Best of Jersey 7

The number 7 holds a special place in sports, often seen as a lucky charm. But in the NFL, it transcends mere superstition. Jersey number 7 has become a symbol of excellence, worn by some of the most iconic players the game has ever seen. From electrifying wide receivers to lockdown defenders, these athletes have left an undeniable mark on the gridiron.

This list delves into the careers of the greatest NFL players who donned the number 7 with distinction. Get ready to discover a diverse group of gridiron greats.

Larry Schmitt of the Gridiron-Uniform Database and the Big Blue Interactive stopped by the Pigpen once again to share his thoughts on the greatest NFL players to wear the number 7 on their jersey.

Here is a Top Echelon of Players Who Have Worn the #7:

• George Halas (as a player) 1920-1928 February 2, 1895 - Where would we be in Pro Football without the great contributions of George Halas who was born on this day. Maybe a better question would be if we have Pro football without Mr Halas. Halas was a very good player, In College Halas caught a Touchdown pass from Paddy Driscoll as the Great Lakes Naval Station team cruised to a 17-0 Rose Bowl victory  over the Mare Island Marines squad. Halas went on to help organize and coach the Decatur Staleys, was handed ownership of the franchise by Mr Staley himself and then moved the team to the Windy City and re-branded them as the Chicago Bears. In 1902 Papa Bear met with other professional teams across the midwest to organize the APFA, the early name of the NFL in Ralph Hay’s Hupmobile Showroom over a bucket of beer! Halas also coached the Bears squad for 40 seasons stepping away once to serve in World War II. George Halas according to his bio on the HOF site finished with 318 regular-season wins and 324 total victories which were both long-standing NFL records until Don Shula surpassed them in 1993. His Chicago Bears teams won six NFL titles, the first coming in 1921 after the Staleys moved to Chicago. The Pro Football Hall of Fame recognized George Halas when they enshrined him in the inaugural induction ceremony in 1963.
• Mel Hein - 1930-1945 Born August 22, 1909 - Mel Hein was a Washington State center who entered into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. Hein was also a great pro player in the NFL for the New York Football Giants. He was also enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and was selected to the 50th, 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams. Hein was an All-Pro in 8 consecutive seasons from 1933 through 1940.
• Bob Waterfield - 1945-1952 Born July 26, 1920- Bob Waterfield Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined QB of the Rams franchise both in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was important enough to the Rams franchise that his number 7 jersey was retired by the organization. The former UCLA Bruin's signal caller had his college career briefly interrupted when the U.S. Army called him into service during WWII. His football prowess was legendary and so was his off field life as he married actress Jane Russell just before serving in the Army and playing for Fort Benning's 176th Infantry football team. Mr. Waterfield returned to the Bruins after this service in the war in an honorable discharge due to a knee injury and played in the 1944 season for UCLA. He was drafted as the 42nd pick in the 1945 NFL draft by the Cleveland Rams, and as a rookie won the starting job, led the team to a 9-1 record and the NFL Championship in an exciting 15-14 victory over the Washington Redskins!
• Elmer Angsman - 1946-1952 HB for the Chicago Cardinals. Was once one of the famed four horsemen of Notre Dame. rushed for 2908 career yards with a 4.3 yard average. 27 career TDs. 1 NFL Championship and 1 Pro Bowl game.
• Joe Theisman 1971-1973 CFL, 1974-1985 NFL. Born September 9, 1949, Joe played for Notre Dame. Was an All-Pro once and 2 Pro Bowls, won one Super Bowl. 160 TD to 138 Interceptions. 25206 passing yards and a starting record of 77-47.
• Ron Jaworski - 1973-1989 One Pro Bowl, Took the Eagles to a Super Bowl. 179 TDs to 164 interceptions. QB record of 73-69-1
• John Elway - 1983-1998  Born June 28, 1960- John Elway  is a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Quarterback that played for the Denver Broncos. The standout from Stanford University won two Super Bowl Titles and was selected to the Pro Bowl 9 times in his career. For his career he threw for 51475 yards and 300 TDs while allowing 226 interceptions. His 1998 yard drive against Cleveland in the 1986 NFL Championship game was phenomenal. Won the NFL MVP award. Elway was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the 2000 class.
• Ben Roethlisberger - 2004-present - So far Roethlisberger has thrown for 60348 yards and 396 TDs to 200 interceptions. Two time Super Bowl winner. 2004 AP Rookie of the Year, and 6 Pro Bowls.
• Ace Parker - May 17, 1912 - Portsmouth, Virginia - 1937 thru 1946 Brooklyn, Boston Yanks and New York Yankees. TB, BB & QB. HOF 1972. He played college football for Duke as an All-American and according to the Pro football Hall of Fame he stood 5'10'', and weighed in at 178. Ace was the Brooklyn Dodgers' 2nd round pick in the 1937 Draft bu t he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics Baseball team instead. He was an All-NFL player from 1938-1940 and the NFL'S Most Valuable Player for the 1940 season. Parker was a two -way player and on offense was a triple threat as he led the Brooklyn squad to their finest seasons in 1940 & 41. After the War Ace helped the New York Yankees win the 1946 AAFC Eastern title. 
•  Ed Sprinkle September 3, 1923 - Bradshaw , Texas - The big defensive end from Navy, Ed Sprinkle was born. Ed played with the Bears after signing as a free agent from 1944 to 1955. Ed was regarded as one of the first players to pass rush and received the game ball in the 1946 NFL Championship game 24-14 win over the New York Giants. For his career on offense , Sprinkle caught 32 balls for 451 yards and 7 scores. On the defensive side of the ball he picked off four passes, scored a safety and recovered two fumbles for touchdowns. Ed received the honor os being 1st-Team All-Pro in 1949 … 1st-Team All-NFL in 1950 while also registering second-team All-NFL 4 different seasons and ended up playing in 4 Pro Bowls.
•  Dutch Clark _ Portsmouth  Spartans and the Detroit Lions tailback and DB. October 11, 1906 - Earl “Dutch” Clark was a former Colorado College quarterback. According to the National Football Foundation’s website, Clark had some interesting football stories in both his college and pro career after he grew up in Colorado. The first was that he had committed to play at the University of Michigan and while on his way, the four sport high school star was kidnapped by some folks at Northwestern University. He disappointed his Wildcat suitors though and returned due to being homesick, to Colorado and he played for his local Colorado College team. As a pro his team, the Portsmouth Spartans had an identical record with the Chicago Bears so the  first postseason game in NFL history was scheduled to decide a champion and it had some huge twists and turns to make it quite a remarkable story. Spartans star Dutch Clark was unable to play in the game because he had to work. Dutch worked as the Head Basketball Coach at Colorado College and his hoops team had a game on that December 18 and Dutch couldn't get off work to make the first NFL Championship football game.  The National Football Foundation selected him to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. The Pro Football Hall of Fame requested his presence in 1963.
• Morten Andersen
• Michael Vick

For the Top 10 list that Larry Came up with please click here: Top Ten Best NFL Number 7s.

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

Our Guest Larry Schmitt joined Darin to discuss the greatest players to wear the number 7 in NFL history. We had a great list of candidates that really spanned the entire 101 plus years of history of the League and came up with these ten player as being the most substantial:  

1. John Elway
2. Durch Clark
3. George Halas
4. Mel Hein
5. Ace Parker
6. Ed Sprinkle
7. Bob Waterfield
8. Ben Roethlisberger
9. Morten Andersen
10. Joe Theisman

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.