little old but don't see it posted and think it's worth sharing:
It was 30 years ago this month that Harry Carson reported to his first training camp with the Giants. A relatively unknown fourth-round draft choice from South Carolina State, Carson was making the challenging transition from being a defensive lineman in college to a linebacker in the NFL.
Perhaps no player in history has ever made the move so successfully. Carson was selected to nine Pro Bowls. He was a captain and an invaluable team leader. Carson was a fan favorite and he has enjoyed close relationships with many people who cheered for him. For three decades, perhaps no player has been a better representative for the Giants organization than Carson was when he wore a uniform and since his retirement following the 1988 season.
Carson reached another plateau this year when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He will be inducted into the Hall in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 5. Today, a distinguished group of Carson’s former teammates and coaches honored him at a news conference/luncheon at Gallagher’s, the famed Manhattan steak house. While they came to laud one of the greatest players in Giants history, Carson turned the tables on them and repeated what he has said many times since his election to the Hall in February: he’s happier for the people who accompanied him on the journey than he is for having arrived at the Hall of Fame.
“It's about them,” Carson said, “because I certainly wouldn't be here without these coaches, without these players, and so many other players who have had a profound impact on me over the years.”
Three current NFL head coaches with a Giant connection were among those who traveled here to honor Carson: Bill Parcells, the head coach from 1983-90 and the coach of the Giants’ two Super Bowl winners, who now holds the same position with the Dallas Cowboys; Bill Belichick, a Giants assistant from 1979-90, the defensive coordinator on the two title teams and now the three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the New England Patriots; and Marty Schottenheimer, the current head coach of the San Diego Chargers, who, as the Giants’ linebackers coach, was largely responsible for drafting Carson and teaching him a new position.
Also in attendance was Willie Jeffries, Carson’s head coach at South Carolina State and a lifelong friend of his former player.
This is the 20th anniversary of the Giants’ Super Bowl XXI championship team and many of the key players from that memorable season were at Gallagher’s. The group included Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, quarterback Phil Simms, George Martin, Pepper Johnson, Gary Reasons, Jim Burt, Leonard Marshall, Curtis McGriff, Bart Oates, Phil McConkey and Sean Landeta. Also there were Brad Van Pelt and Brian Kelley, the incumbent linebackers when Carson joined the team and still his close friends today. Giants president John Mara and former public relations director Ed Croke were also there.
Carson did not know he would be greeted by such a celebrated gathering; he thought he was merely attending a news conference.
“I was really touched when I walked in,” Carson said. “I thought George would be here, maybe one or two other guys. … I got a little emotional deep down inside, because to see all of these guys in one place, and it's all because of me, I mean, they gave their time. Marty came out from San Diego to be here. Bill came out from Dallas. Bill came down from New England. Pepper Johnson came down from New England. Coach Jeffries came down. It's a lot of traveling, and it's for me. I really appreciate it, that they would make the time to come in and be with me this afternoon. This is really special. This is really special for me.
“Then to have my teammates here … you guys in the media may not understand, but this is really showing me a tremendous amount of love. It's not lost on me that all of these guys are here. I mean, this is really special for me. These guys ‑ I've got my sisters and brothers and I've got my kids, and that's family ‑ but these guys, you know, they're my family. That's something that will always be the case, I mean, until we all go to our graves. We are part of the same family.”
And a close-knit one at that. Not everyone had a chance to speak at the formal news conference, but those who did spoke movingly about Harry Carson the player and more significantly, Harry Carson the man. Here is a sampling of some of the Carson tributes:
Bill Parcells: “Over the past several years, I've been getting calls every time the vote for the Hall of Fame came up from different media members, former players, friends, everybody that was interested in Harry. They always asked me, ‘Bill, do you think Harry has a chance?’ My answer was always the same to them. I said, ‘Well, it will be a cinch.’ They would respond by saying, ‘He was one of your players, you're prejudiced.’ I would agree with that. I would say, ‘Yeah, I am prejudiced.’ They would say, ‘He has good talent.’ I'd say, ‘Yeah, but talent is a common thing.’ Look at all these guys right here; every one of them had talent, okay? It's like getting the lemons; you still have to make the lemonade. He did it.
“Harry made a transition that was very difficult in professional football. He was a small college player, he never played on his feet in college - he was a defensive lineman. His college coach, Willie Jeffries, prepared him well. Marty Schottenheimer must have had the vision, because he got him started.
“(Carson) stood the test of time. He had to walk down that tunnel on a lot of icy Sundays in the Meadowlands when he wasn't feeling pretty good, probably wondering how he was going to get through these games he had to play. But he was there for all of us, most every Sunday for upwards of 12 years.
“Here's some things you don't know. He's a good practice player. He's a team leader. He's a defensive signal caller. He served as captain. Those jobs aren't available to people that are selfish. They're only available to guys that are good teammates, good players, good leaders.
“The only thing about the son‑of‑a‑gun he couldn't do is he couldn't win a coin toss. I sent him out there for a hundred coin tosses. I bet you he didn't win 20.
“So in a couple weeks, Harry, you're going to join your buddy, Taylor. That's a nice pair, a pair I'm very proud of. It's a pair that might beat any full house that I know.”
Willie Jeffries: “I've been involved in every important event in Harry's life. And, Bill, the reason he was not a good coin‑toss‑caller, I had him doing that, but I had to take it away from him. We went to play Georgia Southern. They said, ‘Captain Carson from South Carolina State, call it in the air,’ and Harry said ‘50 cents.’ So you shouldn't have even put him out there.
“It's easy for me when your best player is your best person. What a great - that's just so great for a college coach, when your best player does everything right, was an honor student.”
George Martin: “Each one of us on this podium up here is indebted to Harry to some degree or another. I want to share with you just one series of stories that really reflect the kind of man that my friend is. … It started out so many years ago. I remember an incident with Doug Kotar. For those of you with graying temples and expanding waistlines, you will remember the name Doug Kotar, No. 44, played with the Giants. He ultimately succumbed to cancer. It was Harry Carson who gathered all of his teammates, troops, and formulated a visitation to Doug who was still being hospitalized, and subsequently set up a scholarship fund for his kids. That spoke to me in ways that you could never imagine.
“Subsequently, there was an individual who was in a car accident not too long ago in which he almost lost his life. He stated to me emphatically that had it not been for Harry Carson paying out of his own pocket, coming to his bedside and reassuring him that there was something for him to fight and to live for, that he would not have made it. That was a backup quarterback by the name of Jeff Rutledge.
“Most recently, there's a former teammate, whose name has faded from the annals of professional football, who started out with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who ended up with the New York Giants, who unfortunately passed away. He did so with no fanfare, no bands, no parades. Yet, still the gentleman who we call our team captain, Harry Carson, was there front and center, paying his respects, acknowledging the fraternity of which he was a part of. That's the kind of person that Harry Carson is.
“So I can tell you in all honesty that his ascension into the Hall of Fame is well‑deserved. But it’s not because he's been a nine‑time Pro Bowler, it's not because he's been a leader by example on the field, and that each and every one of us is proud to follow him into the field of battle. It's because he realizes that the impact in the field of life is more important than the impact that he's had in the field of play. I want to congratulate my partner and tell him that it's been a real pleasure and a privilege, and that the honor George Martin holds most sacredly is that one day he can tell his grandchildren that he played with the legendary Harry Carson.”
Marty Schottenheimer: “It was apparent to us very early on that this was a unique talent. He was 6-2 and change, and he was 234 pounds, if memory serves me right, he ran a 4.65 (40-yard dash) on grass. That was a unique speed for a linebacker at that time.
“While he didn't start the first few games, ultimately, his presence and the things that he was able to exhibit in practice, we said, ‘Hey, we've got to give this young man an opportunity to play right away.' So we went ahead and did it. (It was) the only time in my coaching career I took great care about making sure we didn't give him too much. Because he was going to be able to make the plays that you had to make as long as you didn't bog him down. And, of course, ultimately, as you look at his career, I've always said that there are certain people that you have to account for that play defense. The system on offense will give you an opportunity to match up against some players, but there's other players that you have to focus on.
“Of course, the Giants, with people like Lawrence Taylor, they had people like that, and Harry Carson clearly was a player that you had to account for on every single play, or you probably were going to end up in a negative situation.”
Lawrence Taylor: “There's really no stories I really want to tell about Harry because it's not appropriate right now. But I have enjoyed playing with him. I enjoyed playing with him for those years. Coming into the league, Harry was the first person that really took me under his wing even though the rest of the veterans didn't really like me at the time. He took me under his wing and he taught me the proper way to play football. While Brad and Brian taught me the street life, he taught me football.
“I tell you, I'm really appreciative toward Harry. Of course, I will be there at the Hall of Fame. I got to see my boy going. Even though I will be playing golf, I will stop by.”
Phil Simms: “I think I speak for all the ex‑players up here, I'm proud of Harry Carson, that he's finally made it to the Hall of Fame. Coach Parcells and all these coaches up here always said to us many times, ‘The game is hard, because if it was easy, a lot more people would be trying to play it.’
“I'll never forget coming from Morehead State University, my very first snap of my professional life, in practice at Pace University. It's a play-action pass. I get up underneath the center, look over there, see Harry Carson. I go, ‘Oh, my God,’ because, believe me, we didn't see middle linebackers like that at Morehead University. I'll never forget throwing the pass: I think it's wide open and Harry Carson intercepted. I just went, ‘It's incredible.'
“But I think Coach Parcells said it right. If you talk to the guys in the NFL, to his teammates, I think we all knew all along that he was a shoo‑in for the Hall of Fame. I'm just proud of him and happy for him and look forward to seeing that day down in Canton.”
Bill Belichick: “I think from what's been mentioned by just about everyone that's spoken, it comes back to one word, and that's respect. I think Harry, of all the players that I've been associated with in the National Football League for over 30 years, is as respected as any player I've been associated with on and off the field - as Bill mentioned, on the practice field, in a meeting room, with his teammates, with his coaches, with the organization, by the opponents, by literally everybody that he's come in contact with in regard to football. It was certainly a great opportunity for me to have the privilege ‑ I really mean that, the privilege ‑ to coach Harry. He's as easy a player as there ever was to coach. He's well prepared, worked hard, and always put the team first. That's really what, to me, a good football player is all about.
“I remember the first year that I came to the Giants in 1979. We didn't have a very good football team. Harry was there, and with Dave Jennings, the only two Pro Bowl players on that team. We got off to a rough start. I think it was maybe 0‑4, 0‑5, something like that before we finally beat Tampa (Bay) for Coach (Ray) Perkins' first win. Of course, Ray came in with a very hard‑nosed, tough attitude, really trying to develop some toughness and intensity in the team. We had very hard practices, very demanding and so forth. Again, Harry kind of led the way on those.
“I remember after one of those games, Ray stood up in front of the team with his normal stern demeanor, and said, ‘How many of you guys yesterday had fun playing out there?’ We had just gotten beat by two or three touchdowns. I remember Harry was the only person who put his hand up. He said, ‘I did. I love to play football.’
“And I remember Perkins saying, ‘Damn it, that's the way everybody should feel. I mean, sometimes you can't do anything about the score or the situation, but you should love to play the game and play hard and put your heart into it. All of you need more of an attitude like that.’
“I'm telling you, when he put his hand up, I didn't know what Ray was going to do, what was going to happen. But it was absolutely the right thing to do, the right thing to say. I think that's just a typical example of how Harry, in his own unselfish way, can be independent and earn everybody's respect.”
In addition to being a great football player and a wonderful man, Carson is a Hall of Fame talker. Here’s a sampling of what he told the crowd of coaches, former players and reporters at Gallagher’s:
“It's really been a pleasure to have had the opportunity, first, to play the game of football. It's been great to have had the opportunity to play for the Giants organization. I've learned so much from these men who are up here as coaches how to play the game hard, fair, play smart, be in shape, and that's all I wanted to do when I stepped on the field. I wanted to not venture too far away from what they were trying to teach me and teach us to do, but play smart defense. The guys who are here, I love all of these guys. This is why I'm standing here - these coaches, all of these players.
“I can stand here and talk all day about what happened on the football field, but, truth be known, I'm more about off the field. It was about these guys were my guys, whether it was in high school, whether it was in college. Those guys in college, those were my guys. I felt personally responsible for them.
“I felt a sense of responsibility as a leader, as a team leader at South Carolina State, and I think I brought it on to the Giants. It's one thing to go out and play on the football field week in and week out. It's another thing to go through what you have to go through in training camp and during the course of the week, and you have to try to keep things together. It's not easy to keep things together, especially when the team isn't playing well and we have to circle our wagons against you guys in the media because you're always looking for something to write about negatively. We had to find ways of just staying together.
“That's when I would go to Bill and I'd say, ‘Bill, can I take the guys to Beefsteak Charlie's?’ All the guys would come together. We would have drinks, eat at Beefsteak Charlie's. I think situations like that are where you find out what people are made of. You can play together and not really know each other, but when you let down your guard and you're able to share a meal together and just be together, you learn what makes another person tick. So I've always loved and cared for the guys who I played with. I don't know, it's just something that is inside of me.
“I feel tremendously honored to have had the opportunity to play with all of these guys up here. I consider them my brothers. If they ever need anything, they know that they can just pick up the phone and I'll always be there for them. So that's what this whole Hall of Fame thing is for me.
“There are fantastic Giants fans all around the country, and I just give thanks to all of the Giant fans who have been so courteous and so appreciative of my play over the years. I tell you, I don't think there's been a day that has gone by where a Giant fan hasn't stopped me, and it doesn't matter whether it's in my hometown, here in the city, in Paris, in the Caribbean, in Hawaii, and said, ‘Thanks for being there during those dark years.’
“So I really appreciate the fans. In a couple weeks (at his induction ceremony) I want to acknowledge all of those fans who were in the World Trade Center. If you've ever been to a Giants practice … you could see the World Trade Center from the practice field at Giants Stadium. There were so many times that we looked over during practice, looked over at the World Trade Center and not really think anything, and then all of a sudden, it's no longer there. All of those people who were Giant fans who lost their lives, I want to acknowledge them.
“When I say that going into the Hall of Fame is not necessarily about me, but it's about everybody who helped to get me to this point - I got fitted for the bust and I was told that bust is going to last 40,000 years. I wish I could just take little pieces and just give them to everybody because there's so many people who have inspired me along the way ‑ all these coaches, all these players, the GMs, the owner, and on and on and on, and the fans in the supermarket who have encouraged me along the way. There have just been so many people who have encouraged me. So this is a time for them, not necessarily a time for me. But I'm very proud to have been … selected to sort of represent all of those people who have helped me get to this point.”
http://giants.com/news/eisen/story.asp?story_id=16088
It was 30 years ago this month that Harry Carson reported to his first training camp with the Giants. A relatively unknown fourth-round draft choice from South Carolina State, Carson was making the challenging transition from being a defensive lineman in college to a linebacker in the NFL.
Perhaps no player in history has ever made the move so successfully. Carson was selected to nine Pro Bowls. He was a captain and an invaluable team leader. Carson was a fan favorite and he has enjoyed close relationships with many people who cheered for him. For three decades, perhaps no player has been a better representative for the Giants organization than Carson was when he wore a uniform and since his retirement following the 1988 season.
Carson reached another plateau this year when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He will be inducted into the Hall in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 5. Today, a distinguished group of Carson’s former teammates and coaches honored him at a news conference/luncheon at Gallagher’s, the famed Manhattan steak house. While they came to laud one of the greatest players in Giants history, Carson turned the tables on them and repeated what he has said many times since his election to the Hall in February: he’s happier for the people who accompanied him on the journey than he is for having arrived at the Hall of Fame.
“It's about them,” Carson said, “because I certainly wouldn't be here without these coaches, without these players, and so many other players who have had a profound impact on me over the years.”
Three current NFL head coaches with a Giant connection were among those who traveled here to honor Carson: Bill Parcells, the head coach from 1983-90 and the coach of the Giants’ two Super Bowl winners, who now holds the same position with the Dallas Cowboys; Bill Belichick, a Giants assistant from 1979-90, the defensive coordinator on the two title teams and now the three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the New England Patriots; and Marty Schottenheimer, the current head coach of the San Diego Chargers, who, as the Giants’ linebackers coach, was largely responsible for drafting Carson and teaching him a new position.
Also in attendance was Willie Jeffries, Carson’s head coach at South Carolina State and a lifelong friend of his former player.
This is the 20th anniversary of the Giants’ Super Bowl XXI championship team and many of the key players from that memorable season were at Gallagher’s. The group included Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, quarterback Phil Simms, George Martin, Pepper Johnson, Gary Reasons, Jim Burt, Leonard Marshall, Curtis McGriff, Bart Oates, Phil McConkey and Sean Landeta. Also there were Brad Van Pelt and Brian Kelley, the incumbent linebackers when Carson joined the team and still his close friends today. Giants president John Mara and former public relations director Ed Croke were also there.
Carson did not know he would be greeted by such a celebrated gathering; he thought he was merely attending a news conference.
“I was really touched when I walked in,” Carson said. “I thought George would be here, maybe one or two other guys. … I got a little emotional deep down inside, because to see all of these guys in one place, and it's all because of me, I mean, they gave their time. Marty came out from San Diego to be here. Bill came out from Dallas. Bill came down from New England. Pepper Johnson came down from New England. Coach Jeffries came down. It's a lot of traveling, and it's for me. I really appreciate it, that they would make the time to come in and be with me this afternoon. This is really special. This is really special for me.
“Then to have my teammates here … you guys in the media may not understand, but this is really showing me a tremendous amount of love. It's not lost on me that all of these guys are here. I mean, this is really special for me. These guys ‑ I've got my sisters and brothers and I've got my kids, and that's family ‑ but these guys, you know, they're my family. That's something that will always be the case, I mean, until we all go to our graves. We are part of the same family.”
And a close-knit one at that. Not everyone had a chance to speak at the formal news conference, but those who did spoke movingly about Harry Carson the player and more significantly, Harry Carson the man. Here is a sampling of some of the Carson tributes:
Bill Parcells: “Over the past several years, I've been getting calls every time the vote for the Hall of Fame came up from different media members, former players, friends, everybody that was interested in Harry. They always asked me, ‘Bill, do you think Harry has a chance?’ My answer was always the same to them. I said, ‘Well, it will be a cinch.’ They would respond by saying, ‘He was one of your players, you're prejudiced.’ I would agree with that. I would say, ‘Yeah, I am prejudiced.’ They would say, ‘He has good talent.’ I'd say, ‘Yeah, but talent is a common thing.’ Look at all these guys right here; every one of them had talent, okay? It's like getting the lemons; you still have to make the lemonade. He did it.
“Harry made a transition that was very difficult in professional football. He was a small college player, he never played on his feet in college - he was a defensive lineman. His college coach, Willie Jeffries, prepared him well. Marty Schottenheimer must have had the vision, because he got him started.
“(Carson) stood the test of time. He had to walk down that tunnel on a lot of icy Sundays in the Meadowlands when he wasn't feeling pretty good, probably wondering how he was going to get through these games he had to play. But he was there for all of us, most every Sunday for upwards of 12 years.
“Here's some things you don't know. He's a good practice player. He's a team leader. He's a defensive signal caller. He served as captain. Those jobs aren't available to people that are selfish. They're only available to guys that are good teammates, good players, good leaders.
“The only thing about the son‑of‑a‑gun he couldn't do is he couldn't win a coin toss. I sent him out there for a hundred coin tosses. I bet you he didn't win 20.
“So in a couple weeks, Harry, you're going to join your buddy, Taylor. That's a nice pair, a pair I'm very proud of. It's a pair that might beat any full house that I know.”
Willie Jeffries: “I've been involved in every important event in Harry's life. And, Bill, the reason he was not a good coin‑toss‑caller, I had him doing that, but I had to take it away from him. We went to play Georgia Southern. They said, ‘Captain Carson from South Carolina State, call it in the air,’ and Harry said ‘50 cents.’ So you shouldn't have even put him out there.
“It's easy for me when your best player is your best person. What a great - that's just so great for a college coach, when your best player does everything right, was an honor student.”
George Martin: “Each one of us on this podium up here is indebted to Harry to some degree or another. I want to share with you just one series of stories that really reflect the kind of man that my friend is. … It started out so many years ago. I remember an incident with Doug Kotar. For those of you with graying temples and expanding waistlines, you will remember the name Doug Kotar, No. 44, played with the Giants. He ultimately succumbed to cancer. It was Harry Carson who gathered all of his teammates, troops, and formulated a visitation to Doug who was still being hospitalized, and subsequently set up a scholarship fund for his kids. That spoke to me in ways that you could never imagine.
“Subsequently, there was an individual who was in a car accident not too long ago in which he almost lost his life. He stated to me emphatically that had it not been for Harry Carson paying out of his own pocket, coming to his bedside and reassuring him that there was something for him to fight and to live for, that he would not have made it. That was a backup quarterback by the name of Jeff Rutledge.
“Most recently, there's a former teammate, whose name has faded from the annals of professional football, who started out with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who ended up with the New York Giants, who unfortunately passed away. He did so with no fanfare, no bands, no parades. Yet, still the gentleman who we call our team captain, Harry Carson, was there front and center, paying his respects, acknowledging the fraternity of which he was a part of. That's the kind of person that Harry Carson is.
“So I can tell you in all honesty that his ascension into the Hall of Fame is well‑deserved. But it’s not because he's been a nine‑time Pro Bowler, it's not because he's been a leader by example on the field, and that each and every one of us is proud to follow him into the field of battle. It's because he realizes that the impact in the field of life is more important than the impact that he's had in the field of play. I want to congratulate my partner and tell him that it's been a real pleasure and a privilege, and that the honor George Martin holds most sacredly is that one day he can tell his grandchildren that he played with the legendary Harry Carson.”
Marty Schottenheimer: “It was apparent to us very early on that this was a unique talent. He was 6-2 and change, and he was 234 pounds, if memory serves me right, he ran a 4.65 (40-yard dash) on grass. That was a unique speed for a linebacker at that time.
“While he didn't start the first few games, ultimately, his presence and the things that he was able to exhibit in practice, we said, ‘Hey, we've got to give this young man an opportunity to play right away.' So we went ahead and did it. (It was) the only time in my coaching career I took great care about making sure we didn't give him too much. Because he was going to be able to make the plays that you had to make as long as you didn't bog him down. And, of course, ultimately, as you look at his career, I've always said that there are certain people that you have to account for that play defense. The system on offense will give you an opportunity to match up against some players, but there's other players that you have to focus on.
“Of course, the Giants, with people like Lawrence Taylor, they had people like that, and Harry Carson clearly was a player that you had to account for on every single play, or you probably were going to end up in a negative situation.”
Lawrence Taylor: “There's really no stories I really want to tell about Harry because it's not appropriate right now. But I have enjoyed playing with him. I enjoyed playing with him for those years. Coming into the league, Harry was the first person that really took me under his wing even though the rest of the veterans didn't really like me at the time. He took me under his wing and he taught me the proper way to play football. While Brad and Brian taught me the street life, he taught me football.
“I tell you, I'm really appreciative toward Harry. Of course, I will be there at the Hall of Fame. I got to see my boy going. Even though I will be playing golf, I will stop by.”
Phil Simms: “I think I speak for all the ex‑players up here, I'm proud of Harry Carson, that he's finally made it to the Hall of Fame. Coach Parcells and all these coaches up here always said to us many times, ‘The game is hard, because if it was easy, a lot more people would be trying to play it.’
“I'll never forget coming from Morehead State University, my very first snap of my professional life, in practice at Pace University. It's a play-action pass. I get up underneath the center, look over there, see Harry Carson. I go, ‘Oh, my God,’ because, believe me, we didn't see middle linebackers like that at Morehead University. I'll never forget throwing the pass: I think it's wide open and Harry Carson intercepted. I just went, ‘It's incredible.'
“But I think Coach Parcells said it right. If you talk to the guys in the NFL, to his teammates, I think we all knew all along that he was a shoo‑in for the Hall of Fame. I'm just proud of him and happy for him and look forward to seeing that day down in Canton.”
Bill Belichick: “I think from what's been mentioned by just about everyone that's spoken, it comes back to one word, and that's respect. I think Harry, of all the players that I've been associated with in the National Football League for over 30 years, is as respected as any player I've been associated with on and off the field - as Bill mentioned, on the practice field, in a meeting room, with his teammates, with his coaches, with the organization, by the opponents, by literally everybody that he's come in contact with in regard to football. It was certainly a great opportunity for me to have the privilege ‑ I really mean that, the privilege ‑ to coach Harry. He's as easy a player as there ever was to coach. He's well prepared, worked hard, and always put the team first. That's really what, to me, a good football player is all about.
“I remember the first year that I came to the Giants in 1979. We didn't have a very good football team. Harry was there, and with Dave Jennings, the only two Pro Bowl players on that team. We got off to a rough start. I think it was maybe 0‑4, 0‑5, something like that before we finally beat Tampa (Bay) for Coach (Ray) Perkins' first win. Of course, Ray came in with a very hard‑nosed, tough attitude, really trying to develop some toughness and intensity in the team. We had very hard practices, very demanding and so forth. Again, Harry kind of led the way on those.
“I remember after one of those games, Ray stood up in front of the team with his normal stern demeanor, and said, ‘How many of you guys yesterday had fun playing out there?’ We had just gotten beat by two or three touchdowns. I remember Harry was the only person who put his hand up. He said, ‘I did. I love to play football.’
“And I remember Perkins saying, ‘Damn it, that's the way everybody should feel. I mean, sometimes you can't do anything about the score or the situation, but you should love to play the game and play hard and put your heart into it. All of you need more of an attitude like that.’
“I'm telling you, when he put his hand up, I didn't know what Ray was going to do, what was going to happen. But it was absolutely the right thing to do, the right thing to say. I think that's just a typical example of how Harry, in his own unselfish way, can be independent and earn everybody's respect.”
In addition to being a great football player and a wonderful man, Carson is a Hall of Fame talker. Here’s a sampling of what he told the crowd of coaches, former players and reporters at Gallagher’s:
“It's really been a pleasure to have had the opportunity, first, to play the game of football. It's been great to have had the opportunity to play for the Giants organization. I've learned so much from these men who are up here as coaches how to play the game hard, fair, play smart, be in shape, and that's all I wanted to do when I stepped on the field. I wanted to not venture too far away from what they were trying to teach me and teach us to do, but play smart defense. The guys who are here, I love all of these guys. This is why I'm standing here - these coaches, all of these players.
“I can stand here and talk all day about what happened on the football field, but, truth be known, I'm more about off the field. It was about these guys were my guys, whether it was in high school, whether it was in college. Those guys in college, those were my guys. I felt personally responsible for them.
“I felt a sense of responsibility as a leader, as a team leader at South Carolina State, and I think I brought it on to the Giants. It's one thing to go out and play on the football field week in and week out. It's another thing to go through what you have to go through in training camp and during the course of the week, and you have to try to keep things together. It's not easy to keep things together, especially when the team isn't playing well and we have to circle our wagons against you guys in the media because you're always looking for something to write about negatively. We had to find ways of just staying together.
“That's when I would go to Bill and I'd say, ‘Bill, can I take the guys to Beefsteak Charlie's?’ All the guys would come together. We would have drinks, eat at Beefsteak Charlie's. I think situations like that are where you find out what people are made of. You can play together and not really know each other, but when you let down your guard and you're able to share a meal together and just be together, you learn what makes another person tick. So I've always loved and cared for the guys who I played with. I don't know, it's just something that is inside of me.
“I feel tremendously honored to have had the opportunity to play with all of these guys up here. I consider them my brothers. If they ever need anything, they know that they can just pick up the phone and I'll always be there for them. So that's what this whole Hall of Fame thing is for me.
“There are fantastic Giants fans all around the country, and I just give thanks to all of the Giant fans who have been so courteous and so appreciative of my play over the years. I tell you, I don't think there's been a day that has gone by where a Giant fan hasn't stopped me, and it doesn't matter whether it's in my hometown, here in the city, in Paris, in the Caribbean, in Hawaii, and said, ‘Thanks for being there during those dark years.’
“So I really appreciate the fans. In a couple weeks (at his induction ceremony) I want to acknowledge all of those fans who were in the World Trade Center. If you've ever been to a Giants practice … you could see the World Trade Center from the practice field at Giants Stadium. There were so many times that we looked over during practice, looked over at the World Trade Center and not really think anything, and then all of a sudden, it's no longer there. All of those people who were Giant fans who lost their lives, I want to acknowledge them.
“When I say that going into the Hall of Fame is not necessarily about me, but it's about everybody who helped to get me to this point - I got fitted for the bust and I was told that bust is going to last 40,000 years. I wish I could just take little pieces and just give them to everybody because there's so many people who have inspired me along the way ‑ all these coaches, all these players, the GMs, the owner, and on and on and on, and the fans in the supermarket who have encouraged me along the way. There have just been so many people who have encouraged me. So this is a time for them, not necessarily a time for me. But I'm very proud to have been … selected to sort of represent all of those people who have helped me get to this point.”
http://giants.com/news/eisen/story.asp?story_id=16088
