Pitt's Role in Player Numbering and Other Numbering Plans

This week's episode of the Pigskin Dispatch Podcast concerned a portion of an October 2023 Factoid Feast that covered a suggestion to number football players 1 through 11. When preparing for the podcast, I did more research and came across new-to-me information about the University of Pittsburgh’s role in player numbering and alternative approaches to the player numbering system that became the standard.

Below are previous stories about the origins of player numbering and wacky numbering systems...