The 1965 New York Giants season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Football League. The Giants were led by fifth-year head coach Allie Sherman and finished with a 7–7 record, which placed them in a tie for second in the Eastern Conference with the Dallas Cowboys, four games behind the Cleveland Browns. The Cowboys won both meetings with the Giants and gained the berth as the conference runner-up in the third place Playoff Bowl in Miami.

Offseason January 22, 1965: Y. A. Tittle, 38, announced his retirement from professional football.Giants Among Men, pp. 276, 279, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York, NY, June 29, 1965: Giants president Jack Mara died at age 57. July 1965: Head coach Allie Sherman signed a ten-year contract, at $50,000 per year.Giants Among Men, p. 278, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York, NY, He was fired in September 1969.

NFL draft In the 1965 NFL draft, the Giants had the first overall selection and took running back Tucker Frederickson; future hall of famers taken later in the first round were Joe Namath, Gale Sayers, and Dick Butkus.

Regular season

During the offseason, the Giants traded for quarterback Earl Morrall. New York began with two wins in their first three games, and held a 4–4 mark before a two-game losing streak. They won three of their next four games before losing the regular season finale, their second game against the Cowboys.

Morrall started all 14 games for the Giants, throwing 22 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. Tucker Frederickson topped the team with 659 yards rushing; he had six touchdowns, including five on the ground. Joe Morrison led the with 41 receptions, while Homer Jones had a team-high 709 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. Defensively, Spider Lockhart and Dick Lynch each had four interceptions, and Jim Katcavage had 5.5 sacks to lead New York. Frederickson and tackle Rosey Brown were selected for the 1966 Pro Bowl.

Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 19 at Dallas Cowboys L 2–31 0–1 Cotton Bowl 59,366 Recap 2 September 26 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–14 1–1 Franklin Field 57,154 Recap 3 October 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–13 2–1 Pitt Stadium 31,871 Recap 4 October 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–40 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 44,283 Recap 5 October 17 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–27 3–2 Yankee Stadium 62,815 Recap 6 October 24 Cleveland Browns L 14–38 3–3 Yankee Stadium 62,864 Recap 7 October 31 St. Louis Cardinals W 14–10 4–3 Yankee Stadium 62,807 Recap 8 November 7 Washington Redskins L 7–23 4–4 Yankee Stadium 62,788 Recap 9 November 14 at Cleveland Browns L 21–34 4–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,426 Recap 10 November 21 at St. Louis Cardinals W 28–15 5–5 Busch Stadium 31,704 Recap 11 November 28 Chicago Bears L 14–35 5–6 Yankee Stadium 62,933 Recap 12 December 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–10 6–6 Yankee Stadium 62,735 Recap 13 December 12 at Washington Redskins W 27–10 7–6 D. C. Stadium 50,373 Recap 14 December 19 Dallas Cowboys L 20–38 7–7 Yankee Stadium 62,871 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Roster

See also 1965 NFL season

References