1974 New York Giants season

1974 New York Giants season
1974 New York Giants season
Owner	Timothy J. Mara,; Wellington Mara
Head coach	Bill Arnsparger
Home field	Yale Bowl
Results
Record	2–12
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
	← 1973; Giants seasons; 1975 →;

The 1974 New York Giants season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 2–12 record, the team's worst since 1966.^[1]^[2]

The Giants’ home venue in 1974 was the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut,^[3] and they were winless at home in seven games. They won only one of twelve games at the Yale Bowl in 1973 and 1974. The Giants played at Shea Stadium in Queens in 1975 and opened Giants Stadium in New Jersey in October 1976.^[3]^[4]

The 1974 Giants hold the distinction of being the first team to lose a regular season game in overtime.^[5] In week nine, the 2–6 Giants welcomed the cross-town rival Jets to the Yale Bowl. With the Giants leading 20–13 in the fourth quarter, Joe Namath faked a handoff to Emerson Boozer, then ran into the end zone for a touchdown which tied the score at 20–20, forcing overtime;^[6] previously, a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos had ended in a 35–35 tie.^[5] The Giants were denied a game-winning score when Pete Gogolak missed a 42-yard field goal attempt, despite protests from Gogolak that he had made the kick. The Jets subsequently won 26–20 on a five-yard pass from Namath to Boozer after 6:53 of play in the extra period.^[6]

Offseason

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1974 New York Giants draft
1	3	John Hicks	Guard	Ohio State
2	28	Tom Mullen	Guard	Southwest Missouri State
3	55	Rick Dvorak	Defensive tackle	Wichita State
4	80	Carl Summerell	Quarterback	East Carolina
5	107	Don Clune	Wide receiver	Penn
5	119	Clyde Powers	Defensive back	Oklahoma
6	132	Jim Pietrzak	Center	Eastern Michigan
7	159	Marty Woolbright	Tight end	South Carolina
8	184	Ezil Bibbs	Defensive end	Grambling State
9	211	Jim Rathje	Running back	Northern Michigan
10	236	Ray Rhodes	Defensive back	Tulsa
11	263	Bobby Brooks	Defensive back	Bishop
12	288	Jimmy Sims	Linebacker	USC
13	315	Dennis Colvin	Tackle	Southwest Texas State
14	340	Mike Hayes	Tackle	Virginia State
15	367	Larry Jones	Wingback	Northeast Missouri State
16	392	Buddy Brown	Guard	Alabama	Signed with Birmingham Americans (WFL)
17	419	Steve Crosby	Running back	Fort Hays State
Made roster

^[7]

Roster

**1974 New York Giants roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Jim Del Gaizo 15 Craig Morton 19 Carl Summerell Running backs (RB) 26 Joe Dawkins 30 Ron Johnson 44 Doug Kotar 25 Leon McQuay Wide receivers (WR) 88 Don Clune 84 Walker Gillette 27 Bob Grim 85 Don Herrmann 82 Ray Rhodes Tight ends (TE) 87 John Strada 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Karl Chandler C 62 Dick Enderle G 74 John Hicks G 52 John Hill C 70 Bob Hyland C 73 Tom Mullen G 63 Doug Van Horn T 69 Willie Young T Defensive linemen (DL) 66 Rick Dvorak DT 81 Jack Gregory DE 72 George Hasenohrl DT 78 Roy Hilton DE 75 Larry Jacobson DT 64 John Mendenhall DT 91 Gary Pettigrew DT		Linebackers (LB) 67 Ron Hornsby 56 Pat Hughes 55 Brian Kelley 57 Andy Selfridge 54 Bill Singletary 10 Brad Van Pelt Defensive backs (DB) 37 Bobby Brooks CB 24 Chuck Crist SS 29 Honor Jackson 43 Spider Lockhart FS 39 Clyde Powers SS 18 Eldridge Small CB 20 Jim Stienke CB Special teams 3 Pete Gogolak K 13 Dave Jennings P				Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 15	Washington Redskins	L 10–13	0–1	Yale Bowl	49,849	Recap
2	September 22	New England Patriots	L 20–28	0–2	Yale Bowl	44,082	Recap
3	September 29	at Dallas Cowboys	W 14–6	1–2	Texas Stadium	45,841	Recap
4	October 6	Atlanta Falcons	L 7–14	1–3	Yale Bowl	42,379	Recap
5	October 13	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–35	1–4	Veterans Stadium	64,801	Recap
6	October 20	at Washington Redskins	L 3–24	1–5	RFK Stadium	53,879	Recap
7	October 27	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–21	1–6	Yale Bowl	57,381	Recap
8	November 3	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 33–27	2–6	Arrowhead Stadium	61,437	Recap
9	November 10	New York Jets	L 20–26 (OT)	2–7	Yale Bowl	64,327	Recap
10	November 17	at Detroit Lions	L 19–20	2–8	Tiger Stadium	40,431	Recap
11	November 24	St. Louis Cardinals	L 21–23	2–9	Yale Bowl	40,615	Recap
12	December 1	at Chicago Bears	L 13–16	2–10	Soldier Field	18,802	Recap
13	December 8	Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–20	2–11	Yale Bowl	21,170	Recap
14	December 15	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 14–26	2–12	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,414	Recap

Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3 at Cowboys

New York Giants (1–1) at Dallas Cowboys (1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	14	0	0	14
Cowboys	0	0	0	6	6

at Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas

Date: September 29
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
Game attendance: 45,841^[8]
Box Score

Game information

Giants

Norm Snead
11/17, 128 Yds, TD
Joe Dawkins
9 Rush, 51 Yds
Bob Grim
1 Rec, 50 Yds

Cowboys

Roger Staubach
20/37, 256 Yds, TD, 3 INT
Robert Newhouse
12 Rush, 47 Yds
Drew Pearson
6 Rec, 116 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NYG	DAL
2					Giants	Doug Kotar 2-yard touchdown run, Pete Gogolak kick good	7	0
4					Giants	Joe Dawkins 14-yard touchdown reception from Norm Snead, Pete Gogolak kick good	14	0
4					Cowboys	Bob Hayes 35-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mac Percival kick no good	14	6
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							14	6

Week 9 vs Jets

Week Nine: New York Jets (1–7) at New York Giants (2–6)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Jets	7	3	3	7	6	26
Giants	3	10	7	0	0	20

at Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut

Date: November 10, 1974
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C)
Game attendance: 64,327^[9]
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

NYJ – David Knight 19-yard pass from Joe Namath (Pat Leahy kick). Jets 7–0. Drive:
NYG – Pete Gogolak 26-yard field goal. Jets 7–3. Drive:

Second quarter

NYG – Bob Tucker 2-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 10–7. Drive:
NYJ – Pat Leahy 34-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive:
NYG – Pete Gogolak 22-yard field goal. Giants 13–10. Drive:

Third quarter

NYJ – Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal. Tie 13–13. Drive:
NYG – Bob Grim 12-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 20–13. Drive:

Fourth quarter

NYJ – Joe Namath 3-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Tie 20–20. Drive:

Overtime

NYJ – Emerson Boozer 5-yard pass from Joe Namath. Jets 26–20. Drive:

Top passers

NYJ – Joe Namath – 20/31, 236 yards, 2 TD
NYG – Craig Morton – 21/32, 237 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

NYJ – Robert Burns – 21 rushes, 101 yards
NYG – Joe Dawkins – 11 rushes, 49 yards

Top receivers

NYJ – Rich Caster – 3 receptions, 68 yards
NYG – Walker Gillette – 5 receptions, 83 yards

Week 11 vs Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals (8–2) at New York Giants (2–8)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	6	0	7	10	23
Giants	0	7	7	7	21

at Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut

Date: November 24
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
Game attendance: 40,615^[9]
Box Score

Game information

Cardinals

Jim Hart
25/42, 259 Yds, 2 TD
Terry Metcalf
15 Rush, 48 Yds
Mel Gray
5 Rec, 102 Yds, TD

Giants

Craig Morton
21/35, 257 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Joe Dawkins
12 Rush, 65 Yds
Bob Tucker
5 Rec, 69 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	STL	NYG
1					Cardinals	36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken	3	0
2					Cardinals	32-yard field goal by Jim Bakken	6	0
2					Giants	Ron Johnson 2-yard touchdown run, Pete Gogolak kick good	6	7
3					Giants	Bob Tucker 29-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good	6	14
3					Cardinals	Earl Thomas 16-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good	13	14
4					Cardinals	Mel Gray 45-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good	20	14
4					Giants	Walker Gillette 17-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good	20	21
4					Cardinals	36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken	23	21
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							23	21

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
St. Louis Cardinals	10	4	0	.714	7–1	8–3	285	218	W1
Washington Redskins	10	4	0	.714	5–3	8–3	320	196	W2
Dallas Cowboys	8	6	0	.571	4–4	6–5	297	235	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	7	0	.500	3–5	5–6	242	217	W3
New York Giants	2	12	0	.143	1–7	1–10	195	299	L6

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	10	4	0	.714	4–2	8–3	310	195	W3
Detroit Lions	7	7	0	.500	3–3	6–5	256	270	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	3–3	4–7	210	206	L3
Chicago Bears	4	10	0	.286	2–4	4–7	152	279	L2

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams	10	4	0	.714	5–1	7–3	263	181	W1
San Francisco 49ers	6	8	0	.429	4–2	6–5	226	236	W2
New Orleans Saints	5	9	0	.357	3–3	5–6	166	263	L1
Atlanta Falcons	3	11	0	.214	0–6	3–8	111	271	W1

References

^ "1974 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
^ "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Malafronte, Chip (October 8, 2012). "New Haven 200: New York Giants called Yale Bowl home from 1973–74". New Haven Register. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
^ Canavan, Tom (January 1, 2010). "Giants Stadium was symbol of sports in New Jersey". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "NFL's First Experiment With OT". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Gross, Andrew (September 6, 2018). "Giants vs. Jets at Yale Bowl: Namath's bootleg a keepsake". Newsday. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^ "1974 New York Giants Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ 75 Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys. 1975. p. 72. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "The Yale Bowl and the Giants". Newsday. September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

[1] "1974 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.

[2] "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.

[home-3] Malafronte, Chip (October 8, 2012). "New Haven 200: New York Giants called Yale Bowl home from 1973–74". New Haven Register. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

[4] Canavan, Tom (January 1, 2010). "Giants Stadium was symbol of sports in New Jersey". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 24, 2014.

[OT-5] "NFL's First Experiment With OT". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 20, 2020.

[keepsake-6] Gross, Andrew (September 6, 2018). "Giants vs. Jets at Yale Bowl: Namath's bootleg a keepsake". Newsday. Retrieved October 20, 2020.

[7] "1974 New York Giants Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.

[8] 75 Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys. 1975. p. 72. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2021.

[Yale-9] "The Yale Bowl and the Giants". Newsday. September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

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v t e New York Giants
Founded in 1925 Based and headquartered in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Franchise	Franchise Seasons Coaches All-time roster (A–Kim, Kin–Z) First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Logos and uniforms
History	1925–1978 1979–1993 1994–present Financial history
Stadiums	Polo Grounds Yankee Stadium Yale Bowl Shea Stadium Giants Stadium MetLife Stadium
Culture	Cleveland Bulldogs The Duke Crunch Bunch Gatorade shower Big Blue Wrecking Crew I'm going to Disney World! Little Giants "New York Groove" "We Fly High" "The Masseuse" (Seinfeld episode) Big Fan Bob Sheppard Jim Hall Yankee Stadium Legacy License Plate Guy The Best Man Holiday
Lore	Sneakers Game The Greatest Game Ever Played Chuck Bednarik's hit on Frank Gifford The Fumble Wide Right Snowball Game 2007 game vs. New England Patriots Helmet Catch Miracle at the New Meadowlands
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers New England Patriots New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Washington Commanders
Key personnel	Owners: John Mara & Steve Tisch General manager: Joe Schoen Head coach: Brian Daboll
Division championships (22)	1933 1934 1935 1938 1939 1941 1944 1946 1956 1958 1959 1961 1962 1963 1986 1989 1990 1997 2000 2005 2008 2011
Conference championships (11)	1956 1958 1959 1961 1962 1963 1986 1990 2000 2007 2011
League championships (8)	1927 1934 1938 1956 1986 (XXI) 1990 (XXV) 2007 (XLII) 2011 (XLVI)
Retired numbers	1 4 7 10 11 14 14 16 32 40 42 50 56 92
Media	Broadcasters Radio network Bob Papa Carl Banks Howard Cross
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division

Offseason

Draft

Roster

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 3 at Cowboys

Week 9 vs Jets

Week 11 vs Cardinals

Standings

See also

References