Only one quasi-major-league baseball team, the Chicago StubCubs, has retired the Nos. 10 and 14.
The Rockies must become the second.
And sooner rather than too late.
A twofer.
The Broncos, the Nuggets and the Avalanche have designated the numbers of nine of their former players for the distinctive designation.
I’ll pause here and see if you guess who.
***
Clues: Two players wore No. 33 and another two 44. And there are two Avalanche, four Nuggets and three Broncos whose numbers were retired.
7. John Elway. That’s the easiest one.
33. David Thompson and Patrick Roy.
44. Dan Issel and Floyd Little.
Five down. Little tougher now.
77. Raymond Bourque. His number shouldn’t have been retired by the Avs. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche but was a true Boston Bruin.
2. Alex English.
40. 40? You’d have to have lived in Denver for decades. Basketball player. Rockets-Nuggets. Hook shot. Byron Beck. This one was based on length of career (10 years) and good citizenship.
18. Only the longtime, heat-seeking die-hards or trivia geckos have an idea. Try this: He was the Broncos’ first quarterback, and his son played (weakly) in the NBA. Frank Tripucka. The Broncos were hard up for numbers to retire, even though Tripucka was their only legitimate, if not successful, quarterback through the early years. His run in Denver lasted from 1960-63 (which was longer than Bourque, but shorter than “Phantom of the Opera.”)
There are five other retired numbers – 3, 8, 16, 42 and 99. But they weren’t players who performed for the local teams. Jean Claude Tremblay (3), Marc Tardif (8) and Michel Goulet (16) played with the Quebec Nordiques, the predecessor to the Avalanche. Wayne Gretzky’s 99 was retired by every NHL team, and Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 was honored by all major-league teams.
So, which players are missing from the cherished group? Many years ago I recommended the Broncos copy an idea from another NFL team (Dallas) and start a Ring of Fame, which basically replaces the concept of retiring a number (except in the case of Old Number 7). I served on the committee for several years until owner Pat Bowlen and his rubber-stampers refused to add Rick Upchurch, Steve Watson and Riley Odoms. I resigned in protest, which accomplished nothing.
The deserving Nuggets have been taken care of, and Doug Moe’s name also has been raised to the rafters.
We won’t have to worry that someday Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic will be overlooked, because their numbers will be overlooking the arena. (There will be at least a few other deserving Avs – Adam Foote, for example – from the championship teams.)
Which leaves the Rockies, who seem so busy staring at the distant, remote future they’ve forgotten their memorable, illustrious history. General manager Dan O’Dowd doesn’t have to be anxious about his name ending up on a wall at Coors Field – unless it’s scribbled in the restroom.
But how can the Rox continue to dismiss (diss?) the achievements of the two greatest players in the franchise’s 13 seasons?
They joined the Rockies on back-to- back days in 1992.
You’re already way ahead of me, unless you own or run the Colorado Rockies.
Dante and “The Big Cat.”
Sounds like a children’s book title. “Dante and The Big Cat went to sea in a bathtub and took their friend Cousin Vinny.”
When the Rockies were nothing, Dante Bichette and Andres Galarraga were something.
Neither Bichette nor Galarraga spent 20 years in Denver; neither finished their careers in Colorado, and neither won a World Series. But the club’s right fielder, then left fielder, and the Rox original first baseman were the dauntless symbols and MVPs of the Rockies in the early years.
They were prominent members of the Rockies’ only postseason team in 1995.
Bichette retired from the majors in 2001 (although he pitched and played outfield for a time for an independent minor-league team last season), and Galarraga officially retired this season when he couldn’t make the New York Mets’ roster out of spring training. Galarraga was trying to make a second courageous comeback from cancer.
It’s time for the Rockies to recognize Dante and The Big Cat.
Together one more time – Nos. 10 (Bichette) and 14 (Galarraga). They were bombing home runs before there was even a ballpark on Blake Street.
Galarraga had the first hit in Rockies’ history … and the first strikeout.
Bichette had the first home run in Rockies’ history … and the first home run in Coors Field history.
They were the Rockies’ first two all-stars. Galarraga won a batting championship; Bichette finished first in home runs one season. Galarraga was one of the surest fielders in the game; Bichette was not. Galarraga hit three home runs in one game (in San Diego); Bichette was threatening to capture the triple crown in 1995 with 40 home runs, 128 RBIs and a .359 batting average.
Former general manager Bob Gebhard signed Galarraga as a free agent for $500,000 on Nov. 16, 1992, then traded Kevin Reimer and Jody Reed for Bichette and Rudy Seanez the next day.
From 1993-99 Bichette had 201 home runs, 826 RBIs and hit .588 in the short postseason series against Atlanta. From 1993-97 Galarraga had 172 homers and 639 RBIs (including 88 and 290 in 1996-97).
In another trash season, the Rockies’ treasures should be remembered.
Their numbers should be retired on a hot August night to give Rockies fans one thing to celebrate this year.
The two Cubs were Ron Santo (10) and Ernie Banks (14).
In their own way, the Rocks’ No. 10 and No. 14 meant as much to their town and their team and their fans.
Woody Paige’s column appears in the Denver Post on Sundays. He can be seen weekdays on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNews on “Around The Horn,” “Cold Pizza” and “1st And 10.” He can be e-mailed at wpaige@denverpost.com.
