Giants rookie Malik Nabers is allowed to wear Ray Flaherty’s No. 1, which has been retired since 1935
Malik Nabers, a rookie for the New York Giants, has been assigned a new jersey number: No. 1.
This is significant because that number has been off-limits for the team since 1935.
The Giants announced on Wednesday that Nabers has received permission to wear the number from the family of the late Ray Flaherty. Flaherty was a prominent end for the Giants in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His No. 1 was the very first jersey number to be retired in professional football history.
“I want to extend my gratitude to the Flaherty family for allowing me to wear Number 1 for the New York Giants,” Nabers said in a team-issued statement. “I recognize the importance of this honor, and I will strive to uphold the legacy of the Flaherty family and the organization.”
“Wearing this number is a source of great pride for me. I’m looking forward to the upcoming season.”
While in college, Nabers wore No. 8 and switched to No. 9 during the preseason; however, both numbers were already taken by veteran players on the roster (quarterback Daniel Jones and kicker Graham Gano, respectively). This compelled Nabers to search for a new jersey number as the first game approached.
“All the other numbers were really taken,” Nabers explained in a statement. “I started looking at retired jerseys, and No. 1 really caught my attention. So, I asked (team owner) John Mara about it. He responded, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’ And so we did.”
Mara then discussed the possibility of reinstating the number with the Flaherty family.
“At first, we told Malik ‘No, it’s been retired for a long time,'” Mara stated in the team’s announcement. “But then I had a thought—if the Flaherty family was on board, we could consider it. After several conversations with Ray Flaherty Jr., they reached out today and agreed to let Malik wear the number.”
Ray Flaherty, a three-time All-Pro, also enjoyed a successful coaching career after retiring as a player, winning two championships with Washington. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1976 and passed away in 1994 at the age of 90.
Mara confirmed that No. 1 will be retired once more after “Malik’s career, which we hope lasts for many years, comes to an end.”
New York Giants’ retired numbers
- 1 – Ray Flaherty
- 4 – Tuffy Leemans
- 7 – Mel Hein
- 10 – Eli Manning
- 11 – Phil Simms
- 14 – Y.A. Tittle/Ward Cuff
- 16 – Frank Gifford
- 32 – Al Blozis
- 40 – Joe Morrison
- 42 – Charlie Conerly
- 50 – Ken Strong
- 56 – Lawrence Taylor
- 92 – Michael Strahan
