scorecard these days…
You originally mention unofficially retired numbers for players that have died prematurely. You then mention Michel Briere. He checks out as dead. The information on Larry Aurie on the web that I can find indicates that he was born in 1905(likely dead) and and played 17 seasons of pro hockey. I guess that falls in your definition of “premature”. As far as the other players you mention, neither Neely, O’Reilly, nor Dickerson are dead. Neither is Vlady, but his is a unique case.
I mentioned that the Islanders have not let anyone wear Trottiers #19. It is not retired offically, but the Islanders do want to hang it up they just can’t get Trottier to come in.
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And if you think that Ray Bourque is more in a class with Malik Sealy than Wayne Gretzky or Jackie Robinson, than I can’t help you.