Ranking the Top Greatest Specialists in New York Giants' Franchise History

Kickers, punters and return specialists all count as contributors as well, so as a bonus installment to his greatest Giants players ever at each position, historian John Gidley looks at the top three best players in each group.

Author:
John Gidley
Publish date:
Jun 4, 2021 1:00 PM EDT

The final installment of our Giants position rankings is dedicated to the special teamers. Since comparing kickers to punters is unrealistic, I’ll be ranking the top three kickers, punters, and kick returners individually.

The Kickers

3. Pat Summerall, 1958-1961

In 1959, this Arkansas alum who later became the greatest play-by-play announcer in NFL history kicked 20 field goals out of 29 attempts, a 69% success rate that led the NFL that season. This happened in an era where kickers were far less automatic than they are today.

Summerall’s most memorable kick as a Giant came during a blizzard in the final game of the 1958 regular season against Cleveland, a 49-yard field goal that clinched a share of first place for the Giants and lifted them into the playoffs.

Believe it or not, when Bob Sheppard, the iconic public-address announcer for the Giants and Yankees, was asked to name his favorite game he ever announced, he answered, “The day Pat Summerall kicked the field goal in the snow.”

2. Pete Gogolak, 1966-1974

With 646 career points, Gogolak is the all-time leading scorer for the Giants. He was born in Budapest in 1942, leaving Hungary for New York in the mid-1950s.

After attending Cornell, Gogolak spent his first two seasons in Buffalo before being infamously signed by the Giants in the 1966 offseason.

This broke the unwritten rule at the time of NFL teams signing AFL players. In any event, Gogolak still holds the Giants’ record with 126 field goals made.

1. Lawrence Tynes, 2007-2012

Even though Gogolak has more points than any Giant, I chose Tynes because of his playoff contributions.

In both the 2007 and 2011 NFC Championship games, this Troy University product kicked the game-winning field goals in overtime to send the Giants to the Super Bowl.

His 47-yard kick in the former game in Green Bay was all the more impressive considering that the temperature was one degree below zero at Lambeau Field.

The Punters

3. Don Chandler, 1956-1964

This former Florida Gator was also the Giants’ kicker during his final three seasons in New York. A 53-yard field goal he kicked in 1963 was the longest in the NFL that year.

Chandler accrued over 23,000 punting yards with the Giants, leading the league in 1958 with 2,859 yards.

2. Sean Landeta, 1985-1993

In his rookie season, Landeta, a Towson graduate, completely whiffed on a punt attempt from his own end zone in the Giants’ Divisional Round playoff game at Chicago, directly leading to a Bears touchdown.

He recovered nicely from this error, eventually winning two Super Bowls to go along with three All-Pro selections.

1. Dave Jennings, 1974-1984

Jennings, an alumnus of St. Lawrence University, accumulated over 38,000 punting yards. He was voted to two All-Pro teams in his 11 seasons with the Giants.

After retiring, he served as a radio analyst for the Jets and later the Giants. Unfortunately, Jennings had to leave the booth in 2008 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He passed away in 2013.

The Returners

3. Ron Dixon, 2000-2002

Dixon, a receiver chosen in the third round of the 2000 draft from Lambuth University in Tennessee, is the only player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a single postseason.

He started the Giants’ 2000 Divisional Round game against Philadelphia with a bang by taking the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a score.

As an encore, his kick return of the same distance in Super Bowl XXXV scored the only points for New York in their blowout loss to Baltimore.

2. Emlen Tunnell, 1948-1958

Yes, in addition to all of his other accomplishments, Tunnell was an excellent return man as well. His five touchdowns off punt returns are second-most in Giants history.

(To read more of Tunnell’s amazing story, take a look at last week's article.)

1. Dave Meggett, 1989-1994

Like Sean Landeta, Meggett was a Towson Tiger, drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 1989. Twice, he led the league in punt return yardage, and in 1994, his final season with the Giants, Meggett returned two punts for touchdowns, joining Emlen Tunnell and Amani Toomer as the only Giants to do so in a single season.

While most of the players in these rankings wouldn’t be considered household names, a dependable special teams unit is imperative for any team that wishes to contend.

Super Bowls are rarely won without the presence of role players like Tynes, Landeta, and Meggett.

MORE HISTORICAL GIANTS POSITION GROUP RANKINGS

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