21 (number) - in Sports

In Sports

• The jersey number 21 has been retired by several North American sports teams in honor of past playing greats or other key figures:
  • In Major League Baseball:
    • The Cleveland Indians, for Hall of Famer Bob Lemon.
    • The Milwaukee Braves, for Hall of Famer Warren Spahn; the number continues to be honored by the team in its current home of Atlanta.
    • The Pittsburgh Pirates, for Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, following his death in a plane crash while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua.
  • In the NBA:
    • The Atlanta Hawks, for Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins.
    • The Boston Celtics, for Hall of Famer Bill Sharman.
    • The Detroit Pistons, for Hall of Famer Dave Bing.
    • The Sacramento Kings, for Vlade Divac.
    • The Minnesota Timberwolves have not retired the number, but have not issued it since Kevin Garnett was traded from the team in 2007.
  • In the NHL:
    • The Chicago Blackhawks, for Hall of Famer Stan Mikita.
    • The Colorado Avalanche, for likely future Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg.
    • The Pittsburgh Penguins, for Michel Brière.
    • The Toronto Maple Leafs have a policy of not retiring numbers unless the player honoured either died or suffered a career-ending incident while a member of the team. Other players whose numbers would otherwise be retired instead have their numbers enshrined by the team as "Honoured Numbers", which remain in circulation for future players. The number 21 is currently honoured for Hall of Famer Börje Salming.
  • No NFL team has retired the number.
• In basketball:
  • 21 is a variation of street basketball, in which each player, of which there can be any number, plays for himself only (i.e. not part of a team); the name comes from the requisite number of baskets.
  • In 3x3, a formalized version of three-on-three half-court basketball, the game ends by rule once either team has scored 21 points in regulation. Scoring is significantly different from traditional basketball rules, with free throws and baskets made fron inside the three-point arc worth 1 point, and baskets made from outside the arc worth 2 points.
• In badminton, and table tennis (before 2001), 21 points are required to win a game.
• Eyeshield 21 (アイシールド21 Aishīrudo nijūichi) is a Japanese anime about football.
• In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series the number 21 has long been the car number for Wood Brothers Racing