Category Archives: History
Today’s clip: Harry recalls a conversation early in his career where OJ Simpson approached him after a game and told him he’s never been hit as hard as he was on that day.
Tagged New York Giants, sny |
On Thursday at 7 pm, SNY will premiere “SNY Spotlight: Harry Carson”. Over the next three days GFB will be posting three “web exclusive” clips from the interview.
Today’s clip features Harry talking about his rift with George Young over Carson’s insistence on a long-term contract.
Tagged New York Giants |
Recently we caught up with former Giants WR and special teamer Phil McConkey at a charity event in NYC. He was always a player that could get the team fired up. To this day, he is as animated and entertaining as ever…..
A lot of young guys with incredible potential. I think what you see out of Steve Smith, one of the best clutch guys in the league. They have Manningham on the outside and Nicks, he could be a beast. Ramses Barden, we haven’t even seen anything out of him
Phil Simms wishes he had some of those guys! (laughter) If Phil Simms had those guys he’d be off the charts setting records.
Tell us about getting traded to Green Bay and Bill Parcells getting you back.
Unbelievable. Forrest Gregg calls me in his office telling me they traded me back to the Giants. I about died. Parcells gets on the phone he says “those Packers drive a hard bargain. I had to throw in a couple of clip boards and a blocking dummy to get you back.” (laughter)
It wasn’t any great Knute Rockne speech. All I can remember him saying was ” fellas, I don’t mind losing but not that way.” Because we just didn’t play very well.
I think we were over-prepared. We were ready to play that game on Tuesday. That was our problem in the first half. Then we got our legs under us and we were OK in the end.
(Shaking his head) Nah, I was a role player. man, I was a special teams guy. I was a dirty work guy, go across the middle. You know I wasn’t a star, but you what? We had a team made up of the right guys.
Not everybody could be the greatest player of all time in Lawrence Taylor. Not everybody could be a Hall of Famer like Harry Carson. Or a Mark Bavaro or a Phil Simms or Joe Morris.
We had guys that played special teams. We had Maurice Carthon, we had Lee Rouson. We had these gritty guys. I consider myself one of the lunchpail guys. I was just an ancillary piece to the whole puzzle that fit together.
Ugh, the frustration yet elation of getting to a foot line and not scoring. But knowing we scored that pretty much clinched the game so that the gamut of emotions or the mix of emotions I had were incredible. And then when I got it off the tip, man, it was incredible. I was delirious. I was out of my mind at that point.
Tagged New York Giants, Phil McConkey |
Former Giant Crossed America On Foot To Benefit 9/11 Victims’ Families
From NFL Films…..
Tagged George Martin, New York Giants, New York Giants Video |
Former Giants Radio Announcer Was One Of Game’s Best
Long before the sports media crush of the new millennium lowered the bar on class and loosened its belt on professionalism, there were real journalists and talented announcers covering sports who told it like it is. 
Jim Gordon was one of those people. Not that his successor, Bob Papa, isn’t a class act also (the Giants always have top-notch people in their throes) but Gordon was in the seat at perhaps the most exciting time in Giants’ history – the Bill Parcells era.
Known mainly for his work as the voice of the New York Rangers’ TV broadcasts, Gordon took over the Giants’ radio play-by-play responsibilities in 1977 from another legend, Marty Glickman. Glickman was a true giant in the field of radio broadcasting, spinning off proteges such as Marv Albert, Johnny Most, Spencer Ross and Bob Papa. Gordon had some big shoes to fill.
Teamed with ex-Giant defensive back Dick Lynch, the duo became a must-listen on game days. The Giants of the late -70′s were most times too painful to watch, and fans found solace on the radio as Gordon and Lynch’s commentary helped marginalize the losses. (Gordon and Lynch were notorious “homers”, but hey, somebody had to advocate for this team!). Giants fans became attached to them, embracing their empathetic tone and candor.
As the Giants’ fortunes began to rise, Gordon was there to document it all, with flair and substance. His deep, baritone voice would soar rapidly up the scale to match the action he witnessed in front of him.
“Simms…….Bavarooo……(dead silence for 2-3 seconds, then a roar from the crowd)….COMPLETE!”
Gordon was at the helm for two Super Bowls and his call of the Scott Norwood missed FG in Super Bowl XXV is still played frequently.
“Snap, spot, in the air, it’s got the distance, it is….NO GOOD!”
NFL Films consistently chose Gordon’s call over the television commentators’ in their Giant segments (see below). Why not? Most times his call was better….
Gordon was replaced in the booth by Bob Papa in 1995 after an 18-year stint. He passed away after a long battle with cancer in 2003 at age 76.
Courtesy NFL Films
Tagged Jim Gordon, New York Giants History, New York Giants News |
Over 500 Fill Small Church on Long Island To Say Goodbye
Legendary Yankees and Giants public address announcer Bob Sheppard was laid to rest yesterday on Long Island. Sheppard passed away earlier this week at the age of 99.
Among the admirers at the service – and providing eulogies – were Giants’ CEO John Mara, Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman and former St. John’s basketball icon Lou Carnesecca.
From FOX 5 in New York……
From FOX Senior Baseball Writer Ken Rosenthal….
Tagged Bob Sheppard, New York Giants News |
Lawrence Tynes on Late Night With David Letterman
From January 28th, 2008….Tynes had just kicked the Giants to the Super Bowl. Letterman chides him on his several missed kicks, as only Letterman can….
Tagged David Letterman, Lawrence Tynes, New York Giants, New York Giants Video |
The Most Memorable Games in Giants History: The Oral History of a Legendary Team by Jim Baker and Bernard M. Corbett (Bloomsbury)
Release Date: August 17, 2010
Publishers are constantly sending me advance copies of books about the Giants. That’s because they know I’ll read them and give them a fair shake in my review.
The newest arrival to my library- The Most Memorable Games in Giants History: The Oral History of a Legendary Team by Jim Baker and Bernard M. Corbett – is a most interesting read.
It covers the franchise’s most “memorable” games , not necessarily all the best ones, over an 85-year period.
In some cases the most memorable games are the best ones, such as the Giants’ three Super Bowl victories and several other title games. Those games are the low-hanging fruit that dozens of other books have repeatedly picked ad nauseum.
The most intriguing and compelling parts of this book are the stories behind the Giants’ most painful losses.
The authors cover each game with detail and include revisionist comments from many of the principals involved. Some of the comments are as entertaining as they are revealing.
The two best chapters, in my opinion, are the 72-41 loss in 1966 in Washington and the “Fumble” game vs Philadelphia in 1978.
The 1966 game was Sam Huff’s revenge on Allie Sherman for trading him away in 1964. Huff said he would never forgive Sherman, and seeing how the Giants’ defense had gone into a historic tailspin without him, decided to insert the dagger.
With the game out of hand, Huff insisted the Redskins keep the pressure on and run up the score as much as possible. The result was the highest-scoring game in NFL history (until it was surpassed by Cincinnati and Cleveland a few years ago).
Huff told Redskin QB Sonny Jurgensen to “score at will“ and to “ show no mercy”. “I want to get Allie Sherman fired, and we’ll get him fired!”
Giants RB Chuck Mercein: “Huff was screaming at Allie. Any time he got near the bench on that hash mark. Oh my God, he was just swearing and yelling at him. “How do you like me now?” He was absolutely beside himself with anger.”
The Hall-of-Fame linebacker still seethes over his unwarranted and unexpected departure from New York: “I will hate him (Sherman) until the day he dies. Print that!”
In 1978, the Giants were 5-3 at the break and actually had playoff aspirations. They would dissipate quickly after three straight road losses. A win vs Philadelphia at home would be the perfect elixir.
With just seconds to go, the Giants had the game wrapped up, and then….well, you know the rest. But I didn’t know this much…..
Giants’ QB Joe Pisarcik had been warned by Offensive Coordinator Bob Gibson to stop changing the plays in the huddle. The consequences would be severe – a benching or worse. When Gibson sent TE Al Dixon in with a play with just seconds remaining, the other nine Giants in the huddle implored Pisarcik to simply fall on the ball, including Super Bowl-winning players such as Jim Clack and Larry Csonka….
Giants’ OT Brad Benson: “He (Dixon) brought the play in and Pisarcik said, “What?” It was supposed to be a dive -just a very simple dive play for the the fullback, Csonka. And Dixon said, “Bob Gibson said make sure you hand the ball off.” And Pisarcik said, “I’m not handing the $%^#&*@ ball off.” Dixon said, “You better hand it off.”
The Eagles’ MLB Bill Bergey: “The guys on the Giants were coming to the line of scrimmage yelling, “Joe, just kneel down,” and Joe was saying, “No, I gotta do what coach says.”
Play-by-Play announcer Don Criqui: “My spotter at the time was John Mara. He was the best spotter I ever had. He was so disappointed, he got up and left the booth. After that game, he never spotted again.”
Giants’ QB Joe Pisarcik: “After the game, I was hiding in the training room. Wellington Mara came to me and said, ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of. Just keep your head high and you’ll get through it. Just walk out there and tell those reporters what happened.’”
These are just some of the gems from this new offering. If you’re a Giant fan thick and thin, this book is for you.
Go to Amazon.com to pre-order.
Tagged Giants Books, New York Giants, New York Giants History |
From the 1986 NFC Championship Game vs Washington
CBS coverage of player introductions at the start of the 1986 NFC Championship Game vs the Redskins. PA announcer Bob Sheppard introduces the Giants’ offense to a raucous crowd before the most important game in the history of Giants Stadium.
Tagged 1986 New York Giants, Bob Sheppard, Giants Stadium, New York Giants |
The Most Familiar Voice in Sports, Bob Sheppard, Passes Away at 99
Public Address announcer Bob Sheppard had a career that spanned over half a century, lending his ominous voice and strategic cadence to New York sports venues such as Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium and St. John’s Alumni Hall. 
It was said by many visiting baseball players that having Sheppard announce one’s name before an at bat was validation that you had made it to the big leagues. Fans also felt that Sheppard’s presence and austerity at a game or event seemed to raise it’s importance. He never wavered in his style.
Sheppard began working for the Yankees in 1951 and the Giants in 1956, For the next 50 years until his retirement in 2006, It is said Sheppard never had a contract with the Giants, just a handshake agreement with another class act – Giants owner Wellington Mara.
Since Sheppard’s retirement, the PA duties at Giants games have been assumed by another St. John’s professor, Jim Hall.
Giants games were something special with Sheppard calling the action. He wasn’t the “Voice of God” as Reggie Jackson once called him (that moniker was hung on NFL Films’ John Facenda), but he was as close as New Yorkers could possibly get.
Sheppard, who would have turned 100 in October, was born in Richmond Hill in Queens and attended St. John’s University, where he would later go on to teach Speech. He earned a Master’s Degree at Columbia in 1933 and during WWII, was a Naval Officer stationed in the Pacific theater.
At St. John’s University basketball games he would announce everything from baskets and fouls to local business ads during games. Sheppard prided himself as true professional but was not above delivering announcements such as ” the owner of a green Dodge…your lights are on and your car is running….”…to the the delight of the audience.
Over the course of time, Sheppard has become the Gold Standard to which all PA announcers will be measured against. His quality of work and the dignified manner in which he carried himself will be remembered always by New Yorkers and sports fans alike.
According to sources…
St. John’s University annually awards the Sheppard Trophy to the most outstanding student-athlete as one of its highest awards.
Sheppard has been awarded both World Series Championship rings, and NFL Super Bowl Championship ring honors in his role with the Yankees and the football Giants. The only other known person to share this honor is the late Bill King, the long-time radio play-by-play voice of the Oakland Raiders and Oakland Athletics.
Sheppard has been honored by having his microphone encased in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. On May 7, 2000, in celebration of his 50th season as the Yankees’ PA announcer, the team dedicated a plaque in his honor, to be placed in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The plaque calls him “The Voice of Yankee Stadium.” Former CBS Evening News anchorman Walter Cronkite served as the public-address announcer during the ceremony.
Tagged Bob Sheppard, Giants Stadium, New York Giants, New York Giants Blogs, New York Giants News, Yankee Stadium | ← Older posts
