Authored by Mark Peters in American Football
Published on 12-22-2008
The New York Giants are one of the oldest football teams in the National Football League. Through the years the team has had some of the biggest names in football playing for them including Rosey Brown, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Don Maynard, Y.A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor. Like most professional franchises, especially ones with a long history behind them, the Giants have had their ups and downs over the years. Though the team has from time to time appeared at the bottom of the league standings, they have also consistently won conference championships and league titles too. One of the richest histories in all of pro football belongs to the New York Giants and they have for many years provided great memories for their fans.
Here are five things you may not know about the New York Giants football team.
1. The Giants are one of the oldest franchises in professional football with decades of team history behind them. Five teams joined the National Football League in 1925 along with New York. Of those five teams, the New York Giants are the only one that remains in the league today.
2. For many years the Most Valuable Player, or one of the star players on the winning team, in the Super Bowl would turn to the camera after the game was over and say those immortal words “I’m going to Disneyland”. The first player to utter those famous words was New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms who did so following his team’s Super Bowl XXI victory over the Denver Broncos.
3. At one time during the 1950s, the New York Giants had as assistant coaches on their coaching staffs two of the all time greats in the coaching world that had yet to get their chance as head coaches in the league. Coaching the defense for the Giants was future Dallas Cowboys legendary head coach Tom Landry. If that wasn’t enough, coaching on the offensive side of the game plan for New York was the man who was so successful that he would eventually have the Super Bowl trophy named after him, Vince Lombardi.
4. In the 1979 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers had their eye on Phil Simms. When the New York Giants selected Simms ahead of them, the 49ers were forced to go with their backup plan and instead selected Joe Montana. Though the Giants went on to win many games thanks to Simms, plan B for the 49ers didn’t work out too badly either.
5. The United States Football League was an upstart professional football league during the mid-1980s that ended up failing in its efforts to compete against the NFL. Near the end of longtime New York Giants punter Sean Landeta’s career, he was the last remaining player in the National Football League that had also played in the United States Football League.
With the wealth of great players they’ve had over the years and their extensive track record of success, the New York Giants have proven to be a team that their rivals always have to contend with. Another thing that has been true of the organization over the years is that they have always been willing to acquire or develop the kinds of players needed for the team to attain a fair amount of success. The New York Giants will continue to be one of the most formidable franchises in the NFL for quite some time. Fans of the team will have a hard time asking for more than quality players on the field and quality wins on Sundays.
