Should the 49ers have a Retired Number Policy

49ers Retired Numbers by Year

8 QB Steve Young 1999
12 QB John Brodie 1973
16 QB Joe Montana 1992
34 FB Joe Perry 1963
37 CB Jimmy Johnson 1963
39 RB Hugh McElhenny 1960
42 S, CB Ronnie Lott 1990
70 DL Charlie Krueger. 1973
73 DT Leo Nomellini. 1963
79 OT Bob St. Clair. 1963
80 WR Jerry Rice 2000
87 WR Dwight Clark. 1987
Owner Edward J.DeBartolo Jr 2000
HC Bill Walsh 1988


The NFL has no Retired Uniform Number Policy.
As they choose to leave the Policy up to each Team.
The Raiders don't Retire Numbers they simply keep the Number
out of rotation for a couple years then they only issue the Number
to the other side of the ball. A example would be Howie Long was
only issued to the Offensive Line since he left the game.
My point is the 49ers need to set a policy as they have 12 Retired Numbers.
" Which is among the league most Retired Numbers"
My thought is they should Retire a Number for say 49 years then
put the number back in circulation on the other side of the ball like the Raiders do.
Then you could have a limited number of Lifetime Retired Numbers for players like
Montana, Lott & Rice that lead the team to multiple championship and can be in the
argument for greatest of all time at there position.

Well they have to do something because you can't keep retiring numbers forever. Unless you want to start using 3 digits.

I'd rather not have any retired numbers. I personally would love to see some of those numbers back in use. Having a 49er HOF and ring of honor is good enough. The team can still choose not to issue certain numbers if they want (16, 80, 42..etc.) without officially having them retired for eternity. A number of teams already do this. Raiders and Cowboys come to mind.

Please stop retiring numbers.

retire 52 please. no one wants a quitter

We have too many retired numbers already. Numbers really arent that important.

Originally posted by rxrunner:

retire 52 please. no one wants a quitter

There is still 87 left. At this rate it wont be a problem for a couple more centuries. SEP.

Originally posted by rxrunner:
retire 52 please. no one wants a quitter

Yep, he blew his chance to be a Hall of Famer, too.

Originally posted by SofaKing:

I'd rather not have any retired numbers. I personally would love to see some of those numbers back in use. Having a 49er HOF and ring of honor is good enough.

For me it ends there. In my opinion, a player's legacy is in no way sullied or diminished by having their number worn by future players. Indeed, it may even serve to inspire some to better performances. All numbers should be freely available.

Originally posted by Zealot:

Originally posted by SofaKing:
I'd rather not have any retired numbers. I personally would love to see some of those numbers back in use. Having a 49er HOF and ring of honor is good enough.

For me it ends there. In my opinion, a player's legacy is in no way sullied or diminished by having their number worn by future players. Indeed, it may even serve to inspire some to better performances. All numbers should be freely available.

Originally posted by Zealot:
For me it ends there. In my opinion, a player's legacy is in no way sullied or diminished by having their number worn by future players. Indeed, it may even serve to inspire some to better performances. All numbers should be freely available.

I agree.

52

97

21

Originally posted by rxrunner:
retire 52 please. no one wants a quitter

Willis gave his heart and soul to the 49ers. I do not fault guys for retiring while they are still somewhat healthy, especially with the CTE issue. Who are we as fans to tell these guys how long they should play. I would much rather see Willis live a long and healthy life instead of putting his body through hell for a couple of more seasons just to make some fans happy.

No number, no player should be bigger than the team. In soccer so many players wore 10 in Barcelona before Messi and 7 before Christiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid. Let the legends live on as we see their numbers on the Filene 34, 37, 39, 42, 79, 87, 97... maybe 16 and 80 can retire for a little bit.