Member-only story
Sports History
The 1984 New York Giants
A watershed season in franchise history
Established in 1925, the New York Giants remain a storied NFL franchise. In 1927, they won their first NFL Championship. After three more league titles and 16 playoff appearances, the Giants began to fade. From 1964 through 1980, the Giants failed to reach the postseason — their longest drought in team history.
After moving into Giants Stadium in 1976, the franchise had grown more dysfunctional. Owned and operated by Wellington Mara (a son of the team’s founder) and his nephew, Tim Mara.
By the late 70s, the Mara’s were no longer on speaking terms. In turn, the franchise continued to suffer and lag. Despite these bad times, the fans continued to purchase season tickets, selling out all of the Giants’ home games. More to the point, the Giants had a 25-year waiting list for season tickets.
In 1979, at the behest of the NFL, the league intervened to help right the Giants’ business model. It was then, that the Mara’s agreed to hire George Young as the team’s new general manager.
Young began his tenure with a blueprint for future success. In his first NFL draft, Young selected Phil Simms to be the team’s next franchise quarterback. Two years later, Young drafted Lawrence Taylor. In Taylor’s rookie season, 1981, the Giants finally broke their playoff drought, qualifying as a wildcard that postseason.
The ’84 Giants are often remembered as the turning point and launchpad for two Super Bowl titles. Looking back, the 1984 season was surrounded by doubt and uncertainty. An unproven head coach, Bill Parcells, and a struggling Phil Simms.
In 1979, Phil Simms was selected with the seventh overall pick in that year’s NFL Draft. A little-known QB from a Division-I AA college football program, Morehead State. The joke around the metro area, Phil who? From Morehead where?
Simms came in with the expectations of being a perennial Pro Bowl quarterback. Back then, they didn’t toss around elite like these days, but that’s what it meant. Simms showed promise in his rookie season.
From there, things began to digress and go downhill. Injuries and benchings began to mar his career. By 1983…
