That’s notable, since the number has been retired by the team since 1935.
The Giants announced Wednesday that Nabers has received permission to don the digit from the family of the late Ray Flaherty, who was a standout end for the G-Men in the late 1920s and early 1930s. According to the team, Flaherty’s No. 1 was the first jersey number retired in pro football.
‘Thank you to the Flaherty family for allowing me to wear Number 1 for the New York Giants,’ Nabers, the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft, said in a statement released by the team. ‘I understand the responsibility, and I will do everything in my power to honor the Flaherty family and this organization.
‘I will wear the number with great pride. Can’t wait for the season to start.’
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Nabers wore No. 8 in college and No. 9 throughout the preseason, but both numbers already were claimed by veterans on the team (QB Daniel Jones and kicker Graham Gano, respectively). That sent Nabers searching for a new number with opening day fast approaching.
“Everybody else’s number was really taken,” Nabers said in a release from the team. “I looked into retired jerseys and No. 1 stood out. So, I asked (team owner) John Mara about it. He was like, ‘We could give it a shot.’ So, we gave it a shot.”
Mara spoke with the Flaherty family about returning the number to circulation.
‘I understood that Malik was interested in wearing No. 1, and we initially told him, ‘No, it’s been retired for many years,” Mara said in the team’s release. “Then I thought, I think we’d be willing to allow it if the Flaherty family would be agreeable to it. I spoke with Ray Flaherty Jr. a couple of weeks ago and I’ve had several conversations with him since, and they called me today to tell me that they would be agreeable to allowing Malik to wear the number.’
Flaherty, a three-time All-Pro, was also a successful coach after his playing days, leading Washington to two championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1976 and died in 1994 at the age of 90.
Mara said in the team’s release that No. 1 will return to retirement when ‘Malik’s career, which hopefully will last many years, is over.’
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