was friends with George and I got to spend a few days in camp in Pleasantville and then Madison/FDU with George. We also had beers the night before the 86 SB at Barney's Beanery in LA. George was a brilliant, funny and caring individual. He is missed.
Young was a finalist in 2003, 2004 & 2005, and hasn't gotten a sniff since.
I'm a big believer in the HOF and everything it represents, but their induction process desperately needs an overhaul.
I'd love it if they let the modern guys sit and wait for a few years while they focus on overdue senior candidates who are deserving but have been left out for political reasons or just plain ignorance.
If he isn't a HOFer, who is? He took over a broken, failing franchise Â
whose owners were feuding, turned it into a perennially contending, 2 time SB winner and left a solid foundation and succession plan in place to the extent that the Giants are now considered one of the model franchises in the NFL. Add in that he was a decent,caring, intelligent man and I don't know how you keep him out.
but implies. We think of the Giants as a class organization. However, people always point to the Mara's as the shining example that makes the organization classy. And, of course, I have no issues with the Maras, they seem to be very classy. But, when Young took over, they were warring and the franchise was not the shining example of class, but chaos. GY made them work together and changed the team's culture, and if you are going to put executives in the HOF, he should be at the top of the list. I can throw up thinking that blowhard Bill Polian would be in before George Young. Disgraceful.
The current brand of the Giants evokes class and doing things the right way. Hard to imagine that the franchise is anywhere close to where it is today, in that regard, without Young's tenure as GM.
More than any single player or coach, Young had arguably the biggest impact on the history and legacy of the franchise. Had it not been for him, the state of the Giants would be much, much different than it is now.
To be fair, his last few seasons were a disaster. Free agency seemed to befuddle him, and some big time lousy moves were made.
the guy built a powerhouse of that era. The only team that prevented the 49ers from winning another title, if not more, and he built it off of almost 20 years of ineptitude.
George Young was the greatest Giant of them all. His system and protégés are responsible the only team in the NFL to win Super Bowls in the 80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's. Not only that, George maintained the class, and honor that make the Giants the true flagship franchise in the NFL and all of professional sports.
Even during his less then stellar years at the end Â
he and his staff still brought in players who would contribute to a future Super Bowl appearance and win long after he'd passed away.
IMO, he gets too much crap for what happened in the mid 90's. Obviously he didn't manage the cap well but he decided to take a shot in 93 w/ LT and Simms and if Sherrod and Sparks don't get hurt early in the year there's a good chance they'd have already clinched HFA going into the Dallas game and who's knows what happens.
95 and 96 stunk but I think Giants fans have been very fortunate to have a team that most year's has had a puncher's chance for most of the past 3 decades.
It truly is disgusting that the Big Pumpkin isn't in the HOF Â
The guy was all class, a lifetime NFL guy and what he did with the dysfunctional mess that was the Giants organization before he got there is absolutely HOF worthy. Essex great point about the way he transformed the professionalism of the organization as a whole. The kids who come on here and start thread after thread lamenting the indignity of having to sit through a losing season or two really need to be put into a time capsule and be transported back to the mid/late 70's. They would learn about embarrassing losing football.
Gil Brandt and the Cowboys absolutely coveted Lawrence Taylor. They desperately wanted to trade up to draft him, but Brandt said that he knew he would have to try to swing a deal with New Orleans for the top pick because he knew George Young would never repeat the mistake the Giants made in 1974, when they dealt the #2 pick in the draft (which, of course, was Randy White) to the Cowboys for Craig Morton. When New Orleans turned him down, he knew LT was going to the Giants and would be a nightmare for the Cowboys to deal with for years.
Brandt also recounted that he coincidentally sat next to Young on a plane shortly before the 1981 draft, and he said it killed him to sit there knowing that there was nothing he could ever offer to GY that would ever get him to trade that pick.
but GY, I believe, also did great work with the Dolphins during their great run in the 70s, and also was with the Colts for a little bit during their years in the 70s as well........
The best GY quote, paraphrasing, was "You could take someone who knew nothing about football, let them watch 5 minutes of a practice, and they'd know LT was the best player on the field."
The other about LT: "He's a decent guy. Unless you're playing left tackle on Sundays."
He would come out and sit in the stands at Pace during summer camp and talk with you about football, history...whatever. Could speak on any number of topics with authority. Great sense of humor. A fine man whose sense of ethics made it hard for him to deal with such things as replacement players. He defintely brought the Giants out of the Dark Ages and turned them into a NFL powerhouse. Without a doubt should be in the Hall Of Fame.
Gil Brandt and the Cowboys absolutely coveted Lawrence Taylor. They desperately wanted to trade up to draft him, but Brandt said that he knew he would have to try to swing a deal with New Orleans for the top pick because he knew George Young would never repeat the mistake the Giants made in 1974, when they dealt the #2 pick in the draft (which, of course, was Randy White) to the Cowboys for Craig Morton. When New Orleans turned him down, he knew LT was going to the Giants and would be a nightmare for the Cowboys to deal with for years.
Brandt also recounted that he coincidentally sat next to Young on a plane shortly before the 1981 draft, and he said it killed him to sit there knowing that there was nothing he could ever offer to GY that would ever get him to trade that pick.
I became a Giants fan in 1980-81. My timing could've have been more propitious: LT was our #1 pick and Young had taken over just a few years earlier. I believe Parcells was already on the staff and would soon take over as HC. But Young was my man. He was smart and funny and behaved in a classy, professional way. He was almost like a professor with those nerdy glasses and erudite way of talking. I looked up to him like I would a favorite schoolteacher (which he was). I credit him for making me love this franchise and giving me two unforgettable SB wins. Honestly, without him, I don't know if I'd still be a fan today. George Young is a Hall of Famer. No doubt about it.
While he looked like Mr. Weatherbee from the old Archie comic books, he was a very intelligent man that really turned around the franchise. And he turned it around during a period that the NFC was stocked with great teams to have to compete against.
I'm a big believer in the HOF and everything it represents, but their induction process desperately needs an overhaul.
I'd love it if they let the modern guys sit and wait for a few years while they focus on overdue senior candidates who are deserving but have been left out for political reasons or just plain ignorance.
More than any single player or coach, Young had arguably the biggest impact on the history and legacy of the franchise. Had it not been for him, the state of the Giants would be much, much different than it is now.
To be fair, his last few seasons were a disaster. Free agency seemed to befuddle him, and some big time lousy moves were made.
-buford
IMO, he gets too much crap for what happened in the mid 90's. Obviously he didn't manage the cap well but he decided to take a shot in 93 w/ LT and Simms and if Sherrod and Sparks don't get hurt early in the year there's a good chance they'd have already clinched HFA going into the Dallas game and who's knows what happens.
95 and 96 stunk but I think Giants fans have been very fortunate to have a team that most year's has had a puncher's chance for most of the past 3 decades.
Brandt also recounted that he coincidentally sat next to Young on a plane shortly before the 1981 draft, and he said it killed him to sit there knowing that there was nothing he could ever offer to GY that would ever get him to trade that pick.
The best GY quote, paraphrasing, was "You could take someone who knew nothing about football, let them watch 5 minutes of a practice, and they'd know LT was the best player on the field."
The other about LT: "He's a decent guy. Unless you're playing left tackle on Sundays."
Brandt also recounted that he coincidentally sat next to Young on a plane shortly before the 1981 draft, and he said it killed him to sit there knowing that there was nothing he could ever offer to GY that would ever get him to trade that pick.
Wow. Imagine that alternative history. No thanks.
Boggles the mind.
While he looked like Mr. Weatherbee from the old Archie comic books, he was a very intelligent man that really turned around the franchise. And he turned it around during a period that the NFC was stocked with great teams to have to compete against.
HOF...yeah why not.