Malik Neighbors is already No. 1 in the hearts of many Giants fans.
And now, according to information obtained by The Washington Post, he will become the first player to wear the No. 1 jersey for the Giants since the late Giants Hall of Fame defensive end Ray Flaherty became the first professional football player to have his number retired in 1935.
Neighbors, the Giants' first-round pick, wore No. 8 at Louisiana State before switching to No. 9 for training camp. Before John Mara got the go-ahead from the Flaherty family, Neighbors, who knew every retired uniform number in Giants history (No. 1, Tuffy Lehmans' No. 4 and Mel Hein's No. 7), began exploring other options, including Drew Lock's No. 2 and Jamie Gillian's No. 6, but was unsuccessful.
“We thought it would be pretty difficult to reinstate the jersey,” Neighbors told the Post.
But if there's anything they can do, Neighbors told Mara, “I don't mind being number 1.”
But hope remained for Car 1. “It was just a waiting process to see what the family would say,” Neighbors said.
Ray Flaherty Jr. on Wednesday formally gave his blessing to Mara and the organization, who intend to re-retire his father’s No. 1 jersey once Neighbors’ Giants career is over. “You could call it re-retirement,” Flaherty Jr. told The Post.
Neighbors asked general managers Joe Sean and Brian Daboll early on in training camp if he could change to a new number.
“After some consideration, I felt that I would only allow it if the Flaherty family agreed,” Mara told The Post. “I think it was a generous act on their part, and Malik understands that this comes with a certain amount of responsibility and how he should act on behalf of the organization and the Flaherty family. He did a great job and I called them right away to thank them.”
Neighbors called Flaherty Jr. before practice on Wednesday and said, 'I'm really grateful to have the opportunity to wear your dad's retired jersey. I'm going to wear it with pride, and when I step out on the field, I'm going to do my best to represent you guys the right way,'” Neighbors told him.
Flaherty Jr. appreciated the call. “He seems like a fine young man,” he said. “I feel really good that he called.”
Sean approached Neighbors in the locker room before practice Wednesday and said, “I'm going upstairs.”
I thought, “Okay, what for?” In the back of my mind, I didn't know why I was going to my boss's office, and I was kind of scared.
Neighbors recalls Mara asking him: “So what are we going to do about those numbers?”
“I thought they said no to No. 1 because that’s what I heard they said no to it the first time,” Neighbors said. “He asked me, ‘Do you still want No. 1?’ I said, ‘If my family doesn’t want me to wear No. 1, I’m not going to keep pestering them to let me wear No. 1.’ He said, ‘No, they said yes.’”
“I couldn't stop laughing when he told me.”
Flaherty has two sons and a daughter. “I voted initially, but I didn't know much about Malik,” Flaherty Jr. said. “There may have been someone living from that area when my dad played, but I was too young to remember. John Mara made a pretty good point that this would be a good way to get his name out there again.”
Mara is excited about the sixth-round draft pick's progress. “He has a unique skill set. He stands out on the practice field and he stands out in games,” Mara said.
Flaherty Jr. echoed that sentiment. “Very athletic. Some of the catches he made were impressive,” he said. “Wide receivers can step in and make a difference right away. I think he's going to have a great career and I hope he does.”
Neighbors has never worn the No. 1 at any level. “This is a first,” he said. Other NFL players currently wearing the No. 1 include Ja'Marr Chase, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray.
Other Hall of Famers who wore the number 1 included Jimmy Conzelmann, Paddy Driscoll, Benny Friedman, Curly Lambeau, Warren Moon, Fritz Pollard and Jim Thorpe.
Flaherty joined the Giants in 1929, became coach of the Gonzaga University basketball team in 1930, and later returned to the Giants, where he was named first team All-Pro three times.
Flaherty led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, yards per reception, and yards per game in 1932. Flaherty suggested to Giants head coach Steve Owen that sneakers would provide better grip on the frozen Polo Grounds. Owen sent his friend Abe Cohen, a tailor who helped out on the Giants' sideline, to Manhattan College to get a pair of sneakers. The Giants won the NFL championship in the famous Sneakers Game, scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter against George Halas' Bears.
Mara's late father, Hall of Famer Wellington, attended the game when he was 18. “I remember him saying George Halas' response was, 'Just stomp his foot,'” Mara said with a laugh.
“That's something they did at Gonzaga University, where he played college football,” Flaherty Jr. said.
Flaherty became head coach of the Boston Redskins in 1936 and led the team to four division titles and two league championships when the team moved to Washington. He is credited with inventing the screen pass and the two-platoon substitution system. He died in 1994 in Hayden, Idaho, at age 90.
“It's a good story because it reminds people why No. 1 was retired and it lets them know a little bit about Ray Flaherty,” Mara said. “It's a good story for us to tell so people can learn what kind of person he was.”
