{"id":4731,"date":"2018-11-02T20:03:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-03T00:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.alumni.ncsu.edu\/?p=932"},"modified":"2024-02-01T16:30:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T21:30:28","slug":"behind-iconic-wolfpack-jersey-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/2018\/behind-iconic-wolfpack-jersey-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind Iconic Wolfpack Jersey Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Chris Saunders and Bill Krueger<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pick a number . . . and not just any number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletes are interested in more than just their stats. The number on their jerseys is pretty important, too. NC State<\/em> magazine asked dozens of former and current athletes from multiple Wolfpack sports teams about the meaning behind the digits on their backs. We heard everything from family folklore and religion to superstition and nods to heroes\u2009\u2014\u2009including some from, ahem, another school down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers can even come to define the players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to Earl Wolff \u201911, a former All-ACC safety who wore No. 27 playing football for NC State. \u201cListen, man, that 27 is everything,\u201d he says. \u201cEverything. You\u2019ve got to do that 27 right, you have to. When people see 27, they think of me.\u201d When he arrived in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles gave him No. 28. \u201cIt was different. I wore it pretty well, but it was nothing like that 27, man,\u201d says Wolff, who has that number tattooed on his left shoulder. \u201cI had told myself that if I can put on that 27 again, I feel like I\u2019d have my swagger back a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or as 1983 national champion Ernie Myers \u201987 puts it, \u201cThey called your number out before they called your name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucky Numbers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

10 \u2013 Nate McMillan \u201986,<\/strong> basketball, head coach of the NBA\u2019s Indiana Pacers. McMillan says 10 is his lucky number. \u201cMost of us, when we measure ourselves on talent, we do it on a scale of 1 through 10, with 10 used to represent the best. I\u2019ve always strived to be a 10.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13 \u2013 Harli Hubbard \u201918,<\/strong> softball. \u201cFriday the 13th is my lucky day. That\u2019s the day my parents got married. That was my Uncle Eldon\u2019s birthday. I\u2019ll probably get married on the 13th, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They called your number out before they called your name.
\u2014 Ernie Myers \u201987<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

19 \u2013 Turtle Zaun \u201988,<\/strong> baseball, now a dentist in Mechanicsville, Va. Zaun says when he came to NC State, head coach Sam Esposito assigned numbers to players. But his No. 19 left an impression, so much so that he made a recommendation to his three daughters, who play basketball, lacrosse and field hockey. \u201cI always tell them they need an odd number. Players with odd numbers always run faster. My mother did stick me with that [nickname]. That\u2019s why I said you need an odd number to make you look faster. I was looking for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25 \u2013 Dereck Whittenburg \u201985,<\/strong> basketball, associate athletics director for community relations and student support at NC State. Whittenburg says his lucky number is seven, so he chose a two and a five, whose sum is seven. He notes that at his golf tournament\u200a\u2014\u200aon Aug. 7, 2017\u2009\u2014\u200ahe made a hole in one on the No. 2 hole on the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. \u201cIt was a fivesome. There you go, two and five.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Hero’s Number<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

7 \u2013 Molly Hutchison \u201917,<\/strong> softball. Hutchison, a catcher, was playing on an all-star team in high school when she met Pepper Davis, the basis for the character portrayed by Geena Davis in the movie A League of Their Own. Davis also wore No. 7, and signed a photo for Hutchison\u2009\u2014\u2009\u201cTo Molly, number seven, from Pepper, number seven. Catchers rule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8 \u2013 Tyler Ross \u201917,<\/strong> softball, head softball coach at Pinecrest High in Southern Pines, N.C. Ross was a fan of the University of Texas softball team as a kid, and she particularly liked pitcher Cat Osterman, who wore No. 8. So Ross has always worn 8, and is extremely superstitious about it. \u201cI hate when other people are wearing my number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

44 \u2013 David Thompson \u201975,<\/strong> basketball. Before he led the Pack to the 1974 national championship, Thompson was a big fan of Jerry West, who wore No. 44 in the NBA. \u201cI grew up watching the Lakers. It was also because of my vertical leap.\u201d (That leap was 44 inches.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

44 \u2013 Chasity Melvin \u201998,<\/strong> basketball, coordinator of development at the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. \u201cI wore it in middle school,\u201d she says. When she came to NC State on her recruiting trip, she saw Thompson\u2019s jersey in the rafters. \u201cI said, \u2018Oh man, Melvin has to get up there.\u2019 Coach Yow kind of laughed when I said that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Get Whatcha Get<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

21 \u2013 Matt Dayes \u201916,<\/strong> football. \u201cI wanted number 5, but a senior had it, so I went with 21.\u201d When he drives home to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he gets off on Exit 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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25 \u2013 Monte Towe \u201975,<\/strong> basketball, head coach at Oak Hall High School in Gainesville, Fla. \u201cI was not highly recruited, so I took whatever they gave me,\u201d he says. Tommy Burleson \u201974 wore No. 24, and Towe got No. 25. That way, when they were standing side by side during player introductions, it would \u201cmake him look taller and me look shorter,\u201d Towe says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

41 \u2013 Thurl Bailey \u201983,<\/strong> basketball, broadcaster for the NBA\u2019s Utah Jazz and public speaker. \u201cI wore 45 in high school, but when I went to State, someone else may have been wearing 45. That\u2019s when 41 was born.\u201d Bailey was able to keep No. 41 throughout his NBA career. \u201cIt\u2019s something that really becomes a part of you. It was a very fortunate number for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping The Faith<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

7 \u2013 Nyheim Hines \u201918,<\/strong> football, rookie running back for the Indianapolis Colts. Hines says he had a chance to get No. 3 or No. 7 at NC State, and picked the larger number. \u201cI asked my dad. He said, \u2018It\u2019s God\u2019s number.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 \u2013 Russell Wilson \u201910,<\/strong> football, Seattle Seahawks quarterback. He was assigned No. 16 at NC State and loved it because he was a fan of Joe Montana. In Seattle, that number was taken, so he switched to No. 3, making a reference to John 3:16 from the Bible. \u201cThat is a significant verse, and I think it\u2019s a great story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21 \u2013 C.J. Williams \u201912,<\/strong> basketball. \u201cThree represents the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Every number I wear, that I can control, I try to wear a factor of three. I asked for 21 at NC State, and was told you have to understand what that means. Rodney Monroe wore 21, so you will have big expectations to live up to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n