Sticking with No. 26 worked out pretty well for Phillies great Chase Utley originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Every Little Leaguer in the Philadelphia area from 2005 to 2015 wanted the number.
Even today, a decade after it was informally retired, it remains popular in the stands back home at Citizens Bank Park and down here in spring training.
26.
For Phillies fans, the number is synonymous with Chase Utley.
The great former Phillies second baseman was back in Clearwater on Thursday as the team announced he would become its 51st Wall of Famer in an August 7 ceremony at Citizens Bank Park.
Dan Baker, no doubt, is already loosening up his vocal cords …
Number 26, Chase Utley!
But how different it might be if Utley had gotten his wish 20 years ago.
In high school and later at UCLA, he wore No. 7.
“It was always my lucky-ish number,” he said.
As a minor-leaguer attending big-league spring training camp, Utley first wore a football number – 78. When he graduated to the majors, he was assigned No. 26, which wasn’t a bad thing because he got to sit next to Jim Thome in the spring-training clubhouse.
Wearing 26 on his back, Utley became the Phillies’ regular second baseman in the second half of the 2004 season and began a rise to stardom in 2005.
But he still longed to wear his old favorite, No. 7.
After that season, Utley approached Frank Coppenbarger, the team’s longtime clubhouse and equipment man about possibly changing numbers.
“I’d begun to establish myself a little bit so I figured I’d ask,” Utley said.
Coppenbarger was OK with the switch and started to get the ball rolling. He ran it by the front office. The number was open so there were no major objections. The next step was alerting Majestic, then the uniform manufacturer for Major League Baseball.
That’s where there were objections.
“A couple of weeks later, Majestic got back to me,” the now-retired Coppenbarger recalled Thursday. “They were really concerned. They had several thousand ‘Utley 26’ jerseys in stores all over the region and they didn’t want to eat all those jerseys.”
Coppenbarger explained the situation to Utley.
“Oh, wow,” Utley said at the time. “Forget it. Let’s keep 26.”
Two decades later, Utley recalled that conversation on Thursday.
“From that day on, I felt like 26 was my number,” he said. “It worked out pretty good.”
Sure did.
In 13 seasons with the Phillies, Utley played in 1,551 games, made six National League All-Star teams and won four Silver Slugger awards. He was part of a homegrown core of players (along with Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell and others) that won five NL East titles, two NL pennants and a World Series from 2007 to 2011. He played in 46 postseason games for the Phillies and hit seven home runs, five in the 2009 World Series. He ranks in the franchise’s top 10 in a slew of categories, including runs, hits, RBIs, doubles, homers, total bases and extra bases.
You can add standing ovations to that list. Dubbed “The Man” by legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas, Utley was a huge fan favorite not only for his talent and production but also his heads-up, gritty style of play.
On the night the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, Utley made an instinctive defensive gem to cut down Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett at the plate. It ranks with Brandon Graham’s strip-sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII as one of the most iconic defensive plays in Philadelphia sports history.
Phillies owner John Middleton praised Utley as “one of the greatest players in franchise history.” Middleton sees the Wall of Fame as a place to honor “Phillies history and its great players, great personnel and great moments.”
“When Chase’s plaque goes up on the Wall of Fame in August, he will deservedly live permanently and visibly forever in Phillies history,” Middleton said.
Utley is the third player from the 2008 World Series championship team to be honored on the Wall of Fame, joining Burrell and Rollins. Manager Charlie Manuel and general manager Pat Gillick have also been honored. In the coming years, more 2008 Phillies will surely be feted. Howard’s time will come soon. Hamels’, as well. Both were in Clearwater for the Utley announcement Thursday.
“For me, being able to hit behind Chase all those years and getting to see it first-hand, watching him work to do his thing day in and day out, was amazing,” Howard said. “Now, for him to be enshrined on the Wall of Fame, it’s awesome. It’s awesome to see a player and leader like that be recognized.
“As a player, you don’t set out for this type of stuff. It just happens when you do great things, and what Chase did was great. For me, answering these questions now — I’m standing here, but mentally, I’m in the on-deck circle watching his greatness. He’s a special player and a special individual.”
The Wall of Fame likely will not be the last great honor for Utley. In January, he received 59.1 percent (of a necessary 75 percent) of the vote in his third year on the Hall of Fame ballot. With seven years of eligibility remaining, he seems like a shoo-in. When that day comes, Phillies fans will flock to Cooperstown with No. 26 on their backs and the team will officially retire the number that no one has worn since him.
And to think, it could have been No. 7.
“I’m glad Chase didn’t change his number,” Frank Coppenbarger said. “Now, 26 is iconic. He’s 26 and he’ll be 26 forever.”
