Emlen Tunnell and Roosevelt Brown: Giants for Life

Emlen Tunnell's #45 should be a retired jersey for the Giants

I never saw him play...but he was more than just a great player, he was, according to accounts, a changing player.

I did see Joe Morrisson play and when I read that his number was retired I was shocked. I thought they might have meant Joe Morris. I don't know what I missed but MOrrisson was a little below a journeyman - at least that's how I saw it. I didn't think he was good enough to start so they switched him around and I saw his versatility as weakness not strength.
I'd love to hear someone elsw who saw him make a case for him, but I sure can't.
It is interesting to me and somewhat unaccountable that we have had only one player who could be called the best ever at his position...While other, lesser or newer franchises, have had several. While not an immortal, I would rate Roosey Brown as perhaps the second best Giant after LT that I have been privilieged to see.
I think we're looking at a contender right now in Beckham.

Thank you.

BTW, two of my favorite Giants of all time.

very well done.

Tunnell's jersey should be retired. A great player on the field and a great person off.

In comment 12533542 grizz299 said:

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I never saw him play...but he was more than just a great player, he was, according to accounts, a changing player. I did see Joe Morrisson play and when I read that his number was retired I was shocked. I thought they might have meant Joe Morris. I don't know what I missed but MOrrisson was a little below a journeyman - at least that's how I saw it. I didn't think he was good enough to start so they switched him around and I saw his versatility as weakness not strength. I'd love to hear someone elsw who saw him make a case for him, but I sure can't. It is interesting to me and somewhat unaccountable that we have had only one player who could be called the best ever at his position...While other, lesser or newer franchises, have had several. While not an immortal, I would rate Roosey Brown as perhaps the second best Giant after LT that I have been privilieged to see. I think we're looking at a contender right now in Beckham.

joe morrison 's # was retired by mistake when he had his day i am not sure who said that the giants were retiring his number it was not planned

not sure but the old giants great like mel hein, ken strong and fuzzy leamins numbers were never retired either

....outside of Lawrence Taylor.

Thanks again Larry and Eric!

As always, I extend my own to Eric for his editing. The articles are always better after he reviews them.

In comment 12533775 truebluelarry said:

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As always, I extend my own to Eric for his editing. The articles are always better after he reviews them.

Thanks as always Larry..

To anyone who doubts the greatness of Joe Morrison, I'll say this: He played, Halfback, Fullback, QB, TE, Flanker, Wideout, Safety, CB and possibly punted at times(not sure)..He was solid at any position he was asked to play..Never a superstar or All-pro except to his teammates and fans..He was definitely worthy of a retired number, imv

Mel Hein's number was retired.
New York Giants Retired Jersey Numbers - ( New Window )

Ken Strong too.

Hein, Strong and Leemans all have their numbers retired.

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No. . . . . . Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giants Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Year Retired 1. . . . . . . Ray Flaherty. . . . . . . . . . End-Assistant Coach (1928-29, 1931-35) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935 4. . . . . . . Tuffy Leemans. . . . . . . . Back (1936-1943) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1940 7. . . . . . . Mel Hein. . . . . . . . . . . . . Center-Linebacker (1931-45) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1963 11. . . . . . Phil Simms. . . . . . . . . . . Quarterback (1979-1993). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1995 14 . . . . . Ward Cuff. . . . . . . . . . . . WB, HB, DB and Kicker (1937-45) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1946 14*. . . . . Y.A. Tittle . . . . . . . . . . . Quarterback (1961-64). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1965 16. . . . . . Frank Gifford . . . . . . . . Halfback (1952-64). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000 32. . . . . . Al Blozis. . . . . . . . . . . . . Tackle (1942-44). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1945 40. . . . . . Joe Morrison . . . . . . . . . End-Halfback (1959-72) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 42. . . . . . Charlie Conerly . . . . . . . Quarterback (1948-61). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1962 50. . . . . . Ken Strong . . . . . . . . . . Fullback-Kicker (1933-35, 1939, 1944-47) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1947 56. . . . . . Lawrence Taylor. . . . . . . Linebacker (1981-93) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1994

At the press conference after the final game of the 1972 season Joe Morrisnon announced he was retiring. When coach Alex Webster has his turn at the mic he stated nobody would wear #40 for the Giants again.

Wellington Mara was in the room and when he heard Webster say that he was surprised as it had never been discussed, but he decided he was OK with it.

In comment 12533786 truebluelarry said:

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At the press conference after the final game of the 1972 season Joe Morrisnon announced he was retiring. When coach Alex Webster has his turn at the mic he stated nobody would wear #40 for the Giants again. Wellington Mara was in the room and when he heard Webster say that he was surprised as it had never been discussed, but he decided he was OK with it.

Great anecdote Larry..Never knew this

No one else was even close imo

In comment 12533786 truebluelarry said:

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At the press conference after the final game of the 1972 season Joe Morrisnon announced he was retiring. When coach Alex Webster has his turn at the mic he stated nobody would wear #40 for the Giants again. Wellington Mara was in the room and when he heard Webster say that he was surprised as it had never been discussed, but he decided he was OK with it.

I didn't know that either. Makes sense now because Morrison is the only one who really sticks out as a head-scratcher. He had versatility and longevity on his side, but retired number?

In comment 12533808 truebluelarry said:

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Quote: He was a versatile player, seeing action at halfback, fullback, tight end, wide receiver and even safety on defense. He was named most valuable player by the National Football League Touchdown Club in 1972. That year, the Giants retired his number, 40. ''He was the ultimate team player,'' Wellington Mara, the Giants' owner, said tonight. ''He would do anything you asked him. Run the ball, catch play on the special teams, anything.'' Mr. Morrison is the Giants' career leader in receptions with 395 covering 4,993 yards and 47 touchdowns. He gained 2,472 yards rushing in his career on 677 carries, scoring 18 rushing touchdowns. His 65 career touchdowns rank him fourth in the history of the Giants with 390 points.

If memory serves (other fans of that era can weigh in), He actually took some snaps as a QB(behind center) from time to time..Am I misremembering?

In comment 12533817 Big Blue '56 said:

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If memory serves (other fans of that era can weigh in), He actually took some snaps as a QB(behind center) from time to time..Am I misremembering?

He did, sporadically. Lifetime he was 3-6-44-0-1 passing.

In comment 12533827 truebluelarry said:

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In comment 12533817 Big Blue '56 said: Quote: If memory serves (other fans of that era can weigh in), He actually took some snaps as a QB(behind center) from time to time..Am I misremembering? He did, sporadically. Lifetime he was 3-6-44-0-1 passing.

Whew..Thought I was perhaps imagining things..:)

Not the big, lumbering OT of his era, but an agile, athletic "coach on the field" who was also physically dominating. When Frank Gifford passed and they were showing all those highlights of him, I really focused on watching Rosie get out on the Lombardi sweep and option plays. Incredible.

Tunnell was the forerunner of the modern FS who could hit, support the run and play CF.

2 tremendous players and people. My father always told us how great they were to watch

A different time.

This is the quote that floored my wife:

Wellington Mara had overheard the discussion and intervened, “We didn’t know you felt like this, and I promise you in the future we won’t go anywhere we can’t stay together.”

I met Rosie Brown one year at camp ,he was just sitting in the stands watching practice .Very nice man ..I Agree that Tunnell and Browns numbers should definitely be retired and so should Harry Carson's .Strahan's will be eventually and iam surprised its not already

can't keep retiring jersey numbers. It's why they have the Ring of Honor.

In comment 12533867 Victor in CT said:

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Tunnell was the forerunner of the modern FS who could hit, support the run and play CF.

Tunnell was the prototype of Ed Reed, only an even bigger hitter.

8x Pro Bowler
8x All Pro according to Pro Football Reference
Won a ring with the '56 team
1950's All Decade Team
NFL's 50th Anniversary team

Retired the all time career INT leader. To this day he's still second all-time in career INT's (79) and did it at a time when the league still predominantly ran the ball.

After he retired he was a scout for the Giants from '63-'65 and an assistant coach from '65 until his untimely death at the age of 50 in 1973.

How many other players represent "Once a Giant, always a Giant" more than that and DOESN'T have their number retired?

without mention of the Gold Dust Twins...And I'll leave it up to someone else to explain...'cause it's juicy.

I don't think Joe Morrisson was good at anything, I don't think he was a star and don't think he even deserved a day. He wasn't moved because he was good , if he was moved it's because he aspired to ordinary...Gifford came up as a defensive back and had versatility to, but a very different player.

I'm no authority so I'll concede to anyone who studied him in more depth, but that's my memory of those days.

And I'll go further...If Roosey Brown's number isn't retired it's a disgrace.

stuff. Thanks.

Good player. Not a special player.

.

Great read...thanks Larry!

In comment 12534286 grizz299 said:

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without mention of the Gold Dust Twins...And I'll leave it up to someone else to explain...'cause it's juicy. I don't think Joe Morrisson was good at anything, I don't think he was a star and don't think he even deserved a day. He wasn't moved because he was good , if he was moved it's because he aspired to ordinary...Gifford came up as a defensive back and had versatility to, but a very different player. I'm no authority so I'll concede to anyone who studied him in more depth, but that's my memory of those days. And I'll go further...If Roosey Brown's number isn't retired it's a disgrace.

Morrison was moved because he was sorely needed in other areas..There was no one else to fill the positions he was asked to fill, or at least wasn't as good as he would be in said positions..He was special imv, because whatever void we had, he filled and filled without the position missing a beat..That's under the radar special, imo

of retired numbers like the Yankees have.

There will be a Fred Stanley day in our future if attendance declines any further.

retired-number thing. Would anybody alive really be offended to see a Giant wear Mel Hein's uniform number? Does keeping Tuffy Leemans' number off the field really help anybody remember him?

Ring of Honor is better. Un-retire all numbers, I say. but be careful about who you give them to. Don't run a rookie 7th round pick onto the field in the first preseason game wearing #56. Or any of those now-retired #s.

In comment 12535305 81_Great_Dane said:

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retired-number thing. Would anybody alive really be offended to see a Giant wear Mel Hein's uniform number? Does keeping Tuffy Leemans' number off the field really help anybody remember him? Ring of Honor is better. Un-retire all numbers, I say. but be careful about who you give them to. Don't run a rookie 7th round pick onto the field in the first preseason game wearing #56. Or any of those now-retired #s.

Good idea. Way too many pedestrian players have been given Harry Carson's # 53.

I did a little research.

These are the players who've worn the three numbers most discussed here.

Tunnell's #45

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Homer Jones 1964-69 Pete Athas 1971-74 Alan Caldwell 1979-79 Leon Bright 1981-83 Jim Yarbrough 1987 Gary Downs 1996 Greg Comella 1998 Craig Walendy 2000 Charles Stackhouse 2002 Henry Hynoski 2011-14

Brown's #79

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Bruce Anderson 1967-69 Jim Norton 1970 Vern Vanoy 1971 Carter Campbell 1972-73 Al Simpson 1975-76 Mike Gibbons 1977 Mike McCoy 1979-80 Dale Markham 1980 Dee Hardison 1981-85 Bill Berthusen 1987 George Thornton 1993 Bernard Holsey 1996-99 Jeremiah Parker 2000 Bob Jones 2002 Guy Whimper 2006-07 Damontre Moore 2013 Stephen Goodin 2013

Carson's #53

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Lance Scott 1997-98 Brandon Short 2000-03 Wesly Mallard 2004 Reggie Torbor 2005-07 Bryan Kehl 2008-09 Keith Bulluck 2010 Greg Jones 2011 Dan Connor 2013 Jameel McClain 2014 Jasper Brinkley 2015

especially 53

Great! 2 stories in one. Interesting information about not only 2 great Giants, but the how league was to black players before and during that era. Black players were usually chosen in the late rounds of the draft in those days. The next "chapter" of blacks in pro football came with the AFL. The AFL didn't have limits on blacks and drafted them with higher picks. The AFL also had a major racial problem at one of its all star games forcing it to be moved from New Orleans? to Houston? around 1966?

As for Tunnell and Brown, the reason I clicked on it, great, great job!! Thanks sharing your time and effort, it's well appreciated.