You rarely see an organization do this.
The New York Giants announced Wednesday that rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers has received permission from the family of Hall of Famer Ray Flaherty to un-retire the No. 1 jersey that hasn’t been used since 1935.
The number was the first to be retired by any team in professional football history.
Nabers had previously worn No. 9 during training camp and preseason, but that number is also used by veteran kicker Graham Gano.
Nabers told the Giants’ website that after seeing his limited options, he didn’t want to pay a teammate for a number. So he approached Giants owner John Mara about a retired number:
“Everybody else’s number was really taken,” Nabers said. “I didn’t feel like buying somebody else’s number. I looked into retired jerseys and number one stood out. So, I asked John Mara about it. He was like, ‘We could give it a shot.’ So, we gave it a shot.”
Mara reportedly pushed back on the idea initially before deciding to approach the Flaherty family.
According to Flaherty’s son, Ray Flaherty Jr., it took a while to get the entire family on board:
“There were a few things,” Flaherty said. “Probably one of the most important is I kind of polled my family. I’ve got two sons and a daughter. And, of course, that’s their grandfather. Initially, my daughter wasn’t that excited about it. And it was she that came around. Eventually she said, ‘It might be lucky for him. That number one might be a good number for him.’ She acquiesced. We thought that would be the way to go.”
Flaherty played for the Giants from 1929 to 1935, winning the NFL championship game in 1934. Under Giants lore, it was his idea for the team to wear sneakers after a night of freezing rain, with the traction helping them win what would become known as the “Sneakers Game.”
He died in 1994, at the age of 90.
The Giants selected Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick in last April’s 2024 NFL Draft and so far he has the team and the Giants fanbase hyped.
The Giants open the season on Sept. 8th against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium.
