I recently posted about the numbers that the Miami Dolphins organization has permanently retired, also known as never to be issued to another player, with some possibly very rare exceptions (see the Tennessee Titans-Warren Moon/Cam Ward).
The list of “officially retired Miami Dolphins jersey numbers is short-
- #12 (Bob Griese): Retired in 1982
- #13 (Dan Marino): Retired in 2000
- #39 (Larry Csonka): Retired in 2002
Two other players have their numbers unofficially retired, as no one has been assigned them since their playing days with the team-
- #54 (Zach Thomas): While not formally retired, no other player has worn this number since Thomas retired.
- #99 (Jason Taylor): No other player has worn this number since Taylor’s departure.
I then asked the following question:
What other players, if any, should have their former jersey numbers retired by the Miami Dolphins in the future, and why?
Below are some of your thoughts and answers to the PQOTD-
DolphinsKings1 has a good list and says stop it already with the jersey number 0. I agree with all except for Drake. One amazing play should not get your number retired, but that’s only my opinion.
Well for me I wish for 0 to be retired forever because its so ****ing stupid.
The QB’s should have numbers only 1 through 19. (12 and 13 are gone Grease Lightin’ and Dan The Man).
20 – 49 should be for RB’s, CB’s, FS, and SS (39 The Zonk!) is already gone. 32, 34 and 23 are classic numbers that should be removed for their excellence during their time with us {KDrake, Ricky W and Ronnie B}).
50-59 are strictly LB’s. (54 should be in the future).
60-79 OL only. 78 R. Webb should be.
80-89 WR’s and TE’s only.
90-99 DL only. 99 should be in the future.
Francesco ITA is against it all!
I am against these kind of things, on a philosophical way …
retired numbers, memorabilia, Hall of Fame, Circle of Honor…is all stinky underwear for fans to smell
MIAMI235 says Stephenson, someday I believe it should have already happened! There’s an argument to be made that he’s the best player the team has ever had, or at the very least the second best, and probably the best center to ever play the game at any level. Again, just my opinion, but the dude has never received his due for the absolute greatness that he actually was.
Perhaps not at this juncture. Dwight Stephenson might be a consideration one day.
21Dave wants it official already!
Make it official and retire 99 and 54 and be done with it.
Luvs2drnk2.0 believes that retired numbers should mostly mirror their enshrinement into the Football HOF.
I kind of tie retired numbers to HOF players. Of the 8 left over that haven’t been mentioned already, I would look at Dwight Stephenson and Larry Little. What’s sad is that almost half of the people associated with the Dolphins that are in the HOF got their HOF cred with other teams.
Miami7, responding to Luvs2drnk2.0, agreed with his two choices and would also like to see Paul Warfield’s number 42 put aside in the future.
I agree those are the two that – if any – should be.
Though I have an affinity for MY personal favorite, the reason I became a Dolphins fan way back in 1970….#42
Jptapt wants to see Kuech get his due already!
You can’t forget Larry Little, Nick Buoniconti, Paul Warfield, because they were all great players. But for me, I would go with Bob “Kooch” Kuechenberg. An Ironman that was a great leader and the foundation of the offensive line for 14 years. He deserves the recognition even though (or because) he’s been snubbed by the HoF like 10 times. Let’s take care of our own.
JasonR1324 is a guy who agrees with me, so of course this is a yes!
54 and 99 should officially be retired.
Then 57 for Dwight Stephenson should be retired, as he was definitively the most dominant player at his position while he played, and had he not been injured could potentially have been considered the best at his position of all time.
SlayerNation1 believes that enough have already been retired and we need to just move on.
Leave it at those three and move on. There are other ways to honor accomplishments.
Retired numbers and statues are a separate category. We can’t cheapen everything.
jmworacle has a very solid list!
Jason Taylor, Larry Little, Nick Buonoconti, and Dwight Stephenson.
Well, I would like to say that those are our random comments, but that’s pretty much all of the comments from the original post. The regular season cannot get here fast enough! There were some solid answers, but like some others, I believe it’s an absolute crime that Dwight Stephenson has not had his number retired. As always, thank you to each of you who took the time to answer our PQOTD.