No. 11 and the New York Giants Player Who Wore It Best

Phil Simms remains one of the most decorated players in Giants history and was a central piece that brought the franchise back to contention in the mid 1980s.

Sep 13, 1992; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback (11) Phil Simms in action against the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The countdown to the start of the New York Giants’ 2025 season is underway, as we’re now 11 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. 11 in at Least One Regular Season Game*

End Tillie Voss (1926), WB Joe Guyon (1927), End Neely Allison (1928), G/T Butch Gibson (1930-34), Back Tony Sarausky (1935-37), HB Bull Karcis (1938-39), OL Chet Gladchuk (1941), C Emmett Barrett (1942), DE Steve Pritko (1943), End/DB John Weiss (1944-45), HB/End John Doolan (1946), HB Bob Morris (1947), QB Don Heinrich (1954-59), QB Lee Grosscup (1960-61), QB Earl Morrall (1965-67), QB Dick Shiner (1970), QB Randy Johnson (1971-73), QB Phil Simms (1979-93)

*Jersey numbers according to Pro Football Reference

Which Giants Player Wore It Best?

Nov 24, 1991; Tampa, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback (11) Phil Simms in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

When it comes to the history of the New York Giants and their greatest players, quarterback Phil Simms is a legendary figure who remains emblematic of two totally different eras in the organization’s storied timeline. 

In the years leading up to his arrival in East Rutherford in 1979, the Giants franchise had been largely unsuccessful in competing with the rest of the NFL. 

The preceding decade saw the Giants finish with fewer than six wins per season from 1970 to 1978, showcasing one of the weakest offenses that ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of passing production. 

After fellow quarterback icon Fran Tarkenton departed the team following the 1971 campaign and five seasons in command, the Giants spent the next eight seasons trying to land his worthy successor, only for those attempts to be futile as they couldn't secure a solid signal caller to assume the reins for more than three years. 

That was when Simms, the underrated prospect and eventual No. 7 pick out of Morehead State, would enter the fold. Simms was hardly the most impressive prospect in his class, which included other greats, such as Joe Montana. Still, he had intrigued the Giants' brass enough to select him far above his pre-draft projections, which only made the pick more unfavorable to the fan base. 

However, little did they know that Simms would become the main face of the Giants' offense for the next 14 seasons and serve as the long-forsaken catalyst that would get New York back into serious contention again, ultimately reaching the greatest pinnacle in the sport twice during his tenure. 

Coming in as a rookie, Simms appeared in 12 games for the Giants, starting 11 of them while sharing a few of those contests with fellow quarterback Joe Pisarcik. Still, he exploded to the tune of 134 completions for 1,734 yards and 13 touchdowns and was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team and a runner-up for Rookie of the Year behind a future teammate in running back Ottis Anderson (St. Louis Cardinals). 

Simms’ fast start would soon hit the skids from 1980 to 1982, when he was plagued by a slew of injuries in each of those campaigns. The first season saw him play in 13 games but produce only a 15:19 touchdown-to-interception ratio as the Giants posted their worst scoring differential in the past decade and were a bottom-five offense under head coach Ray Perkins. 

His next two seasons were marred by a shoulder injury he sustained in 1981 and a season-ending torn knee ligament suffered in the preseason ahead of the 1982 season.

At the same time, the Giants would lose Perkins to his resignation, as he would accept the same job at the University of Alabama. Still, the franchise would replace him with future Hall of Famer Bill Parcells, then their defensive coordinator, whose leadership would help get the quarterback’s journey soaring back in the right direction. 

Once he got past another injury-riddled season in 1983, during which the team went 3-12-1, Simms finally found his winning groove in the 1984 season. He returned after building his game in the film and weight room to throw for a whopping 4,044 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions while leading the Giants to their first playoff appearance with him. 

The 1985 season saw another 3,800+ yards and 22 touchdowns as the Giants won 10 games, their most in a single season in over two decades, and made the postseason again. In 1986, it would all come to a head for Simms, as he led the team with 3,487 yards and 21 touchdowns to Super Bowl XXI, where they defeated the Denver Broncos, 38-20, to claim their title in the Super Bowl era. 

Simms set multiple Super Bowl records in that game and authored two of the most famous plays in the history of the big game. One being a flea flicker pass to receiver Phil McConkey and the other a touchdown from a pass off the fingertips of McConkey that landed in tight end Marc Bavarro’s gloves for an important score to seal the victory.

The Giants would stack four more double-digit winning seasons with Simms under center, including the 1990 campaign when they went 11-3 and made it back to Super Bowl XXV. They would beat the Buffalo Bills 20-19, but without Simms in command as he suffered a broken foot late in the regular season and had to pass the torch to Jeff Hostetler to finish the journey to a second Lombardi trophy. 

After that glorious run, the Giants' era with Parcells as head coach would end after he resigned ahead of the 1991 season, and the final three years of Simms’ tenure would be modest. He would finish under 1,000 passing yards twice while only throwing for 13 combined scores in those same two seasons. 

Nevertheless, Simms remains to this day a symbol of revival within the Giants franchise that was considered a laughing stock for much of the late 1960s and 1970s. He resurrected the team’s offense to almost an annual competitor and found ways to overcome his turnover woes that left a noticeable stain on his overall resume.  

Along with his two Super Bowl rings, he was named the MVP of his first big game, a time-time Pro Bowler (1985,1993), won the NFL Man of the Year award in his final season, and the Jim Thorpe Trophy in 1986 for the league’s MVP player voted on by his fellow players across the NFL. 

Simms still holds two league records: the highest completion percentage in a Super Bowl (88%, with a minimum of 14 pass attempts) and the highest passer rating (150.9, with at least 14 attempts). 

On the team level, he holds 13 Giants records, the most notable being the most passing yards in a single game (513), most yards per pass attempt per game (13.63), and the most passing yards in a game by a rookie (300).

Following his playing career, Simms has been involved in numerous broadcasting gigs with ESPN, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports. He was also named the No. 11 greatest Giants player on their Top 100 Playerslist released last season.

Who's Wearing It Now?

Two years after Simms' retirement at the end of the 1993 NFL season, the New York Giants retired his jersey number in a halftime ceremony on September 4, 1995, during the team's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium.

Simms is one of four legendary Giants quarterbacks to have their jersey number retired and displayed in the rafters of what is now MetLife Stadium by the franchise.

He joins the company of Charlie Connolly (No. 42), Y.A. Tittle (No. 14), and Eli Manning (No. 10), who was the most recent to have his jersey taken out of commission in 2021.

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