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Denard Span forgot his jersey and wore No. 91 Monday. But how does he compare to other 91s?

Nationals outfielder Denard Span, who normally wears the sensible, time-tested No. 2, seems to have forgotten to bring his jersey to the park on Monday:

So for at least one Spring Training game, Span will join the short, but memorable, list of athletes to wear this ungainly numeral. How does he stack up against other No. 91s of the past?

Alfredo Aceves

Aceves, who pitched from 2008-10 with the Yankees and has been with the Red Sox since 2011, has not been around for too long. But it's safe to say he's the most successful No. 91 in MLB history. Only two others have worn it in the Majors. One was Tim Spooneybarger, who wore it for one season with the Marlins and whose biggest career achievement was being traded for by me while playing MVP Baseball 2005. The other was Hideo Nomo, who had long, colorful and at times very successful career, but only wore No. 91 during one season: his last, in 2008 with the Royals, in which he posted an 18.69 ERA.

Sergei Fedorov

A stealthy defector from the Soviet Union. The first European to win the Hart Trophy. Briefly married to Anna Kournikova (before she and Enrique Iglesias began their improbably, and impressively, long-tenured relationship which is still going strong today). Sergei Fedorov was definitely one of the coolest hockey players of the '90s and '00s. He wore No. 91 at every stop he made, from the Red Wings to the Mighty Ducks to the Blue Jackets to the Capitals, during an era in which high numbers became the must-have jersey feature in the NHL.

Tim Flock

A NASCAR pioneer and Hall of Famer, Flock won the 1952 Grand National Series driving the No. 91 Fabulous Hudson Hornet. They sure don't name racecars like they used to, do they? They also don't have animal co-drivers anymore. As part of some kind of crazy/brilliant promotional stunt, Flock had a rhesus monkey named "Jocko Flocko" accompany him during a 1953 race that he didn't just finish -- he won. 

Kevin Greene

Before Clay Matthews, Nick Mangold and A.J. Hawk, the epitome of long blonde NFL hairdos was unquestionably that of Kevin Greene. The Rams, Steelers, Panthers and 49ers linebacker didn't just look like Hulk Hogan: He had a short pro wrestling career that included tag teaming with fellow NFL alum Steve McMichael. Given that the NFL has strict rules about linebackers wearing only numbers in the 50s or 90s, the fact that he wore No. 91 is a little less unusual than the others on this list.

Dario Kresic

Soccer is probably the sport with the least creativity when it comes to jersey numbers. For many years (decades beyond when baseball still assigned Nos. 1-9 according to the batting order), soccer teams' starters would always wear Nos. 1-11. Some teams still do this. But one player who bucked convention in a huge way was Kresic, who wore No. 91 during his stint with Greece's PAOK FC. The Croatian goalkeeper wore it to commemorate the Battle of Vukovar, which happened in his hometown in 1991.

Dennis Rodman

After wearing No. 10 with the Pistons and Spurs, the Worm chose 91 on the Bulls because it added up to 10. That mundane rationale produced a number that seemed fittingly wacky for the tattooed, pierced and dyed rebounding and defending monster. His Hall of Fame career and distinctive style inspired everyone from Aceves to the person writing this post. He probably has the best chance of anyone of having a No. 91 retired. 

Check that: After an uninspiring night against the Astros, Span is beating him to it:

-- Dan Wohl / MLB.com 

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