NFL New York Giants Yesterday and Today Book

In 1925, Tim Mara was sidetracked from backing pugilist Gene Tunney s career, so he turned his attention to pro football with a $500 investment. Looking for a big-name player, he signed an aging Jim Thorpe, but the great one couldn t make it through a season. Mara made a run at Red Grange, but Grange joined the Bears instead. The Giants and Bears faced off that December in front of 70,000 fans in the Polo Grounds. Mara cleared $30,000 a huge sum for a money-losing franchise and the rest is chronicled in New York Giants: Yesterday & Today.

This comprehensive, lavishly illustrated history of one of football s most famous franchise includes these stories:
The first NFL title game, in 1933, and the Sneaker Game in 1934, when the Giants switched from cleats to sneakers at halftime to negotiate the frozen Polo Grounds turf and beat the Cleveland Browns
The Greatest Game Ever Played, in 1958, when the Baltimore Colts defeated the Frank Gifford and the Giants in sudden death overtime, the first time that had happened in a league championship game
Super Bowl XXV, when the Giants wore down the Buffalo Bills but needed Scott Norwood s kick to sail wide right to secure a 20-19 win
And Super Bowl XLII, when quarterback Eli Manning and receiver David Tyree hooked up for Catch 42 en route to the Giants second Super Bowl win, over the previously undefeated New England Patriots

The Giants offenses are known for their power running, led by the likes Tuffy Leemans, Rodney Hampton, Tiki Barber, and Brandon Jacobs. But it s the defense that s set the franchise apart, including Emlen Tunnel, Lawrence Taylor, and Michael Strahan. And with great coaches like Steve Owen, Bill Parcells, and Tom Coughlin and quarterbacks like Eli Manning and Phil Simms there s virtually no end to the talent profiled in New York Giants: Yesterday & Today.