In honor of 2/22/22, Dallas Cowboys Emmitt Smith, Bob Hayes are the greatest No. 22s
As a Jr., as my Dad likes to remind me his name is “Clarence Hill, you’re Jr.”, and as my parent’s second child, I feel like I have a personal connection to unique date of 2/22/22.
This special day, Twosday, which reads the same way forward as it does backwards, fell on — of course — a Tuesday.
It’s palindrome, even for those who write the full date with more of a military or British construct: 22/02/2022.
And if you’re a cards player, it’s deuces-are-wild day.
People are flocked to courthouse to get married. That it’s also Taco Tuesday and National Margarita Day is just the lime capper, if you will.
But when it comes to Deuce-Deuce Day, it got me to thinking about the great No. 22s in sports history, and the two that are closest to my heart are Cowboys’ legends and Hall of Famers Bullet Bob Hayes and Emmitt Smith.
Smith is simply the greatest player to exclusively don the No. 22 jersey in sports history.
There is no debate about that.
Say what you will about where he ranks among the greatest running backs in NFL history, almost all — save for Jim Brown — would give up their yards and statistics, accolades and allegedly superior skills for Smith’s career achievements that encompasses both individual and team success. And then there’s that unmatched durability.
During a 15-year career that included 13 seasons with the Cowboys, Smith won four NFL rushing titles, three Super Bowl titles, an NFL MVP Award (1993) and a Super Bowl (XXVIII) MVP Award.
He finished his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards with 18,355, rushing attempts (4,409) and rushing touchdowns (164), and he is second in total touchdowns with 175.
He only missed four games in 13 seasons with the Cowboys due to injury and started 216 of 218 career games he played with the team, including playoffs.
At this point, Smith’s name will be forever etched in the record books as the league’s all-time rushing king because of the diminished role of the running back and the greater emphasis on the passing game in today’s NFL.
Adrian Peterson is the leading active rusher with 14,918 yards, good for fifth all-time, but his career is all but over.
LeSean McCoy (11,102) and Mark Ingram (7,878) are the next two on the list who were on rosters in 2021, and their days as lead backs are over.
Never say never, but Smith’s rushing record will never be broken.
Combine that with him being the most decorated and most accomplished Cowboys player ever, his status as the greatest No. 22 on 2/22/22 is unquestioned.
That said, considering Smith’s entire resume, Hayes may be the top athletic talent to ever wear No. 22 — or perhaps any other number as well.
Before he put on No. 22 with the Cowboys he had laid claim to arguably the greatest title in sports, the “World’s Fastest Human,” thanks to a gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was the world record holder in the 100-yard dash, and he tied the world record in the 100 meters.
As a kid, who ran races barefoot in the streets well into his adulthood, the sprint title is the stuff of legend. Outrunning someone, running by someone is simply one of life’s greatest thrills.
No one did it better than Hayes on the track or on the football field.
Let’s get one thing straight: Hayes was not a track star playing football, he was a football player who ran track going back to his high school days in Jacksonville, Fla., to his days at Florida A&M before the Olympics. All that set the stage for his Hall of Fame career with the Cowboys.
His speed not only made him a game breaker in the NFL, but a game changer as opponents invented the zone defense in an attempt to contain Hayes, who revolutionized the wide receiver position.
He is the only person in history with an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring, and still holds or is tied for 11 Cowboys records.
There have been other great No. 22s in the annals of sports history. NBA stars Clyde Drexler and Elgin Baylor; a trio of MLB pitching greats Clayton Kershaw, Jim Palmer and Roger Clemens. And, locally, you can include Rolando Blackman of the Dallas Mavericks.
But the greatest 22s on 2/2/22 are Smith and Hayes.
That is the final word from Jr.
