List of Canadian Football League retired numbers

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This is a complete list of Canadian Football League (CFL) retired numbers. A retired number is a jersey number that is no longer issued by a team in order to honour a player that had a significant impact on that franchise. In some cases, a player may have his number retired after his untimely death during or soon after his playing career.

Of the seven current franchises that retire jersey numbers, there have been 52 players to have their numbers officially retired. Ironically, the two youngest franchises, the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes, have retired the most numbers with 10 and 11, respectively. The oldest continuous franchise in the league, the Toronto Argonauts, has the second fewest with four retired numbers. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the fewest retired numbers, with two. The CFL considers the histories of the Ottawa Rough Riders, Ottawa Renegades, and Ottawa Redblacks as one continuous franchise, so the jersey numbers represented by the Redblacks here include all three of these franchises.[1][2] The Edmonton Elks and Winnipeg Blue Bombers have never formally retired a jersey number and instead honour numbers and, in some instances, do not re-issue them.[3][4][5][6]

The most commonly retired number, if one includes Winnipeg's unofficial retired numbers, is the number 75, which has had its usage been discontinued by four teams. No player has had his number retired by multiple teams and, unlike Major League Baseball (who retired Jackie Robinson's number), the National Basketball Association (Bill Russell), and the National Hockey League (Wayne Gretzky), the CFL has never had a jersey number retired in favour of one player league-wide. Due to their short existence, none of the American-based CFL teams ever retired jersey numbers.

Retired numbers[edit]

Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Player No. Team Position Tenure Championships Refs
Lui Passaglia 5 BC Lions K/P 1976–2000 1985, 1994, 2000 [7]
Willie Fleming 15 BC Lions RB 1959–1966 1964 [7]
Joe Kapp 22 BC Lions QB 1961–1966 1964 [7]
Jim Young 30 BC Lions SB/WR 1967–1979 [7]
Byron Bailey 38 BC Lions FB/DB 1954–1964 1964 [7]
Al Wilson 52 BC Lions C 1972–1986 1985 [7]
Jamie Taras 60 BC Lions FB/OL 1987–2002 1994, 2000 [7]
Norm Fieldgate 75 BC Lions E/LB 1954–1967 1964 [7]
Geroy Simon 81 BC Lions SB/WR 2001–2012 2006, 2011 [7]
Brent Johnson 97 BC Lions DE 2001–2011 2006, 2011 [7]
Harry Hood 5 Calgary Stampeders RB/QB 1948–1952 1948 [8]
Willie Burden 10 Calgary Stampeders RB 1974–1981 [8]
Mark McLoughlin 13 Calgary Stampeders K 1988–2003 1992, 1998, 2001 [8]
Allen Pitts 18 Calgary Stampeders WR 1990–2000 1992, 1998 [8]
Tom Forzani 22 Calgary Stampeders WR 1973–1983 [8]
Wayne Harris 55 Calgary Stampeders LB 1961–1972 1971 [8]
Stu Laird 75 Calgary Stampeders DT 1984–1996 1992 [8]
Bernie Faloney 10 Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB 1957–1964 1957, 1963 [9]
Angelo Mosca 68 Hamilton Tiger-Cats DT 1958–1959, 1963–1972 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972 [9]
Anthony Calvillo 13 Montreal Alouettes QB 1998–2013 2002, 2009, 2010 [10]
Mike Pringle 27 Montreal Alouettes RB 1996–2002 2002 [10]
George Dixon 28 Montreal Alouettes RB 1959–1965 [10]
Herb Trawick 56 Montreal Alouettes G/T/DL 1946–1957 1949 [10]
Pierre Desjardins 63 Montreal Alouettes G/T 1966–1971 1970 [10]
Peter Dalla Riva 74 Montreal Alouettes TE/SB 1968–1981 1970, 1974, 1977 [10]
Hal Patterson 75 Montreal Alouettes WR/DB 1954–1960 [10]
Junior Ah You 77 Montreal Alouettes DE 1972–1981 1974, 1977 [10]
Virgil Wagner 78 Montreal Alouettes HB 1946–1954 1949 [10]
Ben Cahoon 86 Montreal Alouettes SB 1998–2010 2002, 2009, 2010 [10]
Sam Etcheverry 92 Montreal Alouettes QB 1952–1960 [10]
Ron Stewart 11 Ottawa Redblacks RB 1958–1970 1960, 1968, 1969 [11]
Russ Jackson 12 Ottawa Redblacks QB 1958–1969 1960, 1968, 1969 [11]
Whit Tucker 26 Ottawa Redblacks WR 1962–1970 1968, 1969 [11]
Bruno Bitkowski 40 Ottawa Redblacks C/DE 1951–1962 1951, 1960 [11]
Jim Coode 60 Ottawa Redblacks OT 1974–1980 1976 [11]
Moe Racine 62 Ottawa Redblacks OT/K 1958–1974 1960, 1968, 1969, 1973 [11]
Bobby Simpson 70 Ottawa Redblacks FW/E/DB 1950–1962 1951, 1960 [11]
Gerry Organ 71 Ottawa Redblacks K/P/WR 1971–1983 1973, 1976 [11]
Tony Golab 72 Ottawa Redblacks FW/HB 1939–1941, 1945–1950 1940 [11]
Tony Gabriel 77 Ottawa Redblacks TE 1975–1981 1976 [11]
Ron Lancaster 23 Saskatchewan Roughriders QB 1963–1978 1966 [12]
George Reed 34 Saskatchewan Roughriders RB 1963–1975 1966 [12]
Dave Ridgway 36 Saskatchewan Roughriders K 1982–1995 1989 [12]
Mel Becket 40 Saskatchewan Roughriders TE/C 1952–1956 [12]
Roger Aldag 44 Saskatchewan Roughriders OL 1976–1992 1989 [12]
Mario DeMarco 55 Saskatchewan Roughriders OL 1953–1956 [12]
Ray Syrnyk 56 Saskatchewan Roughriders OL 1956 [12]
Gordon Sturtridge 73 Saskatchewan Roughriders DE 1953–1956 [12]
Dick Shatto 22 Toronto Argonauts RB 1954–1965 [13]
Michael Clemons 31 Toronto Argonauts RB/SB/KR/PR 1989–2000 1991, 1996, 1997 [13]
Joe Krol 55 Toronto Argonauts QB/RB/P/K/DB 1945–1952, 1955 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952 [13]
Danny Nykoluk 60 Toronto Argonauts OT 1955, 1957–1971 [13]

Unofficially retired numbers[edit]

Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Player No. Team Position Tenure Championships Refs
Warren Moon 1 Edmonton Elks QB 1978–1983 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 [6]
Don Warrington 21 Edmonton Elks RB 1971–1980 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 [6]
Rollie Miles 98 Edmonton Elks RB/DB/LB/KR 1951–1961 1954, 1955, 1956 [6]
Bob Cameron 6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers P 1980–2002 1984, 1988, 1990 [3]
Ken Ploen 11 Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB/DB 1957–1967 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 [3]
Jeff Nicklin 28 Winnipeg Blue Bombers HB/FW 1934–1940 1935, 1939 [3]
Chris Walby 63 Winnipeg Blue Bombers OT 1981–1996 1984, 1988, 1990 [3]
Tommy Lumsden 75 Winnipeg Blue Bombers G/E 1951–1954 [3]
Milt Stegall 85 Winnipeg Blue Bombers SB 1995–2008 [3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ottawa Redblacks History". ottawaredblacks.com. Ottawa Redblacks. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "2016 CFL Rule Book and Facts, Figures & Records Guide". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Blue by the numbers". bluebombers.com. Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  4. ^ "Time For Bombers To Retire Numbers (Including Brown's 97)". 3downnation.com. 3 Down Nation. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "Wall of Honour". esks.com. Edmonton Elks. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Right number can make a player "complete"". esks.com. Edmonton Elks. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Honoured Numbers". bclions.com. BC Lions. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Retired Numbers". stampeders.com. Calgary Stampeders. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Tiger-Cats officially retire Angelo Mosca's no. 68". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Retired Jerseys". en.montrealalouettes.com. Montreal Alouettes. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Retired Numbers". Ottawa Redblacks. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "Team History". riderville.com. Saskatchewan Roughriders. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c d "Retired Numbers". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2017.