LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Entering his 22nd season with the team, equipment manager Tony Medlin has been dressing Bears players from head to toe since 1987. He shares some of the secrets of his trade with ChicagoBears.com:

How are numbers assigned to new players who join the Bears? Are they given a choice?

I usually give vets a little more leeway because they’ve been in the league, as long as the number’s available. If a vet player coming from another team wants another vet’s number who’s already here, I usually let them talk. Sometimes they do want to exchange numbers and they work that out. I generally give rookies an option as long as the number is available.

No one appreciates equipment manager Tony Medlin more than Bears players such as Lance Briggs.

That has happened. Someone asked me for a 28 [retired for Willie Galimore], never a 34. Most guys know about Walter Payton’s number. That’s a given.

How many jerseys does a typical player go through in a season?

Most players go through one jersey, sometimes two and maybe three. It depends on the position. Every player must have at least one extra jersey at every game. We take about 80 extra jerseys to every game. A player can change jerseys at halftime if he chooses to, but it’s very rare.

How much equipment do you bring to a road game?

We take 53 player travel bags and 15-20 trunks filled with extra shoes, helmets, shoulder pads, game pants, socks and jerseys; raingear, coaches shirts and hats, gloves and footballs. During winter months, we bring even more equipment.

What are some superstitions players have in terms of their equipment?

Some guys bring special shirts they’ve had since college to wear under their team-issued shirts. One of our former players didn’t want anybody to touch his shoes. He hated that.

What types of cleats are best to wear in different conditions?

Our standard cleat is a 5/8-inch cleat. If it’s real muddy, most players wear a 3/4-inch cleat. A lot of players will use a 1/2-inch cleat if the grass is real short in warm-climate stadiums. On Field Turf, most of our skill guys use what’s referred to as a “speed-bottom” shoe and a lot of our bigger guys wear what are called “nubby-bottom” shoes.

What do you do with the balls that players take out of play to commemorate a special play?

We get the balls painted and give them back to the player. I tell the players to keep them. When they’re done playing, they can take them and line them up on their wall and make a nice trophy case. When they’re raising their kids, they can show them what they did—not to boast about it, just to say it’s a hard thing to do and this is what it took to get to this point in my life.