Why is Charles Woodson's jersey not retired?

Submitted by Zarniwoop on

Why is Charles Woodson's jersey not retired?

If you win the Heisman, you're instantly in the top 3 players ever to play at Michigan (in my opinion).

The only thing I can think of is that he didn't play for 4 years. Didn't Howard leave his Junior year? I can't remember and can't find anything about it, except that he earned his degree after he left.

It also bothers me that 1 isn't retired for Anthony Carter. I understand WHY they don't do that since we've had some other GREAT players that wore number 1 (Derrick Alexander is probably the most underrated Michigan receiver in history - at least in terms of current recogniation). But, this is a distant second to my confusion and dismay over number 2 not being retired.

If someone knows the answer to this, I'd love to hear it.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061209aaa.html

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JTGoBlue

July 29th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^

I think it's because he is still playing. #21 is just retiring this year 24 years after Howard graduated. As far as #1 goes, they are keeping that available as a tradition I believe.



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M Gulo Gulo

July 29th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^

I believe Charles' #2 will be retired after he retires from the NFL. #21 is officially being retied this season.  Long after Desmonds playing career ended.

 

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StephenRKass

July 29th, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^

I don't know the answer, but I am sure of this. Both AC & Woodson are better remembered with their former jersey numbers in circulation than if they were "retired."

Brian said it well on the front page:  the Legends idea was not bad, but the execution was poor. There are only so many numbers to give out, and taking numbers out of circulation makes it difficult to give everyone on the team a number. The jerseys were just too busy with the patch and all.

My personal preference would be to treat all retired numbers like 1 & 2:  they can be used at the discretion of the coaches, when they feel a young player (freshman, sophomore at most) wants the number change, has earned it, and has the potential to be a star. I would guess that in most cases, the coaches know after a year or two whether someone is going to really shine and stand out or not.

 

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mGrowOld

July 29th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^

FWIW I personally dislike the concept of retiring jerseys.  While I think the entire Legends Jersey conept was screwed up in implementaion, it was nice seeing #21 back on the field again.  And I look forward to seeing #1 on a stud WR just like I'd like to see #2 on a great DB.  I'm reminded of the great players of the past whenever I see somebody wearing a particular number (sorry all #7's are compared to Ricky Leach in my brain) and I don't see why we'd want that to end.

I don't want us to go all New York Yankees so incoming players have to wear numbers like 61.5 or something cause everything else is now considered "sacred."  Put a wall of honor or something up on the luxury boxes if we want to honor somebody (like Charles) further.  But leave their numbers available for subsequent generations.

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Zarniwoop

July 29th, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^

I am 100 percent in agreement with this.

I think ALL numbers should be in circulation and would love to see a wall of champions in the stadium sort of like the cowboys in their old stadium. No numbers should be retired with the possible exception of Gerald Ford's.

That said, if they ARE going to retire jerseys.... Sigh. I'll assume they're waitng for Woodson to retire from the NFL as has been stated above. But, I really hope that all numbers are un-retired and instead put into a stadium-wide ring of honor type of thing instead.

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fritZ

July 29th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^

I like your idea of the Ring of Honor, but what would be the qualifications? Heisman winners? All Americans? First Team Big 10? We're talking 150 years of players. There were great players like Benny Friedman from the early 1900's who deserve the recognition (IMO) just as much as players like Woodson and Harmon. We might run out of space, which isn't a bad problem to have.

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Alton

July 29th, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^

If that's the case, then that's your answer.  Long-standing Athletic Department policy states that an individual must have a Michigan degree in order to have their jersey retired.

Cazzie Russell and Barry Larkin both had their jerseys retired later than you would have expected because they finished their Michigan degrees after completing their professional careers.

EDIT:  I found an article on Michigan's website from 2007 that strongly implied that Mr. Woodson did not have a Michigan degree as of then:

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071108aaa.html

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turd ferguson

July 29th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^

I don't know, but maybe it's because he's still an active player?

To the broader issue, I think it's sad that they totally killed the legends jersey concept.  There was a lot to like about it.  It kept numbers in circulation, allowed those numbers to be used in recruiting, kept Michigan legends in the fronts of our minds, and made for a really original way to acknowledge of a program's history.  They made some mistakes with it - e.g., making the patches too big and encouraging guys to switch numbers - but those felt like relatively easy fixes.  I think they threw out the baby with the bath water with that one.

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Moe

July 29th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^

Sure he broke many Michigan and NCAA records but he wasn't ever even a top 5 finisher in the Heisman. Great career and an even better person, but will never get his number retired.

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TruBluMich

July 29th, 2015 at 8:08 PM ^

Why does the Heisman matter? If you go by stats, Denard did far more at Michigan than Howard did. Howard's biggest accomplishment was winning the Heisman in the same year that his team got blown out by Florida State and got humiliated in the Rose Bowl by Washington. Denard finished 6th in the Heisman voting the same year his team lost 6 games. The Heisman is pretty much an award for the top player on a top ranked team. If Michigan was 7-6 instead of undefeated, Woodson is barely going to make the top 10 in voting the year he won it. To finish 6th when your team was just barely eligible for a bowl is almost unheard of. If Denard had the stats from 2010 in the 2011 season he still probbly wouldn;t have topped both Luck and Griffin but he would of easily been in the top 3. The 2011 team lost 2 games by a combined 22 points.  Compared that to Howard's Heisman year, the team lost 2 games by 20 points each.

The only difference I see is Desmond won the Heisman and the teams he played on were far better coached and had far more talent. Denard's jersey number should at least be considered. I do agree with you however, if the number 16 is ever retired it won't be because of what Denard did with it. Nobody wants to remember those years and how bad the teams were.  Unlike the years where Howard and Woodson won the Heisman.

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JamieH

July 29th, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^

that say we should just not retire numbers.

 

Put up statues, shrines, ring of honor whatever.  But in football there are just not enough numbers as there is to take many out of circulation.  You can get away with it in other sports because there are way more numbers than players on the team.  Not in football.  IMO find some other way to honor the players.

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