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Number 1 and the New York Giants Player Who Wore It Best

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The countdown to the start of the New York Giants’ 2025 season is underway, as we’re now one day 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. 1 in at Least One Regular Season Game*

B Hinkey Haines (1925), FB-TB-HB Jack McBride (1926-28), T-G Bill Owen (1929), TB-DB Benny Friedman (1929-31), E-DE Ray Flaherty (1932-35), T Frank Cope (1946-47), WR Malik Nabers (2024-present)

*Jersey numbers per Pro Football Reference.

Which Giants Player Wore It Best?

What’s interesting about No. 1 in Giants history is the number of players who donned the digit for a small snippet of their careers and yet who either earned Pro Bowl or All-Pro nods, or were part of championships.

That said, we’re going to name Ray Flaherty as the best to wear the number, having done so between 1932 and 35. Flaherty joined the Giants in 1929, spending six years with the club, with a break during the 1930 season to pursue coaching at Gonzaga.

From 1932-34, he earned three consecutive All-Pro honors, a first team nod in 1932, and then second team honors in the other two seasons. In 1932, he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, yards per reception, and yards per game.

Flaherty was also a part of the Giants’ 1934 NFL Championship season, and was also part of two other Giants squads that came up short in the NFL Championship (1933 and 1935).

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976. He was voted No. 50 on the Giants' Top 100 players in franchise history last season and made NFL history as being the first professional football player to have his jersey number retired by a team.

Who’s Wearing It Now?

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The Giants unretired No. 1, last worn by Flaherty, for receiver Malik Nabers. The Flaherty family gave their consent for the franchise to do so, and thus far, Nabers has embodied the spirit of Flaherty well in wearing his jersey.

Nabers became the first Giants receiver to crack 1,000 yards last season since Odell Beckham Jr did so in 2018. And this year, a more mature and confident Nabers is ready to become more of a leader on this squad as he looks to continue his productive NFL career in blue.

Interesting note about this jersey number. Before Nabers being assigned the digit, the number was worn after Flaherty, by Frank Cope, who spent his entire 10-year career (1938-47) with the Giants, earning two Pro Bowl berths and one first-team All-Pro nod.

Cope, however, only wore No. 1 for two seasons, donning No. 36 for the majority of his career.

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This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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