Would Watt get 99?

By STEVE KING

What’s in a number, anyway?
Well, a lot, actually, in some regards, including with players’ jersey numbers in Browns history.
If the Browns are able to sign free-agent defensive end J.J. Watt, then he would most likely request jersey No, 99, which is what he wore during his 10 previous NFL seasons, all of which were spent with the Houston Texans.
The problem is that it currently belongs to another man who did not play for the Browns in 2020, defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who opted out of last season because of COVID-19 fears. He is expected to come back in 2021, but who knows if he would acquiesce and give Watt No. 99? For the sake of conversation, let’s say that Watt signs here and Billings gives him the number, and let’s also say that Watt makes it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, which seems like a foregone conclusion. If so, then it would end up becoming the third number in Browns history to be worn by two different Hall of Famers.
The other Hall of Famer to have worn 99 is middle guard Bill Willis, who had it from the Browns’ first season of 1946 through ’51, a total of six years. When the NFL in 1952 changed its numbering system to the one used today, the Columbus native and former Ohio State star switched to No. 60 and wore that for the last two seasons of his career.
As it turns out, 60 is another of the three numbers shared by two Browns in the HOF. Quarterback Otto Graham, who also came to the club in its inaugural season, wore it for six years, switching to 14 in 1952 and keeping that for his last four seasons. No. 14 was retired in Graham’s honor by the Browns.
The other number to be worn by two Browns enshrined in Canton? It’s 76. Fullback Marion Motley, a Canton native who, with Willis, broke the color barrier permanently coming out of World War II not just in football but in pro sports overall when they took the field for the Browns in that first game on Aug. 6, 1946, wore 76 through 1951, then switched to 36 for the last two years of the Cleveland portion of his career (he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955). Martins Ferry native and Ohio State product Lou Groza, a kicker-left tackle, took 76 in 1952 and wore it for the rest of his long career, which lasted through 1967. From 1946-51, he wore No. 46. No.76 has been retired by the Browns in Groza’s honor.
Here are a few more cool Browns numbers facts:
*Both of Groza’s numbers are among the five retired by the Browns. The 76 is retired in his honor, but the 46 belongs to another player with Ohio connections, safety Don Fleming, a Shadyside native who played for the Browns from 1960-62 before being electrocuted in a construction accident on June 4, 1963. It was retired in memoriam.
*For a brief time in the 1940s, Willis wore No. 45. That is another number that has been retired by the Browns, in this case in memoriam of a player who never played a down for the Browns, running back Ernie Davis. He was assigned 45 when he was acquired in a 1962 trade with what is now known as the Washington Football Team in exchange for Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell. Davis was stricken with leukemia and died on May 17, 1963, just a little over two weeks before Fleming died.
*The last number retired by the Browns is 32, for Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. But when Brown, who was taken by the Browns at No, 6 overall in the 1957 NFL Draft, reported to the club for training camp following his participation in the College All-Star, No. 32 belonged to another rookie running back already in camp by the name of John Bayuk, a 16th-round draft pick in 1957. Brown eventually got 32 when Bayuk was released late in camp. Until then, he donned 45, which, as mentioned, was also worn by Willis and belonged to Davis.