DETROIT – When Red Kelly joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1947 as a 20-year-old out of juniors, he was assigned No. 20.

The next season, the club changed his jersey to No. 4.

“I complained,” Kelly said. “I like No. 20 and I asked why. They said one number (digit) is lighter than two.”

On Friday, Kelly watched as No. 4 was raised to the rafters at Little Caesars Arena, only the eighth number to be retired by the storied organization.

A smooth-skating defenseman who frequently joined the rush and contributed offensively, Kelly revolutionized the position in the 1950s. He was an eight-time All-Star during his 12-plus seasons in Detroit, the first winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 1954. He won four of his eight Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings.

“Red Kelly was the premier offensive defenseman throughout his time in Detroit,” former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said during the ceremony prior to the game against Toronto. “Nobody could match Red Kelly. He was like a fourth forward.”

Bowman added: “Doug Harvey (of Montreal) was one of the greatest that ever played, but Doug was more a defender. He could rush, but not like Red. To think about a guy that plays defense but has to go up and play forward, that’s how good a skater he was.”

Kelly, 91, and many family members joined Bowman and Red Wings great Alex Delvecchio on the ice for the ceremony. The entire Red Wings team watched from the bench. Several Leafs also watched from the bench, including coach Mike Babcock.

Kelly appeared in 846 games with the Red Wings, collecting 162 goals and 310 assists.

He was traded to Toronto in 1960, when coach Punch Imlach moved him to center. Kelly would go on to win four more Cups with the Maple Leafs. He retired in 1967 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

Bowman noted several players have made the transition from forward to defense, including Dit Clapper, Red Wings director of pro scouting Mark Howe and Brent Burns, but Kelly was the only player to make the successful transition from defense to forward.

“To do what Red Kelly did, nobody will be able to do that again,” Bowman said.

Kelly joins Terry Sawchuk (1), Nicklas Lidstrom (5), Ted Lindsay (7), Gordie Howe (9), Alex Delvecchio (10), Sid Abel (12) and Steve Yzerman (19) as Red Wings whose number has been retired.

Bowman was asked if Kelly compares to any modern-day defenseman.

“There’s so many offensive guys now, it’s hard to pick,” Bowman said. “(San Jose’s Erik) Karlsson, he likes go with the puck. I think Red was more underrated because he was also a penalty killer. He could play defense. They were such a powerful team. They had Abel, Lindsay and Howe. Dutch Reibel came in for a year and then Alex Delvecchio played with that line.

“Red was always on the ice. They only had three lines and two sets of defensemen in those days, maybe one extra forward and one extra defenseman. That’s all they dressed, so Red played a lot with The Production Line, which made it real tough for them to stop.”