Meet the Giants A t one time or another every football team must live up to its name For the New York Giants that can be a tall order It’s one thing to be named after a bird or an animal But there is a lot of pressure when you are supposed to tower over your opponents That is why the Giants are always looking for new ways to rise above the rest of the National Football League NFL They do so with talent hard work and creativity They take great pride in their past and in their future The players love it when people call them Big Blue This book tells the story of the Giants Like all teams they have had their ups and downs New York has won glorious championships and the team has lost games that its fans would rather forget Yet through it all the Giants always remember their goal to stand head and shoulders above the competition Mathias Kiwanuka and Jason Pierre-Paul celebrate a good defensive play They helped the team win a championship in 2012 5
Glory Days I n 1925 professional football was in grave danger Millions of fans bought tickets each season to witness the daring feats of young college stars However sometimes only a few hundred people would show up for an NFL game For Tim Mara the owner of the New York Giants this was a problem His team played its first season in 1925 and empty seats were causing him to lose money Mara believed that the NFL could and would do well in New York That theory was put to the test in December of 1925 when the Giants hosted Red Grange and the Chicago Bears in New York City Mara was thrilled when he walked onto the field and saw more than 70,000 fans in the stands It was the turning point for the NFL and the Giants Beginning that remarkable day the Mara family built one of the most successful teams in sports history During the 1920s the 6
Giants relied on a strong defense led by linemen Cal Hubbard Al Nesser and Steve Owen who later became the team’s coach In 1927 New York allowed only 20 points all season With running back Jack McBride leading the offense the Giants were crowned NFL champions In the 1930s quarterbacks Benny Friedman and Harry Newman starred for New York Their favorite targets included Ray Flaherty and Red Badgro Ken Strong and Ward Cuff were among the best all-around players in the NFL Another sensational Giant was Mel Hein He was the only offensive lineman ever to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player MVP Hein was joined in the trenches by Frank Cope Len Younce and Al Blozis The Giants won the NFL title in 1934 and 1938 They continued to field strong teams into the 1940s LEFT This program is from the Giants first season ABOVE Coach Steve Owen checks out the NFL rule book with Mel Hein and Ken Strong 7
