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Old time photo thread: the Giants 1975-1979

truebluelarry : 7/7/2020 7:56 pm
Some good players on mostly bad teams wearing ugly uniforms.

1975: one positive is the Giants were welcomed back to the City of New York and were able to host their home games at Shea Stadium rather than the Yale Bowl in New Haven, CT.


Giants vs Dallas 10/12/75
#44 Doug Kotar


#15 Craig Morton


Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 10/25/75
#38 Bob Tucker, #26 Joe Dawkins


#56 PAt Hughes, #81 Jack Gregory, #71 Dave Gallagher


Giants at Green Bay 11/21/75
#74 John Hicks, #73 Tom Mullen, #30 Ron Johnson


Giants vs New Orleans 12/14/75
#74 John Hicks, #44 Doug Kotar, #70 Bob Hyland

1976: The Giants move across the Hudson River into a stadium of their own - Giants Stadium. Designed for football, it was universally regarded as the premiere facility for watching a game in person for three decades.


Giants at Washington 9/12/76
#15 Craig Morton, #79 Al Simpson


Giants at Los Angeles Rams 9/26/76
#10 Brad Van Pelt


#81 Jack Gregory


#44 Doug Kotar, #39 Larry Csonka


Giants vs Dallas 10/10/76
First game at Giants Stadium


Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals 12/12/76
#15 Craig Morton, #38 Bob Tucker


Giants vs Jets 9/4/77 preseason


Giants vs Washington 9/18/77
Harry Carson (recovering fumble), #77 Troy Archer


Giants vs Dallas 11/6/77
#9 Joe Pisarcik, #33 Bobby Hammond


Giants at Tampa Bay 11/13/77
#20 Jim Stienke, #10 Brad Van Pelt


Giants vs Chicago Bears 12/18/77
#79 Mike Gibbons, #39 Larry Csonka, #63 Doug Van Horn


#64 John Mendenhall, #55 Brian Kelley


Giants vs Dallas 9/10/78
#64 John Mendenhall, #55 Brian Kelley


Giants at New Orleans 10/29/78
#10 Brad Van Pelt


#53 Harry Carson


Giants at Washington 11/12/78
#53 Harry Carson, #64 John Mendenhall, #10 Brad Van Pelt


April 1979 - two rookies - Head Coach Ray Perkins and QB Phil Simms


Giants vs Tampa Bay 10/7/79
#54 Dan Lloyd, #28 Beasley Reece, #55 Brian Kelley


Giants at Los Angeles Rams 10/28/79
#10 Brad Van Pelt, #75 George Martin


#11 Phil Simms


Giants at Tampa Bay 11/18/79
#24 Terry Jackson


Giants vs Dallas 12/2/79
#11 Phil Simms


Giants at St. Louis Cardinals 12/9/79
#10 Brad Van Pelt, #24 Terry Jackson, #32 Ottis Anderson running the ball for St. Louis
Great pictures and thread  
Earl the goat : 7/7/2020 8:27 pm : link
I was at first game of giants stadium in meadowlands

Jack Gregory. Delta St was my first favorite player as a fan

Van Pelt. Kottar Dan Lloyd. RIP

Mendenhall. Grambling st
Carson. South Carolina St
Gregory. Delta St
Al Simpson. Colorado St

All small schools at that time

Thx for posting
great stuff as always, Larry  
Del Shofner : 7/7/2020 8:49 pm : link
- I remember those teams well, followed them closely even though they were mostly bad (but with some good players, as you say). Recognized pretty much all of them from the photos without needing the names.

As to this:

"1976: The Giants move across the Hudson River into a stadium of their own - Giants Stadium. Designed for football, it was universally regarded as the premiere facility for watching a game in person for three decades."

It was the premiere facility for watching a football game, and why they built a new stadium I'll never understand.
My high school years!  
exiled : 7/7/2020 8:50 pm : link
Despite all the losing, that was one proud defense. Made it easy to root for them.
Man, I remember every one of these players. I have a love / hate  
PatersonPlank : 7/7/2020 8:58 pm : link
relationship with them. I loved the Giants but they all sucked. We had season tickets starting in 1976 when the Meadowlands opened. They started 0-9 before beating the Skins at home for their first win
“Old Time”...  
CRinCA : 7/7/2020 8:59 pm : link
My high school years as well. Sigh.
great stuff....  
BCD : 7/7/2020 9:06 pm : link
never forget that era.....
John Hicks  
PEEJ : 7/7/2020 9:14 pm : link
always on the ground *smh*
RE: John Hicks  
shyster : 7/7/2020 11:48 pm : link
In comment 14930133 PEEJ said:
Quote:
always on the ground *smh*


Bob Hyland right there with him.

The Craig Morton trade is infamous because Dallas turned the pick into Randy White.

The Hyland trade, in which the Giants gave up the #3 overall in the '72 draft, hasn't been remembered because the Bears didn't make a great choice with it.

But, in concept, what matters isn't the player the other team happened to pick, but who was on the board that you could have chosen if you kept the pick.

In '72, Franco Harris and Ahmad Rashad were two that were there at #3 and gone by the time the Giants were up at #17 overall. And took Eldridge Small.

In '75, Walter Payton went two picks after Randy White. The Craig Morton trade should just as well be remembered as the Walter Payton trade.

The Hyland trade was yet another example of the brutal mistakes made when you think you are closer than you are.






Dan Lloyd retired due to cancer...  
GA5 : 7/7/2020 11:49 pm : link
but he is still alive. I met and spoke with both Dan (#54) and Harry (#53) at their rookie training camp at Pace. The future looked bright. The Giants were actually building a strong defense, but the loss of Lloyd and Archer from the team really hurt.
When Morton was on the Giants and playing badly...  
GA5 : 7/7/2020 11:52 pm : link
he actually resorted to hypnosis therapy. It didn't work.
RE: Dan Lloyd retired due to cancer...  
Earl the goat : 7/8/2020 6:07 am : link
In comment 14930154 GA5 said:
Quote:
but he is still alive. I met and spoke with both Dan (#54) and Harry (#53) at their rookie training camp at Pace. The future looked bright. The Giants were actually building a strong defense, but the loss of Lloyd and Archer from the team really hurt.


Yes about Lloyd. My bad. Archer died in a car accident
Jack Gregory  
GiantEgo : 7/8/2020 7:54 am : link
Was borderline ring of honor material.One could make the argument he should be in.
These are great pics bringing back great memories ...  
Spider56 : 7/8/2020 8:38 am : link
Shea was actually a good place to watch football if you had seats in either of the 2 lower decks ... if you were up high (like we were), you usually spent a good part of the game dodging pigeon shit from the seats, the ground and from above... and the field was always a mess.
These photos encompassed my early to mid-20's....great times for me  
GiantBlue : 7/8/2020 9:19 am : link
not so much for the Giants....but moving into the new stadium, drafting Phil, Harry, bringing in LT and the great linebackers.....times were going to get much better.

However, one personal note....I went to college at Wheeling Jesuit in Wheeling, WV and my good college friend, Dan Thomasetti, grew up and lived next door to Doug Kotar in Muc (sp) near Canonsburg, PA.

I never got to meet Doug, but I did where he lived when Dan and a bunch of us would go up for a home cooked meal now and again.

Dan secured me a signed photo of Doug's and told me that Doug felt that Van Pelt was the craziest and toughest teammate he had.

He told me Van Pelt especially hated the Cowboys and was always cursing out their RB's when he would tackle them.

Made me chuckle because up to that point, the players were what you saw on TV or read about in the newspaper.

I remember it started to shape my feelings that what they said in the homogenized interviews was vastly different than what happened out on the field.

Kotar died way to early. RIP

Thank you for the thread!!!! and the memories!
I'm glad everyone is enjoying these.  
truebluelarry : 7/8/2020 11:36 am : link
One guy I missed the first time around in Dave Jennings, he needs to be included.


Giants at Minnesota 10/17/76


1976 season (haven't figured out the exact date yet)


Giants at Los Angeles Rams 10/28/79
Thanks trueblue  
BreakerMorant : 7/8/2020 11:53 am : link
We could always count on Jennings and solid defense in those years to keep games close. Giants could not put together a winning season but they were not always easy pushovers.

Question: did the Giants play any games at Shea in 1976 before the first home game at Meadowlands?
What about Joe Danelo?  
Rolyrock : 7/8/2020 12:02 pm : link
Thanks for the pics.
RE: Thanks trueblue  
truebluelarry : 7/8/2020 12:33 pm : link
In comment 14930307 BreakerMorant said:
Quote:
We could always count on Jennings and solid defense in those years to keep games close. Giants could not put together a winning season but they were not always easy pushovers.

Question: did the Giants play any games at Shea in 1976 before the first home game at Meadowlands?


No, they opened the season with four consecutive road games. All six of their pre season games were away games as well, including the game at Yankee Stadium against the Jets in which the Jets were the designated home team.
1976 game-by-game  
truebluelarry : 7/8/2020 1:06 pm : link
You can have fun spotting all the different sock combinations worn with the blue pants!

GUD - 1976 Giants - ( New Window )
Wow, Larry! These are great! Thank you  
Pete in CO : 7/8/2020 1:35 pm : link
..they bring back a ton of memories. I especially enjoy seeing those from the BVP, Carson, Mendenhall era.
I used to have 2 B/W photos of Fran Tarkenton and Ron Johnson in my room as a kid. Probably taken in Yale Bowl.
These photos also reminded me of my first trip to The Meadowlands. I must've been 7 or 8, and we happened upon free tix to see the NY Cosmos, w/ Chinaglia & Pele. We weren't fans of soccer, but it was a chance to see this big new stadium in person. Awesome. I still remember the smells (dirty water hot dogs, cigar smoke, etc.) Never got to see NYG play there in person until the 28-21 opening day victory vs PHI in '84. Far drive from Long Island, no season tix, etc.
I miss those BIG BLUE WALLS!!!!!
Call me crazy  
Greg from LI : 7/8/2020 1:47 pm : link
But I kinda like the blue pants, though not the gigantic stripes on them.

Simms wearing #19 in those two pics with Perkins is weird. I guess someone else had #11 when he was drafted?
Thank You  
INDYJIM : 7/8/2020 1:51 pm : link
This brings back a lot of memories. many bad teams but many very good players during the 70s and early 80s. I still am convinced that if the coaching and front office were better there would have been more winning seasons. Hopefully this will be the case in the coming years. As a long time griants fan, you relish the successes much more given the previous disappointing seasons.
RE: Call me crazy  
truebluelarry : 7/8/2020 2:01 pm : link
In comment 14930373 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
But I kinda like the blue pants, though not the gigantic stripes on them.

Simms wearing #19 in those two pics with Perkins is weird. I guess someone else had #11 when he was drafted?


Yeah, Simms in #19 is a true anomoly. The last Giant to wear #11 prior to Simms was Randy Johnson in 1973. Simms wore #12 in college, so I have no idea.
Thank You Larry  
Samiam : 7/8/2020 2:18 pm : link
Been rooting for the Giants since 1956 so I’ve seen everyone of these guys but some of the names have escaped me. I’m especially liked the pics of Simms and Perkins. Didn’t realize Simms was that much bigger than Perkins. That Craig Morton trade that ended with Randy White going to the Cowboys was a horror show plus I think the Giants gave up more than that 1 pick. I still maintain that the Mara (Tim?) who stopped Wellington from running the franchise into the ground was a godsend. Perkins was a far better coach than the coaches who preceded him and the machinations that brought George Young into the front office propelled the team into greatness although we have since seen a huge decline. Still great memories with these pics.
...another weird reality in these photos - no Nike cleats.  
Pete in CO : 7/8/2020 3:28 pm : link
I know they came later, but all you see were Puma, Adidas, Spot-Bilt on these guys. No big fanfare about gear in those days... unlike today.
My father passed away three years ago today  
jc in c-ville : 7/8/2020 4:55 pm : link
Imaging my shock when going thru the pictures, 9/4/77.

As they started the season later then, that was Labor Day weekend.

We lived in Vestal, NY and my father and I went camping that weekend at Mongaup Pond in Livingston Manor.

We drove to the stadium early Sat morning for what I believe to be a 1/2 pm kickoff.

Hot as hell and sunny.

We went into Chinatown after the game and then back to the campground after where the weather had dropped to the 40's.

My first live Giants game with my Dad.

RE: My father passed away three years ago today  
truebluelarry : 7/8/2020 5:11 pm : link
In comment 14930486 jc in c-ville said:
Quote:
Imaging my shock when going thru the pictures, 9/4/77.

As they started the season later then, that was Labor Day weekend.

We lived in Vestal, NY and my father and I went camping that weekend at Mongaup Pond in Livingston Manor.

We drove to the stadium early Sat morning for what I believe to be a 1/2 pm kickoff.

Hot as hell and sunny.

We went into Chinatown after the game and then back to the campground after where the weather had dropped to the 40's.

My first live Giants game with my Dad.


Here's a couple more from that game:



Thanks for tht  
jc in c-ville : 7/8/2020 5:22 pm : link
Have such a vivid memory of that day- almost 43 years ago.

This past Sunday, I was on the golf course with my friends on a par three and each of us were on in one.

Three of the four marked their ball ( Giants marker for me).

Before putting, took my hat off and was shaking the sweat off my hair in the sweltering heat when I noticed my marker was not on my hat.

Made the comment, oh, I think I lost my ball marker...

RE: I'm glad everyone is enjoying these.  
Del Shofner : 7/8/2020 8:54 pm : link
In comment 14930295 truebluelarry said:
Quote:
One guy I missed the first time around in Dave Jennings, he needs to be included.


For sure! Talk about personal connections to the Giants. Dave Jennings was a neighborhood friend of my growing up in Garden City LI, and I played innumerable games of sandlot football with him as a teenager. Dave was a year behind me in HS and didn't gravitate to real contact football until his junior year of HS, where he played WR and punted. But he could play any position - he was a great athlete. I caught many passes and punts from him. We weren't the closest of friends and when I went to college a year before him we lost touch. I knew he went to St Lawrence - hardly a football power - and when he walked on and won the Giants punting job in '74, well that was just amazing.

Was all the more reason to root for the Giants in those days. Dave died young unfortunately - age 61 of Parkinson's.
Mongaup Pond ...now that brings back memories.  
Spider56 : 7/9/2020 8:59 am : link
5 teens on a 4th of July weekend jaunt sometime in the mid 70s ... with a busted water pump on a 65 Buick ... I thought we'd be victims of an axe murderer for sure.
Bears Game - 1977  
Gary JC : 7/9/2020 9:32 am : link
I was at that Bears game. It was during an ice storm. I was wearing a poncho and stuck to my seat. I was in section 319. There weren't many people left in that section or upper level toward the end of the game. I think the Bears needed to win to get into to the playoffs. Willie Spencer dropped a sure touchdown that would have won the game. Omg, what memories.
Love those photos. Thanks, Larry !!  
Red Dog : 7/9/2020 1:45 pm : link
Those GIANTS defenses, especially the ones that Bill Arnsparger put together, were really tough.

Arnsparger was a brilliant defensive mind and had some great players on his GIANTS. Unfortunately his offense was just awful, he never had much at QB or on the OL, and when his GIANTS did manage a win, it was due to the defense and special teams.

I've always thought that an Arnsparger defense combined with an Allie Sherman offense would have been unbeatable. Both coaches were really superior with their side of the ball, but helpless with the other side.

And speaking of special teams, Dave Jennings was one of the very best punters the G-men ever had. He was a St. Lawrence University graduate, another place that has not produced NFL players in any numbers.
great memories  
Giants86 : 7/9/2020 8:16 pm : link
my neighbor when I lived in CT was Doug Kotars best friend as both played at Kentucky. Told me some good stories.
Bob Tucker lived in my hometown during those years and would come into the Stop and Shop that I worked and checkout at my line at the cash register once in awhile. By this time circa 1980 he was with Minnesota.
Brad Van Pelt spoke at my Senior Spring awards banquet honoring all of the senior athletes. I was a track guy. My dad chatted him up in the lobby after the banquet and had him meet me.He was very tall and really nice! Great memories
I believe my first game at the stadium was that Dec 79 game against the Cardinals
RE: “Old Time”...  
Paulie Walnuts : 7/10/2020 12:27 pm : link
In comment 14930124 CRinCA said:
Quote:
My high school years as well. Sigh.
Mine too

the Spaceman !
RE: My father passed away three years ago today  
Paulie Walnuts : 7/10/2020 12:30 pm : link
In comment 14930486 jc in c-ville said:
Quote:
Imaging my shock when going thru the pictures, 9/4/77.

As they started the season later then, that was Labor Day weekend.

We lived in Vestal, NY and my father and I went camping that weekend at Mongaup Pond in Livingston Manor.

We drove to the stadium early Sat morning for what I believe to be a 1/2 pm kickoff.

Hot as hell and sunny.

We went into Chinatown after the game and then back to the campground after where the weather had dropped to the 40's.

My first live Giants game with my Dad.
sorry man,, I lost my Dad in April.. worst day of my life..

1976 against Seattle.. my first game at the new Stadium I wish they had remodeled it.. met Life sucks

Dad used to tell me to watch Jennings  
Paulie Walnuts : 7/10/2020 12:31 pm : link
on the sidelines... always was working and moving
he could dribble a football like a basket ball
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