Two weeks ago, Jim Brown, the greatest athlete in Syracuse history, returned to SU to meet with new athletic director Daryl Gross and new head football coach Greg Robinson. He attended an SU-Cornell lacrosse game, a sport which he starred in during the 1950s, and spoke to the media at halftime on a number of issues, including the legacy of the number 44.

‘I think it probably should be (retired),’ he said. ‘I think it’s very difficult to try to pick an individual prematurely that’s going to be able to fulfill the shoes of 44.’

Gross and the athletic department apparently heard him. Gross announced Wednesday that SU will retire 44 in football during the Orange’s Nov. 12 game against South Florida at the Carrier Dome.

The number, which has been dormant since Rob Konrad graduated in 1998, was worn by Brown and legends Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, among others. Starting in November, it will hang permanently in the Dome.

‘I can’t think of a better time than right now,’ Gross said at a press conference Wednesday. ‘Heck, we are 0-0 in football. We’re undefeated and things are going really well. In my heart, it is overdue a little bit.’

Gross announced SU’s 2005-2006 theme – ‘Remember the past, respect the future’ – and unveiled an individual theme for each home game. The number-retiring ceremony will take place at halftime of the Nov. 12 homecoming game.

Since 1954, 11 players have worn the number, three were All-Americans. In 2004, SU running back Walter Reyes chose not to ask for the number for his senior season.

‘Everyone was looking for the next 44, the next Ernie Davis, the next Jim Brown, the next Michael Jordan, the next Babe Ruth and all those kind of people,’ Gross said. ‘Who would have thought that Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little could have gone back to back to back and done such a wonderful job.

‘With all due respect, I think this is the right time.’

Brown, who played at SU from 1954-1956, led the team to a Cotton Bowl berth. He went on to become a member of the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. He set an NCAA single-game record of 43 points against Colgate in a 61-6 SU win in 1956.

Davis played for the Orange from 1959-1961. He became the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and he helped SU win the 1959 national championship. Davis died of leukemia in 1963 before he could play in the NFL. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Little was a three-time All-American at SU. He played from 1964-1966 and led the team to the Sugar Bowl in 1964 and the Gator Bowl in 1966.

Gross was asked Wednesday if he expected to retire 22 in lacrosse, a number which has similar historical significance at SU.

‘The lacrosse program is terrific,’ Gross said. ‘I have so much respect for that program. So when the timing is right we will look at that as well.’

Former athletic director Jake Crouthamel said he doesn’t expect 22 to be retired anytime soon, though, because SU lacrosse head coach John Desko uses it as a recruiting tool.

Meanwhile, Gross said he doesn’t expect the loss of 44 to hurt football recruiting in any way.

‘It’s very unique,’ Robinson said of 44. ‘If there was ever a number anywhere in American football, 44 at Syracuse is special.’

Staff Writer Adam Kilgore contributed to this story

Published on April 19, 2005 at 12:00 pm