1981: Giants Draft Lawrence Taylor in 1st Round

Since appearing in the 1963 NFL Championship game, the New York Giants had settled into a long period of mediocrity. From the advent of divisional play in 1933 through ’63, the club had gone 226-123-19 with 16 postseason appearances and three championships. From 1964 through 1980, the record was 84-156-4; not only were there no playoff appearances, but the Giants posted just two records over .500 in that 17-year span.

The performance in 1980 hardly indicated that improvement might be coming anytime soon. New York struggled through an injury-riddled 4-12 season. The linebacker corps had been especially hard hit, with Harry Carson, Brian Kelley, Dan Lloyd, John Skorupan, and Frank Marion all missing time. At one point in November, a free agent named Joe McLaughlin, who had failed to catch on with two clubs in 1979 and was painting houses in Wisconsin for a living, was called in on a Monday, passed his physical, worked out twice, played on special teams the following Sunday and then was in the starting lineup the next week (he actually led the team with 10 tackles). As a result, the Giants ranked 24th in the NFL in total defense (26th against the run, 17th vs. the pass).

On April 28, 1981 the Giants, using the second pick in the first round of the NFL draft, chose Lawrence Taylor, a linebacker from North Carolina (New Orleans used the first pick to take RB George Rogers, the Heisman Trophy winner from South Carolina).

There had been some question in the run-up to the draft as to whether New York would take Taylor or UCLA running back Freeman McNeil (eventually chosen by the other New York club, the Jets). Linebacker was considered one of the team’s strengths (at least, with the expectation that all hands would be healthy) and there was a need to improve the running game. The situation was further muddied by talk from some of the veteran players that they would boycott if the team drafted Taylor and gave him the three-year, $1 million deal that his agent was reportedly intending to seek. A ruffled Taylor had sent a telegram to Giants GM George Young the night before the draft asking that they not choose him.

In the end, of course, Young did choose Taylor (he signed a three-year deal, but for $900,000), and it marked a significant step in the reinvigorating of the franchise. Head Coach Ray Perkins, looking ahead to the ’81 season, said “Taylor should start on the weakside for us. He’ll have to earn that, of course, but from everything we’ve seen and everything we know about him, I have no doubt he’ll become a dominating player.”

Perkins was very much on the mark. Playing in a 3-4 defense, Taylor lined up with veteran Brad Van Pelt at the other outside linebacker position and Kelley and Carson on the inside and almost immediately displayed the dominance anticipated for him. He received the most votes in Pro Bowl balloting and was selected as NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, as well as Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Defense was the key to the Giants finishing 9-7 and grabbing the second wild card spot to make it into the postseason for the first time since that long-ago 1963 title game (they upset Philadelphia, 27-21, in the first round but succumbed to the 49ers in the divisional playoff). While the offense was the lowest-ranked in the league – young QB Phil Simms was still a work in progress, and missed five games due to injury – the defense keyed the improvement. Taylor was a big part of that surge, although there were also key contributions by rookie NT Bill Neill and second-year CB Mark Haynes. Defensive ends George Martin and Gary Jeter had outstanding seasons as well.

Taylor, however, would prove to be not only the unit’s leader over the course of 13 years, but one of the most dominating defensive players in pro football history. At 6’3” and 237 pounds, he re-defined the position of linebacker, proving to be an almost unstoppable pass rusher as well as run-stuffer. More than outstanding outside linebackers of the past, he brought an attacking element into his play that transformed the game and made him a weapon that opposing offenses continually needed to account for. While drug issues eventually dogged him off the field, the intensity level never dropped while on it.

By the time the player known as “LT” retired, he had been named league MVP on one occasion (1986), always notable for a defensive player, and Defensive Player of the Year three times. Taylor was a consensus first team All-Pro eight times and was selected to 10 Pro Bowls. His number 56 was retired by the Giants, and he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Thanks to George Young’s personnel moves (hired as GM in 1979 in a compromise between the feuding team owners, Wellington Mara and his nephew Tim), which so notably included the drafting of Taylor and, in 1983, the promotion of Bill Parcells to head coach, the Giants again became a perennial contender. From 1981 through ’90, the last season with Parcells at the helm, the team had a 90-61 record, went to the postseason six times, and won the Super Bowl twice. Arguably more than any other player on the team, Taylor personified the change in attitude and direction.

1991: Giants Dethrone Two-Time Champion 49ers for NFC Title

For most of the 1990 season, it seemed as though the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants were mirroring each other while on a collision course for supremacy in the NFC. Both teams started out with 10-0 records. A week before they were due to square off at Candlestick Park, both lost for the first time, and to division rivals in each instance – the 49ers falling 28-17 to the Rams and the Giants by 31-13 at Philadelphia. San Francisco won the ensuing matchup, 7-3.

The 49ers, under second-year Head Coach George Seifert, had won the previous two Super Bowls and looked poised to join the Packers as winners of three straight NFL titles. They ended the ’90 regular season with a league-best 14-2 record, coasting to first place in the NFC West, and defeated Washington in the Divisional playoff round. To be sure, weaknesses were beginning to show due to wear and tear as safety Ronnie Lott missed five games and RB Roger Craig limped through a sub-par season. Still, QB Joe Montana and WR Jerry Rice, who led the league with 100 pass receptions, 1502 receiving yards, and 13 touchdown catches, provided plenty of heroics on offense.

The Giants, coached by Bill Parcells, ended the regular season with several question marks. Their conservative, ball-control offense, led by QB Phil Simms, suffered only 14 turnovers. The defense, featuring LB Lawrence Taylor (pictured at bottom), was top-ranked in the NFL and also had solid performances from LB Pepper Johnson, NT Erik Howard, and veteran CB Everson Walls. However, the team lost three of its last six games and Simms and starting RB Rodney Hampton were eliminated from the postseason by injuries. To be sure, the Giants still won the NFC East with a 13-3 record, and they crushed the Bears in the Divisional playoff. But they were dependent upon unproven backup QB Jeff Hostetler, operating an offense rendered even more conservative, and 33-year-old RB Ottis Anderson (pictured at top).


There were 65,750 on hand at Candlestick Park on January 20, 1991 for the NFC Championship game. The first half ended at 6-6 with both teams booting two field goals apiece – from 47 and 35 yards by San Francisco’s Mike Cofer and 28 and 42 yards by veteran placekicker Matt Bahr (pictured at right).

The 49ers finally scored a touchdown in the third quarter as Montana connected with WR John Taylor on a 61-yard play. Bahr narrowed the margin to 13-9 with a 46-yard field goal late in the same period.

Montana was knocked out of the game with a broken finger after being sacked with under ten minutes remaining in the game. Meanwhile, the Giants utilized a fake punt that turned into a 30-yard run by LB Gary Reasons, setting up a fourth field goal by Bahr from 38 yards that made it a one-point contest.

49ers backup QB Steve Young kept the ball on the ground, throwing just one pass, and it was almost enough. But with 2:36 remaining, Lawrence Taylor recovered a fumble by Craig. It was the only turnover of the game, and a costly one. Hostetler, completing two key passes, moved the Giants 33 yards in six plays into field goal range. With time running out, Bahr kicked his fifth field goal, from 42 yards, and the Giants were the winners by a 15-13 margin.


In the defensive struggle, New York won the battle for ball control, keeping the offense on the field for 39 minutes and outrushing the 49ers, 152 yards to 39. Even with San Francisco’s superior air attack, the Giants had the upper hand in total yards with 311 to 240. Jeff Hostetler (pictured at left) performed capably, completing 15 of 27 passes for 176 yards and, most importantly, not throwing any interceptions. Ottis Anderson was the top rusher with 67 yards on 20 carries. WR Mark Ingram and TE Mark Bavaro each caught five passes, with Ingram gaining the most yards (82, to the tight end’s 54). Matt Bahr, in his first season with the Giants after nine years in Cleveland, made five of his six field goal attempts, which were crucial.

Before having to leave the game, Joe Montana completed 18 of 26 passes for 190 yards and a TD with none picked off. Thanks to the long touchdown, John Taylor had the most receiving yards with 75 on two receptions, while Jerry Rice had the most catches with 5, but for just 54 yards. The weak rushing attack was led by Roger Craig, with 26 yards on 8 attempts.

New York went on to defeat Buffalo in a closely-fought Super Bowl that was decided by one point. However, Coach Parcells left in the offseason and the Giants slumped under his successor, Ray Handley. The 49ers missed the playoffs in ’91 despite a 10-6 record, but rebounded to make the playoffs in each of the following six seasons with one Super Bowl victory mixed in.