The 1958 Giants remain one of the most storied teams in NFL lore. Although there ultimately was no title for New York at the end of the season, their marquee players like Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and Pat Summerall became a part of the fabric of popular culture. And New York's late season chase with Cleveland for the Eastern Division crown, playoff and overtime championship game with Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts captured the attention of the public consciousness and catapulted pro football to the top shelf of spectator sports.
Heading into Week 10 the 6-3 Giants trailed the 7-2 Browns by a game in the standings. New York had handed Cleveland their first loss of the season in October, and the Browns only other loss came against their nemesis Detroit. Otherwise they pretty much had their way with everyone else, including the Giants upcoming opponent Philadelphia the week before.
A bitterly cold and blustery late November day kept many fans home and the smallish crowd of 35,000 witnessed an ugly game on a sloppy field. The first quarter alone saw five fumbles, four of which were lost, as both defenses maintained the upper hand most of the afternoon. All told, there were nine turnovers on the day, the Eagles Norm Van Brocklin was intercepted by the Giants defense three times.
Don Heinrich got the start for New York and played all the way at QB. Charley Conerly had gotten banged up the week before against the Redskins and only appeared as the holder for Summerall's point-after and field goal attempts.
The turning point of the game came in the second quarter when Sam Huff broke through the line to block an Eagles field goal attempt. That sparked the Giants sputtering offense to fourteen points and a 17-10 haltime lead.
It's unfortunate blocked kicks weren't an officially recorded statistic at the time, because I know from reading these old game summaries that Huff had a knack for this and had many over the course of his career as a Giant, and very likely would be an all-time leader had such a category been maintained.
The Giants kept Philadelphia off the scoreboard through the second half and walked away with a gritty 24-10 to keep up with the Browns, who also won. Another win at Detroit would set the stage for a pivotal season finale at Yankee Stadium with Cleveland for the Eastern Division. IF the Giants were able to win that game they would tie the Browns for first place at 9-3 and force a playoff against the Western Division winner.
I can not recommend watching the Giants 1958 highlights film on YouTube. It doesn't cover every game, and this Eagles game isn't included, but it is filled with big plays and drama. It opens at Week 7 with the first Colts game at Yankee Stadium, which was the week after the Giants upset Cleveland. It is absolutely fantastic. The ending of the game at Detroit is unreal, and was very controversial. Commissioner Bert Bell had to perform an investigation on alleged gambling with Yale Lary and Lions coach George Wilson. You'll understand after you watch it. There are future Hall Of Famers in every clip in every game, and its narrated by the legendary Chris Shenkel.
The Newsday coverage includes an article on recent Giants Ring Of Honor member Jimmy Patton and has good quotes from defensive coach Tom Landry.
The Journal-News has a story on members of the 1938 Giants having an impromptu celebration of their 20th anniversary NFL title win when they beat Green Bay in 1938. Included was current head coach Jim Lee Howell who was an end on that team. Other notable Giants were Ed Danowski, Tuffy Leemans and Hank soar, who scored the decisive touchdown in that game.
Enjoy!
New York Times
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New York Herald-Tribune
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Newsday
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The Reporter Dispatch
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The Journal News
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Philadelphia Inquirer
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Giants 1958 highlights - (
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