With the Giants preparing for their 100th season, 2024 has become a time to reflect on the franchise’s first century in the NFL. Newsday is joining that celebration by listing and ranking who we believe are the 100 most influential people in Giants history.
It was a tricky task to measure such impact, as some spent a lifetime developing it while others capitalized on mere moments to achieve their status. There were dozens of people from outside the organization who could have been recognized, from Red Grange (the first superstar to pack the Polo Grounds with fans when his Bears visited in 1925) and Pete Rozelle (the commissioner who brokered the decision to hire George Young as general manager) to Alan Ameche (who scored the sudden-death overtime touchdown at Yankee Stadium in the 1958 Championship for the Colts in “The Greatest Game Ever Played”) to Tom Brady (the greatest quarterback of all time but a two-time Super Bowl loser to the Giants). For this endeavor, though, we stuck to those who have had only the most direct ties to the team, whether that be on the field, in the front office, in the training room or anywhere else the Giants’ long reach extends.
Here, then, is our contribution to the festivities, memories, and, yes, debates, that will surround the Giants throughout this eventful campaign and, no doubt, well into their second century of play.
100. Carl Lockhart: He didn’t win a title (or many games for that matter) during his two-time Pro Bowl career as a safety for the Giants from 1965-75, but after his death from lymphoma in the summer of 1986, he became an indelible part of the Super Bowl-winning team that wore a patch with his nickname “Spider” and his No. 43 all season long.
99. Dave Jennings: A product of Garden City High School, Jennings is the most prolific punter in Giants history (931 for 38,792 yards between 1974-84) and served as a radio analyst for the Giants from 2002-07.
98. Rodney Hampton: After a broken leg ended his rookie season and kept him from playing in Super Bowl XXV, he came back and had five straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons and finished his eight-year career second in Giants history with 6,897 rushing yards.
97. Gian Paul Gonzalez: A guest speaker at a weekly chapel meeting in December 2011 for a .500 team teetering on collapse, Gonzalez delivered a sermon that became a rallying cry for a Super Bowl run: “All In.” He gave each player a poker chip to keep close as a reminder of their commitment. Gonzalez later was named team chaplain, a position he still holds.
96. Rosey Grier: A defensive lineman with the Giants from 1955-62, he won an NFL championship (1956), was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1956 and 1960 and was named All-Pro in 1956 and 1958-62.
95. Hannah Burnett: The Huntington High School graduate became a trailblazer as the first female full-time employee on the football side of the business when the Giants hired her as an area scout in 2020.
94. Cal Hubbard: The 6-2, 250-pounder was the centerpiece for the 1927 championship defense that posted 10 shutouts in 13 games and allowed only 20 points all season. Hubbard is the only person enshrined in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the National Baseball Hall of Fame (he became a well-regarded baseball umpire and executive after his NFL career).
93. John “Jumbo” Elliott: A Sachem High School product, Elliott was the Giants’ starting left tackle from 1988-95 and tasked with blocking Hall of Famer Bruce Smith in Super Bowl XXV.
92. Hinkey Haines: An original Giant in 1925, he made the key play in the 1927 game against the Bears that decided the NFL Championship on a daring fake punt. Haines, who had played baseball for the Yankees in 1923, is still the only player to be part of both a World Series and NFL Championship-winning team.
91. Rev. Benedict Dudley: A Franciscan friar invited by founder Tim Mara to serve as team chaplain in the 1930s, he held that role until 1978. He celebrated Sunday mass for Catholic members of the team and ownership at home and on the road, performed countless weddings and baptisms, and counseled players. He was also the person who pulled 25-year-old Wellington Mara aside during a home game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds in late 1941 to tell him Japan had bombed a United States naval base in Hawaii neither had heard of before that day: Pearl Harbor.
90. Tim Rooney: After helping build a dynasty in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, the nephew of Steelers founder Art Rooney came to the Giants and served as director of pro personnel for two championship teams from 1985-1999.
89. Red Badgro: Although his Giants lost to the Bears at Wrigley Field, 23-21, Badgro, a Hall of Famer, scored the first touchdown in that first ever NFL Championship Game, a 29-yard pass from Harry Newman, in 1933.
GIants wide receiver Mark Ingram runs with a pass reception against the Bills during Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on Jan. 27, 1991 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/George Rose
88. Mark Ingram Sr.: In one of the great individual efforts in Super Bowl history, Ingram willed himself to a crucial first down by breaking five tackles on a third-and-13 conversion. That play set up Otis Anderson’s go-ahead touchdown run in the third quarter, crucial points in the 20-19 win over the Bills.
87. Arthur Milne: He never played, coached or even worked for the Giants, but when Milne organized fellow fans to rent a plane in 1978 and fly it over the Meadowlands with a banner that read “15 Years of Lousy Football — We’ve Had Enough!” it was a tipping point for the embarrassed organization and helped spark super changes.
86. George Martin: The defensive lineman had a knack for big plays in big moments, sacking John Elway for a safety in Super Bowl XXI.
85. Ray Flaherty: A receiver who helped the Giants win the NFL championship in 1934, Flaherty became the first professional athlete in any sport to have his jersey number retired by a team when his career ended after the 1935 season.
84. Brandon Jacobs: The running back won two Super Bowls in seven seasons with the Giants and holds the franchise record for most career rushing TDs (60) while ranking fifth in rushing yards (5,087).
83. Jeff Hostetler: When Simms was injured late in 1990, Hostetler was thrust into action and won the final two games of the regular season plus his three postseason starts, including Super Bowl XXV. Whether it was coming back from his own injury in the NFC title game against the 49ers or simply holding on to the ball after being sacked in the end zone by Bruce Smith in the Super Bowl, Hostetler’s toughness and grit were on display throughout that glorious month in the spotlight.
82. Allie Sherman: Remembered more for the ugly end of his tenure that included the singing of “Goodbye Allie” by fans at Yankee Stadium, Sherman coached the Giants beginning in 1961and won three conference championships along with two NFL Coach of the Year awards in his first three seasons.
81. Jack McBride: The tailback led the Giants in scoring each of their first three seasons and scored two rushing touchdowns in the 1927 game against the Bears that gave the Giants their first NFL championship.
80. Ed “Whitey” Wagner: The team’s beloved equipment manager from 1976-1999, Wagner helped provide everything from new gear to pregame meals to two decades’ worth of players. He also served with the U.S. Army, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Silver Star, Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
Giants head coach Bill Parcells is doused with Gatorade by his players at Giants Stadium on Jan. 4, 1987. Credit: AP/Susan Ragan
79. Jim Burt: He was a nasty nose tackle, and his legacy lives as the inventor of the celebratory Gatorade bath.
78. Steve Spagnuolo: Almost as important as winning a Super Bowl in his first season as defensive coordinator in 2007, Spagnuolo was trusted to bring stability to the organization in 2017 when the Giants named him interim head coach following the firing of Ben McAdoo.
77. Fran Tarkenton: Acquired from the Vikings in 1967, the often-scrambling quarterback played five seasons of his Hall of Fame career for the Giants during which his exciting improvisational play became one of the few watchable elements of bad teams.
76. Mike Pope: One of the top tight ends coaches in league history and a member of the coaching staff for all five Giants Super Bowl appearances.
75. Bob Papa: Working radio play-by-play for the Giants since 1995, Papa’s voice often accompanies highlights of some of the greatest plays in team history.
74. Del Shofner: Acquired from the Rams in a 1961 trade to give newly added quarterback Y.A. Tittle a premier target, Shofner became the first Giant with over 1,000 receiving yards in a season and reached that milestone in each of his first three years in New York.
73. Bob Sheppard: The unmistakable baritone voice of Yankee Stadium also was the public address announcer for the Giants, adding gravitas to home games from 1956 (their first season in the Bronx) through their move to New Jersey and up until his retirement in 2006.
72. Antrel Rolle: A safety who wasn’t afraid to call out teammates, especially during the Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl run.
The Giants' midfield logo at MetLife Stadium for their opener. Credit: Newsday/Tom Rock
71. Marie Barclay Steinmuller: She designed the “giant quarterback” logo in the 1940s as well as the lowercase “ny” that appeared on the team’s helmet from 1961-75 and strongly influenced the current lowercase insignia on today’s uniforms. Her design will be the midfield logo at MetLife for the opener.
70. Antonio Pierce: One of the best free-agent signings in team history, the middle linebacker arrived in 2005 and was a captain of the 2007 Super Bowl-winning team.
69. Jeremy Shockey: A hotheaded lightning rod who wore out his welcome, Shockey nonetheless was one of the most dynamic playmakers the Giants ever had at tight end.
68. Jessie Armstead: A five-time Pro Bowler from 1993-2001.In 2007, he signed a one-day contract to retire as a Giant and he has been with the organization in various coaching and administrative roles since 2008, currently as special assistant to the GM.
67. Ottis Anderson: Acquired in a 1986 trade with the Cardinals, he ran for 102 yards and a TD against the Bills to earn MVP of Super Bowl XXV.
66. Amani Toomer: The team’s all-time leader in catches (668), receiving yards (9.497) and touchdown receptions (54).
65. Pete Gogolak: He was the team’s kicker from 1966-74 and his 646 points are the most in team history. He introduced the soccer-style technique to the NFL.
64. Ward Cuff: Wingback and kicker, 1937-45.
63. Phil McConkey: At 5-10 and 170 pounds, McConkey played fearless football that endeared him to fans whether he was returning daredevil punts or just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch a Super Bowl XXI touchdown pass that first bounced off the hands of Mark Bavaro.
62. Joe Pisarcik: Had he held onto the football or taken a knee the Giants would never have had to endure “The Fumble” and the lowest point of their on-field existence. With that bobbled handoff with Larry Csonka in 1979, though, Pisarcik gave the Giants the “gift” of rock-bottom from which they would soon rise.
Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes (9) celebrates after kicking the game-winning field goal in overtime during the NFC Championship Game against the Packers in Green Bay, Wis., on Jan. 20, 2008. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
61. Lawrence Tynes: The kicker behind two of the most memorable field goals in team history: an overtime score in subarctic conditions at Lambeau Field to win the 2007 NFC Championship Game (after missing two earlier in the game) and one in the mud of Candlestick Park in the 2011 NFC Championship Game.
60. Joe Morris: Noted for his powerful but diminutive 5-7 frame, Morris has the third most rushing yards in Giants history (5,296) and his 21 touchdowns in 1985 are a single-season team record.
59. Ed Danowski: Before Eli Manning there was Big Ed Danowski from Riverhead, the two-time championship quarterback who manned the position (which was far from the most important on the field at the time) for the teams that won the title in 1934 and 1938.
58. Dick Lynch: In both 1961 and 1963, he led the NFL with nine interceptions, and he scored seven career touchdowns — four on interception returns and three on fumble returns. Lynch became even more beloved for his 40 years as the analyst on the team's radio broadcasts.
57. Victor Cruz: Local kid (Paterson, New Jersey) who made the team as an undrafted free agent and brought winning, joy and salsa dancing to the Super Bowl XLVI team. His 1,536 receiving yards in 2011 stand as the Giants’ single-season record and his 99-yard TD catch-and-run against the Jets on Christmas Eve was the unofficial start of the team’s championship push.
56. Jim Fassel: Head coach of the Giants from 1997-2003, he willed the 2000 team to the Super Bowl and helped steer the organization through the tumultuous days and weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York.
55. Abe Cohen: The equipment manager was dispatched to Manhattan College on the day of the 1934 NFL Championship at the Polo Grounds to retrieve shoes from the basketball team for what would become known as “The Sneakers Game.” The footwear helped the Giants find traction on the frozen field in their 30-13 comeback win over the Bears.
54. Chris Snee: The centerpiece of offensive lines that won two Super Bowls and one of the team’s all-time great interior linemen.
53. Jim Thorpe: He was old, overweight and washed up when the Giants signed him to play on their inaugural 1925 team and he lasted only parts of three games, but his name brought immediate clout to the earliest days of the organization and helped draw in the first trickles of fans who watched the franchise.
52. John Johnson: He provided trusted medical care for generations of players during a remarkable 60-year run as a trainer from 1948-2007.
51. Osi Umenyiora: A quick, undersized edge rusher with an uncanny knack for stripping the ball away from the quarterbacks he sacked. He recorded 75.0 regular-season sacks with another 5.5 in 10 postseason games.
Giants end Homer Jones wraps his big hands around a football during a workout at Yankee Stadium, Oct. 24, 1967. Credit: AP/Harry Harris
50. Homer Jones: A wide receiver with dazzling speed, Jones is the father of the modern touchdown celebration — the end-zone spike.
49. Saquon Barkley: A supremely talented running back and the best player on every Giants team from 2018-23 whether he was on the field or, because of injuries, not. His departure as a free agent to Philadelphia this offseason ranks with Sam Huff’s trade to Washington in 1964 in terms of hard feelings with an organizational centerpiece.
48. Joe Morrison: A versatile athlete who played six different positions, including halfback, flanker, tight end and defensive back, he scored 65 touchdowns, third most in franchise history, during a 14-year career from 1959-1972.
47. Ken Strong: He accounted for 17 points (two rushing touchdowns, a field goal and two extra points) and his 42-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter gave the Giants their first lead in an eventual 30-13 victory over the Bears for the 1934 NFL championship. It became known as “The Sneakers Game.”
46. Tom Boisture: Hired in 1980 as George Young’s most trusted pro personnel adviser, Boisture overhauled and oversaw the draft process that would select Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan and Carl Banks, among many others.
45. Odell Beckham Jr.: Only Lawrence Taylor burst on the scene with more starpower than OBJ did in a 2014 campaign that included a (since broken) NFL rookie record of 91 receptions: 90 regular ones, plus the iconic one-handed one against Dallas.
44. Ray Perkins: Parcells won the championships, but Perkins established the culture when he was hired as head coach in 1979. Although he had only one winning season with the Giants before leaving to coach Alabama, Perkins set the course for future successes.
43. Justin Tuck: Eli Manning won the awards but many believe Tuck should have been MVP of one (or both) of the Super Bowl wins over the Patriots, in which he had a combined four sacks.
42. Tom Landry: With Huff as the centerpiece, and while matching wits with Lombardi at practices on a daily basis, Landry developed the 4-3 defense while serving as Giants coordinator from 1954-59. He also played as a defensive back from 1950-55.
41. Vince Lombardi: Before the Super Bowl trophy was named after him, before he even took the job as head coach of the dynastic Packers of the 1960s, Lombardi was the offensive assistant for the Giants from 1954-58 where he perfected schemes in which linemen blocked areas rather than specific defenders and ballcarriers “ran to daylight.”
40. Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans: The running back helped lead the Giants to the 1938 championship as well as the title games in 1939 and 1941. Wellington Mara, who had personally scouted Leemans before the Giants drafted him in 1936, once said: “If I'm remembered for nothing else, I'd like to be remembered for discovering Tuffy Leemans.”
39. Charlie Conerly: Quarterback of the 1956 championship team, Conerly was the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1948, Most Valuable Player in 1959 and a Pro Bowler in 1950 and 1956. He was also Archie Manning’s favorite player, which may have helped the Giants as Eli Manning’s NFL fate was being determined before and during the 2004 draft.
38. Timothy J. Mara: Son of Jack, grandson of founder Tim, Timothy’s icy relationship with his uncle (and co-owner) Wellington during their partnership from 1965-1990 came to define the team’s dysfunction during that era.
37. Benny Friedman: When Tim Mara couldn’t make a deal to acquire Friedman from the Detroit Wolverines in 1929, he simply bought the entire Detroit franchise for $10,000 to give his Giants a new quarterback. Friedman shattered the league record with 20 TD passes in 1929 and his drawing power helped the Giants establish roots in New York.
36. Plaxico Burress: His impact on the teams in 2007 and 2008 may be unmatched by anyone in any other two-year span. The wide receiver caught the game-winning TD pass in Super Bowl XLII. Nine months later, he accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub to derail a 10-1 team that seemed destined for a run at back-to-back titles.
35. Harry March: A medical doctor and early football historian, March helped convince Tim Mara to invest in the team’s initial charter and served as Mara’s most trusted football adviser from 1925-1933.
34. Mark Bavaro: A beast of a tight end known for carrying would-be tacklers and leading the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles.
33. Jim Lee Howell: In seven seasons as head coach (1954-60), his Giants played in three NFL championship games and defeated the Bears, 47-7, for the title in 1956.
32. Ann Mara: Dubbed “The First Lady of Football,” she was the matriarch of the Mara family as wife to Wellington and mother to their 11 children. She also served as an adviser to her husband and the conscience of the franchise during her lifetime.
31. Y.A. Tittle: Arriving via trade in 1961, Tittle broke the NFL record by throwing 33 TD passes in 1962 (including seven in one game), then had his greatest year as a pro in 1963, when he broke it again with 36 TD passes. That mark has been surpassed by many others since but remains the franchise’s single-season best.
30. Carl Banks: A lightning bolt of a linebacker who was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams and has been the main analyst on Giants radio broadcasts since 2007.
29. Ernie Accorsi: After four years as George Young’s assistant, Accorsi served as general manager of the Giants from 1998-2006 and engineered the draft-day trade that brought Eli Manning to the Giants in 2004.
28. Steve Tisch: An Oscar-winning movie producer initially reluctant to join the family’s football business, he became more involved in Giants affairs after Bob Tisch was diagnosed with brain cancer and learned at his father’s side through his final years.
Tiki Barber runs in the first half against the Texans at Giants Stadium on Nov. 5, 2006. Credit: Newsday/David L. Pokress
27. Tiki Barber: The team’s career leader in rushing yards (10,449) and rushing touchdowns (55), Barber was also a dynamic receiving threat and second all-time with 586 catches.
26. Bill Belichick: Defensive coordinator of the 1986 and 1990 championship teams. His greatest game plan may have been slowing down the Bills’ offense in Super Bowl XXV.
25. Kyle Rote: One of the most popular Giants players ever, he served as captain in 10 of his 11 seasons and had at least a dozen teammates name their sons after him. He also led the movement that became the NFL Players Association and was its first elected president.
24. Marty Glickman: From 1951-55 and then again from 1961-72, at a time when home games were regularly blacked out on television, Glickman was the radio voice on WMGM and WNEW who brought Giants games to hundreds of thousands of fans in the New York area.
23. Andy Robustelli: The finishing piece on the 1956 championship team was acquired in a trade with the Rams. While he was on a winning team in 13 of his 14 pro seasons as a player, Robustelli later served as general manager for some dreadful Giants teams in the 1970s.
22. Jerry Reese: A two-time Super Bowl-winning general manager (2007-17) who also served as the Giants’ director of player personnel from 2004-07.
21. Ronnie Barnes: Every sprain, bruise, strain and fracture for the past half-century has passed through Barnes’ healing hands. Originally added to the training staff in 1976 he was promoted to head athletic trainer in 1980 and eventually senior vice president of medical services in 2011, a position he continues to hold.
David Tyree makes the grab against New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison in Super Bowl XLII. Credit: AP/Gene Puskar
20. David Tyree: Can one play change a career, a franchise and the course of NFL history? It did on Feb. 3, 2008, when Tyree leaped for a high pass during Super Bowl XLII as a mostly anonymous receiver and somehow came down with the ball pinned against his helmet. That unforgettable fourth-quarter catch not only helped the Giants win a Lombardi Trophy but prevented the Patriots from completing an undefeated season.
19. Preston Robert “Bob” Tisch: Already a successful businessman and generous philanthropist — not to mention postmaster general — Bob Tisch in 1991 bought the stake of the team that had been handed down to Jack Mara and then his son Timothy J. Mara. He modernized the business practices of the organization, merging the mom-and-pop thinking with 21st century corporate savvy.
18. Phil Simms: George Young's first draft choice in 1979, Simms is best remembered for his almost flawless performance as Super Bowl XXI MVP when he completed 22 of 25 passes.
17. John Mara: The eldest son of Wellington and Ann Mara and now one of the league’s most respected and influential owners, Mara grew up in the golden age of Giants football, saw the team’s lowest moments as a fan and, after officially joining management in 1991, helped lead the Giants to their most recent titles.
16. Roosevelt Brown: The paragon of offensive tackle play, Brown was the team’s starter from 1953-65 and was All-Pro for eight straight years. After his playing career he remained with the Giants as a coach and later a scout until his death in 2004.
Michael Strahan is presented with his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony against the Indianapolis Colts as former Giants and Hall of Famers Frank Gifford, left, and Harry Carson look on at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 3, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
15. Michael Strahan: While pacing the sideline late in Super Bowl XLII, he implored the offense to score the go-ahead points. “Believe it and it will happen,” he said. They did, and it did, giving Strahan the rare perfect ending to a Hall of Fame career that included an NFL-record 22.5 sacks in 2001.
14. Harry Carson: Captain of the Super Bowl XXI team, Carson played his entire 13-year career for the Giants and witnessed the team’s rise from laughingstock of the sport to its pinnacle.
13. Jack Mara: Tim Mara’s oldest son served as team president for 31 years and spearheaded the team’s move to Yankee Stadium in 1956, putting the team on an iconic stage just as professional football was about to burst in popularity.
Giants linebacker Sam Huff poses for a photo at the team's training camp in Fairfield, Conn., in Sept. 1963. Credit: AP/Harry Harris
12. Sam Huff: The Giants’ identity as a tough, physical defensive team stems from a guard they drafted out of West Virginia and converted into the sport’s first true middle linebacker. In 1959, Huff became the first NFL player to appear on the cover of Time magazine. The following year, CBS aired a documentary called “The Violent World of Sam Huff” that gave many their first close-up look at the sport.
11. Tom Coughlin: He was a harsh disciplinarian who learned to soften his approach for the betterment of the team. Only Steve Owen was head coach of the Giants longer than Coughlin’s 12 seasons. He won one Super Bowl as a position coach in 1990, then two as head coach (2007 and 2011). His 102 regular-season victories are the second-most in franchise history.
10. Emlen Tunnell: One year after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Tunnell became the first Black player signed by the Giants in 1948 when he hitchhiked to the team’s offices and asked for a tryout. He almost immediately became the backbone of the team’s secondary and special teams, weaponizing those aspects of the game. In 1952, he gained more yards on interception, kick and punt returns (924) than the NFL’s rushing leader did while running the ball. He was named All-NFL four times and was a nine-time Pro Bowler. Tunnell’s 79 career interceptions, the most ever at the time of his retirement in 1961 after 11 seasons with the Giants and the last three in Green Bay, still are the second-most in NFL history.
9. Steve Owen: Representing the team on the field in some fashion for more than a quarter of its existence, Owen’s playing career as a four-time All-NFL tackle for the Giants from 1926-31, and one game in '33, including as captain of the 1927 NFL championship team, would be enough to place him on this list. But Owen’s true impact had yet to come. He served as head coach for 24 seasons (1930-53, two of them as a player-coach) and won two more NFL titles, and his 153 regular-season victories remain the Giants’ record. He brought the Giants from the leather helmet era to the cusp of the television and post-war mass media age and among his many innovations were the A-formation offense, the umbrella defense and the two-platoon system.
Lawrence Taylor of the Giants in action circa 1990 during an NFL game at Giant Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Getty Images/Focus On Sport
8. Lawrence Taylor: In a ranking of Giants based solely on talent and ability, Taylor would be at the top of the list, with a big gap before getting to No. 2. He is the greatest player in the history of the franchise, period. Even as his demons often got the better of him, his influence, not always positive, was undeniable. An electrifying linebacker who transformed the nature of the game with his speed, power and ferocity, Taylor also symbolized the dawning of hope for the moribund organization when the Giants selected him with the second overall pick in 1981.
7. Eli Manning: No one was better than the two-time Super Bowl MVP in big moments. Manning wore a Giants uniform more often (a franchise-best 236 regular-season games) and with more grace, pride and class than anyone else in team history, from his dramatic entrance via a draft-day trade in 2004 to the emotional farewells of his final game and retirement news conference 16 seasons later. He is by far the most beloved and respected Giant of the 21st century and even now, some four-plus years after his farewell as a player, remains the unofficial face of the franchise.
6. Mel Hein: The first superstar in Giants history, Hein was a two-way player on the line of scrimmage in a remarkable 15-year career in which he came off the field during a game only twice while playing 170 straight games. He was the league's first MVP in 1938 after anchoring a line that helped guide the Giants to the NFL championship.
5. Tim Mara: He’d never seen a football game at any level, didn’t even know what a touchdown was, but somehow Mara knew it was worth investing $500 to bring the fledgling professional sports league known as the NFL to New York. Today the organization he began is valued at $7.3 billion, according to Forbes’ latest rankings, and it is a cornerstone franchise for the NFL as well as one of the most recognizable sports brands in the world.
4. Bill Parcells: The personification of the toughness and attention to detail that defined the Giants’ first two Super Bowl-winning teams (1986, 1990), Parcells was head coach for eight seasons in which his teams made the postseason five times. The Giants had been to the playoffs only once in the 19 seasons before he became head coach in 1983. His 77 regular-season victories were the second most in team history when he stepped down from the organization after winning Super Bowl XXV.
3. Frank Gifford: He exuded everything the Giants want a Giant to be during his career as a Hall of Fame player and later as an ambassador for and confidant to the organization. Gifford’s matinee-idol looks and cool California charm were the perfect combination to usher the team — and the sport of pro football — into the television era. He played pretty well, too. Gifford was named to the Pro Bowl as a defensive back in 1953 and as an offensive back the following year, the first time anyone did that. He still holds the franchise record with 78 career touchdowns.
2. George Young: There are essentially two halves of Giants history: the 54 seasons before George Young was hired as general manager in February 1979 and everything that has happened since. He led the team out of its bleakest days and reshaped a broken, sputtering, old-fashioned organization into a modern-day football franchise. His decisions — from drafting Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms to hiring Bill Parcells — and style laid the direct groundwork for Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990 and carried over for two later championships in 2007 and 2011.
Wellington T. Mara, left, president of the Giants, hands over the Super Bowl trophy to Giants coach Bill Parcells, right, after the Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 in Super Bowl XXI in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 25, 1987. Credit: AP/Ray Stubblebine
1. Wellington Mara: A lifetime with the Giants that began as a 9-year-old ballboy for that inaugural 1925 team would continue for the next 80 seasons as Mara became one of the true pioneers in American sports and, without doubt, the most influential person in the first 99 years of Giants football. Not only did he see almost all of the team’s history firsthand, but nearly every aspect of what the Giants are today can be traced to his ownership, from their tradition of having their home bench on the sunny side of the field (his mother, Lizette, insisted on it after he came home from one of those earliest games with the sniffles) to the footballs that are in play (since 1941, the NFL has used a model called “The Duke,” named after him) to the overarching motto for the franchise that he coined: “Once a Giant, always a Giant.”
Tom Rock has covered the Giants and the NFL for Newsday since 2006 and is the author of the book “Miracle Moments in New York Giants Football History.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.