The top 12 No. 12s in sports history

Lou Marsh Award winner Christine Sinclair leads off not only because of her success on the field, but because she is the only No. 12 to inspire a Twitter trend (#SinclairDay) in Canada.

Hall of Fame second baseman and Toronto Blue Jays great Roberto Alomar is the best baseball player to ever adorn No. 12 and likely the most accomplished athlete to tie the knot on 12/12/12, something he did Wednesday at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Jarome Iginla is the career leader in goals and points among players to primarily wear No. 12. He’s probably the nicest, too.

Tom Brady could be the best player in NFL history to wear No. 12, which is saying a lot considering the legendary list of quarterbacks who have worn it.

The NBA’s all-time leader in assists and steals and one of the best point guards to ever play the game, John Stockton is without a doubt the best player in league history to wear No. 12 on his chest, which he did for his entire 19-year career.

Yvan Cournoyer was a staple on the great Montreal Canadiens teams in the 1960s and 70s, winning 10 Stanley Cups in 16 seasons. Cournoyer’s No.12 hangs from the Bell Centre rafters alongside another No. 12, Dickie Moore.

A member of the Order of Canada, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductee, legendary Ottawa Rough Riders QB Russ Jackson is also now a proud member of the 12 Great Athletes to Wear No. 12 Club.

Roger (The Dodger) Staubach was one of the most electrifying players in the 1970s. The great No. 12 is a two-time Super Bowl champion, five-time NFC champ, Heisman Trophy winner and Hall of Famer.

Although Wade Boggs is best remembered for wearing No. 26 with the Boston Red Sox, some of his more memorable moments came while wearing No. 12 while with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, including a World Series championship in 1996 and his 3,000th hit in 1999.

Terry Bradshaw led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles, twice earning Super Bowl MVP honours. Although his No. 12 isn’t officially retired by the Steelers, the team no longer issues Bradshaw’s famous digits.

While none of these players will be remembered for wearing No. 12, NHL greats Jean Beliveau, Marcel Dionne, Dale Hawerchuk and Phil Esposito donned the number at some point in their careers. Before latching onto his famous No. 4, Beliveau tried out a few different numbers, including No. 12 in 1953. Dionne, who is best known for wearing No. 16, spent one season (1974-75) with No. 12 on his back. Hawerchuk wore No. 12 for 66 games with the Blues in 1995-96, while Esposito wore it for 62 games after being traded to the Rangers in 1976.

The 12th hole at Augusta is one of the most damning in all of golf. Jack Nicklaus once called the hellish 155-yard par-3 “the hardest hole in tournament golf.” If Nicklaus’ word isn’t enough just ask Tom Weiskopf, who famously shot a 13 in 1980 after hitting five balls into the water.