The Greatest Athlete To Wear #26 is Billy Williams.

Notable #26’s  Wade Boggs was about as great an average hitter as their has been in the last 40 years. Boog Powell was a big power hitter for the Orioles in the 1960’s and 70’s. In hockey Peter Stastny was one of the early stars to come to the NHL from Europe, he’s in the Hockey Hall of Fame. In football Rod Woodson was a great defensive back who is in the Hall of Fame. Woodson is one of the few mistakes the Steelers have made in letting players go. Woodson still had some gas in the tank after he left Pittsburgh. Herb Adderley was a Hall of Fame cornerback for the great Green Bay Packer teams in the 1960’s.

The Greatest Athlete To Wear #26 is also the most underrated unappreciated baseball player I think during my time as a fan-since 1967- Billy Williams. Ernie Banks got all the publicity for the Cubs back in the 1960’s-early 1970’s but I think Billy Williams was the better player. All Billy Williams did was show up every day and play without complaint. Williams played 16 of his 18 seasons with the Cubs. He was a 6 time All-Star, the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 25 or more home runs in 10 seasons and this was during a time when hitting 25 home runs meant something. Billy Williams hit 426 home runs and had 2711 hits during his career with a .290 career average. He also retired with 1045 walks and 1045 strike outs. He’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame.