Lee Roy Selmon, the first Ring of Honoree, is the ONLY Buc to have his Jersey RetiredThere’s been a lot of excitement created lately with the creation of the Ring of Honor; where for the last two years a major Buccaneer historical figure has been installed on the concourse at Raymond James Stadium. Both times they were added during throwback games, which would make sense because both figures were known for their Orange days with the Bucs. Lee Roy Selmon and John McKay are up on the wall, and there will be more.
Some speculation is that players whose jerseys have been retired will be the ones who go up first, but you may be surprised to know how many players actually have their jerseys retired.
One.
No, not number one, but just one number is non-assignable in Bucs uniforms, and that is no.63; Lee Roy Selmon.
It happened on September 7th 1986, on opening day vs the San Francisco 49ers at halftime, Lee Roy Selmon “becomes the first and ONLY player to ever have their jersey retired”. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2010 Media Guide
No your mind isn’t playing games with you, you DID witness Mike Alstott’s retirement celebration during the Seattle Seahawks game in 2008, where he was presented with his uniforms in Orange and Pewter models. But these were NOT retired, they were simply presented to Alstott. Selmon is the only Buc whose Jersey has been officially retired.
But before you pick up your cell phone and speed dial One Buc Place, you don’t have to worry, it’s doubtful you will see a new safety wearing no.40 anytime soon, or #47 for that matter. Just because the numbers aren’t retired, doesn’t mean the Bucs are going to give them out anytime soon.
Lee Roy Selmon is the only Buc whose jersey is retired, but that could be because Lee Roy is the only Buc in Canton, Ohio in the Football Hall of Fame. It’s quite possible the Bucs are waiting for other Bucs to receive that honor before retiring their jerseys, even though when #63 was removed from availability, it was 9 years before Mr. Selmon was invited to Canton.
That doesn’t mean much though, as these Bucs are owned by a different group, one that is more adept at holding back on assigning numbers that would raise the ire of diehard fans.
Here is a list of Bucs Jerseys that have not been seen in awhile, obviously because the Bucs ownership doesn’t want to put new players in these cherished players numbers.
No. Situation – Name of Player
63– Retired- 1986 Lee Roy Selmon
42– Unused since 1990- Ricky Bell
40– Unused since 2007- Mike Alstott
47– Unused since 2003- John Lynch
55– Unused since 2008- Derrick Brooks
99– Unused since 2003- Warren Sapp
So remember, its up to the Glazers and the Bucs organization if they want to retire these jerseys or simply not issue them out. Previous management has given numbers out before, there were players who wore Ricky Bell’s jersey only a few years after Bell passed away. No one has worn #42 since the Glazers took over the club, so considering Bell never played for them, thats quite a respect for the Orange and players that wore them.
How long that will continue, only Bucs management knows. With Wide Receivers now allowed to occupy the teen numbers, the Bucs have no shortage of offensive numbers to choose from. But safeties can only wear 20-49, same as running backs, so there may come a time when a tough decision has to be made.
One thing for sure though, since Lee Roy Selmon was the first Buc player ever, no Buc player ever has or will wear No.63.
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