Mid-Twentieth Century Football Giants

One of the reasons I bought the Giants One Hundred Anniversary Book was that it included the top 100 players who wore the team’s uniforms. 

As I have previously stated, this football season, as terrible as our team is, celebrates the Giants 100th Anniversary of being part of the NFL. I attended my first Giants home game in 1961 at Yankee Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams. That gave me the opportunity to use my brand new 7×50 binoculars that my father had given to me when I visited him and his family at March AFB in Riverside, California that summer.

Having those binoculars gave me the opportunity to visually record the play-making abilities of  four-star players, quarterback Chalie Conerly, runner and receiver, Kyle Rote, kicker Pat Summerall and center, Ray Wietecha, all of whom would retire at the end of that season.

Y.A. Tittle, was the Giants starting quarterback, but that Sunday, his passing was ineffective. Head coach. Allie Sherman, replaced Y.A. with the Giants long-time starting OB, Charlie Conerly, who responded by completing a touchdown pass to Kyle Rote in the end zone behind the Yankee dugout to give the Giants the lead that they never relinquished. Amazingly, Rote made that catch exactly in front of where my friend, Jimmy Pace and I were sitting.

I had been introduced to the power of witnessing all aspects of professional football, close-up and in person. OMG, the beauty, the intensity, the sounds, profanity, tough-talk, baiting and the pain; the struggle in the pits where linemen collide, winners prevail by overwhelming their opponents. The men who make-up the defensive line know when their opponents mentally give up. Offensive players know the same thing when their opponents quit.

Vince Lombardi said it best, “ Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”         

The following year, when I first purchased my season ticket, I was assigned a Box Seat in Section 12 about five rows from the playing field behind the baseball visitor’s dugout on the side of the end zone at the closed end of Yankee Stadium.

In my first two seasons, 1962 and 1963, I did get to see 19 stars who were members of teams that played for the Giants from 1956 to 1963, the team’s mid-century glory years. During that eight-year period, the Giants won a World Championship in 1956 over the Chicago Bears. They also were division champions five times, but lost the championship games, twice to the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959, twice to the Green Bay Packers in 1961 and 1962 and once to the Chicago Bears in 1963.

The linemen who were included in the Giants top 100 players were Roosevelt Brown, Andy Robustelli, Jim Katcavage, Roosevelt Grier, Jack Stroud, Greg Larson, Dick Modzelewski, Ray Wietecha and Darrell Dess.

Running backs, quarterbacks and receivers included Charlie Conerly, Frank Gifford, Y.A, Tittle, Del Shofner, Joe Morrison, Alex Webster and Aaron Thomas.

Linebackers and Defensive backs like, Sam Huff, Jimmy Patton, Dick Lynch and Erich Barnes.

This list doesn’t include Lawrence (L.T.) Taylor, voted the Giants best player of all-time because he didn’t join the Giants until 1981.

My only disappointment was missing out on seeing Emlen Tunnell, the team’s world class defensive back who was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1958 after having played nine years with Big Blue.

Brief thoughts on some of my heroes:

Charlie Conerly: WWII Veteran, stone-cut face would have been the perfect Marlboro man except, he hated horses.

Kyle Rote: Fan favorite. Many guys have his name because their fathers adored him.

Y.A. Tittle, YAT, for short had three fabulous years with Big Blue after the 49ers traded him ending his long career in San Francisco. He set the record for most TDs in 1962 with 32 and 36 in 1963.

Rosy Brown was the ultimate offensive tackle in the NFL. A man of peace who, for most of his career lined up against Ernie Stautner who hated the Giants for cutting him in training camp. Brown held his own against Stautner but took a beating.

When Stautner retired, he became the Steelers line coach and taught his replacement all of his dirty moves. First time vs the Giants, less than a quarter into the game, Rosy stepped back after an ugly play and punched the replacement kid right in the face.

Rosy was thrown out of the game. a first and only time in his long career. When his coach asked for an explanation, Rosy replied: “I took that shit form Stautner for too many years, I’ll be damned if I’ll take that from a rookie.”

In 1958 Summerall kicked a 48-yard field goal to beat the Cleveland Browns. When he ran to the sidelines, Lombardi grabbed him and shouted: “You know you can’t kick it that far.” When he  retired, he became a world-class announcer and a world class drunk. Fortunately, he beat the booze.  

Sam Huff was a fan favorite. When the stadium crowd shouted the chant, they invented: DEEfense, DEEfense, DEEfense, it was for Sam, our hero.

When he was traded to the Redskins, we, the faithful, lost any and all affection for, Allie Sherman, the Giants coach who engineered the trade. Our new chant became: “Goodbye Allie, Goodbye Allie, Goodbye Allie, we hate to see you go.” to the sound of “Goodnight, Ladies.”

It took a night exhibition game in Montreal where the local fans sang this chant in French to convince Wellington Mara to fire Coach Sherman…and so it goes.

Dear Readers, let me wish each of you a happy Thanksgiving that I hope you can enjoy with those you love.    

On the Outside Looking In will not publish next week, but I expect to return on Wednesday, December 4th.