# Double-zero (00) on sports jerseys—why? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872 "2005-06-04T13:33:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/1 "2005-06-04T13:33:09Z")
It would seem that in most every instance (perhaps mainly in the non-professional levels?) that I have seen a team sport played wherein the participants wore numbered jerseys, there was always one player bearing double ciphers. I know that in American football that there is a designation that pertains to position played, but I’ve seen this elsewhere as well. Is there some meaning to this? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/2 "2005-06-04T13:35:32Z")
And why are all those girls sporting jerseys with 69 on them? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/3 "2005-06-04T14:27:48Z")
I’ve never seen a double-zero on a jersey in professional basketball or baseball… Well, except for Mr. Met, which I don’t think counts. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/4 "2005-06-04T14:41:05Z")
Football: Jim Otto of the Oakland Raiders wore 00. Basketball: Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics wore 00. Baseball: Al Oliver who mostly played for the Pittsburgh Pirates wore 0. Baseball: Junior Ortiz who played for a few teams wore 0. Basketball: Orlando Woolridge who played for a few teams wore 0. Haj ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/5 "2005-06-04T14:46:04Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Football: Jim Otto of the Oakland Raiders wore 00. > Basketball: Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics wore 00. > > Baseball: Al Oliver who mostly played for the Pittsburgh Pirates wore 0. > Baseball: Junior Ortiz who played for a few teams wore 0. > Basketball: Orlando Woolridge who played for a few teams wore 0. > > Haj add: Rey Ordonez for the Mets (for a while). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/6 "2005-06-04T14:53:48Z")
A little internet searching… More 00: Ken Burrough: Football Johnny Moore: Basketball Kevin Duckworth: Basketball Tony Delk: Basketball More 0: Olden Polynice: Baasketball Eric Montross: Basketball Walter McCarty: Basketball Haj ---
**Author:** ![percussion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/7 "2005-06-04T15:11:39Z")
cuz dey badd duh… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/8 "2005-06-04T15:11:56Z")
Baseball: Omar Olivares of the St. Louis Cardinals was 00 for a while. I guess he wanted his initials on his back. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/9 "2005-06-04T16:38:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > A little internet searching… > > More 00: > Ken Burrough: Football > Johnny Moore: Basketball > Kevin Duckworth: Basketball > Tony Delk: Basketball > > More 0: > Olden Polynice: Baasketball > Eric Montross: Basketball > Walter McCarty: Basketball > > Haj Has Tony Delk worn 00 in the NBA? He wore it here at Kentucky, but I don’t remember seeing him wear it in the NBA (admittedly, he’s been hard to follow.) Walter McCarty wore 40 here at UK, so why he wears 0 now is a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/10 "2005-06-04T16:43:42Z")
I drove a figure 8 race car with the number 00. Just like the other nine digits, 0 is a number. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/11 "2005-06-04T17:13:10Z")
> [@Joe K](#): > > It would seem that in most every instance (perhaps mainly in the non-professional levels?) that I have seen a team sport played wherein the participants wore numbered jerseys, there was always one player bearing double ciphers. I know that in American football that there is a designation that pertains to position played, but I’ve seen this elsewhere as well. Is there some meaning to this? 00 is not allowed to be worn in American Football anymore; they went to a numbering system in the 70s IIRC, and 0 or 00 were not assigned to any position. Some guys (listed above) used to wear it, and they were grandfathered in, but since Kenny Burrough retired, there’s been no 0 or 00. As to why they’d want it – you \*noticed \* those guys, didn’t you? That’s the whole idea… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/12 "2005-06-04T18:01:19Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > Has Tony Delk worn 00 in the NBA? Maybe not. I got him from a hasty internet search. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/13 "2005-06-05T00:52:06Z")
I’m guessing the idea came from the roulette wheel. It has both a 0 and a 00 space. ---
**Author:** ![barracuda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@barracuda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barracuda)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/14 "2005-06-05T01:15:27Z")
Jim Otto’s use of the double o made perfect sense: Ought-Oh. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/15 "2005-06-05T02:30:40Z")
George Plimpton: 0 for the Detroit Lions (in training camp). The number was used by a player the year before, but I don’t recall the name. According to [Mets by the Numbers](http://www.mbtn.net/) (a fascinating site if you’re a Met fan), Tony Clark wore 00 for the team, and Terry McDaniel wore 0 (in addition to Ordonez). Jim Otto chose the number because of OttO. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/16 "2005-06-05T08:07:12Z")
In college basketball now, you can have either a 0 or 00 on the roster, but not both. You are also not allowed to use any numeral greater than 5 in either the tens or the ones column in college basketball. So the highest number in college ball is 55. That is so the referees can flash the number of a player committing a foul to the scorer’s table. For some reason, NBA officials seem to get by with players wearing all sorts of numbers. In international basketball, the players all have to wear numbers 1 through 12. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/17 "2005-06-05T14:45:11Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > In international basketball, the players all have to wear numbers 1 through 12. No longer (And sorry, but innacurate to begin with, too) The rule **used** to be _4-15_ inclusive, but I’ve seen larger numbers in the past year or so (OTTOMH, just for my team, Macabi Tel-Aviv, there Yaniv Green with #40 and Komatos with #20) Most players still adhere to the 4-15 range, though. I’ll look for the official FIBA rule on this later when I get home from work Dani ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/18 "2005-06-05T17:06:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Olden Polynice: Baasketball Is baasketball the national sport of Finland? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/19 "2005-06-05T17:39:20Z")
> [@Si Amigo](#): > > And why are all those girls sporting jerseys with 69 on them? 🙂 **Si Amigo**. Listen up! You’re in **General Questions**. While I know drive-by quips are fun, they don’t belong in GQ. As does your continued use of the :wally smiley in GQ. Which I’ve warned you about. Yet, you did it again today [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319691](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319691) Either learn the rules of this forum, or don’t post in GQ. Understood? I’m sending this to you in email _yet again_ so that you can’t say you didn’t know. Contact me by email to let me know you understand. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872/20 "2005-06-05T18:38:48Z")
I can find a newspaper cite for a college player using “00” as early as 1940. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-zero-00-on-sports-jerseys-why/306872.md?page=2)