The number seven is one of those digits that stand out among all the other numbers.

In ancient cultures it was associated with completeness and perfection. The Old Testament told the story of God creating the world in seven days. We have a seven-day week. The bible is full of references to seven, including the Pharaoh’s dream of seven good years followed by seven years of famine.

When it comes to the wonders of the ancient world, they numbered seven. The number of vertebrae in the necks of all mammals is seven. The seven of clubs in a deck of Tarot cards represents initiative, ambition, drive and desire. According to Buddhist legend, after his birth the Buddha rose to his feet and took seven steps. Seven is seen as a lucky number in many cultures.

One culture where seven has never amounted to much has been with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Matt Cassel hopes to change that; the Chiefs new quarterback will wear No. 7 this season. That’s important information for the folks who make the Cassel jerseys that will soon be available for purchase.

And hopefully it’s important numerical information for the Chiefs, who have not had much luck with quarterbacks and their numbers in recent years. Ten was OK for a couple years with Trent Green, but Damon Huard and No. 11, along with Brodie Croyle and No. 12 couldn’t stay healthy. Since Len Dawson’s No. 16 was retired, they’ve run through plenty of guys wearing everything from one (Warren Moon) to No. 19 (Joe Montana.)

During his time with the New England Patriots, Cassel wore No. 16. Around Arrowhead Stadium, however, that number has been worn by one man in the 49 seasons of Texans-Chiefs football and that was Dawson.

So Cassel has picked seven, and as special as that number might be in history, mythology and religion, it’s never produced for the Chiefs. Prior to Cassel, 10 players have worn the No. 7. Combined they played in 47 games, or less than one game for each of the 49 seasons of games in franchise history.

The guy who wore it the most games was Zenon Andrusyshyn. Only the most dedicated Chiefs fans can tell you who Z.A. was. He came to the team as a punter for the 1978 season out of the Canadian Football League, following Marv Levy down to Kansas City. Levy was coaching in the CFL when the Chiefs hired him to take over the team in ‘78. Andrusyshyn was the guy who took over for Jerrel Wilson, who had been the team’s punter for 15 years.

By the 1979 season, Zenon was gone back to Canada. Punter Jeff Gossett wore No. 7 for 15 games over two seasons in the early 1980s. He went on to a long career kicking, most of that time in Oakland. Kicker Michael Husted wore the number for six games in the 2002 season when he filled in for the injured Morten Andersen.

A total of six quarterbacks have previously worn the number. Combined they played in nine games, with six of those belonging to Ron Jaworski, when he spent the 1989 season with the club.

The last guy to wear No. 7 was kicker Justin Medlock, who survived the opening game of the 2007 season and was released, one of the biggest kicking failures in Chiefs history.

Certainly, the Chiefs hope for more than that for their new No. 7. Maybe he can wear the number with the same proficiency and production as the guy who used to be No. 7 in Denver, the man who broke so many Kansas City hearts, John Elway.

If we called in the numerologists, they would find important this notion: while Cassel will not be wearing Dawson’s No. 16, his number seven is important in Dawson’s life as well, for Len was the seventh son of a seventh son, considered the luckiest of all accidents of birth.

Chiefs fans can only hope that Matt Cassel has rolled a lucky seven with his choice of a uniform number.