Sports Numbers and Their Symbolism | Sports Numbers in Film | Numbers on other than Sports Uniforms | Taking a Lickin' | Letters | Sports Wear and Athletes | Rock Stars | Double Numbers | The Wild One - Influence on Comics and Film | Stripes

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Sports Numbers and Their Symbolism

Comic Books Sports Heroes

"Goliath of the Gridiron" (The Brave and the Bold #45, December 1962-January 1963) is most notable for Carmine Infantino's art. The splash panel portrait of the transformed hero in his football uniform is impressive. His uniform is red and white, like that of so many Infantino heroes, and has the number 9 all over it. The number 9 on the helmet even shows up in a later silhouette illustration; it is strongly identified with the hero throughout the story.

Comic book heroes often have such single digit numbers on their uniforms, usually one with a strong, straight vertical line, such as 1, 4, 7 or 9. These numbers serve as phallic symbols, and celebrate the heroes' masculinity.

Having sports heroes wear such numbers is an ancient tradition in comics:

Dick Cole is usually number 9 in his many sports stories, courtesy of artist Jim Wilcox:

Numbers show up in romance comic books, worn by glamorous heroes:

Bob Brown also drew Smallville High quarterback "Bash" Bradford with the number 7 on his football uniform, in "The Strange Death of Superboy" (Superboy #161, December 1969). As in Infantino's "Goliath of the Gridiron", these are red uniforms with white numbers. The football players have the extreme muscles of the 1970 era in comics, and virtually look like a group of super-beings. We first see "Bash" (p2), where he is triumphing over a player from the opposing team, who is dressed in a blue uniform, with the number 12 on it. In a second game (p14), we see one of Bash's teammates, who is equally good looking, and who wears the number 4. Once again, #7 and #4 are associated with heroes. In the film Starship Troopers (1997), the hero wears number 7 for his team, and he fights an opposing team member in blue wearing number 12, just as in Brown's story.

Non-comics illustrators also use such numbers:

Sports Numbers in Film

Films also use such numbers. In contemporary movies:

The main football player in the music video Let's Hear It For the Boy (1984) is #1, while his opponent is #77. The video was directed by Kenny Ortega, who went on to a similar mix of sports and dancing in High School Musical.

Older films also used such numbers:

Paired Heroes:

Numbers on other than Sports Uniforms

Numbers show up on other places than athletic uniforms.

Emblems:

Vehicles and Racing:

Badge Numbers:

Taking a Lickin'

A number of comic book stories seem influenced by the movie comedy The Freshman (1925). Like that film, they show the hero initially being the worst player on the football team, before eventually going on to win the big game. The heroes of these tales usually get tackled or defeated by much better players in the early stages, and these better football players wear the symbolic numbers. In The Freshman, the captain of the football team wears #1 during practice, while hero Harold Lloyd wears 0.

In the origin of the Flash (Flash Comics #1, January 1940), hero Jay Garrick is tackled by a better player wearing #7, while another football player laughs at him. He is also chewed out by his coach and his girlfriend.

The comic screw-up Johnny Thunder is forced to wear the less macho number 5 while playing football for the hopeless team of the Lurnfast Niteschool (World's Finest Comics #3, Fall 1941). He is dominated by far more macho opponents from a better school, one of whom is wearing number 1. Johnny really takes a lickin' from this team. It's quite a predicament to be in. The story plays this situation for comedy, like most of the Johnny Thunder tales. This story is scripted by John B. Wentworth, with art by Stan Aschmeier. All of Johnny's teammates also wear less macho numbers, such as 2, 6 and even 0. Exception: when Johnny is knocked out during practice, he is carried away by two teammates wearing 4 and 9.

The football player drawn by Gil Kane in "Raiders of the Waterless World" (Mystery in Space #56, December 1959) wears #77. This guy is shown yelling at the hero, giving him orders. Meanwhile, the hero is the team's water-boy, a role from which he finds it impossible to escape. Permanently. The futuristic football uniforms are fascinatingly curved. They are worn with comic strip style boots, complete with complex cleats along their edges.

However, even being a football hero does not prevent one from tackles in the comics. The quarterback in "Enemies in Love" (Falling in Love #141, June - July 1973) might wear #7, but the other team really piles onto him during a tackle.

In his origin story (Nova #1, September 1976), before he becomes a superhero, high school student Richard Rider loses the game for his basketball team. Rider is #4, and he's chewed out by team member #7. Art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott.

Letters

Such phallic symbol letters as P, R and T are also frequently worn by athletes in film and comics.

Films

Comics

Sports Wear and Athletes

Apparently authentic looking football jerseys have also become popular among men in real life as street wear. A major sports wear manufacturer is now selling shiny navy blue and gold football jerseys, with the number 7 in gold on their chest, sleeves and back. These are cleverly designed to look just like a real football uniform a guy happened to have around. Navy blue is also the traditional color of male authority figures, such as policemen, pilots and business bosses. Navy blue baseball T shirts by another manufacturer bear the number 77, while a shiny white basketball jersey bears a huge red 4. Many college football jerseys sold to fans contain the number 1 on their chest.

Well known athletes also wear such numbers:

Rock Stars

Rock musicians, too, have long used such symbolism. Paul McCartney's band used to include a guitarist who wore an athletic top with a huge, sports style "1" on his chest, along with black nylon pants and boots.

'N SYNC

98 Degrees

Double Numbers

Double numbers also create punch:

The Wild One - Influence on Comics and Film

Comic books sometimes use such paired numbers: see "The Show Off" (Heart Throbs #145, September 1972). The cover shows the ultra-macho football player in full team uniform. His number is 33. Later in the tale, we see the football player in his team jacket. This is a black leather jacket. Unlike many athletic jackets, which emphasize glamour, this one looks tough. The black leather jacket looks like something a gang of motorcycle hoodlums would wear. It is covered with white writing, like the jackets of a biker gang. In front is a big letter S, which stands for State, the name of the team's school. The back of the jacket has the word STATE on it. Immediately below, in white letters, is the player's number, 33. Both STATE and 33 are in exactly the same positions and style of lettering as on the player's football uniform. The effect is of a transfer between the hero's uniform and his leather jacket. All the letters are in the block style frequently used for athletic lettering. The jacket with its number is extremely tough looking, almost like something a convict would wear. There is no name on the jacket, just the hero's team number. The effect of being part of a motorcycle gang is overwhelmingly convincing. The whole concept of such jackets is unique. I have never seen anything like them in real life. Like other biker uniforms in the comics, it shows the influence of the biker film The Wild One (1954), which also featured black leather jackets with white lettering.

Rapper Vanilla Ice wore a black leather motorcycle jacket in the film Cool As Ice (1991). Its huge epaulettes are outlined in white, and contain the number 1 in white circles. It is also covered with white lettering, in script styles that recall athletic award jackets. It is a cross between the outlaw biker bad boy look, and athletic teams. He wore a huge matching black leather cap that combines features of baseball caps and fatigue uniform caps, with metal plate insignia where a policeman's badge might go.

The biker uniforms in "Play With Fire" (Girl's Love Stories #178, July - August 1973) also have features that recall The Wild One. The uniforms are a unique cross between biker gear, police style dress uniforms, and athletic uniforms, all in one spiffy package. An athletic style purple muscle shirt is worn with a matching police style, high peaked uniform cap - a most unusual combination. The cap and the shirt both contain the same skull insignia, making the combination a true uniform. The skull is shown tightly blindfolded, echoing the blind skulls on the caps and jackets in The Wild One. The shirts also bear large and small numbers on the back and front respectively, in a style of lettering traditionally used for athletic uniforms. The hero is #7. This uniform is clean cut, with features that recall the spiffiest of spit and polish dress uniforms. The peaked uniform cap is especially elegant, with a huge curved shiny black visor, and a silver rim connecting it to the cap. The hero is the only biker in the story. It is unclear whether he is part of a motorcycle racing team, or a gang, or some sort of elite club, or whether his uniform is just some sort of fashion statement, and he is the only member of a non-existent "team". The biker is the school's top baseball player - he is definitely not a marginalized person. The uniform is totally cool. It is perhaps its combination of many traditions that gives it its edge.

Pike's men tend to be boyish, good natured and sweet looking, as well as being very good looking. But they are uninhibited about wearing any sort of uniform, or clothes that convey social authority. Society goes out its way to certify these young men as appealing, in the way they are dressed, quite a sneaky combination. The hero of this tale is explicitly a star athlete; we see him in his baseball team uniform. Such sports stars have a high social status that is unquestionable, even if unfair. The hero is a member of a male group that is of overwhelming social status.

Like other romance comic heroes, this guy seems to be members of groups that are often thought of as social enemies. First, he is dressed as a star athlete. Then he is glamorous clothes at a dance that suggest he is at the top of his school's social elite, pretty clothes that suggest he is the ultimate heartthrob date. Finally, at the end he shows up in biker uniform. Athletes, dreamboats, bikers - these are different groups in most schools. Our hero can excel at any of these looks.

Stripes

Stripes and pinstripes often appeared in men's clothes in the romance comic books, around 1970. Here is a list:

Falling in Love

Young Romance

Girls' Love Stories

Heart Throbs

Love Stories

Supergirl

Young Love

My Love

This was actually before the fashion industry decided that pinstripes were the power look for men, in the mid-1970's. So comic books were a bit ahead of the fashion curve.