Thursday Reading

Giants

Lombardo NJ.com: Giants training camp: 5 players with most to gain this summer
https://www.nj.com/giants/2019/07/giants-training-camp-5-players-with-most-to-gain-this-summer.html

Traina Locked on Giants Podcast: The LockedOn Giants podcast concludes NFC East week with a look at the Eagles, courtesy of the LockedOn Birds podcast.
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/LKN9763234872.mp3

QB

Walker NO Advocate: New Orleans native Eli Manning plenty motivated in Year 16
https://www.nola.com/sports/article_de4e3548-9ce6-11e9-a7ae-8f643d9e273d.amp.html

RB

Pflum BBV: Cribbing from other teams to maximize Saquon Barkley’s receiving potential
https://www.bigblueview.com/2019/7/3/19857533/2019-ny-giants-saquon-barkley-offense-receiving-film-study-saints-chiefs

RT

Valentine BBV: Giants’ 90-man roster: “Real pro” Mike Remmers upgrades Giants’ offensive line
https://www.bigblueview.com/2019/7/4/19102395/giants-90-man-roster-real-pro-mike-remmers-upgrades-giants-offensive-line

C

Valentine BBV: Giants’ 90-man roster: Does Spencer Pulley have a chance to start?
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2019/7/3/18761750/ny-giants-90-man-roster-preview-spencer-pulley-jon-halapio

NT/DT

Traina Football Maven: Training Camp Roster Preview: Dexter Lawerence
https://footballmaven.io/nygiants/api/amp/nygiants/news/training-camp-roster-preview-dexter-lawerence-miQlHfVI-U6yGbyXy-ML8w/

Valentine BBV: Giants’ 90-man roster: Can Olsen Pierre reprise 2017 success?
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2019/7/3/18760412/ny-giants-90-man-roster-preview-olsen-pierre-james-bettcher-arizona-cardinals

CB

Traina Football Maven: Training Camp Roster Preview: Tony Lippett
https://footballmaven.io/nygiants/api/amp/nygiants/news/training-camp-roster-preview-tony-lippett-25Rtfx-UzUe9G4pNaPas9Q/

NFL

Freeman B/R: Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: NBA's Spending Spree Has NFL Players' Attention
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2843731-mike-freemans-10-point-stance-nbas-spending-spree-has-nfl-players-attention

Corry CBS Sports: Agent's Take: Jameis Winston, DeVante Parker headline 10 players entering a pivotal year financially
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-jameis-winston-devante-parker-headline-10-players-entering-a-pivotal-year-financially/amp/

BALTIMORE
Mink Ravens.com: Training Camp Position Breakdown: Running Back
https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/training-camp-position-breakdown-running-back

CAROLINA
Marks Charlotte Observer: In contract season, Panthers LB Shaq Thompson offers a clear message about his future
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article232228577.html

CHICAGO
Thompson Chicago Tribune: Bears will wear 4 different uniforms at home for their 100th season
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-bears-uniforms-schedule-20190703-scyiuoe2ojcifnorisw44edxwa-story.html

DALLAS
Patra NFL.com: Ezekiel Elliott will not face suspension
https://amp.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001035102/article/cowboys-rb-ezekiel-elliott-will-not-face-suspension?

HOUSTON
Wilson Houston Chronicle: Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn continues to grow, eyes future
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/texans/amp/Texans-kicker-Kaimi-Fairbairn-continues-to-grow-14069184.php

JACKSONVILLE
Rank NFL.com: State of the Franchise: Foles-led Jags will bounce back
https://amp.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001035075/article/state-of-the-franchise-nick-folesled-jaguars-will-bounce-back?

Frenette Florida Times Union: Jaguars CB Hayden stepping back into key role
https://www.jacksonville.com/sports/20190702/jaguars-cb-hayden-stepping-back-into-key-role?

LOS ANGELES RAMS
Simmons Rams.com: Cooper Kupp enjoying having his brother Ketner in L.A. 
https://www.therams.com/news/cooper-kupp-enjoying-having-his-brother-ketner-in-l-a

MIAMI
Jackson Miami Herald: The Dolphins made several moves in their defensive backfield. Here’s where things stand
https://amp.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article232106497.html

NEW ENGLAND
Basking SI.com: Julian Edelman Is Back on Top and Ready to Take Over the World
https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/07/03/julian-edelman-patriots-injury-comeback-documentary-assaf-swissa

NEW ORLEANS
Vargas Nola.com: Saints player David Onyemata completes diversion program, won't be prosecuted in marijuana case
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_14383cd2-9dcb-11e9-a527-c75b52b08458.amp.html

NEW YORK JETS
Greenberg Jets.com: Jets TE Chris Herndon Entering Year 2 with More Confidence
https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/jets-te-chris-herndon-entering-year-2-with-more-confidence

Costello NYP: Marcus Maye can be the perfect complement to Jets’ star safety
https://nypost.com/2019/07/03/marcus-maye-can-be-the-perfect-complement-to-jets-star-safety/amp/

PITTSBURGH
Adamski Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Steelers 2-a-days: Fred Johnson an intriguing and giant rookie guard, Tevin Jones in the WR mix
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers-2-a-days-fred-johnson-an-intriguing-and-giant-rookie-guard-tevin-jones-in-the-wr-mix/

SAN FRANCISCO
Schwab Yahoo Sports: 2019 NFL preview: 49ers need some wins from Shanahan, Lynch (and Jimmy G too)
https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/2019-nfl-preview-49-ers-need-wins-from-shanahan-lynch-and-jimmy-g-too-123336146.html

TENNESSEE
Wyatt Titans.com: Titans Aim to Get Receiver Taywan Taylor More Opportunities in 2019
https://www.titansonline.com/news/titans-aim-to-get-receiver-taywan-taylor-more-opportunities-in-2019

Colleges/Draft

Kelly The Draft Network: THE BEST NFL PROSPECT AT EACH SERVICE ACADEMY
https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/the-best-nfl-prospect-at-each-service-academy

Crabbs The Draft Network: FIVE PREDICTIONS FOR 2019 CFB TRANSFERS
https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/bold-predictions-for-2019-cfb-transfers

History

Feldman The Athletic: What made Jared Lorenzen one of the most fabled players of his generation
https://theathletic.com/1062765/2019/07/03/what-made-jared-lorenzen-one-of-the-most-fabled-players-of-his-generation/

Hale Louisville Courier Journal: 'Air Raid' founder Hal Mumme remembers Jared Lorenzen, the 'unbelievable' athlete
https://amp.courier-journal.com/amp/1645216001

Lombardo NJ.com: Giants mourn death of former QB Jared Lorenzen: He ‘was a special person’
https://www.nj.com/giants/2019/07/giants-mourn-death-of-former-qb-jared-lorenzen.html

Zagorski PFJ: The Rebirth of the Shotgun Offense
http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-rebirth-of-shotgun-offense.html

Giants Birthdays 7-04

Erich Barnes LDH TR-CHI BEARS 1961 NYG 1961-1964 7-04-1935

1961 14GS 7INT 195YDS 2TD 1FR
102 yard int return for TD
2 catches 74yds TD
First Team All Pro; Pro Bowl

Highlighted Year: Erich Barnes, 1961
https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2015/07/highlighted-year-erich-barnes-1961.html

10-02-1961 “Playing the spoilsport role to perfection before a hopeful, almost prayerful gathering of 36,767 who wanted to see the magnificent District of Columbia Stadium opened properly, the New York Giants richly earned a 24-21 triumph

Only 54 seconds remained when Snead found himself with much time. He cooly picked out his receiver, Dickie James, and let the ball fly. James appeared open at the Giant 35 but as he reached for the ball New York defender Erich Barnes made a marvelous last second batdown of a touchdown-bound pass that would have accomplished a second minor miracle at this stadium site. The first was getting it built.”

10-15-1961 DALLAS, Tex. - “Erich Barnes, the only New York defensive player Coach Tom Landry of Dallas didn't tutor, ran 101 yards with an intercepted pass Sunday to break the resistance of the Dallas Cowboys and give the Giants a 31-10 victory. New York was ahead, 17-10, but the Cowboys were driving toward a touchdown when Eddie LeBaron tried a pass into the end zone. Barnes took it a yard inside and cut up the sidelines to dash to the touchdown that broke the Cowboys' backs.”

Giants.com: Erich Barnes 102-yard interception return (Video)
https://www.giants.com/video/erich-barnes-102-yard-interception-return-12765327

11-12-1961 “Barnes Scores: The next time the Giants had the ball, Erich Barnes and Jimmy Patton of the defense, were sent in by Shorman and all Tittle did was to collaborate with Barnes on a 62- yard scoring play. Barnes got behind the Eagles defense and was away with Y. A.'s throw. It was the second score for Barnes, who earlier this season tied a , league record running 102 yards with an intercepted pass. Summerall collected his third conversion and it was 24-7 as the two teams went to the dressing rooms for a rest.

Pete Previte, the clubhouse man who came up with the big play for New York last Sunday against Philadelphia, merely was living up to' the finest tradition of the Giants' locker-room attendants...

Sherman recognized a good idea when he saw one. Just 48 hours before the big game with the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles, he put in a spread formation in which the quarterback would drop back and, more important, defensive speedsters Erich Barnes and Jimmy Patton would join Del Shofner, Kyle Rote and Joe Walton as receivers. With less than a minute left in the first half Sunday and the Giants back on their 38, second down and eight to go, Sherman sent in the defensive men with the play. Y. A. Tittle, dropping back, took a direct snap and, with his five receivers fanning out, fired deep to Barnes, crisscrossing with Patton. Barnes, on his first offensive play in three years of pro football, caught the ball and raced into the end zone for a surprise touchdown that extended to 24-7 the Giants' half-time lead and set up their division-tying 38-21 triumph. A Sneaker Trick Pete Previte's play, as they call it now.”

1962 13GS 6INT 61YDS
Pro Bowl

12-30-1962 1962: Packers Defeat Giants to Repeat as NFL Champions

“A punt by Max McGee was nearly blocked by CB Erich Barnes but the rushed kick went only 23 yards. Two plays later, HB Phil King fumbled when hit by Currie and Nitschke recovered at the New York 28.

Early in the third quarter, Green Bay’s offense couldn’t advance the ball while backed up deep in its own territory. With the Packers punting from their own 15 yard line, Barnes broke through this time to block McGee’s kick and end Jim Collier fell on the loose ball in the end zone for a New York touchdown after LB Bill Forester was unable to scoop it up at the five...”

"It was dangerous," Barnes said later. "When I go in like that, I'm exposing my area to a pass. [Most unlikely, since the Packers were punting from deep within their own territory.] If I block it, I'm golden. If they fake and pass—well, I'd rather not discuss that possibility. It's a judgment thing and you have to decide quickly. I saw Lew Carpenter line up tight and I felt I could go. No one touched me. It was that simple. I just ran in and blocked it. But I could have been burned."

1963 14GS 3INT 0YDS 4FR
Pro Bowl

1964 Profile: Erich Barnes
Cornerback
No. 49
Purdue
"One of the outstanding pass defenders in the National Football League, Barnes has intercepted 16 enemy tosses since joining the Giants in 1961. He grabbed seven in 1961, returning one 102 yards against Dallas in the Cotton Bowl, six in 1962 and three in 1963.
Erich was originally the fourth draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1958, coming to New York prior to the '61 campaign as part of the three-cornered transaction that saw L.A. Rams' quarterback Bill Wade come to the Chicago Bears and Lindon Crow, the Giants' fine defensive back, join the Rams.
One of his biggest moments was the day in 1961 when Coach Al Sherman inserted him for one offensive play on which he caught a 62-yard TD pass from Y.A. Tittle against the Philadelphia Eagles."

-Complete Sports 1964 New York Giants

1964 14GS 2 INT 26YDS 1TD 2FR
Pro Bowl

ERICH BARNES
Cornerback
No. 49
Purdue
"Great anticipation, trigger-quick reflexes and blinding speed are the traits that have stamped Erich Barnes as one of the league's most gifted cornerbacks. He has intercepted 18 passes in his four seasons with the Giants, and one of these was the 102-yard touchdown caper he pulled against the Dallas Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl in 1961; the run tied an NFL record.
Erich originally was a No. 4 draft choice of the Chicago Bears in 1958 and he came to the Giants in '61, as part of a three-way trade that sent Lindon Crow to Los Angeles and Billy Wade to Chicago."

-Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1965

"Erich Barnes plays the corner for the Giants like a stalking cougar. Quick as a cougar, he likes to gamble on the big interception; he is also one of the league's most jarring tacklers."

-Pro Football Almanac 1965, edited by Al Silverman

"Erich Barnes scarcely qualifies as the pass receiver's best friend. As a corner back with the Giants, he has smothered some of the finest talent in the league. 'The trouble with him,' one aggressive opponent complained, 'is that every time a quarterback throws a ball, Barnes thinks HE'S the receiver.'
This attitude, plus certain physical attributes, have made Erich a frequent Pro Bowl performer. With the stricken Giants last year, he shouldered an awesome load. Early in the season, the New Yorkers lost their other cornerback, Dick Lynch, due to an injured ankle, and Barnes spent the rest of the season doing his own job and helping out wherever else he could hustle to.
The Giants got Barnes after the 1960 campaign in a three-way deal that typified their shrewdness. Erich, a former Purdue star, went from the Bears to Los Angeles for quarterback Billy Wade. The Rams, in turn, traded Erich to New York for Lindon Crow. The swap also cost the Giants their first draft choice for the following season, but it was well worth it. Barnes has proven to be a slashing defensive operator, who handles the best of opposing receivers with skill and assurance."

Sports All-Stars/1965 Pro Football

Cleveland Browns' 100 best all-time players: No. 63, Erich Barnes (video)
https://articles.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/10/cleveland_browns_100_best_all-_1.amp

McBride Browns Rewind 247 Sports: Browns Rewind: CB Erich Barnes Interview (5-19-2008)
https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/Article/Browns-Rewind-CB-Erich-Barnes-104518533/

Frank Cephous RB D11-UCLA 1984 NYG 1984

Delaware HOF: “Frank Cephous attended St. Mark’s High School, where he was a standout track and field performer and started on the football team all four years. Cephous earned a football scholarship at UCLA, where he was a four-year football starter. He later played in the National Football League. At St. Mark’s, Frank was the Spartans’ leading rusher in 1977, 1978 and 1979. He played an integral role on St. Mark’s state championship team in 1978. Cephous was selected to Delaware high school football’s first-team All State squads in 1978 and 1979. He was the recipient of the 1979 Tom Delucia Sportsmanship award. Frank was selected to two high school All-American teams in 1979. In addition, Cephous was a four-year letter winner in outdoor track and a two-year letter winner in indoor track. He won the Delaware State high jump championship in 1977.
During high school, Cephous was recruited by UCLA. He played a key role in the Bruins 1983 and 1984 Rose Bowl victories. He led the team in rushing with 89 yards on 12 carries in the 1984 Rose Bowl. At UCLA, Cephous was a four-year letterman. Cephous was then drafted by the New York Giants and averaged nearly 20 yards per return in his lone NFL season. He was an 11th round pick in the 1984 NFL draft and was chosen in the third round of the USFL draft by the San Antonio Gunslingers.”

In Memoriam

John Alexander T FA-1926 NYG 1926 Born 7-94-1896 Died 8-05-1986

Campbell PFRA: JOHN ALEXANDER: PRO FOOTBALL PIONEER

“After playing with Milwaukee in the NFL in 1922, Alexander played the next few seasons on non-league teams, mostly in the New York Metropolitan area -- Newark, New Jersey, and Orange, New Jersey. He would not return to the NFL until 1926 when he joined the New York Giants.
Alexander got a preview of the Giants a year earlier when, playing for the non-league Newark Red Jackets, he played against his future team in a exhibition game.
"We played them in Newark," he recalls, "in Dreamland Park. We went up and down the field for nearly sixty-minutes. Nobody scored. Then Oscar Hendrian, he was known as 'Dutch,' kicked a field goal, and that was the only scoring. This was the first game the Giants played -- 1925 was their first year. They opened the NFL schedule the next week against the Providence (Rhode Island) Steam Roller.
"Heinie Benkert was the star of the game for the Giants. He was a little behind me at Rutgers, and, like me, he grew up in Newark. That didn't stop him from running us ragged, though. He was great running off tackle and around the end, but we did manage to keep him out of the end zone. If only we could have gotten a few points ourselves and kept them from getting that field goal."
The last statement by Alexander gives you some kind of in sight into the man. Tenacious, competitive, and blessed with a long memory. Here is a man 90 years of age still not completely over a 3-0 loss in an exhibition game played in 1925.
"Like I said, this was the first game the New York Football Giants -- that's what they called them then and for a lot of years, because of the New York Giants baseball team -- and I got a first hand look at some of the men I'd be playing with next year. Of course, I didn't know it at the time.
"Players from the 1925 Giants that were still there in 1926 when I came were Joe Alexander, Jack McBride, Mike Palm, Earl Potteiger, Brad Tomlin, and only a couple of others I can't recall. What you
have to remember is that turnover was tremendous in those days. You see, football wasn't really a career then. There were relatively few of us who played any length of time. I mean eight or ten years. What you had was a bunch of young men who didn't quite have all of their football out of their systems and needed to play a year or two before they settled down and got on with their life's work. There wasn't enough money in it for it to be otherwise. We got a hundred dollars a game most of the time. And since there were no yearly contracts you had to play to get paid. If you got hurt, that was tough. Not only were you hurt, but you were out of a pay day. You had to play to get pay. I think a coach phrased it that way once.
"Well, I joined the Giants in 1926. It was their second season in the NFL. They weren't too bad. Bob Folwell was their coach. He was a Navy man. Coached at Annapolis. He only coached them in '25. When I got there is '26 he was gone. I never knew the man, but the players that were holdovers told me enough about him that I didn't want to know him. They said he was very mean, very sour. What would have been called a stern taskmaster. I guess you could get away with those tactics in college, especially at a service academy, but the Giants' players of 1925 sort of revolted. They didn't want him back.
"Joe Alexander coached when I got there. I think some of the players thought we were brothers, or at least related. We weren't. We were both Jewish, but that was it. He was a doctor by then. He played at Syracuse and studied medicine at Columbia. He played while he was in med school. That's how he got the money to go.
"The Giants started up in 1925 and they had a pretty rough go of it. But in late November, the Bears with Red Grange -- he had just signed on with them after finishing his senior season at the University of Illinois -- came into the Polo Grounds and drew a terrific crowd. About 70,000. Now, I want to tell you, that was a crowd in those days. We felt lucky if we played before 5,000. Thirty five hundred was more the norm. Anyway, that game -- Grange against the Giants -- put pro football on the map.
"Well, in 1926 Grange and his agent (Charles C.) Cash and Carry Pyle started their own league. They called it the American Football League. I have to chuckle when people talk about "the old AFL" meaning the league that was formed in 1960. It might be old to them, but it isn't to me. Anyway, there was a New York team called the Yankees. That was to be the showcase team of the whole league. Grange played for them. There was also a team in Brooklyn in the AFL called the Horsemen. They had a couple of the famous Four Horsemen backfield from Notre Dame -- Elmer Layden and Harry Stuhldreyer. Newark, my old home town, had a team too. Called themselves the Bears.
"The new league didn't do too well. I don't think it was a good idea to build the league around one man, which is what they did, even if the one man was the Galloping Ghost. Grange got hurt -- a knee injury, if I recall -- and that pretty much did in the new league. They were gone the next year.
"But I have to thank them for the year I played with the Giants in '26. Century Milstead, the great Yale All- America tackle, played with the Giants in '25, but went to the new league in '26 for more money. That opened the door for me. When Tim Mara -- he owned the Giants -- offered me $100 a game, I jumped at it. It meant I could play close to home, didn't need to travel much, and was assured of a payday each week. By that time I was tired of going over to the Pennsylvania Coal Region or down to the Jersey shore to play. You never knew exactly who your teammates were going to be. You had to learn a new system each week, 'cause half the time there was a new coach, and I was just ready for a little stability.
"We were eight and four in '26. The same record the Giants had in '25. Frankford, under Guy Chamberlin, won the championship. I knew that, but I had to look up their record -- 14-1-1. Frankford represented a section of Philadelphia. It was a neighborhood, not a suburb or an industrial town as some accounts say it was. They played quite a few years before coming into the NFL, but once they got in, they made themselves known. Two of the best tackles I ever saw played for them -- Weller and Weir. They were both from Nebraska. Bob Weller was a big man, about my size, Ed Weir was smaller, built more like a guard -- under six- feet, a little less than 200 pounds, but, oh, could he play the game. He made Walter Camp's All-America team twice -- 1924 and 1925. He was a terror. And then they got Bull Behman. He was another big, strong guy from Dickinson. They used to give me a pretty rough time of it, but I know I gave them a bit of the same. In those days, the game was more like eleven individual wars.

You were mainly concerned with the man across the line from you. You got to know him real well, too, because you stayed in for the whole sixty minutes -- offense and defense."
They weren't the only players on the Yellow Jackets Alexander recalls. There was Rae Crowther, an end who made a fortune in later years by getting patents on the two-man and seven-man blocking sleds. Alexander says, "I'm not surprised that Crowther did so well. He was always a smart, heady player. Just a little guy for an end. He was a good receiver and blocker, but he had to be smart to save himself when he moved to defense. Rudy Comstock, a very rugged guard is another I remember from that team. I used to really puzzle him when I would leave the line and take that outside linebacker position. I'd line up at tackle, but before the ball was put in play, I'd jump back and outside the end. We played what was called a `seven-diamond' defense, and on many plays I was Comstock's man to block he had trouble finding me. After I'd make a tackle, he'd come up to me and say, `Alexander how the hell'd you make the tackle? Where were you? Where'd you go?' I'd just smile and say, `I was there all the time, Rudy.' I don't know if he ever figured it out. With no films of games to study, how could he?"
Although Alexander liked the stability of playing with the Giants he was not back in 1927. His last year in the NFL, officially, was 1926.
He says, "I really liked playing in New York, liked the guys -- we had such camaraderie in those days -- and it was great to be part of a new experiment. But when it came tame to talk about next year -- that would be 1927 -- they told me I'd have to take a pay cut. They could only pay me $75 a game. I had been playing for $100. Well, I liked New York, but not that much. I could, and did, make more by playing on non-league teams -- up in Pennsylvania, down at the Jersey shore, and even in and around the Metropolitan area. In a way I missed the Giants, but we did play NFL teams in exhibition and there were men like me who played on non-league teams because, I guess, their NFL teams wanted to cut their pay too.”

http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/16-02-558.pdf

M.L. Brackett LB/DE TR-CHI 1958 NYG 1958 Born 7-04-1933 Died 6-30-2015

Attalla’s ML Brackett crosses paths with many gridiron legends (2-02-2012)

“Professional football was a foreign term to Brackett until his junior season at Auburn, at which time a scout form the Los Angeles Rams contacted him. With a degree in business administration in hand, Brackett said thanks but no thanks.
“I really never heard much about the pro game, but other teams started sending me letters and questionnaires to fill, and I became interested in getting paid to play football.”
Brackett ended up getting drafted by the Chicago Bears [in February of1956], setting up a negotiating showdown with coaching legend No. 3, George Halas.
“There were no agents in those days, and right from the start we didn’t agree on money. In the meantime I talked to Toronto of the CFL, who offered me a guaranteed, two-year contract of $15,000.”
Brackett informed Halas of the offer, who asked Brackett to drive to the Windy City to hammer out a deal. It was not a smooth give-and-take session.
“Halas’ offer was ridiculously lower than Toronto’s was, and I responded that I wanted a $2,000 bonus and a new car above and beyond the contract. He told me he couldn’t meet my demands, so I told him I was going back to Alabama and he had three days to agree to my terms. That was on a Friday, and Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. he called me and said we had a deal.”
Brackett started as a rookie for the 1956 season, playing at weak side linebacker and long snapper on a Bears team that went 9-3-1 and lost to the New York Giants in the league championship game. “It was a much bigger adjustment from college to the NFL as it was from high school to Auburn,” said Brackett. “The mental part was the most difficult thing, because the terminology was very involved and specific. It was a lot of information to process.”
Chicago fell to 5-7 the next season, during which Brackett suffered a knee injury and wore a cast on his leg for eight weeks.
Brackett soon had a change of venue, as the Giants needed a long snapper and the Bears deemed him expendable. Chicago traded Brackett to New York just prior to the 1958 season, giving him an up close taste of the Big Apple.
After saying goodbye to teammates that included Ed Brown, George Blanda, Zeke Bratkowski, Harlon Hill, Jim Dooley, Bill George, Rick Cesares and Willie Galimore, (Halas, Blanda and George are in the NFL Hall of Fame), Brackett took a bus to New York’s training camp at Bear Mountain in the Catskills.
Although he played only one season in Gotham, Brackett made no bones about his time in the Empire State.
“We were one big happy family with the Bears, but I hated playing in New York. I got along with my teammates and coaches, but it was just too cold for me and we didn’t have thermal clothing like they have now. It was also too crowded for me, and I didn’t like riding the subway or taking a ferry in order to get around. It was also a dangerous place back then, and the Giant players were told always to travel en mass. I do have some nice memories, though, like seeing the 1958 World Series and playing in Yankee Stadium.
“The guys from the South usually hung together, but there were only a few on the Giants at that time. Conerly was from Mississippi, and he was a super-nice guy.”
Two iconic coaches awaited Brackett in the Bronx – offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi and defensive coordinator Tom Landry. Jim Lee Howell was the Giant’s head coach.
“Coach Howell was very articulate and represented the Giants very well, but he really was just a figurehead,” said Brackett. “Lombardi and Landry were the ones who ran the team. To play for Lombardi, you had to treat every play like the last play of a game. He expected perfect execution, and after we were able to that, it still wasn’t enough. We had to sprint wherever we went and had to wear helmets all the time. He had his game face on when we took to the field, but in the locker room, he’d sit with us and ask about our families. He made an effort to get to know his players.
“Coach Landry, on the other hand, was a bit of a loner. He used to be a player coach for the Giants, and at that point he was trying to distance himself from the guys he played with, like Andy Robustelli and Rosie Brown. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realized that he wanted to separate Tom the coach from Tom the player. Unlike Lombardi, he’d allow you at your own level, but he’s run you off in a minute if he felt that you weren’t performing to his standards.”
Brackett’s 1958 teammates included a who’s who of NFL legends – Robustelli, Brown, Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Sam Huff, Fuzzy Thurston, Jim Catcavage, Dick Modzelewski, Jim Parker, Don Maynard, Emlen Tunnell, Jim Taylor, Jack Kemp and Kyle Rote.
Brown, Gifford, Huff, Maynard, Robustelli, Tunnell, Landry and Lombardi are all in the NFL Hall of Fame.
“Gifford would have been an All-World if he’d played in the single-wing [formation], and Taylor was the toughest running back I ever saw. Even if he had a clear shot to the goal line, he’d veer off and look to run someone over. Rosie and Jim were the best offensive linemen I ever saw.”
As for the Greatest Game Ever Played – the NFL championship on Dec. 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium between the Giants and the Baltimore Colts – Brackett knew going in that it would be his last.
“I had decided before the season that I was going to retire. I was going to retire the year before, but I’d just gotten married and I wanted my wife to see what the NFL was all about. I played on two injured knees for two straight years, and I knew when I got traded that I wasn’t coming back.”
Nursing a calf injury, Brackett didn’t see much playing time during the contest, which Baltimore won 23-17 in overtime.             
Brackett was blunt and to the point as why New York lost the game.
“We were physically beaten up going in. The two games before that were against Cleveland and Detroit, and both were very physical games that were played in brutally cold weather. Basically we were worn out by the time we played the Colts.”
Brackett believed to this day that the Giants would have won the game if Gifford had converted a crucial third down play in the fourth quarter.
“Gifford’s carry was mishandled by the game officials,” said Brackett. “The referee actually took the ball from the spot and threw it to the line judge, so no one had an accurate idea after that of where exactly Gifford went down. Then Howell calls for a punt, and after they kicked the field goal to tie the game the Colts overpowered us in overtime. The air seemed to go out of Yankee Stadium after Gifford’s play, and the players were spent.”
Brackett recalled that he was one of the last players to leave a very solemn locker room, but was privy to a prediction that was right on the mark.
“I was sitting by myself and [longtime television broadcaster] Chris Schenkel came over. I told him that I was heading back to Alabama, and he told me right then that in the future, thi game would be call the greatest game ever played.”
Brackett last year attended the game’s 50-year reunion in December, one of five members of the ’58 Giants to show up. He was also interviewed by Gifford for the latter’s book about the game and was mentioned in a recent ESPN documentary about the game.”