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Ranking the greatest athletes from every sport to ever don those magic jersey numbers.

What's Your Number?

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The best players to wear 48 as their jersey numbers are sprinkled across all major sports. It has been a popular jersey number for decades with success of athletes across the board. Iconic MLB players with number 48 jerseys include Jacob deGrom, Lee Smith, and Torii Hunter, all Hall of Fame-level players whose career highlights are among the greatest moments in baseball history.&nbsp;Football stars have had success with the number as well with Ken Ellis&nbsp;and Bud Dupree thriving with the number 48 in the NFL. Basketball and hockey have had fewer players rocking the number in NBA&nbsp;and NHL history. It's all proof that anyone who wears #48 has a major legacy to live up to.So check out the list of famous athletes who wore 48 and help decide who deserves to rank the highest for wearing this iconic jersey number. Vote up your favorite athletes to wear the number 48.

The Best Athletes Who Wore Number 48, Ranked By Fans

The Best Athletes Who Wore #48

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Dave Stewart

David Keith Stewart (born February 19, 1957), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American professional baseball executive, pitching coach, sports agent, and retired starting pitcher, and also served as the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB).  The Los Angeles Dodgers' 16th-round selection in the 1975 MLB draft, Stewart's MLB playing career spanned from 1978 through 1995, winning three World Series championships while compiling a career 3.95 earned run average (ERA) and a 168–129 won–lost record, including winning 20 games in four consecutive seasons.  He pitched for the Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Stewart was an MLB All-Star and was known for his postseason performance – winning one World Series Most Valuable Player Award and two League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Awards – and for staring down batters when pitching to them.  After his playing career, he served as a pitching coach for the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, and Blue Jays and as an assistant GM.  General managers he has worked under include: Sandy Alderson, Kevin Towers, Gord Ash, and Dean Taylor.  He later became a sports agent based in San Diego until the Diamondbacks hired him as GM at the end of the 2014 season.

Torii Hunter

Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 through 2015. Hunter was a five-time All-Star, won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards as a center fielder, and was a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Lee Smith

Lee Arthur Smith (born December 4, 1957) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Lee served mostly as a relief pitcher during his career. One of the dominant closers in baseball history, Smith held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when San Diego Padres relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman passed his final total of 478.  Smith was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on December 9, 2018 as part of the Today's Game Era Committee vote.
A native of Jamestown in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Smith was scouted by Buck O'Neil and drafted by the Cubs in the 1975 MLB Draft. Smith was an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg) with a 95-mile per hour (150 km/h) fastball. In 1991, Smith set a National League (NL) record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times he led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League (AL) once while with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994. He also set the major league career record for games finished (802), and his 1,022 career games pitched were the third-most in history when he retired; he still holds the team records for career saves for the Cubs (180), and he also held the Cardinals record (160) until 2006.
After the end of his major league career, Smith spent time working as a pitching instructor at the minor-league level with the San Francisco Giants. He then served as the pitching coach for the South Africa national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2009 World Baseball Classic. Smith is a minor-league roving pitching instructor for the Giants.



Jacob deGrom

Jacob Anthony deGrom (born June 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to playing professionally, deGrom attended Stetson University and played college baseball for the Stetson Hatters. DeGrom began playing baseball as a shortstop and was converted into a pitcher during his junior year at Stetson. The Mets selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut with the Mets on May 15, 2014. That year, deGrom was named the National League's (NL) Rookie of the Month twice, and the NL Rookie of the Year. In 2015, 2018, and 2019 deGrom was selected as an MLB All-Star. In 2018, deGrom was the NL ERA leader and won the Cy Young Award. In 2019, he led the NL in strikeouts and won the Cy Young Award for the second year in a row.

The best players to wear 48 as their jersey numbers are sprinkled across all major sports. It has been a popular jersey number for decades with success of ...