Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, to no one’s surprise, has been voted the No. 1 player in New York Giants franchise history.
The Giants on Tuesday released their top 10 players, completing the top 100 list created by an independent committee. See the full list on the team’s official website.
Everyone on the Giants’ top 10 list are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Only two have started their careers post-1990. Here’s the list:
10. DE Andy Robustelli (1956-1964)
Robustelli started his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1951. He was a 19th-round draft pick (228th overall) out of Arnold College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was traded to the Giants and helped New York conquer the Eastern Division; the Giants played in six conference championships during his tenure in New York, with one NFL championship (1956).
Robustelli was a two-time NFL champion (won one with the Rams in 1951), a six-time First-team All-Pro, a four-time Second-team All-Pro, and a seven-time Pro Bowler. The 6-foot. 230-pound defensive end is in the Giants’ Ring of Honor. He also is the only football player to have played in the first two nationally televised NFL games.
9. LB Sam Huff (1956-1963)
The Giants drafted Huff in the third round out of West Virginia. Defensive coordinator Tom Landry knew Huff fit perfectly into his new 4-3 defense as the MIKE linebacker. Huff helped the Giants win the NFL Championship in 1956 and was a two-time First-team All-Pro and a four-time Second-team All-Pro. He also made the Pro Bowl five times.
Huff left the Giants and played for the Washington Redskins from 1964-1967. He did not play in 1968 but returned to Washington in 1969 after Vince Lombardi talked him out of retirement. Huff coached Washington’s linebackers in 1970. He is a member of both the Giants and Washington’s Ring of Honor, and his number 75 is retired at West Virginia.
Eli Manning brought the New York Giants back to prominence after he was selected first overall by the San Diego Chargers out of Ole Miss in 2004. Ernie Accorsi traded to acquire Manning’s rights; the rest is history. Manning won the Giants two Super Bowls, in which he was the MVP. He made the Pro Bowl four times and is a rightful member of the Giants’ Ring of Honor.
Manning finished his career with 57,023 passing yards with 366 career passing touchdowns, both of which rank 10th all-time. He also held the third-longest consecutive starts streak by an NFL quarterback — an impressive 210 straight games from 2004-2017. He is one of the recent faces of the franchise and is still active with the organization. He said it best when quoting the late Wellington Mara at his retirement ceremony:
“Once a Giant, always a Giant…for me, it’s only a Giant.”
7. LB Harry Carson (1976-1988)
The Giants selected Carson out of South Carolina State in the fourth round (105th overall). He played in 173 games with the Giants and helped them win Super Bowl XXI. Carson was a four-time Second-team All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler.
Bill Belichick considered Harry Carson one of the best all-around linebackers he has ever coached. He was one of the NFL’s most disciplined and sound-run-defending linebackers of all time. After quite a long wait, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He was one of three captains on the Giants’ first Super Bowl team, and his name engenders great respect from those who had the privilege of playing next to him.
6. DB Emlen Tunnell (1948-1958)
Tunnell was an elite safety and kick return specialist for the Giants. He went undrafted in 1948 out of Iowa and Toledo before that. He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants. At the time of his retirement, Tunnell held NFL career records for interceptions with 79, interception return yards with 1,282, total punt returns with 258, and total punt return yards with 2,209.
He was a two-time NFL champion—1956 with the Giants and 1961 with Vince Lombardi and the Packers. He was a six-time First-team All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler. He was a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team, the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He also enlisted in both the Army and the Navy during World War II, but a neck injury landed him with the Coast Guard, where he served on the USS Etamin, where his heroic efforts saved fellow American lives in the South West Pacific.
5. DE Michael Strahan (1993-2007)
The Giants selected Strahan in the second round (40th overall) out of Texas Southern. He was one of the most dominant defenders in his era. In 2001, he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year after setting the sack record; 22.5 sacks is still the record, although he shares it with current Pittsburgh Steeler T.J. Watt.
Strahan was a four-time First-team All-Pro and a two-time Second-team All-Pro, and he made the Pro Bowl eight times. He led the league in sacks twice (2001 and 2003) and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s. Strahan finished his career with 854 tackles, 24 forced fumbles, four interceptions, three defensive touchdowns, and 141.5 sacks, which ranks sixth all-time — officially — since sacks were not a counted statistic until 1982. He is tenth all-time on the unofficial list.
4. Frank Gifford (1952-1960 / 1962-1964)
Frank Gifford did it all for the Giants. He was selected out of USC in the first round (11th overall) and thrived at half-back, quarterback, flanker, and safety for the Giants. He was the MVP when the Giants won the NFL Championship in 1956. He was a six-time First-team All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler.
Gifford also won Comeback Player of the Year in 1962 after taking a football hiatus due to injury. The impetus of the break was dealt by Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who knocked Gifford out with a tackle aptly named “The Hit.” Gifford played primarily half-back upon his return. He played in 136 regular season games for the Giants with 3,609 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 840 carries; he also had 367 receptions for 5,434 yards and 43 touchdowns. He also threw for 823 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Gifford became a famous CBS broadcaster and eventually worked for the new Monday Night Football show. He spent the next 28 years involved with Monday Night Football and became an actor, marrying Kathie Lee Gifford.
3. C Mel Hein (1931-1945)
Hein was nicknamed “Old Indestructible” for his plays tyle and exceptional ability on the field. He attended Washington State and found his way onto the Giants as a 6’2, 225-pound center who also played defense. He helped the Giants win two NFL championships (1934 and 1938) under coach Steve Owen, and he earned the MVP in 1938. Hein is still the only NFL offensive lineman to be named MVP — I don’t see that changing any time soon.
He was an eight-time First-team All-Pro, a four-time NFL All-Star game selection, and he was honored as a member of the NFL’s 1930s All-Decade Team. The Giants and Hein played in seven NFL Championship games. He played in 170 career games with ten interceptions. In 2010, Hein was honored as the 96th player on NFL Network’s top-100 players in history.
2. OT Roosevelt Brown (1953-1965)
Brown was selected in the 27th round (321st overall) out of Morgan State in 1953. He helped the Giants win the NFL Championship in 1956. He was a six-time First-team All-Pro and a three-time Second-team All-Pro, with nine Pro Bowl selections. He was selected to the 1950s All-Decade Team and was on the NFL’s 100th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
Brown blocked for the 1956 MVP, Frank Gifford, and Gifford said this about Brown:
“I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame if it weren’t for him. … The longest run of my career was on a pitchout against Washington. Rosie made a block at the line of scrimmage. I cut it up, and then I’m running downfield and I look up and I see No. 79 in front of me, and he wiped out another guy.”
Brown was one of the best offensive tackles to play in the earlier NFL era. He started 162 games for the Giants.
1. OLB Lawrence Taylor (1981-1993)
Taylor changed the game. His ability to rush the passer, coupled with Belichick’s expertise, forced offenses to focus on developing their tackles. The Giants selected Taylor second overall in 1981 out of North Carolina. He helped the Giants win two Super Bowls, was an eight-time First-team All-Pro selection, and was a two-time Second-team All-Pro selection.
Taylor ranks ninth all-time on the unofficial sack totals list (he spent two years in the NFL before sacks were officially counted as a statistic). He is recorded with 132.5 official sacks, 1,088 tackles, nine interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. He led the NFL in sacks during the Giants’ famous 1986 season, where he was the NFL MVP. Vikings’ Alan Page (1971) is the only other defensive player to win the award.
Taylor is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981. He is a member of the 1980s All-Decade Team, the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams, and made the Pro Bowl 10 times. Few players in NFL history have had an impact like Lawrence Taylor.
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