DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/08/08
It's not hallowed in Atlanta, like Hank Aaron's 44 or Dominique Wilkins' 21. But Friday, on 8-8-08 and with the Summer Olympics set to begin, we celebrate some local sports heroes who've made 8 and 88, well, greight.
Among 8 and 88 bearers on Atlanta teams, there's a World Series champion, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and even a Big Oil titan.
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| Billy Martin. | ||
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| Tommy McDonald. | ||
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| Steve Smith. | ||
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"I'm so glad I had the No. 8 with the Atlanta Falcons," said Tommy McDonald, who wore it in 1967 after an illustrious career with the Philadelphia Eagles. "Outstanding. In fact, super."
Super 8 indeed.
So take that, 7.
Falcons, Tommy McDonald, 8
The roll call of illustrious Falcons who've worn 8 and 88 is not long. But in 1967, McDonald, near the end of a career that took him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, led the team in receptions and touchdown catches. McDonald wore 25 and 29 with previous teams and asked for 8 when he joined the Falcons because he was about to score his 80th touchdown (80 was also taken). At the time, McDonald's 79 touchdown catches were the second-most in NFL history.
To this day, McDonald says 8 and 4 (he finished with 84 touchdowns) are his lucky numbers.
"It's such an outstanding number," said McDonald, 74, retired and living outside Philadelphia. "You can put two zeros on top of one another, and they'll make an 8."
Hawks, Steve Smith, 8
When Smith was traded to the Hawks from the Miami Heat in 1994, then-Hawk Craig Ehlo wouldn't even consider the notion of selling Smith the No. 3 jersey. So he went with 8. First, it was the sum of the digits of 44, the number worn by his favorite player, George Gervin. Also, he reasoned, the number 8 looks like a 3 and its mirror image attached together.
Smith, now a Hawks TV analyst, wore it for the rest of his 14-year career, which included an All-Star game appearance and a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. He saw kids, including his boys Brayden, 9, and Davis, 6, wearing it in homage to him and likes to think he had something to do with the popularity among NBA players of single-digit numbers.
Smith anticipated the 8/8/08 date and will have an Opening Ceremonies party at his home.
"I'll probably get my kids to wear their 8 jerseys," said Smith, 39.
"They'll be running around the house. It'll be good."
Braves, Javy Lopez, 8
Lopez was a key member of 13 consecutive division winners, a three-time All-Star and a fan favorite. Lopez had worn No. 22 in the minor leagues but found 8 hanging in his locker when promoted to the Braves in 1992.
"And it worked out perfect," said Lopez, 37, who retired earlier this year and is considering opening a youth baseball academy near his Suwanee home. During his career, 8 became so much a part of his identity that he still signed "Javy Lopez 8" on autographs when he left the team and his number changed.
Which is another story. He first went to Baltimore, where 8 belongs to Cal Ripken forever. He took 18. Then he went to Boston, where the number was retired in honor of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Lopez took 4, because it's half of 8.
It's not like he has 8s hanging on the walls of his house or anything like that, though.
"I love number 8," he said, "but I don't love it that much."
Georgia Tech, C.J. 'Pete' Silas, 8
Silas wore 8 for Tech's basketball team from 1951-1953 and was a two-time all-SEC selection.
Silas turned down a chance to play in the NBA for the then-Minneapolis Lakers to work for Phillips Petroleum. The decision worked out well; Silas rose to CEO before retiring in 1994. He has chaired a $712 million fund-raising campaign at Tech and served as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Georgia, Buck Belue, 8
It's been 27 years since he took his last snap for the Bulldogs, but Belue still signs autographs from fans bearing his No. 8 jersey.
"It makes you wonder where they get the things from," Belue said.
Belue, now co-host of the Buck and Kincade sports talk show on 680 the Fan, forever earned a spot in the hearts of Bulldog Nation by quarterbacking Georgia to the 1980 national championship.
Belue wore No. 7 at Valdosta High School and wanted to keep it, but found No. 8 in his locker when he arrived in Athens. Another quarterback had 7. Belue never brought it up.
Said Belue, "I would've worn any number they gave to me."
Georgia Tech, Billy Martin, 88
Martin wore 88 at Gainesville High School — the first player in school history to wear it, he said — and then kept it for his three seasons at Tech, 1961-63. He remembers being given the number and not asking for it.
"I was a country boy who had come to the big city," he said. "I didn't go out much and didn't ask for much. I did as I was told."
Wearing 88, Martin became an all-American and a two-time all-SEC selection at tight end. He was later inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. When he has attended games at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Martin said, "people have come up to me and said, 'You were big 88.' "
Martin, 65, went on to play in the NFL, including one season with the Falcons, and has since gone into real estate development. He hasn't paid attention to the Yellow Jackets who have worn 88.
Said Martin, "But I will now."
Thrashers, Frantisek Kaberle and Keith Tkachuk, 8
Kaberle was one of the team's top defensemen from 2000 through 2004. During that time, he also won two world championships with his native Czech Republic. He left the Thrashers for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005 and scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for Carolina in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Kaberle, 34, couldn't be reached to explain his uniform choice. He now wears 5.
Late season pickup Keith Tkachuk wore 8 during the team's only playoff run, in 2007. Tkachuk normally wore 7, but took 8 — in honor of childhood hero Cam Neely — because defenseman Greg de Vries had 7.
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