Number 81 and the NY Giants Player Who Wore It Best

The countdown to the start of the New York Giants’ 2025 season is underway, as we’re now 81 days away from kickoff against division rivals 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 81 in at Least One Regular Season Game

Jim Lee Howell (1946–1947), Bill Swiacki (1948–1950), Bill Stribling (1951–1953), Andy Robustelli (1956–1964), Tom Scott (1959–1964), Freeman White (1966–1969), Jack Gregory (1972–1978), Cleveland Jackson (1979), Stacy Robinson (1985–1990), Torin Smith (1987), Ed McCaffrey (1991–1993), Thomas Lewis (1994–1997), Amani Toomer (1998–2008), Mario Manningham (2008–2011), Jake Ballard (2010), Devin Thomas (2010), Adrien Robinson (2012–2014), Matt LaCosse (2015–2017), Ryan O'Malley (2017), Russell Shepard (2018–2019), Austin Mack (2020), Alex Bachman (2021)

*Jersey numbers perPro Football Reference.

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Which Giants Player Wore It Best?

Pro Football Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli was the focal point of every front four he played with and an outstanding leader throughout his career. An undersized pass rusher with boundless energy and great instincts, he was feared by quarterbacks around the NFL.

Perhaps more importantly, Robustelli was a winner: He made the postseason in nine of his 14 pro seasons, including six in nine years with the Giants, and captured NFL titles with the 1951 Rams and the 1956 Giants.

In New York, he was named first-team All-Pro four times and a second-team choice twice. The Maxwell Club broke with its often-held tradition of recognizing players on offense when it named Robustelli the recipient of the Bert Bell Award as the NFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 1962. 

The Giants acquired Robustelli from the Los Angeles Rams in 1956 for a 1957 first-round draft choice – it became the 11th overall pick and was used on wide receiver Del Shofner, who the Rams traded to the Giants before the 1961 season.

Robustelli came off four consecutive All-Pro seasons (two first-team and two second-team selections) as the Rams’ starting right defensive end and took over the same role for the Giants. He was the most dominant piece of the NFL’s first-ever “Fearsome Foursome,” which included fellow end Jim Katcavage and defensive tackles Rosey Grier and Dick Modzelewski from 1956 to 1962.

In 1956, the Yankee Stadium crowd began showing their appreciation for their effort with what is recognized as the earliest chants of “Dee-Fense. Dee-Fense.” at sporting events.

Although the NFL did not begin keeping sacks as an official statistic until 1982, Robustelli was credited with 15.5 in 1961 (second in the NFL), 12 in 1962 (tied for fifth), and 14.5 in 1963 (second), according to back-dated research through 1960 done by John Turney of the Pro Football Researchers Association.

The lineman, at age 39, finished with 6.5 sacks in 1964. He played in all 116 regular-season games (with 114 starts) over his nine seasons in New York – and this included serving as a player-coach on defense from 1962 to 1964. He also served as the team’s Director of Operations (also known as General Manager) from 1974 to 1978.

In 2024, Robustelli was named 10th on the list of the all-time Giants’ Top 100 Players as selected by an independent committee of journalists, NFL/Pro Football Hall of Fame executives, and superfans polled by the team.

Who’s Wearing It Now?

Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey was assigned No. 81 during this offseason after he signed as a free agent. He originally entered the NFL with New Orleans (2019-21) as an undrafted free agent and also has spent time with New England (2022) and Denver (2023-24).

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