33 (number) - in Sports

In Sports

The number of innings played in the longest baseball game in history (a 1981 minor league game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox in Pawtucket, Rhode Island).

The jersey number 33 has been retired by several North American sports teams in honor of past playing greats:

• In Major League Baseball:
  • The Baltimore Orioles, for Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.
  • The Houston Astros, for Mike Scott.
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates, for Hall of Famer Honus Wagner.
  • The Colorado Rockies have yet to retire any numbers. However, they have not issued #33 since Larry Walker was traded from the team in 2004.
• In the NFL:
  • The Kansas City Chiefs, for Stone Johnson, who died in 1963 from a neck fracture during a preseason game before he could play his first official game for the team.
  • The Washington Redskins, for Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh.
• In the NBA:
  • The Boston Celtics, for Hall of Famer Larry Bird.
  • The Chicago Bulls, for Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.
  • The Denver Nuggets, for Hall of Famer David Thompson.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, both for Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
  • The Miami Heat, for Alonzo Mourning.
  • The New York Knicks, for Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.
  • The Phoenix Suns, for Alvan Adams. When Grant Hill played for the Suns, he wore the number with Adams' blessing.
• In the NHL:
  • The Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens, both for Hall of Famer Patrick Roy.
• The jersey number 33 has also been retired by the men's basketball program of the University of North Carolina for Antawn Jamison.

In motorsport, 33 is:

• The number of a Sprint Cup car owned by Richard Childress Racing and currently driven by Clint Bowyer.
• Race number of Motorcycle racer Marco Melandri.
• On most occasions, the traditional number of racers in the Indianapolis 500.

The Big 33 Football Classic is an annual postseason high school football all-star game that features top players from Pennsylvania. In recent years, the opposition has been an all-star team from Ohio. The number 33 represents the original number of players on each squad (now 34).

FIBA 33 is the original name of the basketball variant now known as 3x3. It is a formalized version of half-court three-on-three basketball currently being heavily promoted by the sport's international governing body, FIBA. Under the original rules of FIBA 33, the game ended by rule once either team scored at least 33 points, with scoring following traditional basketball rules. 3x3 uses a substantially different scoring system.