E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

By DAVE KLEIN
They made a big deal over Harry Carson yesterday in sweltering New York City.

And they should have done exactly that. He was the Giants' best middle linebacker in the history of the franchise, with all due apologies to Sam Huff, who toiled in a different time and would have trouble competing today.

The reason for all the fuss at a midtown Manhattan restaurant was to celebrate Carson's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, O., on Aug. 5, which will be 18 years after he retired and 13 years after he was eligible for this honor.

There were surprisingly important people present to honor Carson, among them former Giants' head coach Bill Parcells; former defensive end George Martin; his coach at South Carolina State, Willie Jeffries, former linebacker (and Hall of Fame member) Lawrence Taylor; former defensive tackle Jim Burt; former defensive coordinator and now head coach in New England, Bill Belichick; former linebacker Brad Van Pelt; former linebacker Pepper Johnson; former quarterback Phil Simms; and a few others.

They were all great supporters of this legendary linebacker, the man about whom Dick Vermeil, then head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, once said: "Harry Carson is the only player in this league I would pay money to watch."

He probably amended that for L.T. later on, but that's how great Carson really was, better than several who found a way to precede him into the Hall of Fame.

And that was the question that no one asked, how did he feel about this 13-year wait, when year after year his hopes were high and everyone said his chances were excellent? How did he deal with the knowledge that players who weren't as good were enshrined, usually by the Hall of Fame voters -- mostly sportswriters -- who generally vote for those who were particularly nice to them, with the obvious exception of a few such as L.T.

In fact, three years ago Carson wrote a letter to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, asking that his name be removed from any future ballots. "My friends said not to do it, but I was comfortable with it. I knew where I stood with my teammates. I knew that I had earned their respect over the years and I knew that I would be comfortable just going on with my life."

But here he is, Harry Carson, Hall of Famer. No one ever deserved it more, not only for the excellence with which he played the game but the high degree of humanity and respect he showed to everyone.

May I be personal here?

When Carson joined the team, a fourth round draft pick in 1976, the head coach was Bill Arnsparger was the head coach (well, for half that season). He was replaced by John McVay, but the man Carson remembers most fondly is Marty Schottenheimer, then the linebackers coach and today, after several similar stops, the head coach in San Diego.

It was Schottenheimer who drafted him, who moved him from defensive end (and nose tackle) to middle linebacker.

Well, when Carson joined the Giants, he had no way to know this was a horrid team. But it became better because of his presence. And when I introduced myself, he shook hands and nodded. "I know who you are," he said. "When my mother lived in Newark [N.J.] and I came to visit, we read The Star-Ledger. It seems like I know you already."

Years later, he added to that statement, although unknowingly. "You must have been around here forever, Dave," he said. "You and Mr. Mara, right?"

Well, Harry Carson is a friend, and each year when the voting committee managed to pass him by, it was a slap in the face not only to the man but to his friends. How could Mike Singletary have been ushered in ahead of him? How can that be possible? How is it that such defensive players as Dan Hampton and Elvin Bethea, Nick Buoniconti and Jack Youngblood all preceded him into the Hall of Fame? They were outstanding defensive players, no doubt; but none of them were better than Harry Carson.

So yesterday his friends and colleagues honored him with a luncheon and a series of tributes, and it was all deserved. All of it. The only problem is that it happened way too late. It should have been a similar event, with similar praise, 10 years earlier.

A wide receiver named Bobby Johnson explained it best one day after a game.The Giants had trailed badly after the first half, had played with all the enthusiasm of cheerleaders in a driving snowstorm, but in the second half, unexpectedly, it was clearly a different team that played. The Giants won the game.

It probably was a 28-27 victory over Kansas City, played in Giants Stadium. What happened? How was that dramatic turnaround explained?

Johnson explained it. "Harry Carson came into the locker room and looked around at the team. He picked up a trash can and threw it across the room. He took off his helmet and threw it. He said that we were going to win the game. Or else."

He paused. "You know, nobody wanted to know what 'or else' meant. If Harry said it, you listened."

Harry Carson had the first locker on the right when you enter the Giants' locker room these days, and overhead there is a bronze plaque bearing his name and the years during which he toiled for the Giants. He played 13 years in the NFL, all of them for the Giants, and in nine of those years he was voted to the Pro Bowl.

Now he's going into the Hall of Fame, and as Parcells once said to Simms, after he threw a third touchdown pass to beat San Francisco, 21-17, "it's about damned time."

You bet it is.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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