New York Giants Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Oct112013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Jack Kirby’s 1973 NFL Artwork Is Fantastic, Trippy As Hell

It's hard to believe now, but in the early '70s the National Football League wasn't nearly as stifled and humorless as it is now. As proof of that, I present these pieces of original, commissioned artwork drawn by the legendary Jack Kirby for the NFL in 1973. These fantastic illustrations were included as part of the October 21, 1973 issue of Pro!, the official magazine of the National Football League that was sold at every game, in a piece entitled "Out of Mind's Reach." They depict, among other things, futuristic versions of NFL players in action. I think my favorite one is for the Packers, who have somehow adopted an aquatic theme. Perhaps Wisconsin has warmed enough in the future to make that a practical move.

Mar292013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Retired NFL Jersey Numbers: NFC East

Football Friday, Sports

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post football card galleries (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the NFC East — the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. Previous galleries: AFC East Dallas Cowboys (0) The Cowboys do not officially retire jersey numbers, opting rather to induct players into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. The Ring, which began in 1975, is made up of the players listed below (as of the end of the 2012 season, in order of induction). Sorry, no cards for the Cowboys, since they insist on being so different. #74 -- Bob Lilly #17 -- Don...

Mar262013 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

This 1955 Post Sugar Crisp Ad Works on Two Levels

Retrotisements

There's a lot to love about this Post Sugar Crisp ad from 1955, not the least of which are the classic '50s bear mascots: But what drew my eye was the gaggle of vintage baseball logos on the bottom. They're actually MLB patches Post gave away with the cereal, and the legendary Ted Williams gives his smiling approval. Here's a closeup view of the logos, featuring the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Redlegs, New York Yankees, New York Giants, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators/Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs. That's every MLB franchise from '55 except for the Kansas City Athletics. (click for a larger version)

Mar142013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Site Updates O’Plenty! (Sears Catalogs, AFL Covers)

Blogstuff

These are exciting times at The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, my friends. In addition to a great new project in the works (hint: it involves old postcards), the updates to the main site have been coming fast and furious. I uploaded a bunch of new scans to my classic Sears catalog area, for the 1958 Spring/Summer edition. And if you love vintage saddles shoes and children's wear, then you will love these scans. New stuff starts on this page. Elsewhere, I've added a bunch of new game programs in my American Football League cover gallery, as well as added some higher-res versions of existing ones. There are too many for me to list here, but I can share a few of the cooler ones with you here. This is from the very first matchup between the New York Jets and New York Giants. It...

Nov22012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Football Friday — Vintage NFL Team Media Guides and Yearbooks, Part 1

Football Friday, Sports

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, there almost wasn't a Football Friday post this week. But I couldn't let that happen to you, my faithful fans and readers. But I will compromise and just give you a gallery of some classic NFL team media guide/yearbook covers. Consider this a preview of the next permanent section of the main site; a sister gallery to my AFL game program exhibit if you will. (more…)

Sep282012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Football Friday: Life Magazine’s Look at the NFL of 1960

Football Friday, Sports

This is one of the cooler sports photo galleries I've put together for you. This is a combination of published and unpublished images for a Life magazine article on the NFL and the ascent of pro football as a spectator sport. It ran in their December 5, 1960 issue and was called "Fans Go Ga-Ga Over Pro Football." The pictures in this gallery were taken by George Silk during the 1960 NFL season and seem to come from X main sources -- four New York Giants home games (against the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Redskins), a Giants film session, and a game between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Colts (which I believe to be a home game for the Colts). Included here is a photo of Eagles linebacker creaming the Giants' Frank Gifford. I don'...

Aug132012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Best and Worst NFL Logos (NFC East)

Sports

With the 2012 National Football League season nearly upon us, now is as good a time as any to obsess once again on one of my favorite topics — logos. So I’m going to offer up my choices for the best and worst team logos for all 32 current NFL franchises. Primary, alternate, and helmet logos listed on Chris Creamer’s outstanding logo website are all under consideration. Today I look at the four squads of the NFC’s East division. Previous entries: AFC East Dallas Cowboys Best I don't exactly have a wide range of Cowboys logos to choose from, since they've only had two main ones since they came into the NFL in 1960. Luckily, their current design is one of the more iconic in the sport. Worst There are not a ton of examples of this alternate Dallas logo, used in the 1960s, on th...

Jan302012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Retro Football Cards — Super Bowl XLVI edition (Manning/Gronkowski)

Sports

(For all my retro cards, click here.) OK, now that we're through the farce that is the Pro Bowl, it's almost zero hour for the 2011 NFL season. So I thought it only proper to bust out a pair of Super Bowl-related retro cards. Up first is New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, as grafted onto a 1956 Topps card. And for the AFC's New England Patriots it's Pro Bowl tight end Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski, on a 1984 Topps. Of the two, the Manning was the easier to produce. I used a '56 Charley Conerly card. Conerly was the QB of the Giants during the 1956 championship season, which is why I went with it. The stroke/halo effect is present on that '56 set so I reproduced it as close as I could. Like with the Drew Brees card, I had a hard time finding a good helmetless pic so I just w...

Jan232012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Super Bowl XLVI — This Fan Space For Rent

Sports

I can't believe I'm saying this as a football fan of three decades, but I've seriously given thought to not watching the Super Bowl this year. Not because I don't think it will be a good game, and certainly not because it lacks for good story lines. It's just that I'm not the kind of football fan who will watch a game just because it's football. I need some kind of rooting interest -- some reason to pull for one team over the other, even if it's a silly one. But with Super Bowl XLVI, I am struggling to think of one so far. Unlike the last time the Patriots and Giants faced each other, in Super Bowl XLII. It was easy to root for New York then. I, like 99% of decent-minded sports fans, wanted desperately for a season's worth of Boston-centric hubris and obnoxiousness to come crashing down...