Retired Number #6 (Shea Weber)

Lore & Background

Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking the number formerly worn on their uniform out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future player from the team may wear it, unless the original player permits it; however, in many cases the number cannot be used at all. Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances, or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury.

Reader's Guide

If a jersey is retired and an active player is still wearing it, the player is usually permitted to wear the number for the remainder of their playing career with that team. If the player later becomes a coach or manager for the same team, and the sport is one in which coaches and managers wear uniform numbers, then the player may wear the retired number for the duration of their career with the team in this capacity. In some cases, teams may allow the child of a player to use their parent's retired number should they later play for the same team.

Did You Know?

• Some teams in sports with eleven players per side have retired number 12 in honor of their fans, or the 'twelfth man'.
• The number 58 was retired in 2018 by the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team in honor of the 58 victims killed in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
• Kobe Bryant became the only player to have had two numbers (8, 24) retired by the same franchise, Los Angeles Lakers.