Should the Cardinals retire Larry Centers number??

[AzWins23]

It's just a thought....He was one of the best Cardinals players of all-time

 

[bankybruce]

I am going to have to go with no, he had a 4 years stretch of amazing recieving numbers for someone in the back field, but before and after that he was good nothing more nothing less, plus he was here for a 66% of his time in the NFL, if the new Cards are going to do something like that, I think he has to have been a lifer or have done something like Tillman did.

Please do not get me wrong, he was a great Card and person, but not great enough to retire a number. I think in the NFL it is much harder to get a number retired, but that could just be me.

 

[Skkorpion]

No. Larry had great heart but was not a great player. If Aeneas Williams had played his whole career here, or even left on a positive note, an argument could be made to retire #35. But Aeneas jumped ship and forced a trade.

Frankly, 18 Arizona years with only one winning season says it all. Bad teams. Bad coaches. Bad players.

 

[spanky1]

Absolutely not.

 

[Mulli]

No. Larry had great heart but was not a great player. If Aeneas Williams had played his whole career here, or even left on a positive note, an argument could be made to retire #35. But Aeneas jumped ship and forced a trade.

Frankly, 18 Arizona years with only one winning season says it all. Bad teams. Bad coaches. Bad players.

Agree.

 

[joko4]

Dito on",Absolutely not.

 

[kerouac9]

No.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Loved Larry as much as the next guy, but no way. Aeneas deserves to have his number retired though - regardless of how his career ended IMO.

 

[azdad1978]

No

 

[SunCityCarl]

Gotta agree loved Larry while he was here but # 37 stays on the field. - I think we may have talked about it in the past. How about a ring-of-honor in Glendale? Probables would be Pat Tillman, Aeneus?, Mr. Beige?,

 

[seesred]

I liked Larry a lot. When he was on the field you could hear every fan yelling Larry ,Larry, etc.The classic Larry is jumping over players for that extra yard. I have an autographed picture in my Cardinals room. I met his family in Dallas at our playoff game.Larry was a smiling all out kind of guy. He didn't leave us we left him.We left him the same year 1999 just after our best season as well as Jamir Miller and Lomas Brown.WE left them all. That being said, retire his Jersey, I have to say no. I would however love to see him sign a contract with us and then retire a Cardinal. I like to see him in a coaching position. Very few played as hard on every down as Larry Centers.

GBR
40

 

[JPlay]

Aneas was great and is the only one who deserves it.

 

[spanky1]

Hey wait a minute here people...numbers are retired for only the "special few". Aeneas Williams was a very solid player who could play on any teams starting lineup.....but he sure as hell was not the kind of player that gets a number retired.

I mean, honestly, does he derserve to be talked about in the same sentence as the top 10 CB that have ever played the game.....not IMHO.

Retiring a number is for the Gretzky's and Jordan's of sports....people that have revolutionized their sport......and Williams isn't that kind of player.

 

[abomb]

Say no to retired numbers and yes to ring of honor.

A-Bomb

 

[Renz]

Say no to retired numbers and yes to ring of honor.

A-Bomb

Agreed. If they did retire numbers, I think you would have to start with HOFers like Dierdorf (his feelings about the Bidwills aside) and then move on to guys like Roy Green, Jim Hart, Mel Gray etc. IMO Centers doesn't make the cut.

 

[Buckybird]

Hey wait a minute here people...numbers are retired for only the "special few". Aeneas Williams was a very solid player who could play on any teams starting lineup.....but he sure as hell was not the kind of player that gets a number retired.



I think you're wrong about Aeneas! he has bee one the best Cards ever,
owns at least one NFL record(longest fumble for TD), would have beaten
Larry Wilsons team record for INT's (if not traded), made the All-Decade team
of the 90's at CB and WAS A STAR ON A LOT OF BAD CARDINAL TEAMS.
#35 was a class act on and off the field while he played in AZ and one day
will be inducted into the HOF as a Cardinal. Retire his number, he deserves it.
Larry, no way. Solid player, not a star.

 

[kerouac9]

Hey wait a minute here people...numbers are retired for only the "special few". Aeneas Williams was a very solid player who could play on any teams starting lineup.....but he sure as hell was not the kind of player that gets a number retired.

I mean, honestly, does he derserve to be talked about in the same sentence as the top 10 CB that have ever played the game.....not IMHO.

Retiring a number is for the Gretzky's and Jordan's of sports....people that have revolutionized their sport......and Williams isn't that kind of player.

Spanky, do you ever get tired of being wrong? The Seahawks retired Steve Largent's number and he was the one bright spot in a long and dismal history of Seattle teams.

Aeneas Williams was the one good thing about the Arizona Cardinals for nearly a decade. He was a lock for the Pro Bowl year after year. He was a shutdown corner whose name could be mentioned with Deion Sanders and Darrell Green (I may be wrong about the name--Redskins cornerback who played forever). He is the one player (besides Pat Tillman--but that's a different category) from the Cards' tenure in Arizona whose number does deserve to be retired--no matter what his conditions on leaving where. He's easily among the top 10 corners who have ever played the game. The only reason that he's not talked about more is because--wait for it--he played for a bunch of horrible Arizona Cardinal teams.

 

[spanky1]

Hey wait a minute here people...numbers are retired for only the "special few". Aeneas Williams was a very solid player who could play on any teams starting lineup.....but he sure as hell was not the kind of player that gets a number retired.



I think you're wrong about Aeneas! he has bee one the best Cards ever,
owns at least one NFL record(longest fumble for TD), would have beaten
Larry Wilsons team record for INT's (if not traded), made the All-Decade team
of the 90's at CB and WAS A STAR ON A LOT OF BAD CARDINAL TEAMS.
#35 was a class act on and off the field while he played in AZ and one day
will be inducted into the HOF as a Cardinal. Retire his number, he deserves it.
Larry, no way. Solid player, not a star.

If you think that Williams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, then I have some land to sell you at the mouth of the Colorado River when it meets the Sea of Cortez....or the Gulf of California if you prefer.......oh, and by the way, no water flows from the the Colorado River when it meets the Sea of Cortez.

What I'm saying here is that Williams gets as close to being on anyones ballot as he does the Bidwills naming a bobble head doll after him.

C'mon mate......look at those that get passed over year after year and if you really think Williams is in their class then you don't know s*** from shineola!

FACT

 

[Cheesebeef]

FACT

Considering you're history, shouldn't the above say: SPECULATION... likely to be proven wrong in the future?

The guy ash been one of the best Cardinals of all time was on the All-DECADE team (you know - that means one of the best corners for 10 YEARS) all while NEVER getting any kind of support across from him or up front with a pass rush. To say he's just a decent player is flat out stupidity. The guy may or may not make it into the HOF, but he sure as hell played like a HOFer.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I though that the Cardinals said they would not retire numbers and would use a ring of honor instead?

According to Jim O:

The Cardinals will institute thier Ring of Honor at the new stadium in 2006. Larry Wilson will be the first player recognized. At least this was the case before Pat Tillman's death. We shall see if anything changes.

 

[kerouac9]

The guy ash been one of the best Cardinals of all time was on the All-DECADE team (you know - that means one of the best corners for 10 YEARS) all while NEVER getting any kind of support across from him or up front with a pass rush. To say he's just a decent player is flat out stupidity. The guy may or may not make it into the HOF, but he sure as hell played like a HOFer.

The real question is whether he'd be a no-doubt Hall of Famer if he played for the 49ers, Giants, Redskins, or Cowboys. The fact that he's arguably a Hall of Famer now (and might have been close to a lock had he retired two years ago...) speaks volumes about what his value has been to this franchise in Arizona.

 

[Codeofhammurabi]

What is the list of Cardinals with retired numbers? Thanks in advance.

 

[Buckybird]

If you think that Williams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, then I have some land to sell you at the mouth of the Colorado River when it meets the Sea of Cortez....or the Gulf of California if you prefer.......oh, and by the way, no water flows from the the Colorado River when it meets the Sea of Cortez.

What I'm saying here is that Williams gets as close to being on anyones ballot as he does the Bidwills naming a bobble head doll after him.

C'mon mate......look at those that get passed over year after year and if you really think Williams is in their class then you don't know s*** from shineola!

FACT

Spanky, when Aeneas does make the HOF I will personally row you out to sea
and make you swim back. Later loser!

 

[Redheart]

I am with the AW in the HOF crowd.

It is one of the reasons I hope he retires a Cardinal.

AW was the real-deal on a career's worth of bad teams...AW's career.

 

[green machine]

If Aeneas handn't left here on such messy terms, I'd be all for him being in some sort of ring. For the longest time he was a loyal Card, even resigning with them rather than going to Jacksonville in the mid 90's. He was a great player here, the one guy the team could always count on to do the job. I would hope he'd make the HOF, but I think it may take him a couple of tries to make it.