Sorry, Yvonne and Garvin, I think you are out to lunch on this.
Elway was a GREAT player. He was the Andrew Luck of his era, except that Elway stood above the crowd even more than Luck did. Elway was a once-in-a-generation talent. Everyone knew he would be the # 1 pick in the draft before he even started his senior season, even though it was a draft that included Eric Dickerson, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, etc. He was a two-time All American. He finished second in the Voldemort vote despite playing for a 5-6 team. He set all kinds of records. He could make plays nobody else could make. There is no question -- none -- that Elway was in a league of his own.
Retiring # 7 in honor of Elway is not a slap in the face to Toby. Not in the least. That's just silly. It's a recognition of Elway's greatness, plain and simple. It's appropriate to wait some period of time before bestowing an honor like this. Plunkett waited 20 years. Elway waited 30 years. Darrin Nelson is still waiting. There's no need to retire Toby's jersey three years after he graduated. Toby is a humble guy. I'm sure he understands this.
I agree with Hank and others that Toby can be honored by retiring # 7 again in his honor. I don't see any problem with that. Toby can have his ceremony, his jersey can hang in the Hall of Fame room, and the number can be listed as retired in his honor also. The Yankees' list includes both of their #8's -- http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/histo...umbers.jsp
I don't want to say anything bad about Toby because I think he was great. But let's remember, Toby did little for two years, then had one very good year and one great year. He wasn't even first team All Pac 10 in 2008, let alone an All American. His great year was 2009. Toby's accomplishments were brobdingnagian. But in the big picture, I don't think he did as much for as long as Elway. Elway was a two-time Pac 10 Player of the Year and a two-time All American. I would support retiring the number in Toby's honor 15 or 20 years from now. But I don't think Toby's achievements should stand in the way of honoring Elway at this time. They each deserve their day. (And Toby's day probably should come after Darrin Nelson's day.)
Elway was a GREAT player. He was the Andrew Luck of his era, except that Elway stood above the crowd even more than Luck did. Elway was a once-in-a-generation talent. Everyone knew he would be the # 1 pick in the draft before he even started his senior season, even though it was a draft that included Eric Dickerson, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, etc. He was a two-time All American. He finished second in the Voldemort vote despite playing for a 5-6 team. He set all kinds of records. He could make plays nobody else could make. There is no question -- none -- that Elway was in a league of his own.
Retiring # 7 in honor of Elway is not a slap in the face to Toby. Not in the least. That's just silly. It's a recognition of Elway's greatness, plain and simple. It's appropriate to wait some period of time before bestowing an honor like this. Plunkett waited 20 years. Elway waited 30 years. Darrin Nelson is still waiting. There's no need to retire Toby's jersey three years after he graduated. Toby is a humble guy. I'm sure he understands this.
I agree with Hank and others that Toby can be honored by retiring # 7 again in his honor. I don't see any problem with that. Toby can have his ceremony, his jersey can hang in the Hall of Fame room, and the number can be listed as retired in his honor also. The Yankees' list includes both of their #8's -- http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/histo...umbers.jsp
I don't want to say anything bad about Toby because I think he was great. But let's remember, Toby did little for two years, then had one very good year and one great year. He wasn't even first team All Pac 10 in 2008, let alone an All American. His great year was 2009. Toby's accomplishments were brobdingnagian. But in the big picture, I don't think he did as much for as long as Elway. Elway was a two-time Pac 10 Player of the Year and a two-time All American. I would support retiring the number in Toby's honor 15 or 20 years from now. But I don't think Toby's achievements should stand in the way of honoring Elway at this time. They each deserve their day. (And Toby's day probably should come after Darrin Nelson's day.)