New York Yankees Retired Numbers

The New York Yankees have retired sixteen different uniform numbers, more than any team in sports history. The trend began in 1939, when the team permanently retired Lou Gehrig's Number 4, and has continued through to the retirement of Ron Guidry's number 49 in 2003. Here is the collection of Yankee numerals that have been put out to pasture over the past seventy years.

I. New York Yankees Retired Numbers

Billy Martin - Number 1 (1986)

Martin played second base for the Yankees from 1950 through 1957 and formed one of the best double play combinations of all time with shortstop Phil Rizzuto. Billy was also an All Star who hit .333 in five World Series and took home the Fall Classic MVP trophy in 1953.

It was Martin's managerial prowess, however, that led to his number being retired in 1986. He managed the team from 1975 through 1988, on five separate occasions between hiring and firings by principal owner George Steinbrenner. During that time, Martin led the Yankees to two American League pennants and, more importantly, to the 1977 World Series title. His fifth and final stint with the team was in 1988, two years after his number was retired.

A few days prior to Martin's untimely death on Christmas Day of 1989, rumors circulated that that he was coming back for a sixth term as skipper in 1990.

Babe Ruth - Number 3 (1948)

Ruth came to the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox before the 1920 season, and soon catapulted the Yankees to a whole new level. He holds every major Yankee hitting record and is considered by many to have been the greatest hitter in baseball history. The team retired his number in 1948, the same year that the Bambino passed into the great Baseball Hereafter.

Lou Gehrig - Number 4 (1939)

Gehrig played first base from 1923 through 1939, hit for a .340 average, smashed 493 home runs and drove in 1,995 runs despite having his career cut short at age 35 by the fatal illness which now bears his name. The Iron Horse, as he was nicknamed, was the first Yankee to have his number retired, and it was done under the saddest of circumstances.

In June of 1939, Gehrig learned that he was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a disease that was fatal and that had no cure. Gehrig was forced to retire, and a few weeks later, on the Fourth of July, the Yankees honored him in an emotional public ceremony at Yankee Stadium. It was during this ceremony that Gehrig gave his famous "Luckiest Man Alive" speech.

He succumbed to the disease two years later at age 37. Since then, ALS has been commonly known throughout the world as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Joe DiMaggio - Number 5 (1952)

The Yankee Clipper led the Bronx Bombers to seven World Series championships between 1936 and 1951. He won three MVPs, 10 American League pennants and 9 World Series rings. The team retired his number in 1952, just one year after he retired.

Mickey Mantle - Number 7 (1969)

When Mickey Mantle came to the Yankees in 1951, he was given Number 6 to alert fans that the successor to Ruth, Gehrig and (the still active) Joe DiMaggio had arrived in New York. Under that immense pressure, however, Mickey slumped in the early going and was sent back to minors for much of the 1951 summer. Upon his return, Mantle was given Number 7, which he wore for the rest of his eighteen year Yankee career.

Yogi Berra - Number 8 (1972)

Berra wore uniform Number 8 from 1946 through 1963 as a player, and wore it again during his managing (1964, 1984-85) and coaching (1977-83) tenures with the team. When the Yankees first retired the number 8 in 1972, they did it for Yogi and also for the team's other Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey.

Bill Dickey - Number 8 (1972)

Dickey played behind the plate for the Yankees from 1928 through 1946, hitting .313 with 202 career homers, making 11 All-Star teams and winning seven World Series rings. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954. Dickey is a crucial part of Yankee history not just for his play, however. After he retired, Dickey tutored Yogi Berra on the finer points of catching.

Roger Maris - Number 9 (1984)

Like Reggie Jackson, Maris had a rather brief tenure as a New York Yankee. But also like Jackson, Maris made his presence felt while he wore the pinstripes.

Maris came to the Bombers from the Kansas City A's before the 1960 season, and made an immediate impact on the team's already fearsome offense. He hit 39 home runs, drove in 112 runs and won the Most Valuable Player award. The next year., Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record when he hit 61 dingers and collected 142 RBI on the way to his second straight MVP award.

Phil Rizzuto - Number 10 (1985)

Rizzuto was as loved as any player in Yankee history. He will be missed by all true fans of the National Pastime.

Thurman Munson - Number 15 (1979)

On April 17, 1976, Thurman Munson was named the first official Yankee captain since Lou Gehrig retired in 1939. Like Gehrig, Munson's career would be cut short by a fatal tragedy. On August 2, 1979, he died in a plane crash. The Yankees retired his number the same day.

Whitey Ford - Number 16 (1974)

The Chairman of the Board won more games in a Yankee uniform than any other pitcher in the club's history. Seven years after he retired with 236 victories, six World Series rings, and the 1961 Cy Young Award, the Yankees made him the first pitcher in the team's history to have his number put to rest.

Don Mattingly - Number 23 (1997)

Mattingly was a tremendous player who spent his entire career with a series of some pretty awful Yankee teams. He is a fan favorite who had a remarkable six year run from 1984 through 1989, then injured his back in 1990, and was never the same hitter again.

Elston Howard - Numer 32 (1984)

After years of much-deserved critcism from baseball writers and civil rights advocates, the Yankees finally integrated on April 14, 1955 when Elston Howard joined the club. Howard went on to win the American League MVP in 1963 and two Gold Glove awards. He also set the records for most putouts and most assists by a catcher in 1964.

Casey Stengel - Number 37 (1970)

The manager who led the Yankees to five straight World Series titles between 1949 and 1953 had his number retired ten years after the Yankees fired him for failing to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series.

Reggie Jackson - Number 44 (1993)

Jackson is the only player to have his Yankee number retired despite playing less than a quarter of his career in the Bronx. But it wasn't the time that Reggie played in New York; it was what he did with that time. In his five seasons with the team, the Yankees won four divisional titles, three pennants and back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. Jackson's three home runs in Game Six of the former series made him a Yankee legend.

Ron Guidry - Number 49 (2003)

Guidry is currently the Yankees pitching coach, but judging by the performance of the team's starting rotation and bullpen during that time, it is clear that the Gator earned his honors on the mound, not in the dugout. Nicknamed Louisiana Lightning by former broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, Guidry was the anchor of the Yankees pitching staff from 1977 until 1986, a period during which he won 20 games three times and took home the 1978 AL Cy Young Award.

Number 42

On April 15, 1997, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that Jackie Robinson's number 42 would be retired by every club in the major leagues. The retirement, however, was subject to a grandfather clause that allowed any player wearing the number to keep it until he either retired or left his team. Mariano Rivera wore the number in 1997 and he still wears it today. He is the last player in the Major Leagues to do so.

II. Future Numbers That Will (Likely) Be Retired

Derek Jeter - Number 2. Jeter is the 11th team captain in Yankee history and is a virtual lock to someday join the 3,000 hit club (and he has an oustide shot at 4,000 hits). He will have his number 2 retired within a year after his retirement.

Joe Torre - Number 6. Torre has managed the Yankees since Opening Day of the 1996 season. That is, by far, the longest tenure of any skipper during the Steinbrenner era. Enduring that much punishment day in and day out for twelve straight seasons should be testament enough to Joe Torre's enormous value to the franchise. But the man has led the Yankees to twelve straight postseason berths, six American League pennants and four World Series championships. That should put number 6 to rest in soon, now that he is no longer the manager.

(When Torre's and Jeter's numbers are retired, there will be no more single digits available to Yankee players. Check out Joe Torre's Yankee Manager Career Summary and Highlights and Joe Torre's Playing Career).

Jorge Posada - Number 20. Every year, Jorge Posada gets a little bit closer to Yankee immortality. He already has more home runs than any Yankee catcher not named Yogi Berra. He's also won four World Series rings and has been on five All-Star teams. He certainly has a good chance of retiring Number 20 someday.

Paul O'Neill - Number 21. SInce O'Neill retired after the 2001 World Series, no player has worn his uniform number. O'Neill was the unofficial team captain during their successful run from 1996 through 2001. O'Neill also won the 1994 batting title, had four straight seasons with at least 100 RBI, and became the oldest player in history to steal 20 bases and hit 20 home runs in the same season when he topped those numbers in his final season at age 38. He is a definite possibility for number retirement.

Roger Clemens - Number 22. Clemens will have his number retired by at least three of the four teams for whom he played, and the Yankees will surely be one of them.

Bernie Williams - Number 51. His number will be retired. Soon. Once he and the Yankees make peace. Well, maybe not soon. Someday.

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Joe Torre's Yankee Manager Career Summary and Highlights

Joe Torre's Playing Career

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