Mike Trout’s No. 1 Jersey at Millville High: A Tradition, Not a Retirement

Instead of retiring his high school jersey, MLB superstar Mike Trout honors Millville players with a unique annual tradition

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout Continues Annuall Tradion of hand-delivering his "retired" number. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Back in 2012, Los Angles Angels superstar Mike Trout accepted the honor of having his uniform number 1 retired by his beloved school, Millville Senior High School, located in the Philadelphia suburb of Millville, NJ a working class hamlet that’s home to nearly 30,000 residents.

But is his number actually retired? At first, Trout, who’s been dubbed by the locals as "The Millville Meteor" gladly accepted his school’s offer, showed up for the uniform retirement ceremony, ensuring that no future Thunderbolt hardwood player would wear his his beloved number 1. As is often the custom with former greats, he accepted the adulation befitting a hometown hero, beaming as he waved back to his adoring fans from the infield diamond.

Then, he thought about it, and sometime later decided to reconsider. His idea? Rather than having his number hanging on a banner in perpetuity at what is now called Mike Trout Field, Trout thought, why not honor a current player each year, providing one individual the memory of a lifetime on an annual basis.

Every year, Mike Trout goes back his high school and gives his old #1 to the new team captains instead of having it retired. pic.twitter.com/L9J4iTV0oS

— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) February 15, 2025

Trout's tradition of giving his old number to the new team captain is a way to honor his alma mater and at the same time connect with future players.  The coaching staff selects the senior who each year gets to wear the number. In addition, Trout donates his special-edition cleats and turf shoes to the school on an annual basis.

Millville means a lot to the ever-humble Trout. A few years back, Trout, who’s in the midst of 12-year, 42-million dollar contract that runs through 2020, and his wife built a house in town and spend much of their offseason back in New Jersey.

Trout is a 2009 graduate of Millville Senior High School, where he more than excelled in baseball and basketball. In his senior year, Trout slugged 18 home runs, which was a New Jersey high school record. Baseball America that year named Trout a high school All-American outfielder. He was selected by the Angels as the 25th overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. 

So, in actuality, Mike Trout's high school number has not been retired. Instead, prior to spring training each year, Trout hand delivers the number to the new team captain at Millville Senior High School each. This year’s rite of passage took place on February 12. To date, 14 different Millville players have been bestowed the honor of wearing Trout’s No. 1 uniform.

Roy Hallenbeck, the school’s now-retired baseball coach, was the Thunderbolts’ head coach when this special tradition began. He wasn’t surprised by Trout’s thoughtfulness and unique idea. “It’s really special to us,” . “We’re just lucky that we were here when he came through.

“He’s been good enough to stop by before he goes to spring training every year to take a picture with those guys (and) meet them. He’s pretty generous with his time when it comes to stopping by and seeing us.”

Today, despite battling a series of nagging injuries, Trout is a 10-time All-Star and has appeared in the MLB All-Star game more than any other active player

“I just thought it would be a pretty cool tradition to set a goal or set some standards of what you (need) to be able to wear it,” Trout told The Athletic back in 2020 “It’s pretty cool to be able to go back and see where the baseball program is still going. And to give back to them.”

The honor is something that will forever connect them to a living legend and an iconic South Jersey baseball superstar.