WML Project: Frank Gifford

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12/2/56 Frank Gifford. Frank had been with the Giants for four years but the panel doesn’t blindfold themselves and he makes no effort to disguise his voice. The only attempt to fool the panel is by having him sign in as “F. Newton Gifford”. But he would soon be famous. That day he’d run for two scores, passed for another and caught a pass for a fourth TD in a 28-14 win over the Redskins. Four weeks later the Giants blasted the Bears 47-7 for the NFL title.


Watch the females on the panel swoon over him!

Frank led the NFL in yards gained from scrimmage that year:
Yds From Scrimmage
1.Frank Gifford*+ · NYG1422
2.Rick Casares*+ · CHI1329
3.Billy Howton*+ · GNB1188
4.Harlon Hill*+ · CHI1152
5.Ollie Matson*+ · CRD1123
6.Hugh McElhenny* · SFO1109
7.Alan Ameche* · BAL1047
8.Alex Webster · NYG891
9.Billy Wilson* · SFO889
10.Preston Carpenter · CLE880

 

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Frank discusses the appearance:

 

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By 1964, Frank’s last year as a player, he was well-known enough to be on the panel:


This was to be a disastrous year for the Giants, who, after winning the NFL eastern division 6 times in 8 years, would plummet to the bottom of the conference with a 2-10-2 record. The Giants front office had embarked on an ill-advised rebuilding program, sending many of their top players, especially on defense, to other clubs where several of them played effectively for several more years and the replacements were not up to snuff. It was the offense that really needed rebuilding as both Frank Gifford and Y.A. Tittle were playing their last seasons.

The Giants had opened with a 7-38 loss to the Eagles that made it clear that their glory era had ended. They then lost 24-27 at Pittsburgh, when the famous picture of a bloodied Tittle was taken. But Y. A. had come back to rally them past the Redskins on a Friday night game that gave Giants fans a false hope that was reflected in the comment son this show.

There's a comment about how the Chicago Bears are sadder than the Giants that day. They'd beaten the Giants in the 1963 NFL championship game and opened the season with a close loss to Green Bay and a close win over Minnesota. Then they traveled to Baltimore, where they got shockingly blown out of the stadium, 0-52. It heralded a great season for the Colts- at least until they got to the championship game where they got shut out by a Cleveland Browns defense led by former Giant Dick Modzelewski.