Puttin' Up Numbers

Jim Hart was undrafted out of Southern Illinois “The Harvard of the Midwest” but went on to play 19 years at QB in St. Louis and Washington. 

 Leading the “Cardiac Cards” of the 70s, he was a 4X Pro Bowler, NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1974 and NFL Man of the Year in 1975. 

 When he retired, only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton had thrown for more yards and he was 10th all-time in touchdown passes.  His 23 career game winning drives is on par with Hall of Famers YA Tittle, Ken Stabler, Dan Fouts and Terry Bradshaw.

 After his playing days he was a successful restaurateur, broadcaster and was Athletic Director at his alma mater, SIU. 

 He was enshrined in the Cardinals Ring of Honor in 2017 

2:47 – “My friend. My mentor. My Quarterback.”
Tom’s boyhood idol (and former boss) Jim Hart joins the final episode of Season 1 to talk about #17, acting in the movie Paper Lion, wearing Billy Kilmer’s #17 in Washington, practicing on Thanksgiving Day and much more.

17:47 – “Let’s start with football in honor of Jim Hart.”
We lead off with football which includes Braylon Edwards, Jake Delhomme and Dave Krieg along with Red Badgo, Charlie Ward, Billy Kilmer and Dandy Don Meredith. Contenders are Jim Hart, Doug Williams and Harold Carmichael.

25:44 – “See if you can figure out which is one of my all-time favorite players.”
Keith Hernandez, Dizzy Dean and Scott Rolen topline the list with nods to Mickey Rivers, Oscar Gamble, Dock Ellis, Mark Grace and others.

33:34 – “Let’s get to basketball.”
Handsome SOB Rick Fox is a sentimental favorite while lesser-known players like Jim Pollard, Don Barksdale and Gene Conley take Honorable Mention. Mullin and Havlicek make strong cases as Contenders.

40:48 – “First Wendel Clark.”
Three hockey guys. Wendel Clark, Rod Brind’Amour and Jarri Kurri. David Pearson also gets a shout out in NASCAR (again).

42:27 – “The great Hollywood icon.”
Our last Screen Stars lines up thusly:

1. Steve Carlson as Steve Hanson in Slap Shot (1977)
2. Alan Alda as George Plimpton in Paper Lion (1968)
3. Jim Hart as Jim Hart in Paper Lion (1968)
4. Charlton Heston as Cat Catlan in Number One (1969)
5. Matt Stone as Doug Remer in BASEketball (1998)
6. Sylvester Stallone (car) as Joe Tanto in Driven (2001)

44:33 – “A freak injury sustained during a coin toss.”
Derrick Rose Award

1. Denny McLain

Hall of Shame

1. Bob Ojeda
2. Turk Edwards
3.  Plaxico "Cheddar Plax" Burress

50:15 – “Why not just totally change our format completely?”
Top current #17’s (now by sport)

1. Football – Philip Rivers
2. Hockey – Ilya Kovalchuk
3. Baseball – Kris Bryant
4. Basketball – Dennie Schroder

53:16 – “Back and to the left.”
The Hall of Fame list for #17:

1. John Havlicek
2. Jarri Kurri
3. Dizzy Dean
4. Chris Mullin
5. Keith Hernandez

Our sincere thanks to everyone who listened and supported season 1. We’ll be back at a time and place of our choosing, but feel free to hit us up on the Interwebs anytime!

Billy “White Shoes” Johnson played 14 NFL seasons with Houston, Atlanta and Washington and 1 year in Canada. A wide receiver and return specialist, his famous “funky chicken” end zone dance made him an all-time favorite. He was also a 3X All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl 3X including winning the MVP of the game in 1975. He’s also a member of the College Football HOF and the NFL’s All-Decade teams of the 70s & 80s. He’s also on the NFL’s 75th & 100th Anniversary All-Time teams and is the only member of the 75th Anniversary team not (yet) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

3:12 – “Wow. I was glad it did.”
Billy “White Shoes” Johnson talks about #84 as well as his college number (#46), #81 with the Falcons and his love for #24 which he wore in Canada. And there’s more. Much, much more.

14:33 – “Let’s dive into number 84.”
Tom starts with the hockey list which consists of Guillaume Latendresse and Mikhail Grabovski. That’s it.  That’s the list! Rudy then hops in the Ron Baker and Chris Webber in basketball and we round it out (literally) with Prince Fielder and JT Snow.

19:32 – “Let’s get going with Bob Trumpy.”
The football list for #84 is loaded with talent. Bob Trumpy, Webster Slaughter, TJ Houshmandzadeh (shout out to Michael Hoomanawanui), Jerry Robinson, Javon Walker, Jack Snow, Gene Washington, Brent Jones, Jay Novacek, Joey Galloway, Antonio Brown, Roddy White, Herman Moore, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (again), Gary Clark (and Gary Clark, Jr.), Randy Moss and Shannon Sharpe.

31:39 – “One is the aforementioned Jack Snow .”
Screen Stars for #84:

1. Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady in The Brady Bunch (1 episode in 1973)
2. Jack Snow as Cassidy in Heaven Can Wait (1978) 

32:56 – “Let’s do the Derrick Rose Award first.”
Derrick Rose Award for #84:

1. Darryl Stingley
2. Sterling Sharpe

Hall of Shame for #84:

1. Zeke Mowatt

36:20 – “Anybody who went to Harvard and is in the NFL . .  .”
Heat Check list for #84:

1. Jack Doyle 
2. Cordarrelle Patterson 
3. Irv Smith Jr. 
4.  John Curtiss 
5. Cameron Brate 

39:10 – “Let’s go to the Hall of Fame.”
Hall of Famers for #84:

1. Randy Moss
2. Shannon Sharpe
3. Sterling Sharpe
4. Gary Clark
5. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

Thanks to David Fletcher from the Texas Bowl for helping us to get Billy “White Shoes” Johnson on the pod. Check out the Texas Bowl HERE.

Sports memorabilia guru and all-around good dude Tracy Hackler of Panini America joins the fun to talk about the explosion in popularity of sports trading cards and memorabilia, the effect of uniform numbers on card value, cutting up a perfectly good rare Babe Ruth jersey and watching Ryan Leaf's NFL career implode before it began.

Our Guest
Tracy Hackler has spent the majority of his career talking about sports trading cards. You know those 2 ½ x 3 ½ pieces of cardboard gold that many of us collected as kids. So yes, he’s got a better job than you do. For more than a decade now Tracy has been running point on all communications and marketing for Panini America, the collectibles giant based in Dallas-Fort Worth. Panini produces official trading cards for the NFL, NBA, college football and NASCAR as well as baseball and World Cup soccer cards. Over the past couple of years – and especially the past few months – Panini and the entire sports collectibles category has enjoyed a revival of sorts. Sports cards are super cool again and innovators like Tracy continue to push the envelope to make guys like us want to dig into our savings accounts to buy the next ultra-limited edition titanium-infused autograph jersey card of Zion Williamson.

3:35 – “I can retire now.”
Sports memorabilia guru, and all-around great guy Tracy Hackler chops it up with Rudy and Tom. Rudy also takes a victory lap over his first-ever brilliant guest introduction.

4:39 – “It’s been a pretty surreal six months.”
Tracy talks about the resurgence in popularity of sports trading cards and memorabilia.

5:50 – “Anaheim ’91 was kinda the Catalina Wine Mixer for card people.”
The National as it’s known is THE event if you’re a collector. We’re dropping knowledge all over the place in this podcast!

6:55 – “From the late 90s to 2010 . . .”
The proliferation of products and innovations beyond just cards has moved the entire industry forward. Jerseys, bats, cleats, socks . . . Panini destroys it all and puts it in your hands.

8:40 – “The more peculiar the item . . .”
Tracy discusses NASCAR tires and other hand-made items that have become cards and collectibles.

9:28 – “I really don’t die inside.”
Tracy explains how players have become savvy to the value of their jerseys and memorabilia in general. He also relays the story of cutting up one of three known Babe Ruth jerseys which means he’s certainly going to be haunted by The Babe either now or in the future.

11:20 – “How do they matter?”
Rudy asks about jersey numbers and cards and how the two intersect. For example, a John Elway card that is #7 of 50 in existence commands a premium price. Again, the more you know.

12:56 – “An education at a small liberal arts institution in the northeast.”
The value of cards and memorabilia has exploded with collectors and even investors getting into the act.

14:43 – “That is a great question and I’m glad you asked that.”
Naturally a great question to Tracy about how a change of uniform number or a change of teams/uniforms affects both the sentimental and monetary value of cards and memorabilia for collectors.

16:12 – “The NBA has always been really forward thinking.”
Tracy discusses the NBA’s approach to appealing to an international audience and the effect of increased education from Players Associations.

18:24 – “Tracy was at the crossroads of greatness and not greatness.”
It is revealed that Tracy was the unnamed friend who had a front row seat to watch Ryan Leaf’s NFL career implode before it ever began at the Quarterback Challenge in 1998.

Thanks to Tracy Hackler. Check him out on the Interwebs at https://www.paniniamerica.net

Jake "The Snake" Plummer drops in to talk about #16, comparisons to Joe Montana, a near-miss National Championship, his friendship with Pat Tillman and life after football for a 45-year old retiree.  Plus, strong contenders in all sports, a Hall of Shame you can probably see coming down Main St. and a loaded Hall of Fame class.

Our Guest
Jake Plummer came within 100 seconds of winning a National Championship at Arizona State in 1996. That year he was named All-American, Pac-10 Offensive Player of the year and finished 3rd in Heisman Trophy voting. He played 10 seasons in the NFL with Arizona and Denver. In 1998 he led the Cardinals to an upset win over the Cowboys to notch the team’s first playoff win in 51 years. And with Denver he broke John Elway’s franchise records and led the Broncos to the 2005 AFC Championship game. Since he retired in 2006 he’s been active in a variety of causes including Alzheimer’s and CBD research and he’s the Co-Founder of ReadyList Sports, an interactive playbook learning and testing technology. He’s a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and can beat you at any game you can come up with . . .

2:50 – “Even if I might be greater at the sport, I might not care.”
Jake “The Snake” Plummer shares the story behind #16, his 10 year NFL career, the life and legacy of Pat Tillman and his new business venture, ReadyList Sports.

13:28 – “So Rudy, here we go.”
We lead off with football and college greats Chuck Long, Chris Weinke, Gary Beban, Johnny U., Norm Snead, some Bears guys, Snake Stabler, Snake Plummer and Peyton Manning. Contenders are Jim Plunkett, Frank Gifford, George Blanda, Len Dawson and Joe Montana.

21:03 – “Our lone contender.”
Whitey Ford is the only contender in baseball, but that doesn’t stop us from talking about Hal Newhouser, Bo Jackson, Frank Viola, Rick Monday and Hideo Nomo among others.

25:00 – “Wang Zhizhi.”
Basketball sentimental favorites Wang Zhizhi, Al and Allie McGuire. Honorable Mention for Satch Sanders and Red Holtzman and Contender status for Tom Burleson, Cliff Hagan, Jerry Lucas, Peja Stojakovic, Al Attles and Bob Lanier.

30:00 – “One of the greatest mustaches.”
Hockey players of note are Brett Hull, Marcel Dionne, Bobby Clarke, Henri Richard, Pat Lafontaine and Michel Goulet.

32:49 – “I’m watching soccer shows . . . and I’m liking ‘em.”
Roy Keane, Greg Biffle and Jack Brabham get some love as do soccer and racing documentaries on Netflix.

35:14 – “Screen stars, baby.”
Screen Stars sporting #16 on the silver screen:

1. Keanu Reeves as Shane Falco in The Replacements (2000)
2. Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton in Heaven Can Wait (1978)
3. Vince Vaughn as Peter LaFleur n Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
4. Mac Davis as Seth Maxwell in North Dallas Forty (1979)
5. Anthony Michael Hall as Whitey Ford in 61” (2001) 

44:48 – “If you don’t see this one coming . . .”
Derrick Rose Award

1. Dwight Gooden
2. Jose Fernandez

Hall of Shame

1. Ryan Leaf

43:37 – “Which brings us to the Heat Check.”
Top current #16’s:

1. Pau Gasol
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Jared Goff
4. Tyler Lockett
5. Alexsander Barkov

Shout out to Kolten Wong and Will Smith. Also, bite me Andre Ethier.

48:12 – “It’s the old man of the sea.”
The Hall of Fame list for #16:

1. Joe Montana
2.  Whitey Ford
3. Bob Lanier
4.  Brett Hull
5. George Blanda

Our thanks to our friends Jamey Crimmins and Jake “The Snake” Plummer for supporting the podcast. Learn more about Jake’s latest venture here: http://readylistsports.com

Mark Hilinski discusses the life & legacy of his son Tyler, a former Washington St. QB who died by suicide in 2018 and the work of the Hilinski's Hope Foundation. Plus, Screen Stars, Heat Check and the Hall of Fame is not to be missed.

Our Guest
Mark and Kym Hilinski have three sons, their middle-child’s name was Tyler. He wore #3 as a  starter at Washington State where he engineered one of the greatest comebacks in the history in program history against Boise State in 2017. Just 4 months after that memorable win, Tyler took his own life  - though he never showed signs of depression or struggle. That same year Mark & Kym founded The Hilinski’s Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization formed to promote mental health awareness and education for student-athletes. Last week, was Hilinski’s Hope’s inaugural College Football Mental Health Week, which culminated in the first 3DAY, where players raised three fingers in the third quarter in tribute to Tyler and to bring awareness to The Foundation’s mission to educate, advocate, and eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.

4:05 – “Thanks for having me, you guys.”
Mark Hilinski shares his thoughts on the life and legacy of his son Tyler, the work of the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation and what more can be done to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. 

14:39 – “Rudy, we’ve got a packed number 3 show.”
Football Honorable Mentions go to Joe Montana, Carson Palmer and Daryle Lamonica. The Contenders are Jan Stenerud, Bronko Nagurski, Mark Moseley and Tony Canadeo.

20:10 – “Basketball’s loaded with really, really good #3’s.”
Basketball Sentimental Favorites include John Starks, Damon Stoudamire, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady. Honorable Mentions are Ben Wallace, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Rex Chapman and Contenders are Dennis Johnson, Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson.

28:16 – “It is a Who’s Who.”
Baseball jumps next with Sentimental Favorite Ken Griffey, Jr. Honorable Mentions go to Dale Murphy, Alan Trammell, Harold Baines, Bill Terry, Earl Averill and Alex Rodriguez. Contenders are Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx and Babe Ruth.

36:43 – “Let’s dive into hockey just real quick .”
Hockey players of note are Pierre Pilote, Butch Bouchard, Marcel Pronovost & Harry Howell. Also, a NASCAR shout out to Dale Earnhardt “All I wanna do is race, Daddy.”

38:27 – “We got 15 dudes . . .”
Screen Stars wearing #3 on the silver screen:

1. Jackie Earle Haley as Kelly Leak in Bad News Bears (1976)
2. Michael Caine as Capt. John Colby in Victory (1981)
3. Stan Shaw as Esquire Joe Callaway in Bingo Long (1976)
4.  Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
5. Mike Vitar as Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in The Sandlot (1993)
6. Rhys Ifans as Nigel Gruff in The Replacements (2000)
7. John Goodman as Babe Ruth in The Babe (1992)
8. Liev Schreiber as Ross Rhea in Goon (2011)
9. Paul Newman (car) as Frank Capua in Winning (1969)
10. Barry Pepper (car) as Dale Earnhardt in 3 (2004) 
11. John Candy as Spike Nolan in Brewster’s Millions (1985)
12. Joe Massingill as Bo Gentry in Trouble with the Curve (2012) – 
13. Scott Baio as Buff Saunders in The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980)
14. Shad Moss as Calvin Cambridge in Like Mike (2002)
15. Robert Downey, Jr as Leo Wiggins in Johnny Be Good (1988)

44:48 – “From the sublime to the ridiculous.”
Derrick Rose Award

1. Dale Earnhardt
2. Drazen Petrovic
3. Bob Gassoff

Hall of Shame

1. Sebastian Telfair

35:33 – “Number ten is home cookin’.”
Awesome Heat Check list for #3:

1. Russell Wilson
2. Chris Paul
3. Bryce Harper
4. Anthony Davis
5. Stephen Gostows

Denver Broncos legend Karl Mecklenburg joins the pod to talk about #77, his 6 Keys to Success and  being on the doorstep of the Hall of Fame. We've also got a heated Derrick Rose Award field and an impressive Heat Check list that could be Hall of Fame contenders soon.

Our Guest
Karl Mecklenburg went from being a college walk-on and 12th round pick to a spectacular NFL career highlighted by 3 Super Bowl appearances. He played 12 seasons for the Denver Broncos and was a 3X All-Pro and 6X Pro Bowler. He also sometimes played all 7 positions on the defensive front in the same game. Since retiring in 1994, he’s become a popular public speaker and is the only former NFL player to earn the designation of Certified Speaking Professional. He’s a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, The Broncos Ring of Honor and is an 10-time semifinalist for the Hall of Fame.

2:52 – “Number 77 was the third number I got from the Broncos.”
Broncos great Karl “The Snow Goose” Mecklenburg joins the podcast to talk about #77, his 6 Keys to success, bring a 10-time semi-finalist for the Hall of Fame and more.

13:21 – “Rudy, let’s dive right into number 77.”
We start with football, tipping our caps to Honorable Mention players Orlando Brown, Sr., Stan Mauldin, Dick Schafrath, Jim Jeffcoat and AJ Duhe.  The Contenders are Karl Mecklenburg, Jim Parker, Willie Roaf and Red Grange, “The Galloping Ghost’ (he could do a 95 going coast to coast.)

20:14 – “We have hockey guys aplenty.”
For the first time in PUN history we have a bevy of hockey greats associated with our number du jour. Pierre Turgeon, Adam Oates, Phil Esposito, Paul Coffey and Ray Borque are all lauded here for their contributions.

23:58 – “I think the great Georghe Muresan.”
Rudy hits our basketball Honorable Mention list with 7’7” legend Georghe Muresan, first pick bust Andrea Bargnani and Vladimir Radmanovic, the NBA player with the longest tenure in #77.

25:35 – “So, the Hall of Famer is Ducky Medwick . . .”
Baseball has two stars, Ducky Medwick, who wore 9 different numbers and obvious steroid user Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

27:12 – “We are going so deep it’s unbelievable.”
Screen Stars wearing #77 on the silver screen:

1. Jsu Garcia as Cerulo in Wildcats (1986)
2. Abraham Benrubi as Bud-Lite Kaminski in The Program (1993)
3. Christopher Severio as Brandon Burlsworth in Greater (2016) 
4. Romany Malco as Darren Roanoke in The Love Guru (2008)

28:55 – “Let me have a couple moments here.”
Rudy leads a discussion of how The Program could’ve been a better movie and then Tom steers the conversation back to Wildcats.

30:44 – “Let’s move on to the Hall of Shame and the Derrick Rose Award.”
These categories for #77 are a real bummer, but here’s the list:

Derrick Rose Award

1. Korey Stringer
2. Lyle Alzado
3. Jim Tyrer
4. Brandon Burlsworth

Hall of Shame

1. Tony Mandarich

35:33 – “We’re gonna disinfect this podcast.”
Awesome Heat Check list for #77:

1. Luka Doncic
2. Tyron Smith
3. Victor Hedman
4. Andrew Whitworth
5. TJ Oshie (USA! USA! USA!)
6. Clint Frazier
7. Taylor Lewan
8. Trent Brown
9. Mekhi Becton

 41:39 – “Drumroll, please . . .”
The definitive Hall of Fame list for #77:

1. Red Grange
2. Ray Borque
3. Luka Doncic
4. Paul Coffey
5. Willie Roaf

Our thanks to Karl Mecklenburg. Check him out here: https://karlmecklenburg.com

Don't forget to vote . . . also like, subscribe and rate while you're at it. You can do that as much as you want (not so much with the voting, however.)

Steve Garvey joins the podcast to talk about #6, his time as a Dodgers batboy, his guest shot on Fantasy Island and more. We've also got our fathers' favorite players, plus Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, the Heat Check and more. It's the joy of six!

Our Guest
Steve Garvey played 19-years in the big leagues for the Dodgers and Padres in the 70s & 80s. He’s a 10X All-Star, 4X Gold Glove winner, was National League MVP in 1974 and won a World Series in 1981. His number 6 is retired in San Diego where his dramatic home run in the 1984 NLCS propelled the Padres to their first World Series appearance (take that, Cubbies!) Since he retired in 1987 he’s become a highly sought-after speaker and marketing executive as well as serving on the board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a non-profit that helps former players through medical and financial hardships.

0:55 – “Actually it broke in 1916.”
Rudy tests the limits of the term “late breaking number news” with a treatise on the history of both uniform numbers and names on the back of jerseys.

5:32 – “Oh, you kids grow up. I’m tellin’ you . . .”
We absolutely geek out on meeting Steve Garvey, a boyhood hero.

19:06 – “Let’s get into the contenders.”
Name checks of the baseball also-rans for the #6. Guys like Sal Bando, Roy White, Paul Blair and more make the list.

21:04 – “Appropriately we have six.”
Rudy runs through our six baseball contenders for the Hall of Fame. Joe Torre, Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Steve Garvey, Ryan Howard and Tony Oliva.

27:05 – “Since we don’t have really any contenders . . . ”
Football #6’s is a rogues gallery. Jay Cutler, Bubby Brister, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, Mark Sanchez, Rolf Benirschke, etc. etc.

29:44 – “Let’s do it.”
Sentimental favorites and honorable mentions in baseball include a host of Hall of Famers who played forever ago as well as Patrick Ewing, Alfrederick “The Great” Hughes and Bonzi Wells. 

30:49 – “I’m gonna tip off with Bill Russell.”
The basketball contenders list is stacked. Walter Davis, Tyson Chandler, Walter Berry, Eddie Jones, LeBron James (in Miami), Julius Erving and Bill Russell.

34:24 – “We’ll do hockey real quick.”
We also hit hockey – Toe Blake and Phil Housley and Mark Martin in NASCAR.

35:56 – “It’s time for Screen Stars."
Screen Stars wearing #6 on the silver screen:

1. James Caan as Jonathan E in Rollerball (1975)
2. Pete Vuckovich as Clu Haywood in Major League (1989)
3. Elvis Presley (car) as Steve Grayson in Speedway (1968)
4. Scott Porter as Jason Street in Friday Night Lights (TV Series 2006-11)
5. Mario Lopez as AC Slater in Saved By The Bell (TV Series 1989-92)
6. Arian Foster as Ray Jennings in Draft Day (2014)

40:24 – “And his name is Luis Pujols.”
The Hall of Shame includes Luis “-5.14 WAR” Pujols. An all-field, no-hit catcher with the Astros among others.

41:34 – “We’ve got Ace Bailey. Great name.”
The Derrick Rose Award for #6 includes the sad story of Ace Bailey, the first NHL player to have his number retired and Bill Buckner, who had a great career tarnished by an error.

43:32 – “We’ve got some Heat Check guys.”
Listen to the pod for the honorable mentions, but here’s the Heat Check list for #6:

1. Baker Mayfield
2. Kristaps Porzingis
3. DeAndre Jordan
4. Anthony Rendon
5. Johnny Hekker
6. Eric Bledsoe

47:30 – “But what is even more awesome is we have our Hall of Fame.”
Hall of Fame list for #6:

1. Bill Russell
2. Stan Musial
3. Dr. J
4. Al Kaline
5. Phil Housley
6. Steve Garvey

Hat tip to Jorge Martin for helping us land Steve Garvey. Listen to Jorge’s podcast here: http://familiaffb.com

Jim "The Rookie" Morris joins the show to talk about #63, what it's like to have Dennis Quaid play you in the story of your life and details on his new book Dream Makers. Plus, we've got a carload of NFL linemen and nearly forgotten baseball players to discuss and a mighty unusual Hall of Shame and Derrick Rose Award you won't want to miss.

Our Guest
Our guest has lived his very own Disney movie. Jim Morris was a high school baseball coach and science teacher who incredibly made the major leagues in 1999 at the ripe old age of 35. The story of his life and his rise to the majors became the blockbuster movie The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid – A film that won the ESPY for Best Sports Movie in 2002. Since his playing days he’s become a highly sought-after motivational speaker and in 2015 he launched the Jim “The Rookie” Morris Foundation which assists underprivileged children in and around San Antonio, Texas. His new book Dream Makers picks up where The Rookie left off – telling the story of his contentious relationship with his father, his struggles with pain and addiction and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with the best people possible.

1:08 – “I do have some breaking Number News.”
Rudy runs down the delay in Eli Manning’s #10 retirement at Ole Miss and Christian Pulisic donning the coveted #10 with Chelsea.

3:38 – “Glad to be here on Puttin’ Up Numbers. Thank you.”
Jim “The Rookie” Morris drops in to talk about #63, the movie of his life, his new book, Dream Makers and more.

18:48 – “We do go deep."
Rudy quickly rounds up the baseball, basketball and hockey #63’s of note on our way to an extensive discussion of football players with the number of the day.

29:49 – “We’ve got some good ones here.”
An extensive discussion of football players wearing #63 including Hall of Famers Gene Upshaw, Willie Lanier, Dermontti Dawson, Dick Stanfel, Mike Munchak not to mention Ernie Holmes and Mike Singletary, “the college tackling machine” and more.

30:19 – “What time is it, Rudy?.”
Screen Stars returns with three actors wearing #63 on the silver screen:

1. Dennis Quaid as Jim Morris in The Rookie (2002)
2. Marcus Toji as Marcus “The Toe” in Little Giants (1994)
3. Bud Spencer as Bulldozer in Uppercut (1978)

32:02 – “Jocko Maggiacomo . . . a super fun name to say.”
Jocko earns Hall of Shame honors for a crash with NASCAR legend Bobby Allison at Pocono in 1988 that left Allison dead . . . for a while.

33:25 – “We like to make everything about ourselves of course.”
Rudy relates the troubled past of former Raiders center Barret Robbins, our Derrick Rose Award winner. You may recall Robbins turned up missing the day before the 2002 Super Bowl which was only the beginning for him. Rudy and Tom flex about attending the 2002 Super Bowl and a scandalous Playboy party the night before where Hef used human plates.

37:16 – “You could put these guys in a bag.”
The Heat Check List:

1. Brad Marchand 
2. Corey Linsley 
3. Sean Doolittle 
4. Tyler Ennis 
5. Ben Garland 
6. Michael Deiter 

40:29 – “Four of them are NFL Players.”
The Hall of Fame List for #63:

1. Gene Upshaw
2. Willie Lanier
3. Lee Roy Selmon
4. Dermontti Dawson 
5. Jim Morris

Our thanks to Jim Morris for joining us. Get his new book, Dream Makers here: https://www.jimtherookiemorris.com.

NFL great Steve Smith Sr. joins the show to talk about how he turned a negative into a positive with the number 89. He also shares how he was able to add “Sr.” to his jersey (it’s more complicated than you think), what’s he’s had to learn as an NFL analyst, how he’s helping his community in Charlotte and, like the rest of us, he wonders what’s going on in Jacksonville.  All that and late-breaking number news, Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, the Hall of Fame and more.

Our Guest
Steve Smith Sr. is one of the most prolific NFL receivers of the past 20 years. He played 16 seasons for the Panthers & Ravens and was a 5X Pro Bowl selection and 3X All-Pro. He practically owns the Panthers’ record books as their all-time leader in TDs, receptions and receiving yards and is a member of the team’s Hall of Honor. He’s also in the NFL’s Top 10 for career All-Purpose Yards and Receiving Yards. Since he retired after the 2016 season he’s moved to the NFL Network where you can see him on Thursday Night Football coverage as well as NFL Total Access. Steve remains active in his community as well through the Steve Smith Family Foundation.

1:18 – “It’s baseball number news, regarding the number 89.”
As luck would have it our Number News segment fits our number in question. Rudy details the exploits of the first player to wear #89 in MLB history.

3:47 – “It’s interesting. In college I wore 7, so I wanted 87."
Future Hall of Famer Steve Smith Sr. joins us to talk about the number he never wanted, #89.

19:05 – “Well, let’s dive into it.”
Having already discussed baseball, Tom and Rudy talk about all-time great #89’s in football, hockey, basketball and a NASCAR entry.

27:03 – “We’ve got some good guys in here, man!”
Screen Stars. Actors wearing #89 in movies and TV:

1. Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984) 
2. Fred Dryer as Rick Hunter in Hunter (1984-1991) 
3. Terry Crews in The Longest Yard remake that never happened. 

30:15 – “We have a guy who checks all of those boxes.”
The Derrick Rose Award (great careers ruined by circumstance) retells the sad story of NFL WR David Boston. We also discuss Hall of Shamer’s Rae Carruth, Brian Blades and his lawyer (who we can only assume is Perry Mason) and the forgettable career of JK McKay and his connection to the Ol’ Ball Coach.

34:30 – “Let’s jump into the Heat Check.”
These are people who are still playing and vying for a spot someday on the Hall of Fame list.

1. Marcedes Lewis 
2. Pavel Buchnevich 
3. Tyler Higbee 
4. Mark Andrews 
5. Mikkel Boedker 
6. Vance McDonald 
7. Sam Gagner 
8. Alex Tuch 

37:10  – “Let’s go for it.”
The Hall of Fame List:

1.      Gino Marchetti 
2a.    Mike Ditka 
2b.    Steve Smith, Sr. 
4.      Alexander Mogilny 
5.      Dave Robinson 

Our thanks to Baltimore Ravens SVP Chad Steele for helping us with Steve Smith Sr. You can see Chad during the Super Bowl usually towering over the MVP.

Anyone can give you predictions, but only Puttin’ Up Numbers gets you ready for the 2020 NFL season with all the number news you’ll need.  The Puttin’ Up Numbers NFL SPECIAL brings you news and notes on every team including top rookies, new faces in new places and more. It’s everything you need and it’s all right here, right now.

NFC WEST

2:00 – San Francisco 49ers

2:42 – Seattle Seahawks

3:54 – Los Angeles Rams

5:40 – Arizona Cardinals

NFC NORTH

6:54 – Green Bay Packers

7:14 – Minnesota Vikings

8:36 – Chicago Bears

10:05 – Detroit Lions

NFC EAST

10:51 – Philadelphia Eagles

11:55 – Dallas Cowboys

12:38 – New York Giants

13:38 – Washington Football Club

NFC SOUTH

14:59 – New Orleans Saints

16;26 – Atlanta Falcons

17:00 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

18:14– Carolina Panthers

AFC NORTH

18:45 – Baltimore Ravens

19:21 – Pittsburgh Steelers

19:56 – Cleveland Browns

20:44 – Cincinnati Bengals

AFC WEST

21:07 – Kansas City Chiefs

21:35 – Denver Broncos

22:46 – Las Vegas Raiders

23:42 – Los Angeles Chargers

AFC EAST

24:08 – New England Patriots

24:49 – Buffalo Bills

25:41 – New York Jets

27:56 – Miami Dolphins

AFC SOUTH

29:16 – Houston Texans

29:53 – Tennessee Titans

30:20 – Indianapolis Colts

31:35 – Jacksonville Jaguars

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