Its a tradition practically as old as the sport itself: a hockey team led onto the ice by a goaltender wearing No. 1. From Jacques Plante to Glenn Hall to Johnny Bower, goalies wearing the simple number were the starting point of rosters for decades.If you were a goalie, you wore No. 1. Thats just how it was.Operative word here being was.Todays goalies have gone in a different direction when it comes to the digits on their back. And the result has almost eliminated the No. 1 altogether.As a kid, I always had 1, said former goaltender and current broadcaster Brian Hayward, who wore the number for almost his entire 11-year NHL career. Every time the goalie was 1, so I just stuck with it. It almost became like an expectation for me.The No. 1 goalie wore 1. Another reason why you wanted that number. You wanted to say, Im the No. 1. Thats the way I looked at it.Its believed that goalies were given the No. 1 because they were the first player on a rink when looking from the net outward. When a goalie was injured, for instance, the replacement goalie would also wear No. 1.The numbering system changed when roster expansion required teams to field two goaltenders. The most notable change occurred in 1964, when legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk joined the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Bower already wearing No. 1, Sawchuk went with No. 24 before taking on No. 30 and forever changing the numbers associated with goalies.The Chicago Blackhawks Tony Esposito wore No. 35, and goaltenders began gravitating increasingly toward the 30s thanks to Patrick Roy, whose usual No. 30 was worn by Chris Nilan when he joined the Montreal Canadiens as a rookie, forcing Roy to go with No. 33. Roys legendary exploits in Montreal and with the Colorado Avalanche truly began a wave of iconic goalies wearing numbers that were uniquely theirs.When you saw a guy wearing 33 youd go, Wow, hes wearing 33, Hayward said. Im sure a lot of kids wear 33 because of Pat. Ken Dryden was 29. A lot of guys, if they had a favorite [goalie], would go in that direction.Today, the No. 1 has mostly gone the way of the two-pad stack. At the beginning of December, only seven goalies were wearing the number. Its a dramatic shift from just 25 years ago, when more goalies wore the number during the 1991-92 season, despite the NHLs fielding only 22 teams. Six teams have retired the No. 1 (not including the?Minnesota Wild, who retired the number in honor of their fans), which also pushed goalies to be creative when it came to picking a number.After being forced to abandon the number last season with the Canadiens, who retired the number in honor of Plante, Mike Condon was thrilled to get it back this season. He took back the number with the Pittsburgh Penguins and retained it after being traded to the Ottawa Senators.Its just the number I wore in high school and the number I wore in college, he said. Any chance I get to wear it, Im going to grab it. I think its old-school. I just like it.The number is certainly a throwback, especially with the Florida Panthers Roberto Luongo, who at 37 is the leagues oldest goaltender, wearing it. In fact, there are almost as many goalies in the league wearing No. 40 and No. 41 (four each) as there are wearing the number that historically defines the position. Others wearing the No. 1:?Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings, Brian Elliott of the Calgary Flames, Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche, Keith Kinkaid of the New Jersey Devils and Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders.But some goalies forced to take on the single digit have come to love the loneliest number.Ive loved No. 1 since Ive gotten it, said Kinkaid. I like the single digit. Its grown on me quite a bit. Its simple. My last name is only seven [letters], so I think if I had two numbers, it would go outside the seven.Kinkaid wore No. 1 when he starred at Sachem High School East in Farmingville, New York. The school even retired the number in his honor. But he switched to No. 30 when he enrolled at Union College, a number he couldnt wear with the Devils thanks to a certain goalie named Martin Brodeur. Kinkaid switched to No. 35, which was eventually taken by current starter Cory Schneider after he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks. With the Devils still among the few teams restricting which numbers players can wear, Kinkaid was given his old high school number.But not every goalie forced by the Devils to wear the number took so kindly to the change.I didnt like it. I think its a boring number, said former NHL goaltender and current broadcaster Kevin Weekes. Its just a boring-looking number, but I respect the history of the guys who have worn it, of course.Weekes was first assigned No. 1 by the Panthers when he came to the NHL in 1997-98, but he had worn double zero in junior hockey and the minors. The NHL doesnt allow the single or double doughnut because they cannot be registered in the leagues database. So, when he came to the New York Islanders in 1999, Weekes switched to No. 80, which he figured was as close to double zero as he could get.When it comes to traditional numbers, the Devils and Kinkaid have proved to be the exception. Whereas goalies typically expressed themselves through the art on their mask, some of the NHLs best have taken to doing that through their number.Maybe its not cool anymore to wear No. 1. For me, I always look for it, Hayward said.Many star goalies have gone off the conventional radar when it comes to their number, including the Blackhawks Corey Crawford (No. 50), the Columbus Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky (No. 72), the Tampa Bay Lightnings Andrei Vasilevskiy (No. 88) and the Washington Capitals Braden Holtby (No. 70). Their influence could ultimately make the traditional No. 1 even less popular with todays up-and-coming goaltenders.I think a lot of guys with big numbers have them for a reason, Condon said. They have a story behind it.I dont really have anything like that. I just want the simplest number out there. Simple, to the point, succinct. No wasted energy there.Of course, Condon said there is one other number he would consider.Im just old-school, but Id do double zero if I could. Nike Air Jordan Uk Sale . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. 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The pair ensured a full house of home nations at the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand - joining seeds England and Scotland - after completing their European qualifying campaign with wins over Italy and Russia respectively on Saturday.St Helens centre Ben Morris scored two tries as John Kears Wales came from 14-10 down at half-time to triumph 20-14 in Monza, while Mark Astons Ireland ran in 13 tries in a record 70-16 win over Russia in Bray that secured a fourth successive World Cup for the Wolfhounds. They will play each other in the final match in pool C in Perth on November 12 as a curtain-raiser to Englands group game against France, after earlier playing Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. World Cup chief executive Andrew Hill said: Id like to congratulate both Ireland and Wales on qualifying for next years Rugby League World Cup.ddddddddddddWith large expat communities in Australia, we know these two teams will receive strong support and win over a legion of new fans during their respective campaigns.The 14th and last place at the World Cup will be filled on Friday when Italy, captained by former Hull KR skipper Terry Campese, take on Russia in the final qualifying play-off at Leigh Sports Village.Wales pool matches: October 28 - Papua New Guinea, Port MoresbyNovember 5 - Fiji, Townsville StadiumNovember 12 - Ireland, Perth Rectangular StadiumIrelands pool matches:October 29 - Italy or Russia, Barlow Park, CairnsNovember 5 - Papua New Guinea, Port MoresbyNovember 12 - Wales, Perth Rectangular Stadium Also See: Ireland reach World Cup Wales qualify Kiwis edge out England Follow us @SkySportsRL ' ' '