|
NEW YORK GIANTS HALL OF FAMERS
Here is the cream of the Giants crop |
|
Tim Mara, Founder, Charter Enshrinee in 1963
Mara introduced the city of New York to pro football when he purchased the franchise for a reported (others claim it was ,500) in 1925, thus giving the National Football League a vital showcase in the nation's largest city. Mara withstood heavy financial losses his first year until the Giants were saved on the last home game of the season. Mara needed a good showing at the gate to keep the team alive. The most heralded college player of the era, Red Grange, showed up at the Polo Grounds as a Chicago Bear and helped draw a crowd of over 70,000 people to save the Giants. After seeing the crowd that formed, Mara decided that under the right circumstances, professional football could be a big success. Mara bore the brunt of the fight against the rival American Football League in 1926 and the All-American Football Conference from 1946-49. He helped build the Giants into a perennial powerhouse with three NFL and eight divisional titles. He was honored in 1963 as one of seventeen charter members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
|
Mel Hein, Center, Enshrined in 1963
Originally joined the Giants in 1931 and played 15 seasons for the Giants, a record of team service that is matched by only Phil Simms. He was named All-NFL eight straight years from 1933-40. Following a successful college career at Washington State, Hein wrote to three NFL clubs offering his services. The Giants bid the highest at per game. Hein was a 60-minute regular for 15 years. He played in a Giants team record 172 games. Hein never missed a game in the National Football League or in college and high school. He took time out only in two games and was injured only once. Hein was named the League's Most Valuable Player after anchoring a line that helped guide the Giants to the 1938 World Championship with a 23-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers at the Polo Grounds. |
|
|
|
Steve Owen, Coach, Enshrined in 1966
A great defensive star of the 1920s, Owen played for the Giants from 1926-36. He captained the 1927 team which won the National Football League title and held their foes to a record low of 20 points. Owen coached the Giants for 23 years from 1930 to 1953 and had a coaching record of 150-100-17, including eight divisional and two NFL title teams. Some of his coaching innovations include the A-formation offense, the umbrella defense and the two-platoon system. Owen went to college at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. After a year coaching at his alma mater following his graduation in 1921, Owen joined the Kansas City Cowboys and came to the Giants in 1926 and was named All-NFL at tackle for four years. |
Ken Strong, Halfback, Enshrined in 1967
Strong played for the Giants from 1933-35 and then from 1939-47 and excelled in every phase of the game - blocking, running, passing, punting, place kicking and defense. At the time of his retirement, Strong was the Giants all-time leading scorer with 324 points on 13 touchdowns, 35 field goals and 141 extra points. He scored 17 points to pace the Giants to the 1934 title over the Chicago Bears in the famous "Sneakers Game" on the ice-covered Polo Grounds. Was named All-NFL in 1934 and scored 64 points to top the NFL in 1933. Strong served as a placekicking specialist only when he returned to the Giants from 1944 until 1947. He scored 479 points in 14 NFL years. |
|
|
|
Emlen Tunnell, DB, Enshrined 1967
Tunnell was signed by the Giants as a free agent out of Iowa in 1948. He also attended Toledo University. Ignored in the NFL draft, Tunnell walked into the Giants office and asked Tim Mara for a try out. The Giants reached a milestone in their illustrious existence by signing Tunnell as their first black player. He holds the Giants team-record with 74 interceptions and 257 punt returns. In 1952, Tunnell gained more yards (923) on interceptions and kick returns than the NFL rushing leader. He earned the nickname "Offense on Defense." Tunnell was named All-NFL four times and played in nine Pro Bowls. |
Vince Lombardi, Coach, Enshrined in 1971
Lomardi was head coach of the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins after spending the 1954-58 seasons as an assistant with the Giants. Behind Lomardi's leadership running the offense, the Giants captured the League Championship in 1956. In 19 years as head coach, Lombardi had a 105-36-6 record, including five NFL titles and victories in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. He directed the Packers to five NFL championships in seven years (1961-62 and 65-66-67), a feat without precedent or parallel in pro football history. A guard, Lombardi played his collegiate football at Fordham, where he was one of the legendary "Seven Blocks of Granite." |
|
|
|
Andy Robustelli, DE, Enshrined in 1971
Robustelli was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1951 and played on two Rams Championship teams. In 1956, Giants co-owner Wellington Mara orchestrated a trade for Robustelli, who provided a tremendous lift in the Giants title drive that season. Robustelli played on a winning team in 13 of his 14 pro seasons. During his career, he played in eight NFL title games and seven Pro Bowls. He was named All-NFL seven years, two with the Rams and five with the Giants. Was acknowledged as the field leader on a Giants defense that was largely responsible for the Giants participation in six championship games and the 1956 League Title. He also served as a defensive player-coach. Robustelli was a durable player who missed only one game in his 14-year career. |
Y. A. Tittle, QB, Enshrined in 1971
The Giants engineered one of the most profitable trades in their long history prior to the 1961 season when they sent guard Lou Cordileone to the San Francisco 49ers for Tittle. The then 35-year old Tittle promptly led the Giants to their 12th Eastern division championship. Tittle spent 11 seasons in the NFL and two seasons in the All-American Conference before coming to the Giants. In 1962, Tittle completed 200 passes in 375 attempts for 3,224 yards. His 33 touchdowns that season set an NFL record and his seven touchdown passes against the Washington Redskins tied another league mark. Tittle had his greatest year as a pro in 1963. He led the league in passing with 221 completions in 367 attempts for 3,145 yards. His 36 touchdown passes set an all-time one-season record, and his 202 career scoring aerials also established a record. All told, Tittle had 2,427 completions, 33,070 yards, 242 touchdowns and 13 games with over 300 yards passing. He was the NFL Player of the Year in 1957 when he led the 49ers to a tie for the Western title, and won the same honor again in 1961 and 1963 as he took the Giants to eastern championships. Tittle was named All-NFL in 1957, 1962 and 1963 and also played in six Pro Bowls. |
|
|
|
Roosevelt Brown, Tackle, Enshrined in 1975
Brown played for the Giants from 1953 through 1965 after joining the team as a 27th round draft choice, regarded as one of the greatest "sleeper" picks of all time. Brown held the starting tackle spot for 13 straight seasons. During that period, he was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was an All-NFL eight straight seasons. In 1956, when the Giants won the championship game, Brown was named Lineman of the Year by the Associated Press. Brown was known as a big, fast blocker who could make the block downfield. He was also used along the defensive front on goal-line stands. Brown helped the Giants advance to the NFL Championship game in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963. After his playing career, Brown continued his Giants affiliation as a coach before being appointed as a scout, where he has served since the 1971 season. He was immediately named assistant line coach by the Giants after a phlebitis condition forced him to retire in 1966. |
Frank Gifford, Halfback, Enshrined in 1977
Gifford played for the Giants from 1952-60 and then again from 1962-64. He was known as one of the most versatile backs in NFL history. Gifford was the first pick in the draft by the Giants in 1952 after an All-America career at Southern California. He totaled 9,753 combined yards during his career. Gifford's record includes 3,609 yards rushing, 367 receptions and 484 points. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a defensive back in 1953 and as an offensive back the following year - a first in NFL annals. Gifford played in seven Pro Bowls during his career and was named All-NFL four times and NFL Player of the Year in 1956. He holds three Giants team records - touchdowns (78), highest average gain (500 attempts) rushing (4.30) and most receiving yards (5,434). A real triple-threat in his halfback heyday, Gifford threw 14 touchdown passes in 60 attempts on the halfback option. He retired after the 1960 season and then decided to return in 1962 at a new position, flanker. The Giants reached the NFL Championship game five times during his career, including the 1956 World Championship team. |
|
|
|
Sam Huff, LB, Enshrined in 1982
Huff was originally drafted by the Giants in the third round in 1956 after an All-America career at West Virginia and became an immediate star as middle linebacker. He played in five Pro Bowls and was named All-NFL four years. Huff won recognition for his great individual efforts against the premier running backs of his era, Jim Brown of Cleveland, Rick Casares of Chicago and Alan Ameche of Baltimore. Huff was named Outstanding Lineman in the NFL for his play in 1959. He anchored a defense that helped the Giants reach the Championship game in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963. |
Fran Tarkenton, QB, Enshrined in 1986
Tarkenton played for the Giants from 1967-71. Originally with the Minnesota Vikings in 1961, he moved to the Giants in 1967 and back to the Vikings in 1972 in stunning trades. He retired as the NFL's record holder for career passing yards with 47,003. An elusive scrambler, Tarkenton rushed for 3,674 yards and 32 touchdowns. A four-time All-NFL and nine-time Pro Bowl selection, he led the Vikings to Super Bowl appearances in 1973, 1974 and 1976 |
|
|
|
Wellington Mara, Co-Owner, Enshrined in 1997
Wellington Mara, along with CB Mike Haynes, coach Don Shula and C Mike Webster, made up the four-man class of the 1997 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mara and his father Tim, who was the founder of the Giants and a charter member of the Hall of Fame, are the first father and son to be accorded pro football's highest honor. Mara, whose entire lifetime has been dedicated to pro football, has helped the Giants produce 17 NFL/NFC divisional titles and six NFL championships during his 61-season tenure that began with his graduation from Fordham in 1937. |
Lawrence Taylor, LB, Enshrined in 1999
Lawrence Taylor played for the Giants from 1981 through 1993 after joining the team as a first round draft pick in 1981. He finished his 13-year career as the No. 2 all-time quarterback sack leader in the NFL with 132.5. That total does not include the 9.5 he accumulated as a rookie in 1981 before the sack was an official NFL statistic. Taylor established an NFL record by appearing in 10 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1981-1990. He was named NFC's Defensive Player of the Week nine times during his career (since that recognition was initiated in 1984) and was the conference's Defensive Player of the Month twice, in October, 1986 and again in September, 1989. In 1989 he was a unanimous choice to the NFL's All-1980s team. Taylor had the finest statistical season of his career in 1986 and it earned him unanimous selection as the NFL's Most Valuable Player. That year, he had a career-high 20.5 sacks, 105 total tackles, five passes defensed and two forced fumbles. As a rookie in 1981, he set the tone for his Hall of Fame career as he earned every defensive and rookie postseason honor possible. |
|
|
