Malik Nabers Honors Giants Legend Ray Flaherty With Pregame Fit

Malik Nabers is paying tribute to the 1 who came before him — literally, the guy who wore No. 1 before him.

The rookie wide receiver will be the first New York Giants player to wear numero uno since 1935. The No. 1 jersey previously belonged to Hall of Famer Ray Flaherty, and the number has been retired in the Giants' organization ever since. The number was the first to be retired by any team in professional football history.

But with permission from Flaherty's family, Nabers has the honor of donning the legend's number as he begins his professional career.

"I understand the responsibility, and I will do everything in my power to honor the Flaherty family and this organization," Nabers said last month. "I will wear the number with great pride."

And so far, the 21-year-old is keeping his word. Ahead of the Giants' season opener against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium, Nabers wore a Ray Flaherty T-shirt for pregame warm-ups.

When a player is pressing for a number that isn't available, it's usually because he's worn that number throughout his high school and collegiate career or just has a special connection to that number. But that isn't the case with Nabers. He wore No. 8 at LSU and No. 13 in high school.

Neither of those numbers were available on the Giants either, as quarterback Daniel Jones wears No. 8 and fellow wide receiver Jalin Hayatt has No. 13. In fact, the only numbers under 20 not already in use or retired by the Giants are No. 12 and No. 18.

"Everybody else's number was really taken," Nabers said. "I didn't feel like buying somebody else's number. I looked into retired jerseys and number one stood out. So, I asked [Giants owner] John Mara about it. He was like, 'We could give it a shot.' So, we gave it a shot."

Fortunately for Nabers, the shot worked, and Flaherty's family was gracious enough to lend him No. 1.

Flaherty played for the Giants from 1929 to 1935, winning the NFL championship game in 1934. Under Giants lore, it was his idea for the team to wear sneakers after a night of freezing rain, with the traction helping them win what would become known as the "Sneakers Game." 

A seven-time First Team-All Pro, Flaherty was a member of three NFL championship teams — one as a player and two as a head coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1976. He died in 1994, at the age of 90.

That's quite a legacy. No pressure, Malik.