Kevin Spain

USA TODAY Sports

Where would baseball be without No. 3? Who was the best football player to wear No. 12? And is No. 23 the greatest NBA player of all time?

Eighty-eight years ago this week, the New York Yankees became the first professional sports team to permanently wear numbers on their uniforms. Which got us thinking about the greatest athletes -- across all sports -- who wore each number, from 00 to 99.

Several of the greats share the same number (Looking at you, No. 32. Magic Johnson? Jim Brown?) For certain numbers, it is almost impossible to choose one top athlete. So we're letting you try, including polls with those select numbers.

Disagree with our picks? Think we left someone off? Tweet us @USATODAYSports and let us know.

After checking out the photo gallery, read the list of top athletes at every number.

GALLERY: Top pro athletes by number, from 00 to 99

00

Jim Otto, NFL; Robert Parish, NBA; Ken Burrough, NFL

0

Russell Westbrook, NBA; Al Oliver, MLB; Gilbert Arenas, NBA

1

Oscar Robertson, NBA; Warren Moon, NFL; Ozzie Smith, MLB; Billy Martin, MLB; Pee Wee Reese, MLB

2

Derek Jeter, MLB; Moses Malone, NBA; Brian Leetch, NHL; Rusty Wallace, NASCAR; Al MacInnis, NHL

3

Babe Ruth, MLB; Dwyane Wade, NBA; Allen Iverson, NBA; Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR; Bronko Nagurski, NFL; Harmon Killebrew, MLB; Candace Parker, WNBA; Diana Taurasi, WNBA

4

Lou Gehrig, MLB; Brett Favre, NFL; Bobby Orr, NHL; Mel Ott, MLB; Duke Snider, MLB, Paul Molitor, MLB

5

Joe DiMaggio, MLB; Johnny Bench, MLB; Hank Greenberg, MLB; Paul Hornung, NFL; Brooks Robinson, MLB; George Brett, MLB; Nicklas Lidstrom, NHL; Dawn Staley, WNBA

6

Bill Russell, NBA; Julius Erving, NBA; Stan Musial, MLB; Al Kaline, MLB

7

Mickey Mantle, MLB; John Elway, NFL; David Beckham, soccer; Tiny Archibald, NBA; Phil Esposito, NHL

8

Cal Ripken Jr., MLB; Yogi Berra, MLB; Troy Aikman, NFL; Steve Young, NFL; Carl Yastrzemski, MLB; Joe Morgan, MLB; Willie Stargell, MLB; Kobe Bryant, NBA

9

Ted Williams, MLB; Gordie Howe, NHL; Bob Pettit, NBA; Bill Elliott, NASCAR; Rocket Richard, NHL; Bobby Hull, NHL; Drew Brees, NFL; Roger Maris, MLB

10

Walt Frazier, NBA; Fran Tarkenton, NFL; Pele, soccer; Diego Maradona, soccer; Guy Lafleur, NHL; Chipper Jones, MLB; Lionel Messi, soccer

11

Isaiah Thomas, NBA; Mark Messier, NHL; Elvin Hayes, NBA; Yao Ming, NBA; Cale Yarborough, NASCAR; Teresa Weatherspoon, WNBA

12

Tom Brady, NFL; Joe Namath, NFL; Terry Bradshaw, NFL; John Stockton, NBA; Jim Kelly, NFL; Ken Stabler, NFL; Roger Staubach, NFL; Roberto Alomar, MLB

13

Wilt Chamberlain, NBA; Dan Marino, NFL; Alex Rodriguez, MLB; Steve Nash, NBA; James Harden, NBA

14

Pete Rose, MLB; Bob Cousy, NBA; A.J. Foyt, Racing; Ernie Banks, MLB; Y.A. Tittle, NFL

15

Bart Starr, NFL; Thurman Munson, MLB; Carmelo Anthony, NBA; Hal Greer, NBA; Earl Monroe, NBA

16

Joe Montana, NFL; Brett Hull, NHL; George Blanda, NFL; Whitey Ford, MLB; Len Dawson, NFL; Dwight Gooden, MLB

17

Dizzy Dean, MLB; John Havlicek, NBA; Jari Kurri, NHL; Matt Kenseth, NASCAR; Doug Williams, NFL; Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR

18

Peyton Manning, NFL; Dave Cowens, NBA; Charlie Joiner, NFL; Denis Savard, NHL; Bobby Labonte, NASCAR

19

Johnny Unitas, NFL; Willis Reed, NBA; Steve Yzerman, NHL; Lance Alworth, NFL, Bob Feller, MLB; Robin Yount, MLB; Tony Gwynn, MLB

20

Barry Sanders, NFL; Lou Brock, MLB; Mike Schmidt, MLB; Frank Robinson, MLB; Tony Stewart, NASCAR; Luc Robitaille, NHL; Ed Reed, NFL; Rob Niedermayer, NHL; Josh Gibson, baseball

21

Roberto Clemente, MLB; Tim Duncan, NBA; Warren Spahn, MLB; LaDainian Tomlinson, NFL; Sammy Sosa, MLB; David Pearson, NASCAR; Roger Clemens, MLB; Deion Sanders, NFL

22

Emmitt Smith, NFL; Elgin Baylor, NBA; Clyde Drexler, NBA; Bobby Lane, NFL; Jim Palmer, MLB

23

Michael Jordan, NBA; LeBron James, NBA; Kirk Gibson, MLB; Calvin Murphy, NBA; Ryne Sandberg, MLB

24

Willie Mays, MLB; Kobe Bryant, NBA; Jeff Gordon, NASCAR; Moses Malone, NBA; Ken Griffey Jr., MLB; Lenny Moore, NFL; Rick Barry, NBA

25

Barry Bonds, MLB; Fred Biletnikoff, NFL; Mark McGwire, MLB; K.C. Jones, NBA

26

Wade Boggs, MLB; Rod Woodson, NFL; Herb Adderley, NFL; Billy Williams, MLB

27

Juan Marichal, MLB; Eddie George, NFL; Vladimir Guerrero, MLB; Scott Niedermayer, NHL; Mike Trout, MLB

28

Marshall Faulk, NFL; Bert Blyleven, MLB; Darrell Green, NFL

29

Eric Dickerson, NFL; Satchel Paige, MLB; Rod Carew, MLB; John Smoltz, MLB; Ken Dryden, NHL

30

Nolan Ryan, MLB; Martin Brodeur, NHL; Terrell Davis, NFL; Stephen Curry, NBA; Maury Wills, MLB; Bernard King, NBA

31

Greg Maddux, MLB; Reggie Miller, NBA; Fergie Jenkins, MLB; Dave Winfield, MLB; Billy Smith, NHL; Mike Piazza, MLB; Donnie Shell, NFL

32

Magic Johnson, NBA; Jim Brown, NFL; O.J. Simpson, NFL; Sandy Koufax, MLB; Bill Walton, NBA; Marcus Allen, NFL; Steve Carlton, MLB

33

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA; Larry Bird, NBA; Patrick Roy, NHL; Tony Dorsett, NFL; Jose Canseco, MLB; Harry Gant, NASCAR; Honus Wagner, MLB; Patrick Ewing, NBA; Scottie Pippen, NBA

34

Walter Payton, NFL; Shaquille O'Neal, NBA; Bryce Harper, MLB; Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA; Kirby Puckett, MLB; Thurman Thomas, NFL

35

Kevin Durant, NBA; Rickey Henderson, MLB; Frank Thomas, MLB; Phil Neikro, MLB; Mike Cuellar, MLB

36

Jerome Bettis, NFL; Robin Roberts, MLB; Gaylord Perry, MLB; Don Newcombe, MLB

37

Doak Walker, NFL; Dave Stieb, MLB; Lester Hayes, NFL; Casey Stengel, MLB; Bill "Spaceman" Lee, MLB

38

Curt Schilling, MLB; George Rogers, NFL; Pavol Demitra, NHL

39

Larry Csonka, NFL; Dominik Hasek, NHL; Roy Campanella, MLB

40

Gale Sayers, NFL; Shawn Kemp, NBA; Rick Sutcliffe, MLB

41

Dirk Nowitzki, NBA; Wes Unseld, NBA; Tom Seaver, MLB; Charlie Waters, NFL; Eddie Matthews, MLB

42

Jackie Robinson, MLB; Ronnie Lott, NFL; James Worthy, NBA; Mariano Rivera, MLB

43

Richard Petty, NASCAR; Dennis Eckersley, MLB; Troy Polamalu, NFL

44

Hank Aaron, MLB; Jerry West, NBA; Pete Maravich, NBA; George Gervin, NBA; John Riggins, NFL; Reggie Jackson, MLB; Willie McCovey, MLB

45

Bob Gibson, MLB; A.C. Green, NBA; Pedro Martinez, MLB; Kyle Petty, NASCAR

46

Lee Smith, MLB; Todd Christensen, NFL; Andy Pettitte, MLB

47

Jack Morris, MLB; Mel Blount, NFL; Tom Glavine, MLB; Jerry Lucas, NBA

48

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR; Torii Hunter, MLB; Scott Young, NHL

49

Hoyt Wilhelm, MLB; Ron Guidry, MLB; Bobby Mitchell, NFL; Brian Savage, NHL

50

David Robinson, NBA; Mike Singletary, NFL; Dave Dalby, NFL, Jamie Moyer, MLB

51

Dick Butkus, NFL; Ichiro Suzuki, MLB; Randy Cross, NFL; Randy Johnson, MLB; Jim Ringo, NFL

52

Ray Lewis, NFL; Dave Edwards, NFL; Jamaal Wilkes, NBA; Mike Webster, NFL

53

Don Drysdale, MLB; Harry Carson, NFL; Randy Gradishar, NFL; Artis Gilmore, NBA

54

Randy White, NFL; Rich Gossage, MLB; Brian Urlacher, NFL; Chuck Howley, NFL

55

Orel Hershiser, MLB; Junior Seau, NFL; Lee Roy Jordan, NFL; Otis Wilson, NFL

56

Lawrence Taylor, NFL; Shawne Merriman, NFL; Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR

57

Francisco Rodriguez, MLB; Tom Jackson, NFL; Dwight Stephenson, NFL

58

Jack Lambert, NFL; Derrick Thomas, NFL; Carl Banks, NFL; Wilber Marshall, NFL

59

Jack Ham, NFL; "Tiger" Tom Pistone, NASCAR; Seth Joyner, NFL

60

Chuck Bednarik, NFL; Otto Graham, NFL; Tommy Nobis, NFL; Otis Sistrunk, NFL

61

Curley Culp, NFL; Bill George, NFL; Josh Beckett, MLB

62

Jim Langer, NFL; Curtis "Crawfish" Crider, NASCAR

63

Gene Upshaw, NFL; Willie Lanier, NFL; Lee Roy Selmon, NFL; Ernie Holmes, NFL

64

Jerry Kramer, NFL; Elmo Langley, NASCAR; Randall McDaniel, NFL

65

Elvin Bethea, NFL; Tom Mack, NFL; Gary Zimmerman, NFL

66

Mario Lemieux, NHL; Ray Nitschke, NFL; Conrad Dobler, NFL

67

Reggie McKenzie, NFL; Bob Kuechenberg, NFL; Les Richter, NFL

68

Jaromir Jagr, NHL; L.C. Greenwood, NFL; Albert Pujols, MLB; Russ Grimm, NFL; Joe DeLamielleure, NFL

69

Tim Krumrie, NFL; Will Worford, NFL; Jared Allen, NFL

70

Sam Huff; NFL; Art Donovan, NFL; Rayfield Wright, NFL; Leon Gray, NFL, Jim Marshall, NFL

71

Alex Karras, NFL; Walter Jones, NFL; Dave Marcis, NASCAR; Bobby Isaac, NASCAR; Walter Jones, NFL

72

Carlton Fisk, MLB; Ed "Too Tall" Jones, NFL; Dan Dierdorf, NFL; William "Refrigerator" Perry, NFL

73

John Hannah, NFL; Ron Yary, NFL; Larry Allen, NFL

74

Merlin Olsen, NFL; Bob Lilly, NFL; Bruce Matthews, NFL; Ron Mix, NFL

75

Joe Greene, NFL; Deacon Jones, NFL; Forrest Gregg, NFL; Lomas Brown, NFL; Jonathan Ogden, NFL; Vince Wilfork, NFL

76

Marion Motley, NFL; Lou Groza, NFL; Rosey Grier, NFL

77

Red Grange, NFL; Lyle Alzado, NFL; Ray Bourque, NHL; Paul Coffey, NHL; Gary Larsen, NFL

78

Anthony Munoz, NFL; Art Shell, NFL; Bruce Smith, NFL; Jackie Slater, NFL; Dwight White, NFL

79

Rosey Brown, NFL; Harvey Martin, NFL; Bob "The Geek" St. Clair, NFL

80

Jerry Rice, NFL; Kellen Winslow, NFL; Steve Largent, NFL; Chris Carter, NFL

81

Terrell Owens, NFL; Tim Brown, NFL; Dick "Night Train" Lane, NFL; Doug Atkins, NFL; Art Monk, NFL; Carl Eller, NFL

82

Raymond Berry, NFL; John Stallworth, NFL; Ozzie Newsome, NFL

83

Ted Hendricks, NFL; Andre Reed, NFL; Mark Clayton, NFL; Willie Gault, NFL

84

Randy Moss, NFL; Chris Webber, NBA; Shannon Sharpe, NFL; Sterling Sharpe, NFL; Herman Moore, NFL

85

Jack Youngblood, NFL; Antonio Gates, NFL; Nick Buoniconti, NFL

86

Buck Buchanan, NFL; Dante Lavelli, NFL; James Lofton, NFL

87

Dwight Clark, NFL; Sidney Crosby, NHL; Dave Casper, NFL; Buck Baker, NASCAR

88

Lynn Swann, NFL; Alan Page, NFL; John Mackey, NFL; Tony Gonzalez, NFL; Michael Irvin, NFL; Eric Lindros, NHL

89

Mike Ditka, NFL; Gino Marchetti, NFL; Mark Bavaro, NFL; Clyde Lovellette, NBA

90

Neil Smith, NFL; Jevon Kearse, NFL

91

Sergei Fedorov, NHL; Kevin Greene, NFL; Dennis Rodman, NBA; Bob Kurland, Olympic basketball

92

Reggie White, NFL; Michael Strahan, NFL; Albert Haynesworth, NFL

93

Doug Gilmour, NHL; John Randle, NFL; Dwight Freeney, NFL

94

Charles Haley, NFL; Dana Stubblefield, NFL; Bill Elliott, NASCAR

95

Richard Dent, NFL; Greg Lloyd, NFL; Bubba Smith, NFL

96

Cortez Kennedy, NFL; Sean Jones, NFL; Pavel Bure, NHL

97

Jeremy Roenick, NHL; Simeon Rice, NFL; Kurt Busch, NASCAR

98

Tom Harmon, NFL; Julian Peterson, NFL; LeeRoy Yarbrough, NASCAR

99

Wayne Gretzky, NHL; George Mikan, NBA; Warren Sapp, NFL; Dan Hampton, NFL