New York Giants · Franchise era 3 of 7

The wilderness: the New York Giants story

Franchise era

1964—1978

The wilderness

New York Giants

The story in one sentence

The Giants endured fifteen straight losing seasons and a chaotic stadium transition before new leadership rebuilt football operations.

01

A proud organization loses its structure

02

Fran Tarkenton, Bob Tucker and Spider Lockhart gave the era its recognizable core.

03

Its ending created the conditions for parcells, taylor and two titles.

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Before 1964

    What came before

    New York reached six title games in eight seasons and won in 1956 while helping make televised pro football a national habit.

  2. 1964—1978

    The wilderness

    The Giants endured fifteen straight losing seasons and a chaotic stadium transition before new leadership rebuilt football operations.

  3. After 1978

    What came next

    Taylor changed offensive protection, Parcells shaped a physical roster and the Giants won Super Bowls XXI and XXV in distinctly different ways.

The core

Faces of the chapter

← Previous eraThe title-game fixture1941—1963Next era →Parcells, Taylor and two titles1979—1990