The Number 43

Yesterday at the gym I had locker number 43. This got me thinking.

When I was changing from my work out clothes into my swimming suit - I stared at the locker number and I was stumped trying to think of a player from Boston sports history that wore the number. In Boston certain numbers are associated with certain people - so 33 will always be Larry Bird, 4 will always be Bobby Orr, 9 will always be Ted Williams, etc. The whole time I was in the pool doing laps I tried to think of anyone who could have worn the number 43. I was stumped.

I consider myself a bit of a history buff and of course I know the George W. Bush is our 43rd President and that the atomic bomb was in the air for 43 seconds from the time it was dropped from the Enola Gay till it detonated over Hiroshima. Other than that I was drawing a blank on the number 43. So this morning I looked it up.

I was ticked at myself for not remembering Dennis Eckersley who not only wore 43 for the Red Sox but also made the number famous playing for the A's. To a lesser degree I should have remembered that Kendrick Perkins currently wears 43 for the Boston Celtics.

By the way - Idaho was our 43rd state.