5. Number 55
In 1988, Orel Hershiser had one of the greatest pitching seasons in history. He won 23 games and set a record, pitching 59 straight scoreless innings. He went on to pitch the Dodgers to a shocking World Series win over the 104-win Oakland Athletics.
Hershiser was more than just a one season pitcher for the Dodgers, playing 12 seasons all while wearing the number 55. Hershiser was the Dodgers premier right-handed pitcher during the 1980s, gaining 98 wins and 23 shutouts, both among the top 10 in pitching.
On the USC campus when a football player is given the number 55, he is inducted into a lineage of awesome linebackers. “Club 55” has included All-Americans Junior Seau, Willie McGinest, Chris Claiborne, and Keith Rivers.
The USC coaches know the aura attached to the number 55 that they still continue to hand it out selectively.