Tag: Joe Morris

Giants inducting Leonard Marshall, six others into Ring of Honor

The New York Giants will induct seven members into the Ring of Honor in 2022, including Leonard Marshall and Ronnie Barnes.

It’s been a long time coming, but Leonard Marshall is finally entering the New York Giants’ Ring of Honor.

Co-owner John Mara officially announced the news on Tuesday and noted that six others will be joining Marshall. They include Ottis Anderson, Joe Morris, Rodney Hampton, Jimmy Patton, Kyle Rote and Ronnie Barnes.

“We are proud to add these deserving and legendary figures in Giants history to our Ring of Honor,” Mara said. “Each of the players was among the very best at his position to wear a Giants uniform. All of them helped our franchise win championships and enjoy long-term success, as has Ronnie Barnes, who has been an invaluable and beloved member of our organization for decades.”

The induction ceremony will be held at halftime of a Week 3 game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Monday, September 26.

Marshall was a second-round pick of the Giants in 1983 NFL draft and spent 10 seasons with the team, winning two Super Bowls. He was also named to the Pro Bowl twice and earned Second-Team All-Pro honors twice.

Anderson joined the Giants via trade from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986 and spent six-plus seasons with Big Blue. He also earned two Super Bowl rings during that time and was named MVP of Super Bowl XXV.

Hampton was a first-round pick of the Giants in the 1990 NFL draft and spent the entirety of his eight-year career with the G-Men. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and picked up a championship ring with the club as a rookie.

The Giants selected Morris in the second-round of the 1982 NFL draft. The two-time Pro Bowler spent seven seasons in New York and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 1985. He was also a key part of the Super Bowl XXI team.

Patton was an eighth-round pick of the Giants in the 1955 NFL draft and spent his entire 12-year career with the team. He was a five-time First-Team All-Pro, one-time Second-Team All-Pro and earned five Pro Bowl honors. He helped lead the Giants to an NFL championship in 1956 and lead the league in interceptions in 1958.

Patton passed away in 1972 at the age of 39.

Rote was a first-round pick of the Giants in the 1951 NFL draft and he spent all 11 years of his career with the club. He earned two Second-Team All-Pro honors and was named to the Pro Bowl on four separate occasions. Like Patton, he helped lead the team to an NFL title in 1956.

Rote passes away in 2002 at the age of 73.

Barnes was hired by the Giants as an assistant athletic trainer in 1976. He was promoted to athletic trainer in 1980 and just one year later, became the first-ever full-time Black head athletic trainer in NFL history. He has been with the Giants for all four of their Super Bowls and was inducted into both the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Athletics Trainers Association Hall of Fame.

In 2019, Barnes was given a lifetime achievement award.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=695681,695668,695675]

[vertical-gallery id=663678]

Throwback Thursday: Giants lose heartbreaker to Browns in 1985

In the latest Giants Wire Throwback Thursday, we go back to 1985 when the New York Giants lost a heartbreaker to the Cleveland Browns.

The New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns were once fierce NFL rivals. Going back to the 1950s, players such as Jim Brown, Sam Huff, Frank Gifford and Lou Groza were fixtures at two iconic venues, Yankee Stadium and Municipal Stadium.

As part of a merger, Paul Brown took his powerful Browns team from the All-America Football Conference to the NFL in 1950 along with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts and made an immediate impact on their new league, winning the NFL championship in their first season and then playing in the championship game in six of the next seven years, winning two more titles.

After a five-year playoff drought, the Browns returned to the playoffs in 1964, winning their last NFL championship to date. The Browns remained relevant throughout the 1960s under new owner Art Modell, making the playoffs in each of the next eight seasons, but never got back to the championship game.

When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Browns were one of the three NFL teams (along with Baltimore and Pittsburgh) to join the AFC in order to even out the conferences at 13 teams apiece. That’s when the Giants and Browns, who had played 41 times over the 20 years since Cleveland joined the NFL, became estranged. And both franchises went into the tank for the better part of the next decade and half.

But in the mid-1980s, both clubs were ascending. In 1985, the Browns were in their first full season under head coach Marty Schottenheimer and the Giants were beginning their run as an NFC heavyweight under Bill Parcells. Both teams entered the game vying for first place in their respective divisions.

In Week 13, the 8-4 Giants hosted the 6-6 Browns at Giants Stadium. The calendar had turned to December that day, and it was a typical North Jersey afternoon with temperatures in the mid-30s and winds whipping in all directions.

The Giants opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run by Joe Morris. Cleveland answered with a 42-yard touchdown run by Kevin Mack. Giants quarterback Phil Simms was picked off by Hanford Dixon, leading to another Cleveland score, a 2-yard dive by Earnest Byner. Al Gross returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown, giving the Browns a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.

The Giants then scored 14 unanswered points — on a 58-yard touchdown run by Morris and a 29-yard touchdown strike from Simms to Bobby Johnson — to narrow the score to 21-20 at halftime.

The Giants opened the second half by scoring 13 points on two Eric Schubert field goals and Morris’ third touchdown of the game. Those drives were set up by an interception by safety Terry Kinard and a fumble recovery by linebacker Byron Hunt.

The Giants had a 33-21 fourth-quarter lead, and with their defense, the game seemed over. But Cleveland wasn’t done. They rallied behind their powerful running game and rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar, who was dealing with a shoulder injury.

The Browns scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to pull ahead, 35-33 (Kosar was replaced by veteran Gary Danielson in the third quarter but then was reinserted in the fourth when Danielson was injured).

The Giants had one last drive in them and ended up attempting a 34-yard field goal to win the game in the final seconds. But Schubert’s line-drive attempt went wide to the left, sealing the Browns’ victory.

The Giants went on to finish the season 10-6. They defeated the 49ers, 17-3, in the wild-card game before getting embarrassed by the Bears in Chicago, 21-0, in the divisional round the next week.

Cleveland won the AFC Central with an 8-8 record. They lost in the divisional round, 24-21, to Miami.

In 1986, the Giants steamrolled through the NFC and into the Super Bowl. The Browns went 12-4 and had the top seed in the AFC. They beat the Jets in overtime in the divisional round and then were victimized by John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game by “The Drive” — or they would have faced the Giants in Super Bowl XXI.

[lawrence-related id=661655,661638,661663]