One of the oldest sayings in sport is “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.”

That goes back in time to the first and most basic team marketing efforts, that of selling scorecards for a penny (prices have really gone up!) to the fans in the stands.

Ever since teams started putting numbers on players’ jerseys — a practice which began in the 1920’s — what number a player wears has become as much an identification of some athletes as their name. I was just doing a little research into Denver Broncos all-time player numbers, with this being the 50th anniversary of the franchise, and here are a few Bronco number notations.

Every jersey number has been worn at least once in francchise history.

Three are retired: 7 for John Elway — one of three players ever to wear No. 7 — 18 for Frank Tripucka, and 44 for Floyd Little.

Three players have worn three different numbers: offensive lineman Sam Brunelli wore 64, 68, and 72; tight end Nate Jackson wore 14, 81, and 89; linebacker Keith Burns, now a Broncos special teams coach, wore 51, 55, and 56 while firing up the fans.