97 Fun Facts About New York Giants

In which New Jersey town do the Giants play their home games?

East Rutherford: the borough has only about 10,000 residents, so on game days its stadium can hold more than eight times the local population.

Which team left Shea Stadium in 1984 to share the Giants' home in New Jersey?

Jets: tenants for a quarter of a century, they became equal partners when the two clubs built MetLife Stadium together, opened in 2010.

Which Bears star's 1925 visit rescued the Giants' finances?

Red Grange: more than 70,000 came to see him, wiping out the new club's losses, and a year later he was back with a rival league and a New York team of his own to fight the Giants.

Through 2025, the Giants' eight NFL titles trailed only the Bears and which franchise?

Packers: the Giants' count could be higher, since from 1958 to 1963 they reached five NFL title games in six seasons and lost every one.

At which New York ballpark did the Giants play their home games for their first three decades?

Polo Grounds: they left for Yankee Stadium in 1956 and won the NFL championship in their very first season there.

Which division rival did the Giants beat 56-0 in the teams' first meeting, in 1933?

Philadelphia Eagles: the rout came in the Eagles' very first NFL game, and the Giants went on to win the first eleven meetings played in New York.

Who founded the Giants in 1925?

Tim Mara: a bookmaker by trade, he was offered the team only after boxing promoter Billy Gibson turned it down and sent the league's president on to him.

The Hall of Fame says the Giants' founder paid how much for the franchise in 1925?

$500: some accounts say $2,500, but either way he is reported to have cleared about $143,000 from a single December game that first season.

Which team drafted Eli Manning first overall before trading him to the Giants?

San Diego Chargers: Manning had said he would refuse to play for them, so they picked him first anyway and traded him to New York later in the same draft.

Which quarterback did the Giants draft fourth overall in 2004 and trade away the same day for Eli Manning?

Philip Rivers: the swap suited both clubs, as he went on to start every regular-season game from 2006 to 2020, an even longer unbroken run than Manning's.

Which quarterback's December 2017 start ended Eli Manning's run of 210 straight Giants starts?

Geno Smith: the benching caused such an outcry that the head coach and general manager were fired the day after the game, and Manning was starting again a week later.

Where did Eli Manning play in college?

Ole Miss: his father Archie was already a folk hero there, and Eli finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior.

Which Giants receiver made the 'Helmet Catch' in Super Bowl XLII?

David Tyree: mainly a special-teams player, he pinned the ball to his helmet for a 32-yard gain and never caught another pass in the NFL.

Who caught the winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLII?

Plaxico Burress: he had barely practised all season because of a bad ankle, yet scored from 13 yards out with 35 seconds left.

Where was Super Bowl XLII played?

Glendale, Arizona: five weeks earlier the same two teams had met in New Jersey, where the Patriots won 38-35 to complete a 16-0 regular season.

Which Giants running back scored the 'reluctant touchdown' to win Super Bowl XLVI?

Ahmad Bradshaw: the Patriots let him through so they could get the ball back, and he tried to stop at the one-yard line but toppled backwards over the goal line.

Which team did the 9-7 Giants beat in overtime to win the 2011 NFC title?

49ers: the 20-17 road win sent New York on to become the first Super Bowl winner outscored over a regular season, 400 points to 394.

Which receiver's 38-yard sideline catch set up the winning drive in Super Bowl XLVI?

Mario Manningham: he kept both feet in bounds by a fraction of an inch between two defenders, on the first play of the 88-yard drive that won the game.

Which Giants receiver set a franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards in 2011?

Victor Cruz: undrafted only a year earlier, he broke Amani Toomer's record in a game where he also took a short pass 99 yards for a touchdown.

Who was the Giants' head coach for both the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl wins?

Tom Coughlin: the first head coach the Jacksonville Jaguars ever had, he fined Giants players who turned up less than five minutes early for meetings.

Which coach led the Giants to Super Bowl XXI and XXV titles?

Bill Parcells: his first Giants team won only three games, yet three seasons later it went 14-2 and took the club's first Super Bowl.

Which Giants quarterback completed 22 of 25 passes to win MVP of Super Bowl XXI?

Phil Simms: he completed all ten of his passes in the second half, then starred in the first 'I'm going to Disney World!' commercial.

In 1935 the Giants became the first professional football team to do what with a player's jersey number?

Retire it: the No. 1 belonged to end Ray Flaherty and stayed out of use for 89 years, until his family let rookie Malik Nabers wear it in 2024.

Which kicker's 'wide right' miss sealed the Giants' Super Bowl XXV win?

Scott Norwood: his 47-yard attempt on grass was at the edge of his range, and the miss began Buffalo's run of four straight Super Bowl defeats.

Who started at quarterback for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV after the regular starter was hurt?

Jeff Hostetler: he had started only two games in seven years as a Giants backup before the starter broke a foot that December.

Who was named MVP of Super Bowl XXV?

Ottis Anderson: he ran for 102 yards as the Giants held the ball for a Super Bowl record 40 minutes 33 seconds, keeping Buffalo's quick-scoring offense off the field.

Who sang the national anthem before Super Bowl XXV?

Whitney Houston: sung ten days into the Gulf War, her version was released as a charity single and reached the top 20.

Whose leg did Lawrence Taylor accidentally break with a sack on Monday Night Football in 1985?

Joe Theismann: the Washington quarterback never played again, and a horrified Taylor was the first to wave frantically to the sideline for help.

Which award did Lawrence Taylor win in 1986?

NFL MVP: he led the league with 20.5 sacks and the Giants to their first Super Bowl title, and through 2025 no defender had won the award since.

Which college did Lawrence Taylor attend before the Giants drafted him in 1981?

North Carolina: he did not play organised football until the eleventh grade, and began there as a defensive lineman before being moved to linebacker.

Which quarterback did Michael Strahan sack to set the 2001 single-season record?

Brett Favre: the easy sack took Strahan to 22.5, half a sack past Mark Gastineau's old mark, and some observers accused Favre of going down on purpose.

What distinction did Michael Strahan earn on a 2021 Blue Origin flight?

Tallest person in space: at 6 feet 5 he flew as a guest beside Laura Shepard Churchley, whose father Alan, the first American in space, gave the New Shepard rocket its name.

Which Giants rookie made a famous one-handed catch against Dallas in November 2014?

Odell Beckham Jr.: he caught it falling backwards with three fingers of one hand while being fouled, and the Hall of Fame had his jersey on display within weeks.

Which Penn State running back did the Giants draft second overall in 2018?

Saquon Barkley: the Offensive Rookie of the Year left as a free agent in 2024 and at once ran for more than 2,000 yards and won a Super Bowl with a division rival.

Which Giants center, nicknamed 'Old Indestructible', was voted the league's most valuable player in 1938?

Mel Hein: he never missed a game in 15 seasons, having joined the Giants only after writing to three NFL clubs and taking the best offer, $150 a game.

Who was the first African American to play for the Giants?

Emlen Tunnell: no team drafted him, yet he retired with a record 79 interceptions and became the first Black player in the Hall of Fame.

Which Giants star was knocked out by Chuck Bednarik in 'The Hit' in 1960?

Frank Gifford: the head injury made him retire for a year, yet he came back in 1962 at a new position, flanker, and made the Pro Bowl there too.

Through 2025, whose 36 touchdown passes in 1963 were still the Giants' single-season record?

Y. A. Tittle: the Giants had got him in his mid-thirties by trading a guard to San Francisco, and Eli Manning came within one of the mark in 2015.

What name is given to the Giants' 1958 overtime championship loss to the Colts?

The Greatest Game Ever Played: a national television audience saw the first sudden-death finish in NFL history, and the game is credited with starting the league's surge in popularity.

What footwear change helped the Giants beat the Bears on ice in the 1934 title game?

Basketball sneakers: a helper was sent to borrow them from Manhattan College during the game, and the Giants, behind at half-time, scored 27 points in the final quarter.

Which two future legends coached the Giants' offense and defense on the 1956 title team?

Lombardi and Landry: Vince Lombardi ran the offense and Tom Landry the defense, and within four years both had left to build championship teams of their own.

Who returned Joe Pisarcik's fumbled handoff for the winning touchdown in the 1978 'Miracle at the Meadowlands'?

Herman Edwards: the Giants only had to run out the clock, and the coach who called for a handoff instead was fired the next morning.

Which veteran head coach did the Giants hire in January 2026 after firing Brian Daboll?

John Harbaugh: he had been let go only two weeks earlier, after 18 seasons and a Super Bowl title with one club.

Where did the Giants play home games in 1973 and 1974 during Yankee Stadium's renovation?

Yale Bowl: the homeless Giants won only one of their twelve home games in New Haven before moving on.

Which Giants kicker, born in Scotland, won two NFC title games with overtime field goals?

Lawrence Tynes: his overtime kicks decided the NFC title games of the 2007 and 2011 seasons, both away from home, and each sent the Giants to a Super Bowl they won.

Besides the Giants, which NFL team wore helmet numbers on front and back in 2025?

Pittsburgh Steelers: their helmets stand out a second way, with the logo on the right side only, a 1962 trial the club liked enough to keep.

The Giants' only points in Super Bowl XXXV came on a 97-yard kickoff return; which team beat them 34-7?

Baltimore Ravens: Ron Dixon's return for the Giants was the second of three touchdowns scored on three consecutive plays, all inside 36 seconds.

Which team's bid for a perfect 19-0 season did the Giants end by winning Super Bowl XLII?

New England Patriots players had won all 18 of their games that season, and the result still ranks among the biggest upsets in American professional sport.

The football Giants shared their name with a New York team that played which sport until 1957?

Baseball had its New York Giants long before football did; that club moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season and left the name to the football team alone.

The Giants' nickname 'G-Men' is also old American slang for agents of which organization?

FBI agents were the G-Men of popular legend, short for 'government men'; the story ties the term to the 1933 arrest of gangster Machine Gun Kelly.

Which man who vanished in 1975 was long rumored to lie beneath an end zone at Giants Stadium?

Jimmy Hoffa disappeared just as the stadium was being built, and the legend stuck; The Simpsons even spoofed it with a union boss buried under a football field.

What did Giants nose tackle Jim Burt dump over his head coach after a 1984 win, starting a tradition?

A cooler of Gatorade was Burt's revenge: the coach had made him lift a 20-pound dumbbell for 45 minutes in practice that week.

In 2007 the Giants won the NFL's first regular-season game outside North America in which city?

London's Wembley Stadium staged the game, a 13-10 Giants win over the Miami Dolphins in week eight of a season that ended with a championship.

With which TV host did Giants great Michael Strahan co-host a daytime talk show from 2012 to 2016?

Kelly Ripa and Strahan won two Daytime Emmys as a hosting pair before he left to join Good Morning America full-time.

Long-time Giants co-owner Steve Tisch won a Best Picture Oscar as a producer of which 1994 film?

Forrest Gump won six Academy Awards from 13 nominations, and Tisch later added Super Bowl rings to his Oscar as the Giants' chairman.

Which Giants pass rusher lost part of a finger in a fireworks accident on July 4, 2015?

Jason Pierre-Paul returned that same season playing with a bulky club over his damaged hand, then switched to a glove after further surgery.

Which Giants running back, whose identical twin Ronde starred for Tampa Bay, retired as the team's top career rusher?

Tiki Barber broke the Giants' career and single-season rushing records in the same game, the 2004 season finale.

Under which fake name did Eli Manning go undercover at a 2022 Penn State walk-on tryout, later inspiring a TV series?

Chad Powers began as a prank filmed for ESPN and grew into a 2025 Hulu comedy with Glen Powell in the title role.

Which pop star headlined the halftime show when the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012?

Madonna built the show with Cirque du Soleil, and its 114 million viewers outdrew the audience for the game itself.

Which venue, the Giants' home since 2010, hosted the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

MetLife Stadium had also staged the 2025 Club World Cup final, and its lower bowl was rebuilt to fit a field wide enough for FIFA.

Which team, led by quarterback John Elway, did the Giants beat 39-20 to win their first Super Bowl?

Denver Broncos players led 10-9 at halftime, then watched the Giants pile up 30 points after the break, at the time a Super Bowl record for a second half.

Which team's fast-paced no-huddle offense did the Giants keep off the field for 40 minutes in Super Bowl XXV?

Buffalo Bills players had scored 95 points in two playoff games, but the Giants held the ball for a Super Bowl record 40 minutes and 33 seconds.

Whose defensive game plan from the Giants' Super Bowl XXV win is kept in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Bill Belichick, then the defensive coordinator, convinced his players they would win if the opposing star running back gained more than 100 yards.

Which city, long the NFL home of Eli Manning's brother Peyton, hosted the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI win?

Indianapolis staged its first Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium, Peyton's home field, where Eli was named the game's most valuable player for the second time.

In which 1999 Oliver Stone film did Lawrence Taylor play a veteran linebacker nicknamed 'Shark'?

Any Given Sunday cast Taylor as defensive captain Luther Lavay, a character much like himself, beside Al Pacino and fellow NFL great Jim Brown.

Which undrafted rookie quarterback, who lived with his parents in New Jersey, became a Giants fan favorite in 2023?

Tommy DeVito picked up the nickname 'Tommy Cutlets' after explaining that living at home meant never having to worry about dinner.

At which 1995 wrestling event did Lawrence Taylor beat Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event?

WrestleMania XI made a retired linebacker its headline act, and the feud won the WWF coverage from mainstream news outlets.

Which team passed on Lawrence Taylor with the first pick of the 1981 draft, taking George Rogers instead?

New Orleans Saints coach Bum Phillips had vowed not to take Taylor and chose the Heisman winner; both players were named Rookie of the Year.

Which Super Bowl-winning quarterback started the Giants' 2004 season before rookie Eli Manning took over the job?

Kurt Warner won five of his first seven Giants starts, lost the job anyway, and left after one season to revive his career in Arizona.

Which Giants quarterback threw five touchdown passes in a 41-0 rout that won the NFC title in January 2001?

Kerry Collins passed for 381 yards that day against the Minnesota Vikings, having sought treatment for alcoholism before he joined the Giants.

Which Giants head coach publicly guaranteed a playoff berth with his team at 7-4 in 2000, then reached the Super Bowl?

Jim Fassel's team answered the guarantee by winning its last five regular-season games and then the NFC championship.

Which scrambling quarterback did the Giants acquire from the Minnesota Vikings in 1967 and trade back five years later?

Fran Tarkenton threw 29 touchdown passes in his first Giants season, lifting a team that had gone 1-12-1 the year before to 7-7.

Which Giants middle linebacker wore a microphone on the field for a 1960 CBS television special about him?

Sam Huff was wired for sound in practice and in an exhibition game for the special, a year after Time magazine had put him on its cover.

Which Giants kicker, later a famous NFL television announcer, made a 49-yard field goal through snow in 1958?

Pat Summerall's kick beat Cleveland with two minutes left and kept the Giants' season alive; his own offensive coach had argued against trying it.

Which former Giants defensive tackle helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy's assassin and wrested away the gun in 1968?

Rosey Grier later showed a gentler side, publishing a 1973 book of needlepoint for men.

Giants receiver Homer Jones is credited with inventing which touchdown celebration during the 1965 season?

The spike was Jones's way around a new rule that fined players for throwing the ball into the stands, so he slammed it down in the end zone instead.

Which Olympic champion, by then well past his prime, signed with the Giants for their first season in 1925?

Jim Thorpe's contract required him to play only parts of games early in the season, until he got back into shape.

In 1930 the Giants beat an all-star team of which college's alumni to raise money for unemployed New Yorkers?

Notre Dame's stars, coached by Knute Rockne and including his Four Horsemen, failed to score; Rockne had expected an easy win over the professionals.

At which Chicago venue did the Giants lose the NFL's first scheduled championship game in 1933?

Wrigley Field saw the Bears score the winning touchdown with under two minutes left, taking the title 23-21 before about 25,000 fans.

Which city's team beat the Giants 72-41 in 1966, the highest-scoring game in NFL history through 2025?

Washington's 72 points helped produce 113 in all, and no NFL team gave up 70 again in a regular-season game until 2023.

Whose one-yard touchdown run in overtime beat the Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game?

Alan Ameche, a Heisman Trophy winner nicknamed 'the Horse', scored with 6:45 left in the extra period to win it 23-17.

Which Giants tight end dragged several defenders almost 20 yards on a famous Monday night catch in 1986?

Mark Bavaro needed nearly seven tacklers to bring him down, among them future Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott.

Which Giants defensive end, raised partly in Nigeria, set a team record with six sacks in one 2007 game?

Osi Umenyiora played only two years of high school football, and after retiring in 2015 he became an NFL analyst for BBC Sport.

The NFL's official Wilson game ball is named for which nickname of a long-time Giants owner?

The Duke was what Giants players called the founder's young son, a namesake of the Duke of Wellington who went on to run the team.

Giants fans of the late 1950s are credited with inventing which chant, now heard in stadiums everywhere?

De-fense was the crowd's salute to a late-1950s unit credited with bringing status to the defensive side of the ball.

What nickname was given to the Giants defense that Lawrence Taylor led to two Super Bowl wins?

Big Blue Wrecking Crew defenders allowed a combined 3 points in two playoff wins on the way to Super Bowl XXI.

The Giants are the only current NFL franchise that has never had which game-day fixture?

Cheerleaders have never officially represented the Giants, though an independent dance troupe formed in 2011 bills itself as the team's unofficial squad.

Which president did Giants linebacker Harry Carson shower with popcorn at the White House after Super Bowl XXI?

Ronald Reagan got a dry version of the sideline soaking that Carson had made famous by ambushing his own head coach after wins.

Which California stadium hosted the January 1987 game that gave the Giants their first title since 1956?

Rose Bowl hosting of Super Bowl XXI did not come easily: Pasadena needed 13 ballots and more than two hours of voting by NFL owners.

Which LSU receiver, drafted sixth overall in 2024, broke the Giants' single-season receptions record as a rookie?

Malik Nabers passed the old franchise mark of 107 catches in the final week of his first season.

Which Michigan receiver retired holding the Giants' career records for catches, receiving yards and touchdown catches?

Amani Toomer spent all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Giants and led them with six receptions in their Super Bowl XLII win.

Which Giants punter gave rookie Eli Manning his number 10 jersey in return for a family vacation in Florida?

Jeff Feagles holds the NFL record for consecutive games played, 352, and the number he gave up was the one Manning had worn in college.

Which quarterback of the Giants' 1956 champions later appeared as the Marlboro Man in cigarette commercials?

Charlie Conerly had fought as a Marine in the Battle of Guam before turning professional, and his wife wrote a sports column for The New York Times.

Which Giants head coach left after the 1982 season to succeed the retiring Bear Bryant at Alabama?

Ray Perkins had played for Bryant, who switched him to receiver after a head injury so severe that surgeons drilled three holes in his skull.

Which Giants head coach ran the team for 23 years on a handshake instead of a formal contract?

Steve Owen won two NFL titles in the 1930s, and his 'umbrella defense' later shut down Cleveland's feared passing attack.

Which star passer did the Giants land in 1929 by buying the entire Detroit Wolverines squad?

Benny Friedman was the prize of the deal, which folded a third-place club into the Giants; one sportswriter rated him the best football player in the world.

Eli Manning shared the 2016 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award with which veteran wide receiver?

Larry Fitzgerald and Manning were the first pair of co-winners the award had seen in a decade.