New York Giants History

The Giants were founded in 1925 by original owner Tim Mara in the then five-year-old NFL. Mara owned the team until his death in 1959, when it was passed on to his son Wellington. The Giants played their first game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 5, 1925. They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000. The Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record in 1925. New York Giants history However, they experienced financial difficulties and Mara had to spend $25,000 of his own money to keep the franchise alive. This struggle continued until the eleventh game of the season when Red Grange and the Chicago Bears came to town attracting over 73,000 fans. This pushed the Giants into financial solvency and perhaps altered the history of the franchise.

In just its third season, the team finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. After a disappointing fourth season (1928) owner Mara bought the entire squad of the Detroit Wolverines, principally to acquire star quarterback Benny Friedman, and merged the two teams New York Giants history under the Giants name. In a fourteen year span from 1933 to 1946, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice. During the period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, and Hall of Fame players Mel Hein, Red Badgro, and Tuffy Leemans. This period also included the famous "Sneakers Game", where they defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship game, while wearing sneakers for better traction. The Giants were particularly successful from the latter half of the 1930s New York Giants history until the United States entry into World War II. They were so successful that according to one publication, "From 1936 to 1941 the New York Giants annually fielded a collection of NFL all-stars." They added their third NFL championship in 1938 with a 23–17 win over the Green Bay Packers.

They did not win another league title until 1956, aided by a number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive New York Giants history tackle Roosevelt Brown. The Giants 1956 Championship team not only consisted of players that would eventually find their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, New York Giants history but it also had a Hall of Fame coaching staff. Head coach Jim Lee Howell's staff had Vince Lombardi coaching the offense and Tom Landry coaching the defense. From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL championship game 5 out of those 6 years, but failed to win. Most significantly, the Giants played the Colts in the 1958 NFL Championship game that is considered a watershed event in the history of the NFL. The game, which the Giants lost in overtime 23–17, is often considered one of the most important New York Giants history events in furthering the NFL's popularity surge in America. The following year, they gave up a 16-9 4th quarter lead to again lose to the Colts in the championship game, 31-16. In 1963 led by league MVP quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who threw an NFL record 36 touchdown passes, the Giants advanced to the NFL Championship game, where they narrowly lost to the Bears 14–10.

History

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