Best of Jersey 14

Number 14 in the NFL might not always steal the spotlight, but for quarterbacks, it holds a special place in history. Worn by some of the most iconic signal-callers, the number 14 signifies leadership, precision, and clutch performances.

This list dives deep into the careers of the greatest NFL quarterbacks who donned the number 14 with distinction.  Get ready to discover a legendary lineup, from the pinpoint accuracy of Y.A. Tittle to the scrambling prowess of Dan Fouts.

Curious to see which NFL greats rocked number 14? Dive into our exclusive list of the most famous and best American pro football players who wore this iconic number.

Football Historian, author and podcast host Joe Ziemba joined Darin to discuss who the top NFL players were that wore the number 14. Joe wrote a great book on the Chicago Cardinals titled, "When Football was Football; The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL." His podcast, found on the Sports History Network, shares part of his book's name, "When Football was Football."

•  Dan Fouts was born June 10, 1951  and is a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee and former NFL Quarterback of the San Diego Chargers who later became a top TV Color Analyst. In his brilliant career with the Chargers he threw for over 43,000 career yards and 254 touchdowns. He played in what many consider to be the most potent offense of the 1970's early 1980's NFL era. Dan was an All-Pro twice and played in 6 Pro Bowls during his career.
• Y. A. Tittle  was born on October 24, 1926 in Marshall, Texas. He was a Quarterback great with his God Given Name Yelbertron Abraham Tittle. Y. A.  Tittle played collegiately at Louisiana State University. He joined the Colts in the AAFC and was that league's Rookie of the Year in 1950. When the Colts disbanded before the start of the 1951 season, Tittle joined the San Francisco 49ers and enjoyed 10 seasons of individual success with the team but had never got close to a championship. In 1961 he was traded to the New York Giants and Y.A. platooned at the QB position with veteran Charley Conerly. By 1963 he had taken over the Giants QB position outright and earned NFL Most Valuable Player honors. Y.A. led the Giants to the divisional titles in 1961, 1962, and 1963 but though they failed to win the overall NFL crown, these were considered great years to remember by Giants fans. Tittle enjoyed 17 seasons in his NFL career according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website bio on the player. He was All-NFL 4 times, played in 7 Pro-Bowls and tossed over 28,000 yards and 212 touchdowns in his illustrious career. Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Y A Tittle in 1971.
• Don Hutson was born January 31, 1913 - Pine Bluff, Arkansas - He was a former Alabama End. The footballfoundation.org site tells how with great route running, elusive speed and smarts Don Hutson set the standard for pass receivers to come. Hutson once hauled in six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in Alabama's 29- 13 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Don was an All-America selection in 1934. That season was brilliant by Hutson as he  played signature games such as when he scored the winning touchdown on a 9-yard, end-around play against Tennessee in a 13-6 Tide victory. In the Clemson game that year he caught six passes and scored two for touchdowns. The National Football Foundation placed Don Hutson into the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame class in 1951 as we discussed just a few days ago. After leaving Alabama, Hutson played 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He was all-pro 9 times even leading the league in pass receptions 8 different times as he led the league in scoring 5 times  Once his crowning accomplishment was to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice! He finished his pro career with 7991 yards on 488 pass receptions. Don Hutson had no trouble gaining entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. 
• Curly Lambeau - The great player, coach and forefather almost of the Green Bay Packers
• Fred Biletnikoff was born on February 23, 1943 in Erie, Pennsylvania - The talented wide receiver that once wore the colors of the Florida State Seminoles, Fred Biletnikoff was a champion. In his first two seasons at FSU, he played on both sides of the ball. He showed off his defensive skill set in his junior year he made a 99-yard run with an intercepted pass against Miami per the NFF. According to Dan Brabender’s book, “Sports Heroes of the Erie School District“ was FSU’s first consensus All-American and he set single season records with 70 receptions, 1179 receiving yards and 15 scores in 1964 a the school. Fred had some of his greatest performances while on the big stage. In a Gator Bowl victory over powerful Oklahoma, Freddie B hauled in 13 receptions for 192 yards and four touchdowns in the Seminoles 36-19 romp. Fred’s Florida State career was so impactful that they retired the All-American’s jersey number 25 from being used further in the school’s football program. The collegiate accomplishments of Fred Biletnikoff were held for preservation in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991. The Oakland Raiders took Fred inthe 1965 AFL Draft and he stayed with the franchise for his entire 14 year Pro Career. The shifty wideout caught a career 589 passes for 8974 yards and 76 TDs. The Pro Football Hall of Fame says that Biletnikoff “owned several significant NFL marks as well. Along with another Hall of Fame receiver, Raymond Berry, Fred held the record for having caught 40 or more passes in 10 consecutive seasons. His 70 receptions, 1,167 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns in 19 post-season games were also NFL post-season career records.” He played in two AFL All-Star games and four AFC-NFC Pro Bowl games as well as three AFL and five AFC championship games, plus Super Bowls II and XI. Fred was the MVP of that Super Bowl XI Raiders victory! Fred Biletnikoff was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.  As a final note we share that the earlier mentioned Author Dan Brabender, declares Biletnikoff to be the greatest wide receiver in NFL history!
• Johnny Blood McNally
• Otto Graham was born December 6, 1921 - Waukegan, Illinois - Otto Graham the great signal caller for the 1941 to ‘43 Northwestern Wildcats came into this world.  According to the National Football Foundation Graham was well rounded as he was All-America in football in 1943, All-America in basketball in 1944. Otto also won two letters in baseball and excelled as a musician, geez was there anything this young man couldn’t do well? It may have been a shorter to list those items! Technically in college Graham played the position of left-halfback in the Wildcat’s single wing offense. Just an editor's note there does not seem to be any correlation of Northwestern success with the single-wing offense and the fact that the single-wing in today’s football landscape being referenced as the “Wildcat” offense. Perhaps this is a story for a future episode.  Any how back to Otto Graham. He set numerous offensive records at his school and they can be found on the NFF article. In 1956  the College Football Hall of Fame accepted Otto Graham into their ranks of gridiron legends. After his college playing days ended, Graham  became the first Cleveland Browns player when coach Paul Brown signed him as a T-formation quarterback. Otto and the Browns dominated the now defunct AAFC professional league and then thereafter entered into the realm of the NFL where they had continued their previous success. Graham’s biography sketch on profootballhof.com tells us that he played 10 seasons of pro ball and was the top passer in the respective leagues he played in 6 of those years. He also was given All-League honors in 9 of the ten years he played professionally. The 1950 NFL title game saw Otto toss 4 TD passs and in the 1954 NFL Championship contest he ran for 3 and threw for 3 scores. The  Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Otto Graham in 1965. 
• Link Lyman was born November 30, 1898- Table Rock, Nebraska - William Roy ”Link” Lyman the tackle from Nebraska came into this world. Link was a large player in the early 20’s as he stood 6’-2” high and weighed in at 233 pounds. Lyman was a member of three straight NFL Championship teams, the 1922 & 23 Canton Bulldogs and then the 1924 Cleveland Bulldogs team. The Pro Football Hall of Fame then tells us that in 1925 he joined the Chicago Bears barnstorming tour that featured Red Grange. He stayed with the Bears the balance of his career and even won another NFL Championship with them in 1933. Lyman made shifting the D-lineman around a normal standard when others saw the success of the maneuver. All in all in Link’s  16 years of combined college and pro careers he only went through one losing season. Make sure you read above in the football history headlines to learn about Lyman and the Bulldogs 1924 Championship which is featured.  Link Lyman entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

Players Not Yet in the Hall Of Fame:

• Ken Anderson
• Frank Reich
• Steve Grogan
• Andy Dalton
• Brad Johnson
• Ryan Fitzpatrick
• Richard Todd
• Sam Wyche
• Neil O'Donnell
• Ed Podolak
• Fred Cox
• Stefon Diggs

Do you agree or disagree with our list? We would love to get your feedback, so email us at PigskinDispatch@gmail.com.

A speical thanks to the Pro Football Reference website for information they share on these great players. Check them out at Pro-Football-Reference.com

The Image used above is courtesy of Google Gemini and others from Wikimedia Commons. It is pleasing to see such vivid images of the jerseys that point out the uniform number and help us identify the legends that wore it.