Big Blue Huddle

Slick,

You hit the nail on the head. The Bear trio of Marshall, Singletary, and Wilson played together as a unit for only three years: '85-'87. Note that this includes the strike-shortened 1987 season. Marshall signed with the Redskins in 1988. Wilson's career effectively ended with an injury in 1987. He sat out the entire 1988 season and, after a one game stint with the Raiders in '89, retired.

TheBigHitter

No slight to the Steel Curtain. But the linebacking trio of Andy Russell, Jack Lambert, and Jam Ham only played together as a unit for two seasons.  Lambert was a rookie in 1974, the Steelers first Super Bowl win, a 16-6 victory over the Vikings. Russell retired after the 1975 Super Bowl, a 21-17 victory over the Cowboys. Fourth year player Loren Toews took over Russell's WILL position in 1976. The Steelers added rookie OLB Dennis Winston in 1977. Toews and Winston split time at the WILL position during the Steelers '78 and '79 Super Bowl seasons.

Remember also that the Steeler defense featured HOFers defensive tackle Joe Greene and cornerback Mel Blount. Strong arguments for the Hall could also be made for DE L.C. Greenwood  and DBs Donnie Shell and Mike Wagner. Although the Giant DL was certainly outstanding during the 1980s (in my mind, Leonard Marshall and George Martin were at least as good as Greenwood), none have ever been mentioned for HOF selection. And although the Giants did have some very solid players in the secondary (Mark Collins was a terrific player), none matched the HOF caliber play of Blount, Shell, Wagner, etal. 


Andy Russell




Jack Lambert




Jack Ham




BigHitter.

My vote goes to LT, Harry, Reasons, and Banks. That said, recognition should go to the Kansas City Chiefs terrific trio from the 60s/70s: Jim Lynch, Willie Lanier, and Bobby Bell. Both Lanier and Bell are Hall of Fame members.


Jim Lynch




Willie Lanier




Bobby Bell




BigHitter

The BigHitter began his now legendary fanship of our beloved New York Giants in 1965. That season saw the inception of the shortlived "Baby Bulls" backfield. Second year RBs Steve Thurlow and Ernie Wheelwright were joined by rookies Tucker Frederickson, Chuck Mercein, and Ernie Koy.

All five players were amazingly similar in size: 6'1"-6'3", 220-235 lbs. All five were straight-ahead, bull rushing fullback types. All five also showed good pass catching abilities. Without further research, I can only speculate as to why Giants' head coach Allie Sherman suddenly fell in love with this type player. Perhaps he felt the need to replace Giant great Alex "Big Red" Webster, who had retired following the 1964 season. 


The Baby Bulls


Tucker Frederickson

The Giants obviously percieved Tucker Frederickson to be the cream of the crop, selecting him with the #1 overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft. He paid immediate dividends, rushing for 659 yards (a credible number in that day and age), while catching 24 passes for 177 yards. He made the Pro Bowl that year as a rookie. A pre-season knee injury knocked him out for the entire 1966 campaign. He returned in 1967, but the injury hobbled his running ability. He did become a favorite receiver of Fran Tarkenton later in his career. Tucker retired after the 1971 season.   



http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FREDETUC01


Ernie Koy

Ernie Koy rushed for 174 yards in limited playing time in 1965. He also became the Giants full-time punter, averaging 41.2 yards/kick on 55 punts. He went on to have a creditable career as a Giant running back, with a season-high 704 yards rushing in 1967. He remained the Giants' primary punter through 1969. He retired following the 1970 season.



http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=KOYERN01


Chuck Mercein

Chuck Mercein saw limited time carrying the ball for the Giants in 1965, totalling just 55 yards on 18 carries. He had his best year as a pro in 1966. Filling in for the injured Frederickson, he ran for 327 yards on 94 carries and caught 27 passes for 156 yards. Shipped off to the Packers during the 1967 season, he did little during the remainder of a career that ended with the Jets in 1970. Mercein did produce a short NFL historical blip by making a notable contribution to the Packers' famous come-from-behind game winning "Instant Replay" drive during their 1967 "Ice Bowl" playoff victory over the Cowboys.



http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MERCECHU01


Steve Thurlow

Steve Thurlow was the Giants second leading rusher in 1965, carrying the ball 106 times for 440 yards. Oddly, with Frederickson out for the entire season, the Giants shipped their #2 1965 rusher to the Redskins at the beginning of the 1966 campaign. He showed limited success for the Skins, retiring after the 1968 season.



http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=THURLSTE01


Ernie Wheelwright

Ernie Wheelwright had been the Giants leading rusher in 1964, having carried the ball 100 times for 402 yards. Frederickson's 1965 arrival seriously curtailed Ernie's playing time, limiting him to just 96 yards on 24 carries. He was picked up by the Falcons in the 1966 expansion draft. After running for 458 yards on 121 carries for the Falcs in '66, he was shipped to the Saints during their inaugural campaign of 1967. He played sparingly for the Saints thru 1970, retiring after that season. 



http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WHEELERN02


BigHitter

In a separate thread, Sam56 listed eighteen HOF inductees who can properly be called Giants. Good job, Sam. I thought I might post photographs of these Giant Greats:

MORRIS (RED) BADGRO (1981) - 1930-1935





ROOSEVELT BROWN (1975) - 1953-1965





HARRY CARSON (2006) - 1976-1988





BENNY FRIEDMAN (2005) - 1929-1931





FRANK GIFFORD (1977) - 1952-1960, 1962-1964





MEL HEIN (1963) - 1931-1945





SAM HUFF (1982) - 1956-1963





ALPHONSE (TUFFY) LEEMANS (1978) - 1936-1943





TIM MARA (1963) - 1925-1959





WELLINGTON MARA (1997) - 1937-2005





STEVE OWEN (1966) - 1926-1953





ANDY ROBUSTELLI (1971) - 1956-1964





KEN STRONG (1967) - 1933-1935, 1939, 1944-1947





FRAN TARKENTON (1986) - 1967-1971





LAWRENCE TAYLOR (1999) - 1981-1993





Y.A. TITTLE (1971) - 1961-1964





EMLEN TUNNELL (1967) - 1948-1958





ARNIE WEINMEISTER (1984) - 1950-1953





-delama.

Steve,

That's Eagle fullback Earl Gros:





http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GROSEAR01


And you are right about Pete Renzlaff. He wore Eagle #44.





Brian

NFL Stats:

http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COSTEVIN01

To all our members at the new BBGC, my good friends from the BBWC, and treasured guests, I would like to welcome you to the BBGC History Board.

The purpose of this board is to examine the storied history of beloved New York Giants. I will be posting threads on various eras in Giants team history, biographical sketches of individual Giant players, team and individual photographs, and books, links, and like info on our heroes. I consider this board to be a work in process. Like many of you, I have a good working knowledge of Giants' history, but, also like you, I have much to learn. As lead administrator/editor of this project, I hope to bring us all to a better understanding the Big Blue Heritage.

Lastly, on behalf of all the administrators of the Big Blue Gentlemen's Crew, I would like to dedicate this board to the memory of the late Christopher Allen. For those who did not know him, Chris Allen was the resident Giants' historian at the BBWC. Chris tragically and unexpectedly passed on in 2006. Let all who post here strive to match the professional and level-headed historical analysis which we were once so honored to enjoy via the pen of our good friend Chris.

BigHitterDalama