Puttin' Up Numbers

Jim Hart was undrafted out of Southern Illinois “The Harvard of the Midwest” but went on to play 19 years at QB in St. Louis and Washington. Leading the “Cardiac Cards” of the 70s, he was a 4X Pro Bowler, NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1974 and NFL Man of the Year in 1975. When he retired, only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton had thrown for more yards and he was 10th all-time in touchdown passes. His 23 career game winning drives is on par with Hall of Famers YA Tittle, Ken Stabler,...

Billy “White Shoes” Johnson played 14 NFL seasons with Houston, Atlanta and Washington and 1 year in Canada. A wide receiver and return specialist, his famous “funky chicken” end zone dance made him an all-time favorite. He was also a 3X All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl 3X including winning the MVP of the game in 1975. He’s also a member of the College Football HOF and the NFL’s All-Decade teams of the 70s & 80s. He’s also on the NFL’s 75th & 100th Anniversary All-Time teams and is the only...

Sports memorabilia guru and all-around good dude Tracy Hackler of Panini America joins the fun to talk about the explosion in popularity of sports trading cards and memorabilia, the effect of uniform numbers on card value, cutting up a perfectly good rare Babe Ruth jersey and watching Ryan Leaf's NFL career implode before it began. Our Guest Tracy Hackler has spent the majority of his career talking about sports trading cards. You know those 2 ½ x 3 ½ pieces of cardboard gold that many of...

Jake "The Snake" Plummer drops in to talk about #16, comparisons to Joe Montana, a near-miss National Championship, his friendship with Pat Tillman and life after football for a 45-year old retiree. Plus, strong contenders in all sports, a Hall of Shame you can probably see coming down Main St. and a loaded Hall of Fame class. Our Guest Jake Plummer came within 100 seconds of winning a National Championship at Arizona State in 1996. That year he was named All-American, Pac-10 Offensive...

Mark Hilinski discusses the life & legacy of his son Tyler, a former Washington St. QB who died by suicide in 2018 and the work of the Hilinski's Hope Foundation. Plus, Screen Stars, Heat Check and the Hall of Fame is not to be missed. Our Guest Mark and Kym Hilinski have three sons, their middle-child’s name was Tyler. He wore #3 as a starter at Washington State where he engineered one of the greatest comebacks in the history in program history against Boise State in 2017. Just 4 months...

Denver Broncos legend Karl Mecklenburg joins the pod to talk about #77, his 6 Keys to Success and being on the doorstep of the Hall of Fame. We've also got a heated Derrick Rose Award field and an impressive Heat Check list that could be Hall of Fame contenders soon. Our Guest Karl Mecklenburg went from being a college walk-on and 12th round pick to a spectacular NFL career highlighted by 3 Super Bowl appearances. He played 12 seasons for the Denver Broncos and was a 3X All-Pro and 6X Pro...

Steve Garvey joins the podcast to talk about #6, his time as a Dodgers batboy, his guest shot on Fantasy Island and more. We've also got our fathers' favorite players, plus Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, the Heat Check and more. It's the joy of six! Our Guest Steve Garvey played 19-years in the big leagues for the Dodgers and Padres in the 70s & 80s. He’s a 10X All-Star, 4X Gold Glove winner, was National League MVP in 1974 and won a World Series in 1981. His number 6 is retired in San...

Jim "The Rookie" Morris joins the show to talk about #63, what it's like to have Dennis Quaid play you in the story of your life and details on his new book Dream Makers. Plus, we've got a carload of NFL linemen and nearly forgotten baseball players to discuss and a mighty unusual Hall of Shame and Derrick Rose Award you won't want to miss. Our Guest Our guest has lived his very own Disney movie. Jim Morris was a high school baseball coach and science teacher who incredibly made the major...

NFL great Steve Smith Sr. joins the show to talk about how he turned a negative into a positive with the number 89. He also shares how he was able to add “Sr.” to his jersey (it’s more complicated than you think), what’s he’s had to learn as an NFL analyst, how he’s helping his community in Charlotte and, like the rest of us, he wonders what’s going on in Jacksonville. All that and late-breaking number news, Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, the Hall of Fame and more. Our Guest Steve Smith...

Anyone can give you predictions, but only Puttin’ Up Numbers gets you ready for the 2020 NFL season with all the number news you’ll need. The Puttin’ Up Numbers NFL SPECIAL brings you news and notes on every team including top rookies, new faces in new places and more. It’s everything you need and it’s all right here, right now. NFC WEST 2:00 – San Francisco 49ers 2:42 – Seattle Seahawks 3:54 – Los Angeles Rams 5:40 – Arizona Cardinals NFC NORTH 6:54 – Green Bay Packers 7:14 –...

Legendary #10 Nancy Lieberman stops in to critique our Hall of Fame list. We also talk about her friendships with Ali, Kobe, LeBron and Clyde, when a woman will finally become an NBA head coach, her thoughts on Zion's future and we cast an all-female version of Space Jam with Nancy leading the charge. Our Guest It’s hard to understate the impact Nancy Lieberman has had on the game of basketball. A true pioneer as a player, coach and broadcaster, she’s a 2X National Champion in college, an...

Bailey, Barnes, Barry, Bonds, Bryant, Chelios, Gordon, Griffey, Henderson, Malone, Mays . . . the competition for the greatest #24 of all-time is absolutely STACKED. Bill Cartwright, the catalyst of the great Bulls teams of the early 90s joins us to talk about the Bulls, The Last Dance, his love of the Say Hey Kid and more! It's an action-packed show featuring a brand-new segment from Mr. Rudy Klancnik himself. Our Guest Bill Cartwright was a key part of the one of the greatest dynasties...

Now that he's finally back at the helm, the genius behind America's greatest Twitter feed, Super 70s Sports, joins a Very Special Episode of Puttin' Up Numbers to talk (what else?) all things 70s. Ricky Cobb might not be a household name like Joe Namath, Howard Cosell or Evel Knievel but if your birthday falls anywhere from around 1960 to the mid-1970s, Ricky has established himself as a legend. Thanks to his super popular and super funny Twitter account, Super 70's Sports is a must follow...

It's a YUGE show! ESPN Analyst Jay Bilas joins us to talk about legendary #21's, his appearance on The White Shadow, Young Jeezy, the state of college sports in a COVID-19 world, taking Barney the Dinosaur to court and more! It's an absolutely jam-packed show! Our Guest Jay Bilas is one of the foremost analysts in college basketball today. A 4-year starter at Duke where he played on the first of Mike Krzyzewski’s 12 Final Four teams. He also won back-to-back National Championships as a...

We were all set to bring you a Very Special Episode this week with Ricky Cobb, the legend behind the greatest Twitter feed in these United States - Super 70s Sports. Unfortunately, Ricky got hacked this week, so we felt it was unfair to share our passion with you for a feed you cannot see at the present moment. So, we're going to hold the episode until Ricky is safely back at the controls of the Super 70's empire. But not all is lost. We are going to share with you a quick story from Ed...

Future Hall of Famer Nick Mangold stops by to talk about #74, BBQ, his work with the Answer the Call Foundation and how he’s dealing with 4 kids under 9-years of age. We talk about the bumper crop of #74’s in the Hall of Fame, Rudy’s favorite Fast and Furious movie and our distaste for The Blind Side and Rudy. Plus a Hall of Shame that puts all other Hall of Shamer’s to shame and, of course, our #74 Hall of Fame. Our Guest Nick Mangold played 11 years at center for the New York Jets. He...

Talented actor and college football legend Ed Marinaro joins the proceedings to talk about #49 (and #44 at Cornell), plus playing basketball with Jim Brown at the Playboy Mansion, screen testing for the Six Million Dollar Man, Hill Street Blues, playing for Lou Holtz, the famous Hail Mary game in 1975, living with Joe Namath and his role in the forthcoming Soprano’s prequel, The Many Saints of Newark. Also catch the Hall of Shame, Hall of Fame and a discussion of the three worst days in Tom...

Jim Abbott joins the podcast to talk about the #25 and his connection to Angels great Don Baylor. We break down the Contenders with a discussion of polarizing #25s, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Fred Biletnikoff and are still amazed that Jim Thome hit 612 HRs. Talk about Richard Sherman and Ben Simmons in Heat Check. Award the inaugural Derrick Rose Award to none other than Derrick Rose, plus the Hall of Shame and the Hall of Fame. If you’re looking for a lively discussion of players and teams...

NUMBER #1 The podcast about uniform numbers continues a streak of huge guests when Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon stops in to talk about his famous number 1. Warren talks about the significance of #1 and its resurgence with the current crop of young signal callers including the recently signed Cam Newton. We also break down Contenders, hit the Heat Check and court controversy with the Hall of Shame. If you like discussions about Garo Yepremian, this is an episode you won’t want to...

The podcast about uniform numbers breaks down the greatest athletes ever to wear uniform number 10. Baseball great Ron Cey joins Tom and Rudy to talk about how he got #10 with the Dodgers, what it was like to wear #11 in stops in Chicago and Oakland, the nickname, “The Penguin” and how it feels to have another Dodger third baseman wearing the number he made famous. We also have our Contenders, Heat Check, Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, a non-soccer Hall of Fame and more! Today’s...