Sour Shoes Impressions Inspire ‘Noine Greatest Nines’ Tribute

Sour Shoes as Gary Dell’Abate on the Talk Box. Photo: The Howard Stern Show

The Howard Stern Show—birthplace of golf’s most infamous heckle and a recently-embraced football catchphrase—has once again proved to be a great influencer on the wide world of sports.

Elite Sports NY published a listicle on Monday celebrating the top “noine” number nines in New York City’s celebrated sports history. The article’s author Robert Villa credits beloved Wack Packer Sour Shoes—and his pitch-perfect impressions of Gary Dell’Abate and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo—with inspiring the article.

After hearing Sour Shoes repeat “noine” over and over again, he decided to cobble together a list of the nine most impressive New York athletes to have worn the number nine (or ninety-nine) on their jerseys.

Some of the more well-known names include Wayne Gretzky, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, and Joe Torre. Check out the full list here.