New York Giants - Pro Football Betting, Online Sportsbook Casino
New
York Giants History
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New York Giants, professional
football team and one of five teams in the Eastern Division
of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football
League (NFL). The team plays at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford,
New Jersey, and wears uniforms of blue, red, and white. The
club was named after the New York Giants baseball team, which
moved to San Francisco, California, in 1958.
The Giants appeared in 15 NFL Championship Games from 1927 to
1963, winning four league titles. (The Super Bowl was not played
until 1967.) For 23 seasons of this time, head coach Steve Owen
led the team. His clubs captured eight division crowns and two
league titles. Starring on the dominant New York squads of the
1950s and early 1960s was Frank Gifford, one of football’s
most versatile players.
New York also built powerful teams during the 1980s and early
1990s, winning two Super Bowls and making seven playoff appearances
from 1981 to 1993. Lawrence Taylor, the dominant defensive player
of these Giants, became one of the most feared linebackers in
NFL history.
In 1925 New York City sports enthusiast Tim Mara paid $500 for
an NFL franchise, which he named the Giants. The team played
its home games at the Polo Grounds, which was also the home
of the baseball Giants. Legendary halfback Jim Thorpe was recruited
to join the team, which earned its first league title in 1927
under head coach Earl Potteiger. The Giants shut out 9 of 12
opponents and surrendered only 20 points during the entire season.
Steve Owen was an innovative offensive coach who also designed
the platoon system, in which separate players fill offensive
and defensive positions. He guided the Giants to the NFL Championship
Game eight times from 1933 to 1946. The team came away with
victories in 1934 over the Chicago Bears and in 1938 over the
Green Bay Packers. New York fielded the league’s toughest
defense five times during that period. Owen had many offensive
stars as well, including end Red Badgro, center Mel Hein, and
halfback Tuffy Leemans—all future Hall of Fame members.
Hein, who was also a defensive lineman, earned player of the
year honors in 1938. Owen left the Giants in 1953, having posted
just six losing records in 23 seasons.
In 1952 the Giants chose Frank Gifford in the first round of
the NFL draft. Gifford, who played as a halfback and a defensive
back, was one of the NFL’s last stars to play both offense
and defense. With Gifford and a new home in New York’s
Yankee Stadium, another Giants dynasty was born. The team appeared
in six NFL Championship Games from 1956 to 1963, collecting
the league crown in 1956 before losing five title contests over
the next seven years. Gifford led the team in both rushing and
receiving from 1956 to 1959, earning player of the year honors
in 1956. In addition to Gifford, New York produced four other
future Hall of Fame members during that era: offensive tackle
Rosey Grier, linebacker Sam Huff, defensive end Andy Robustelli,
and defensive back Emlen Tunnell.
The passing combination of quarterback Y. A. Tittle to receiver
Del Shofner keyed New York’s offense in the early 1960s.
Shofner broke the 1000-yard mark in receiving yardage in 1961,
1962, and 1963, and Tittle’s 36 touchdown passes in 1963
stood as an NFL record for 21 years. (It was broken by Dan Marino
of the Miami Dolphins in 1984 when he threw 48 touchdown passes.)
New York failed to reach the playoffs from 1964 to 1980. During
this time the Giants played in the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut,
and Shea Stadium in New York City before moving to Giants Stadium
in 1976.
After several losing seasons in the 1970s, the Giants rebounded
during the 1980s. The club reached the second round of the playoffs
in 1981, 1984, and 1985. In 1987 the Giants defeated the Denver
Broncos in the Super Bowl to capture their first league title
in 31 years. Lawrence Taylor was named player of the year, Bill
Parcells earned top coaching honors, running back Joe Morris
set a team rushing record, and quarterback Phil Simms compiled
his third consecutive 3000-yard passing season. New York and
Parcells won their second Super Bowl four years later, defeating
the Buffalo Bills. Simms won the NFC passing title, and the
Giants defense held 15 of 16 regular-season opponents to 21
or fewer points. The Giants played inconsistently during the
1990s after Simms and Taylor retired and Parcells left the team.
The Giants returned to prominence in 2000, posting a 12-4 regular-season
record and reaching the 2001 Super Bowl, where they lost to
the Baltimore Ravens.
1987 Super Bowl XXI Defeated Denver Broncos, 39-20
1991 Super Bowl XXV Defeated Buffalo Bills, 20-19
2001 Super Bowl XXXV Lost to Baltimore Ravens, 34-7. |
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