Toon, McNeil among Jets put in honor ring

The Jets added four more names to their ring of honor Monday night at MetLife Stadium -- two members of the Super Bowl III champions, defensive end Gerry Philbin and linebacker Larry Grantham, and two members from the '80s who came close but never reached the Super Bowl, wide receiver Al Toon and running back Freeman McNeil.

For Philbin and Grantham, the honor was the cherry on top of years of recognition as the first AFL team to beat the NFL. But for Toon and McNeil, there was a measure of fulfillment after careers in which they gave their all for the franchise but fell short of the ultimate goal.

None of the honorees was available to the media Monday night, but in a conference call last week, Toon described his reaction when he got the call from Jets owner Woody Johnson.

"Extremely honored," Toon said. "The Jets have been around a long time, and there have been a tremendous amount of contributors to building the New York Jets brand, starting with the Titans . . . Just to be in that small group is humbling."

McNeil, who still lives on Long Island, said it was appropriate that the Jets were playing the Dolphins on the night he was honored. McNeil and the 1982 Jets lost a shot at the Super Bowl when they had to play the AFC Championship Game in an Orange Bowl quagmire. The field had been left uncovered during weeklong rains, and it negated their advantage in team speed.

"Now, when teams play, the field has to be covered," McNeil said. "To a lot of people, it may be an excuse, but it was real. We got the wrong end of the stick. But they won the division and we couldn't bring a Super Bowl home."

That was as close as any of them got to a Super Bowl ring as a Jet, but Toon received one this year as a member of Green Bay's board of directors.