The retired No. 18 in a New Orleans gym behind the Mannings
Cooper, Peyton, Eli and Arch all played at Isidore Newman School. The one retired jersey in its gym tells you which of them the family still plays for.
Isidore Newman School sits at 1903 Jefferson Avenue in Uptown New Orleans, and it was founded in 1903 (Wikipedia). I noticed that before anything else, and it made me like the place immediately. A school whose address is its birthday seems like it would keep good records. It does, mostly, and one number in its gym explains the Manning family better than any highlight reel.
If you searched for Arch Manning's high school, this is it: a private, nondenominational kindergarten-through-12th-grade school named for the philanthropist who founded it, whose teams are called the Greenies. Arch's father Cooper went there, as did his uncles Peyton and Eli. Newman is also where Odell Beckham Jr. graduated in 2011 (Wikipedia).
Why the number is 18
In 2010, ESPN reported that No. 18 was the only retired jersey in Newman's history, worn by all three Manning brothers, and that it was the first thing you saw in the school gym (ESPN). The oldest brother made it matter. Cooper Manning was a wide receiver who set receiving records in that number while catching passes from Peyton. Their high school coach, Tony Reginelli, remembered the short-yardage call.
With Peyton, on fourth-and-1 we'd sometimes go to a short slant pass to his brother, Cooper.
Cooper committed to Ole Miss. That first summer he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, and his football career was over. Peyton then wore 18 for his entire NFL career as a tribute to his brother's high school number (Wikipedia). Every time a Colts or Broncos fan bought a Manning 18, they were, without knowing it, wearing a slant route from a New Orleans high school field.
What the Mannings changed at Newman
The same 2010 ESPN story says that when Peyton became the starter in 1991, Newman switched from a veer running offense to a passing attack, and the team roster grew from roughly 40 players to more than 70. The brothers kept coming back to lift weights, and the story describes younger students crowding the weight room to watch. It also notes, a little dryly, that no buildings are named after them (ESPN).
Newman's own tribute page for Peyton, class of 1994, lists a 34-5 record as a starter and credits the school's academic demands with teaching him discipline and time management. It also mentions, charmingly, that he was in a school play (Isidore Newman School).
Arch and the records his uncles left
Arch started at quarterback as a freshman. On September 30, 2022, he broke Eli's school record for career passing yards and Peyton's record of 93 career touchdowns in a single game, according to ESPN (ESPN). He finished at Newman with 8,539 passing yards and 115 touchdown passes (Wikipedia).
Arch does not wear the number on the wall. He wears 16 at Texas, which happens to be the number Tennessee retired for Peyton (CBS Sports). The 18 stays in New Orleans, where it belongs to the brother who caught the passes.
In 2023 Archie, Cooper, Peyton and Eli were inducted together into the inaugural class of the National High School Football Hall of Fame (Wikipedia). I love that Cooper, who never played a college down, got in on the strength of what happened on a high school field. It is the right place to honor him. It is where he was great.
Sources
Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Links open in a new tab.
