Raiders countdown to kickoff: It’s only a day away, who wore number one best?

We’ve come a long way. We started the countdown at 99 and now we’re here. Just one day until real Raiders football. You don’t see players wearing the number one anymore. After top picks do their pose at the draft with a number one jersey, that’s the last time you see it.

You see players in college wear the number one a lot. And usually it means they were extremely highly recruited by the school and were granted the right to wear a number that literally tells everyone they are number one. The NFL doesn’t allow that anymore.

However, there was a player who wore number one for the Raiders once.

Who wore it best: WR Ronald Curry (2001-08)

Appropriately enough, Curry sported the number one for just one game as a rookie. He was used as a kick returner in that game, returning three kicks for 68 yards. After that season he switched to 89 for his final seven seasons in Oakland.

This freak of nature wore the number one in college. He was a two-sport star at North Carolina, including a starting point guard for the vaunted Tarheel basketball team as well as the starting quarterback on the football team. But he eschewed any thoughts on playing in the NBA, opting for the NFL instead. With his quarterback skillset not translating to the pro game, he switched to wide receiver. And his versatile athletic abilities and natural talents made him a perfect candidate to join the team that once had Bo Jackson in their offensive backfield. They made him their pick in the 7th round, just as they had Jackson 15 years earlier.