Top 50 New York Giants
In 1925, the New York Giants were one of five teams that joined the National Football League, and of those five, they are the only ones that are still in existence.
The Giants have been in existence for nearly a century and have won eight Championships. The first four as NFL Champions (1927, 1934, 1938 & 1956) and they were a perpetual contender in the early 1960s. In the Super Bowl Era, they won in 1986 (XXI), 1990 (XXV), 2007 (XLII), and 2011 (XLVI).
Eight Championships is impressive regardless of the league and the sport!
This list is up to the end of the 2022 season.
Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
There are a lot of great players who competed in the National Football League, though only a select few can be called legends. Only a few of those legends can be called game-changers. Let's meet Lawrence Taylor, one of the few who fits this description
After playing at Toledo, a stint with the Coast Guard, and another college football run with Iowa, Emlen Tunnell would make Giants' history as the first African-American they signed. As it would turn out, Tunnell would also become the best signing they ever did.
Rosey Brown played at Morgan State, a historically black college in Baltimore. The NFL was in the infancy of scouting HBCUs, and the New York Giants landed him in the 27thRound. This selection resulted in the greatest value pick in franchise history.
Mel Hein was a two-sport star (football and basketball) at Washington State, and it was on the gridiron where he sought his professional status as an athlete.
Michael Strahan was a star at Texas Southern, and the Giants took him in the Second Round of the 1993 Draft. It turned out to be one of their best picks ever.
Frank Gifford was a former star at USC, and the Giants were lucky to grab him with their 11thOverall Pick in 1952.
Before the New York Giants drafted Lawrence Taylor, they already had a feared Linebacker in Harry Carson, who they stole in the Fourth Round in 1976.
Andy Robustelli was a superstar with the Los Angeles Rams, and they were in the 1955 NFL Championship Game. Robustelli asked for time off when his child was born, and when it was refused, he demanded a trade, which happened before the 1956 season.
In Pro Football, the genius of football coaches cannot be undervalued.
Eli Manning is one of the most polarizing players in Giants history, but that is predominantly the thought outside of New York. For the most part, Giants fans will always celebrate the Quarterback who was at the helm of two Super Bowls, upsetting Tom Brady and the New England Patriots each time.
After a good college run at George Washington, the New York Giants drafted Tuffy Leemans in 1936, where he would have an eight-year career with the New York Giants.
Before there was Eli Manning, a Quarterback from Ole Miss, the New York Giants had Charlie Conerly…a Quarterback from Ole Miss.
When it was all said and done, Phil Simms is considered one of the best Quarterbacks in the history of the New York Giants. During the first five years of his career, it sure didn’t feel like that was possible.
Playing his entire career with the New York Giants (1955-66), Jimmy Patton is one of the most prolific ballhawks in franchise history.
The history of Tiki Barber is a little complicated, but even his biggest detractors have to admit that one time he was the best Running Backs in the game.
Jessie Armstead clawed his way to NFL stardom after he plummeted to the Eighth Round of the 1993 Draft. Armstead was a two-time NCAA Champion at Miami, but a torn ACL as a sophomore was in the minds of many in the NFL, and he had to prove himself all over again.
Steve Owen achieved far greater notoriety as a Coach, but he was a very good football player in his own right and one of the first real stars of the New York Giants.
Beginning his career in 1948 with the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference, Y.A. Tittle played for the San Francisco 49ers throughout the 1950s, where he was a UPI MVP in 1957 and a four-time Pro Bowler. The Quarterback was traded straight up to the New York Giants for second-year Lineman, Lou Cordileone. Both players were offended that they were traded…
The long and storied professional football career began in 1929, where he was with the Long Island Stapletons and was twice a First Team All-Pro.