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Old Fart’s thread: Your memories of Gifford

Big Blue '56 : 11/30/2018 7:45 am
In no order of importance:

The first year of my Giants fandom, he won the MVP at age 26. He was my second sports idol (Mays was my first).

Came up as a DB, though all-everything at USC.

Great hands and excellent receiver out of the backfield (before permanently moving to Flanker in ‘62 after not playing in ‘61 due to severe concussion from monstrous Bednarik hit in ‘60).

His tendency to carry the football like a ‘loaf of bread’ caused me great angst as a young fan. He was a fumbler.

And go.
As a football player...  
M.S. : 11/30/2018 8:16 am : link

...I think a lot of younger people don't realize that Frank Gifford was a fairly big back and would not look totally out-of-place in today's game. Moreover, he had a tremendous amount of wiggle and swerve to his run game. Very flexible. He was, of course, a multi-talented player who could run, catch, pass and defend! Great, great all-around talent!

He also had, along with Alex Big Red Webster, amazing good looks.
They thought he was a prima donna coming  
carpoon : 11/30/2018 8:16 am : link
out of So. Cal. but he turned out to be very tough. He could do it all. He always seemed to fumble at the most inopportune times. Because of that, third and threes would go to Webster. He never had a hair out of place.😀😀
He certainly deserves all the accolades he receives.
Should also mention that I met Frank GIfford...  
M.S. : 11/30/2018 8:17 am : link

...while playing ice hockey down on Carpenters Pond in northern New Rochelle, bordering Scarsdale.
In my athletic years  
Nomad Crow on the Madison : 11/30/2018 8:19 am : link
I wore #16 in honor of Frank Gifford. I don't remember any specific plays or games, just that he was an electrifying player.
56  
joeinpa : 11/30/2018 9:10 am : link
Mays was my number 1 too

Gifford, I was 8 years old when I first became a fan. I just remember thinking he was the best player in the NFL.

He remained convinced he made that first down in 58 against the Colts. Would have clinched the game and changed history
RE: 56  
Big Blue '56 : 11/30/2018 9:27 am : link
In comment 14198079 joeinpa said:
Quote:
Mays was my number 1 too

Gifford, I was 8 years old when I first became a fan. I just remember thinking he was the best player in the NFL.

He remained convinced he made that first down in 58 against the Colts. Would have clinched the game and changed history


Joe, he made it. I was there. The refs screwed up the placement amid the yelling by Marchetti (broken leg) and his teammates in the pile up
In 1963, The Giants were 10-3 and the Steelers  
Big Blue '56 : 11/30/2018 9:43 am : link
were 7-3-3. Ties were thrown out, so percentage-wise, whoever won that game went on to play for the title (Bears).

We won 31-16(?) and the big reason was a HUGE first down one-handed catch in midair by Gifford deep in Steelers’ territory(right in line with where I was sitting). Iirc, it was in the 4th qtr and we were only ahead 17-16.
My favorite player as a kid. I just remember he could do  
Blue21 : 11/30/2018 10:00 am : link
it all. Loved that era of Giant's teams.
Meet him at His Book Signing  
mvftw : 11/30/2018 10:15 am : link
and he said that he still Hates Jim Lee Howell for NOT going for it...
Frank Gifford  
kyle rote : 11/30/2018 10:21 am : link
was part of what I always consider the best Giant teams of my lifetime. I don't know that they were the "best" teams but back then, like the Brooklyn Dodgers, they were always MY best teams. I knew who played every position and could rattle them off without hesitation and without error. Their games against the Cleveland Browns and Jim Brown were classics that, in my opinion, have never been matched. Nothing in today's NFL even comes close.
RE: Frank Gifford  
Big Blue '56 : 11/30/2018 11:05 am : link
In comment 14198206 kyle rote said:
Quote:
was part of what I always consider the best Giant teams of my lifetime. I don't know that they were the "best" teams but back then, like the Brooklyn Dodgers, they were always MY best teams. I knew who played every position and could rattle them off without hesitation and without error. Their games against the Cleveland Browns and Jim Brown were classics that, in my opinion, have never been matched. Nothing in today's NFL even comes close.


You can rattle them off because there were only 33 players on a squad. *GRIN*
Gifford could do everything  
since1925 : 11/30/2018 11:41 am : link
Run, pass, kick, catch, play defense. He made big plays. He was a star before we started calling players superstars. He was one of the few football players who was as big off the field as on it.
Love the combination of  
Beer Man : 11/30/2018 11:56 am : link
Howard, Dandy Don, and Frank hosting Monday Night Football
Bruce. A good story about that '63 Steelers game.  
carpoon : 11/30/2018 12:34 pm : link
Ed Brown was the QB of that team and was a big-time drinker and late night carouser. The Steelers were rarely ever near the playoffs. According to a Pittsburgh writer, somebody constantly stayed with him that prior week to make sure he stayed sober and had plenty of rest.

It all back-fired on them as Ed, although throwing for 2 TDs, also threw 3 or 4 interceptions and went for something like 12 for 31.

The best laid plans.
Gifford was so talented he was all pro at 3 positions, dB. rb, and  
plato : 11/30/2018 2:41 pm : link
wr/flanker. Since he came from the west coast he could throw and one of his great threats was the half back option pass.

Yet the chant in Yankee stadium was defense in spite of an excellent offense.’agreat front four, lb’ers like Harlan Svare. Sam Huff, Cliff Livingston and a great back 4 with Em Tunnell, Lyndon Crow and old age is catching up With me.

We had a horrid head coach but Landry and the great offensive mind Lombardi made up for it.

My favorite giant team.
Gifford  
PaulN : 11/30/2018 2:46 pm : link
Was very similar to Joe Morrison #40, for those who remember him, great hands, not fast but got the job done. Morrison was more a receiver and Gifford more a halfback.
Having been born in 1960  
mrvax : 11/30/2018 3:07 pm : link
I cannot remember Giff playing. But I do appreciate the "old" NFL.
Gifford was the man on  
Jimmy Googs : 11/30/2018 3:30 pm : link
and off the field per discussions with my dad.

Chicks digged him...
Add Me to the Club: Mays No.1, Gifford No.2,  
clatterbuck : 11/30/2018 3:43 pm : link
Gifford was a tough player on the field and an elegant celebrity, man-about-town off the field. I've read that he had little regard for Jim Lee Howell, especially the notion of playing Heinrich for a series or two before bringing in Conerly. And he swore to the day he died he made the first down in '58 and that Howell should have gone for it on 4th down. I also recall some chatter about him wanting a shot at QB during Conerly's tenure and before Tittle. I remember that one-handed catch described on the radio. And of course, there's the Fred Exley hagiography in "A Fan's Notes."
I actually met  
mrvax : 11/30/2018 3:49 pm : link
and shook hands with the Say Hey Kid back in 1972.
You live and learn.  
Big Blue '56 : 11/30/2018 4:03 pm : link
I can’t recall ever reading or hearing Gifford saying we should have gone for it on 4th. Of course as a kid, I wanted them to go for it. In retrospect, I believe it was the right call. Make them go the (almost) length of the field to tie it. We were down 14-3 at the half and blanked them the entire second half until the final tying drive. Chandler did his job by having the Colts start from their own 20..

We were near midfield, if we didn’t make it, the Colts had enough time not only to tie it, but win it in regulation
My first memory of Gifford  
Burt in Alameda : 11/30/2018 4:29 pm : link
was in. 1953 or '54. A picture on the back page of the Daily News or Daily Mirror showed Gifford escaping from two tacklers who seemingly had him wrapped up, As a running back, he was fast and elusive, and, as a wide receiver in his later years, he was the perfect complement to Del Shofner. He was a terrific route runner and fast enough to go deep-- today, he would probably be a slot receiver. Finally, he was an extremely handsome guy, and he and Mickey Mantle were my idols growing up.
Thanks for the thread. Reminds me of all that my dad taught me about  
RDJR : 11/30/2018 6:28 pm : link
the Giants. He loved Gifford the player, but wasn’t a fan of his pretty boy persona. The first hand accounts and historical perspectives is BBI at its best. Well done.
Der Mick,  
Doomster : 11/30/2018 8:58 pm : link
Willie or the Duke?
Gifford was a complete player, Good but maybe not great skills.  
Ivan15 : 11/30/2018 9:07 pm : link
I would say Jack of all trades, but he was better than that. His best skill may have been the one that was rarely used. Halfback pass.

He wasn’t as big as Webster or Triplett. He may have been the fastest Giant prior to his forced retirement but wasn’t the fastest receiver when he returned.
Two memories  
yalebowl : 11/30/2018 9:47 pm : link
First is Gifford throwing the option pass

Second Gifford lived in my hometown. My cousin was a teacher at the local high school and he was not a sports fan. At one of those teacher/parent conferences a gentleman sat down next down to my cousin in the hallway outside the classrooms and discussed his son. My cousin retold the story to me when he realized the gentleman was Frank Gifford and he knew how much I live for the Giants.
Gifford for his time was a great back.  
chiro56 : 12/1/2018 12:30 am : link
Even beyond his skills as a back, he was a true gentleman and loved being a part of the giant organization. In life , he was a very real person and did the right thing.
RE: Two memories  
M.S. : 12/1/2018 6:18 am : link
In comment 14199065 yalebowl said:
Quote:
First is Gifford throwing the option pass

Second Gifford lived in my hometown. My cousin was a teacher at the local high school and he was not a sports fan. At one of those teacher/parent conferences a gentleman sat down next down to my cousin in the hallway outside the classrooms and discussed his son. My cousin retold the story to me when he realized the gentleman was Frank Gifford and he knew how much I live for the Giants.


If I'm not mistaken, didn't Frank Gifford live on Fenimore Road in Mamaroneck?
Always got a kick out of him saying  
Big Blue '56 : 12/1/2018 7:41 am : link
on the CBS night sports wrap-up news show, “that’s Conerly (or Tittle) throwing the touchdown pass to me in the corner.” He even had a bandaid or so on. Very effective
RE: RE: Two memories  
yalebowl : 12/1/2018 11:04 pm : link
In comment 14199212 M.S. said:
Quote:
In comment 14199065 yalebowl said:


Quote:


First is Gifford throwing the option pass

Second Gifford lived in my hometown. My cousin was a teacher at the local high school and he was not a sports fan. At one of those teacher/parent conferences a gentleman sat down next down to my cousin in the hallway outside the classrooms and discussed his son. My cousin retold the story to me when he realized the gentleman was Frank Gifford and he knew how much I live for the Giants.



If I'm not mistaken, didn't Frank Gifford live on Fenimore Road in Mamaroneck?


I’m not sure about Mamaroneck. This was when he lived in Greenwich, CT with Kathy Lee and family.
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