Ray Flaherty: An NFL and NY Football Giants Legend

[Music] as we continue our go back in time on the Giants history for the 100th season coming up in 2024 we can't forget about a name of Ray flarity one of the most important Giants of the early period of the team and we're going to talk about Ray and his accomplishments in football coming up right after this this is the pig skin daily history dispatch a podcast that covers the anniversaries of American football events throughout history your host Darren Hayes is podcasting from America's Northshore to bring you the memories of the grid iron one day at a [Music] [Applause] [Music] time hello my football friends this is Darren haes at pigskin dispatch.com welcome once again to the pig pen and welcome once again to the Giants 100th anniversary celebration of their 100th year coming up here in 2024 and we are so glad to go back and review some of these legendary players teams and events that made the Giants a special team that survived 100 years in the National Football League today our topic is a very interesting one a player and a player that started to be a coach as you'll see with the Giants his name is Ray flarity now Ray flare wasn't just a football player he was a Pioneer his career spanned a crucial period in the sports Evolution with this impact felt both on the playing field and on the sidelines with his achievements as a player were impressive his coaching Brilliance truly cemented his place in football history now fl's playing career started in the early days of professional football a time of barnstorming teams and fledgling leagues as a 2-way end for the Gonzaga University team under coach Legend Gus dorius he displayed a unique blend of power and Agility earning all West Coast honors a raised tenure at the school included the legendary undefeated 1924 season for the zags and he was a teammate of of Houston Stockton who was the grandfather of NBA legend John Stockton Ray then took his talents to the professional ranks playing for the Los Angeles wild cats and red Grangers New York Yankees and finally finding his way to the New York football Giants roster he was known for his toughness intelligence and versatility often contributed on both sides of the football now the LA wild cats were a Los Angeles team by name only uh for they had a roster of many Pacific grid iron stalwarts including Ray in essence they were an original American Football League team that never played a home game and tried to capitalize on the new recognition and draw of George Wildcat Wilson as a member of these Road Warriors in a team's only season 1926 flare ended with a postseason barnstorming tour through the South against their AFL rival the New York Yankees the Yankees in only owner CC pile recognized the talent of the young foot Clarity and signed him to the squad for the 1927 season where the NFL had awarded the Yankees a franchise as the AFL folded after just one season now Ray played a couple of seasons in a big big apple with the Yankees and just after the 1928 season the Yankees franchise shuttered it stores and then now displaced flarity Inked a contract with his cross town rival Giants as a giant in 1929 FL immediately impacted the team the 2N eight touchdown passes and one his second and point scored for the Giants players that season behind only fullback Tony plansky and just ahead of offensive juggernauts Benny fredman and hat Moran to sa flarity was significant to the 29 Giants who secured a second place record at 131 And1 maybe an understatement Ray finished his NFL career with 20 touchdown receptions three allp Pro seasons and W NFL Championship with the Giants in 1934 Ray played an instrumental part in the famous 1934 title game when he suggested that the Giants players might better navigate footing of the icy polar ground surface if they wore sneakers this prompted head coach Steve Owen to borrow some tennis shoes from the nearby Manhattan College to gain an advantage for his team in the contest the suggestion of flarity was an overwhelming success as the Giants maintained their better traction and the undefeated and heavily favored Chicago Bears were defeated by a whopping score of 30-13 upset by the Giants interesting Owen's friend Abe Cohen returned the sneakers to Manhattan College after the NFL game so the basketball team could practice the next day one can only imagine the condition the sneakers when the Manhattan players went to put them on for practice that following day after being on an icy football field with big Behemoth running around him Ray fl's aept talent for finding and the advantage of his team over an opponent foreshadow the future coaches talent for Leading Men however fl's true calling was coaching in 1930 he returned to his Alma moer Gonzaga to be the head coach for his season this early fourr into the coaching foreshadowed the success that awaited him in the professional ranks a tremendous athlete flarity even experimented with his baseball talents in 1930 playing a season of minor league ball as a second baseman for the Providence graay in the eastern league after skipping the 1930 season with these Ventures Ray returned to the NFL and the Giants in 1931 to extend his playing career now flarity was a player coach for the Giants beginning in 1933 he was first an assistant coach on sto and staff and served as a Giants captain in those Seasons now historian Larry schmit who has offered some of these great uh images that we see today also gave us this information he said that that Ray wore three different numbers with New York number 44 in 1929 number 6 in 1931 and number one from from 1932 to 1935 is significant the number one Jersey that the Giants gave him after Benny fredman left for Brooklyn and the number one was retired in his honor with the Giants in 1935 flarity is the first American professional athlete to have his jersey retired Ace Bailey if you wanted to know of the Toronto Maple Leafs was the first pro athlete to have his number retired in 1934 that's why we say the first American professional athlete and it started a tradition that basically all teams are doing at all levels in retiring numbers of their great players in 1936 the Boston Redskins who a year later became the Washington Redskins appointed FL as their head coach this was a pivotal moment for both the team and the young coach FY immediately instilled discipline and a winning mentality leading the Redskins to a division title in his first season his coaching philosophy emphasized Innovation and a balanced attack he's credited with inventing the screen pass a play that revolutionized offensive strategy and continues to be a staple in football today fl's tenure with the Redskins was a in the golden age he led down to four division titles in two NFL championships in 1937 and the other in 1942 and his teams were known for their toughness offensive creativity and Relentless pursuit of Victory he was a master motivator Adept at getting the best out of his players including future Hall of Famers like Sammy B following the service in World War II flarity continued coaching in a newly formed All-America conference though he didn't achieve the same level of success as he did with the Redskins his overall coaching record remains impressive at 80 wins 37 losses and five ties this translates to a 676 winning percentage a testament to his great coaching Acumen Ray fl's Legacy extends beyond the wins and championships he was a bridge between the early days of pro football and the modern era and he was a player who understood a game from every angle and a coach that left an indelible mark on the work through Innovation and Leadership his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1976 is a fitting tribute to the man who shaped the game helped shape the game that we know and love today and that's why we celebrate Ray flarity and his Giants tradition in the celebration of the New York Giants 100 Seasons we thank you for joining us for this great preservation of football history we hope you join us each and every time we have a video or a podcast come out we're each and every today on pigskin dispatch.com thanks again to Larry Schmidt for the fine photos and information he gave us on Ray and for all the other websites that that we use to go through and get this information and we hope you join enjoyed it and hope you join us next time until next time have a great great iron day that's all the football history we have today folks join us back tomorrow for more of your football history we invite you to check out our website pigskin dispatch.com not only to see the daily football history but to experience positive football with our many articles on the good people of the game as well as our own football Comics trip cleat marks Comics pigskin dispatch.com is also on social media Outlets Facebook Twitter Instagram and don't forget the pigskin dispatch YouTube channel to get all of your positive Football news and history special thanks to the talents of Mike and Jee Monroe as well as Jason nef for letting us use their music during our podcast this podcast is part of the sports history Network your headquarters for the yester year of your favorite sport you can learn more at sports history network.com