New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers is the Giants’ first-round draft pick and their projected No. 1 receiver for the foreseeable future.
So it was only fitting that the former LSU product was assigned jersey number 1, right?
Yes, but there was a caveat. The jersey number was retired in honor of Ray Flaherty, a member of the Giants franchise from 1929 and 1931-1935, where he was initially a player (then known as an end, now a receiver) before retiring and becoming a coach after his career with the Giants ended.
With permission from the family of Giants legend Ray Flaherty, Malik Nabers will wear number 1.
Flaherty’s number was the first in professional football history to be retired. #Giants100 pic.twitter.com/9I5BKSkIVK
— New York Giants (@Giants) 28 August 2024
As a player, Flaherty had 41 catches for 626 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was part of the Giants’ 1934 NFL championship team and was selected to the All Pro first team seven times from 1926 to 1929 and from 1932 to 1934.
Flaherty also led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 1932 with the Giants and was the first professional football player to have his number retired, at the end of the 1935 season, his last with the Giants.
Flaherty, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1976 and No. 50 of the Giants’ 100 greatest players in franchise historyfinished his coaching career with a record of 80-37-5. He died on July 19, 1994, but his family gave the Giants organization their blessing to retire the number and give it to Nabers, who they hope will have an equally, if not more, successful NFL career for the franchise.
“Thank you to the Flaherty family for allowing me to wear No. 1 for the New York Giants,” said Nabers, who wore No. 9 this spring and summer. “I understand the responsibility and will do everything in my power to honor the Flaherty family and this organization. I will wear the number with great pride. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
