Denver Broncos Greats . . . By The Numbers: #35

This has been one of the less favorite numbers among Broncos players -- having been worn by just fourteen players for just over half of the years that there has been professional football in Denver (28 out of 51 seasons). Number 35 has been worn by three fullbacks, seven running backs and four defensive backs, virtually none of whom are well known players.

After the jump: A look at the players who have worn #35

Dave Rolle FB 1960
Appeared in 14 games with 0 starts; rushed 130 times for 501 yards and 2 touchdowns; caught 21 passes for 122 yards and 1 touchdown; was third in the AFL in fumbles with 9.

Jim Sears HB 1961
Appeared in 2 games with 0 starts; amassed no official statistics.

Richard "Bo" Dickinson FB 1962-63
Appeared in 20 games with 0 starts; rushed 78 times for 278 yards; caught 61 passes for 563 yards and 4 touchdowns; fumbled 4 times; returned 2 kicks for 26 yards.

Jim Wright DB 1964
Appeared in 10 games with 0 starts; intercepted 1 pass.

Henry Jones RB 1969
Appeared in 2 games with 0 starts; rushed 1 time for 3 yards.

Clem Turner RB 1970-72
Appeared in 37 games with 0 starts; rushed 51 times for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns; caught 16 passes for 98 yards; fumbled only 1 time; returned 7 kicks for 156 yards.

Lonnie Perrin RB 1977-78
Appeared in 44 games with 5 starts; rushed 55 times for 255 yards and 9 touchdowns; caught 20 passes for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns; fumbled 5 times and recovered 3 fumbles; returned 29 kicks for 719 yards; rushed 3 times for 8 yards and caught 1 pass for -7 yards in Super Bowl XII.

Larry Canada FB 1978-79, ‘81
Appeared in 48 games with 0 starts; rushed 148 times for 621 yards and 6 touchdowns; caught 12 passes for 110 yards and 1 touchdown; fumbled 4 times and recovered 4 fumbles; returned 2 kicks for 19 yards; appeared in 2 post season games where he rushed 5 times for 32 yards and caught 1 pass for 4 yards.

Ken Bell RB 1986-89
Appeared in 59 games with 1 start; returned 22 punts for 147 yards; returned 104 kicks for 2218 yards; rushed 31 times for 96 yards; caught 3 passes for 18 yards; fumbled 10 times; appeared in 3 Super Bowls (XXI, XXII and XXIV) where he returned 10 kicks for 177 yards.

Blake Ezor RB 1990
Appeared in 9 games with 0 starts; rushed 23 times for 81 yards; fumbled 1 time; returned 13 kicks for 214 yards.

John Granby DB 1992
Appeared in 4 games with 1 start; amassed no official statistics.

Jason Suttle CB 1999-2000
Appeared in 10 games with 0 starts; recovered 1 fumble and returned it for a touchdown; recorded 2 tackles.

Lenny Walls CB 2002-05
Appeared in 43 games with 20 starts; intercepted 1 pass; defensed 21 passes; forced 2 fumbles; recovered 2 fumbles; recorded 90 tackles; was an undrafted college free agent; was the tallest CB in the NFL at the time of his signing; was placed on IR in November of 2005 and did not play for the Broncos again.

Selvin Young RB 2007-08
Appeared in 23 games with 13 starts; rushed 201 times for 1032 yards and 2 touchdowns; caught 38 passes for 247 yards; fumble 3 times and recovered; returned 11 kicks for 232 yards; was an undrafted college free agent; rushed for 120 yards in his first NFL start; after a fantastic start, he missed 7 games due to a groin injury; he returned for one game but suffered a neck injury; he was waived in 2009 after the Broncos signed LaMont Jordan, Correll Buckhalter, J. J. Arrington and drafted Knowshon Moreno.

Picking the "greatest" Bronco to wear #35 was a tough job, given the relative obscurity of these players. It would have been easy to go with a recent fan favorite in Selvin Young for his initial promise. It would have also been easy to go with Lonnie Perrin for being the first player to wear #35 for the Broncos in a Super Bowl (SB XII), or with Lenny Walls as being one of the best known names in the group.

But, I believe we cannot discount the player who tied for wearing that number the longest (4 seasons), appeared in the most games (59) and was a contributor to three trips to the Super Bowl (SB XXI, SB XXII and SB XXIV). So . . . .