Have the New York Giants started a trend?
Have the New York Giants started a trend?
Golf has a problem
Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
The New York Giants made an unprecedented move last week, taking a uniform number out of retirement. In 1935 the Giants became the first NFL team to retire a player’s uniform number. They retired uniform No. 1 worn by Ray Flaherty. In April the Giants made wide receiver Malik Nabers their first round draft choice out of LSU. He wore No. 8 in college but on the Giants that number is taken by quarterback Daniel Jones. Nabers said he did some research, even looking into retired numbers, and No. 1 stood out, so he asked Giants co-owner John Mara if it was possible he could wear No. 1?
The ball was now rolling on Nabers’ request, but Mara said he would have to run the idea past surviving members of Flaherty’s family. After a few days, the family contacted Mara and agreed to have Nabers wear the number. At first the family was reluctant but relented, when they decided Nabers wearing the number might reintroduce Ray Flaherty to a new generation of fans.
The move got me to wondering, if this might start a trend. Will other teams in all sports follow suit? As a broadcaster for the Hartford Yard Goats, I always enjoy when the club plays the New York Yankees affiliate Somerset. Their road uniforms resemble the Yankees and numbers retired by the Yankees at the major league level do not extend to the minor leagues. Thus you see many retired numbers such as No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, etc. worn by the Yankees minor league players.
I have always thought the Yankees have overdone it with their retired numbers. Why is Paul O’Neil’s No. 21 retired? He was a very good player, but a retired uniform number? Even more mystifying was the Yankees retiring No. 1 in honor of Billy Martin. Yes, he was a scrappy player and in his first go-around as Yankees manager was productive, guiding New York to two straight A.L. pennants and one World Series title. But if Martin’s number is retired why not No 35? That was worn by Ralph Houk, who managed one of the franchise’s greatest teams, the 1961 club, and won three straight A.L. pennants and two straight World Series championships. Instead the number is still in circulation and worn by Yankees reliever Clay Holmes.
“Un-retiring” numbers just might be something to think about. “I am going to represent their family’s retired number well,” Nabers promised, when learning the Flaherty family had given its blessing to reintroduce the number. The Giants receiver is off to a good start, with his comment showing deference Flaherty deserved, by having his number retired.
Golf has a problem
Golfer Scottie Scheffler capped off a remarkable season by winning the 2024 Tour Championship on Sunday. Scheffler became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win seven PGA Tour tournaments in a season. (He also won a gold medal in the summer Olympics.) In all, with the $25M of bonus money from the FedEx Cup payout pool, he is taking home $62M for the year. So wear is all the sizzle?
Scheffler is a great golfer but his dominance in the sport was just ho-hum news over the Labor Day weekend. As long as the professional golf world is split between the PGA and LIV Golf, even a feat as great as Scheffler’s is going to be relegated to the back pages of the sports section.
Until professional golf repairs the fracture between its two entities - something that was supposed to have been done last year - expect the sport to not be part of the conversation, except when the four majors are played. Look for the TV networks that ponied up big bucks to carry the PGA Tour in this latest television contract to start complaining loudly for not getting a return on their investment.
That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.
DAN LOVALLO