Chris Woods (1996)
Marcus Hahnemann (1997-1999)
David Kramer (2000-2002)
Scott Garlick (2003)
Joe Cannon (2004-2006)
Bouna Coundoul (2007-2008)
Clint Irwin (2014-2015, 2020)
Tim Howard (2016-2019)
First, its easy to forget that Pickens never wore #1, and apparently none of his backups did either, so there's a gap for 5 years. Secondly, there's a few of these that are clearly not in the running. Woods, Kramer, Garlick, and Bouna (I love you Bouna!) aren't in the same category as Hahnemman, Cannon, Irwin, and Howard. So its really a four way race.
Some of the notable accomplishments for the four of them:
Hahnemann - Second all-time in Team Wins (behind Pickens)
Cannon - 2004 MLS Best XI, 2005 & 2006 All-Star, 2004 MVP Finalist, 2004 MLS GK of the Year, 2005 & 2006 MLS GK of the Year Finalist, Rapids All-Time Leader - Saves
Irwin - 2015 All-Star, Second all-time in Team Minutes and Shutouts (behind Pickens in both)
Howard - 2017 MLS All-Star, 2016 MLS GK of the Year Finalist, 2019 MLS Humanitarian of the Year Finalist
I think that alone shows that Cannon and Howard are on a different level in their Rapids careers than Hahnemman was. Marcus was probably the first real name to leave the Rapids and go on to success overseas but even then it took a couple of years for him to find his home at Reading. Irwin appears high in a number of team categories but most of them are counting stats due to his longevity. Cannon is not far behind him with notably less games played. In the end though this comes down to Joe vs. Tim.
When you look at the Rapids record book Howard leads Cannon in appearances, starts, and minutes, but Cannon leads Howard in Wins, Losses, Saves, Shutouts, and Goals Against Average. All but the latter are counting stats, not averages, which means he did more in less time. That. combined with the list of accomplishments, makes this an easy call for me . Joe Cannon is the best Rapid to ever wear the #1 jersey.
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4 comments:
I want argue. Howard was sometimes frustrating, especially in late summer and Fall 2017.
Won't argue
I'll argue. To me it comes down to Cannon then Hahnemann. Hahnemann was awesome for the Rapids, especially in 99, when he earned his shit in Europe. Howard was the 2nd best keeper on the team in 2016, and average the rest of the time here.
Not only was Howard the best keeper on the team in 2016, he was probably the best keeper in the league over his half season.
https://www.sounderatheart.com/2016/11/2/13501770/digging-deeper-into-the-mls-goalkeeper-of-the-year-robles-blake-howard-allstate
And as good as Marcus was, as you can see both Tim and Joe had both team records and league recognition for their level of play. Marcus had less than Irwin has.
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