No. 33 and the New York Giants Player Who Wore It Best

The countdown to the start of the New York Giants’ 2025 season is underway, as we’re now 33 days away from the opening kickoff against the Washington Commanders. To count down the days until then, we look at the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Giants.

Who Wore No. 33 in at Least One Regular Season Game*

S Andrew Adams (2016-17), RB George Adams (1985-89), DB Jason Bell (2006), OT Knuckles Boyle (1934), RB Gary Brown (1998-99), RB Jarrod Bunch (1991-93), RB Red Corzine (1935-36), RB Steve Crosby (1974-76), DB Joe Green (1970-71), LB Albert Gursky (1963), RB Bobby Hammond (1976-79), RB Peyton Hillis (2014), P Curley Johnson (1969), RB Gartrell Johnson (2009), DB Mike Jordan (2018), RB Delvin Joyce (2002-03), DB Jerome King (1980), S Kenny Ladler (2018), RB Scott Laidlaw (1980), RB Dion Lewis (2020), OG Dick Marsh (1933), DB LeCharls McDaniel (1983), CB Brandon McGee (2015), OT John Mellus (1938-41), RB Joe Montgomery (2000), RB Erric Pegram (1997), CB Geoffrey Pope (2007), RB Smith Reed (1965-66), CB Aaron Robinson (2021-22), OT Rudy Rosatti (1928), OL Ollie Satenstein (1933), RB Da’Rel Scott (2011-13), OG Red Seick (1942), CB Duke Shelley (2024), OG Jim Sivell (1944-45), OL Dick Stahlman (1927), RB Mel Triplett (1955-60), RB Robert Walker (1996), DB Tim Watson (1995), DB Dee Williams (2024), RB-LB Frank Williams (1948), DB Roscoe Word (1976).

*Jersey numbers per Pro Football Reference.

Which Giants Player Wore It Best?

Fullback Mel Triplett combined his collegiate experience as a fullback and defensive tackle with a sturdy, powerful frame to become a punishing NFL blocker and ball carrier. 

He was on three postseason teams with the Giants, including the 1956 world champions, and missed only three regular-season games over his six years with a club that also boasted Alex Webster and Frank Gifford in the backfield.

The Giants took Triplett in the fifth round out of Toledo in the 1955 NFL Draft. In his second season, he ran for 91 yards on 19 carries in Week 3 against Cleveland, rushed for touchdowns in four of the final six games of the regular season, and finished with 515 yards and five TDs on 125 carries.

Triplett gained prominence for his big day in the 47-7 rout over Chicago in the 1956 NFL Championship Game, which was played on a frozen Yankee Stadium field and became known as the sequel to the original 1934 “Sneakers Game.” 

Triplett scored the game’s first points on a 17-yard dash, added the game’s long run (20 yards), and led all rushers with 71 yards on 13 carries to earn recognition as the Giants’ Offensive Player of the Game.

He broke the 100-yard mark twice with the Giants – both times against Cleveland - rumbling 20 times for 116 in 1958 and grinding out a career-high 137 yards and a TD on 25 attempts in 1960. In 1961, Triplett and Bob Schnelker were part of a multi-player trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

Triplett’s younger brother, Bill, was a running back for the 1967 Giants as part of his 10 NFL seasons.

Who’s Wearing It Now?