Former Giants Linebacker Harry Carson Finally Inducted into Hall of Fame

Why did it take so long for Harry Carson to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

That's what all New York Giants fans have been wondering for years, but Carson finally received an honor he richly deserved and better late than never, though he should have gotten in a lot sooner.

Carson was one of the NFL's best and most respected linebackers for the Giants in the 1970s and 1980s and was selected to the Pro Bowl in nine of his 13 seasons. But for some reason, he kept getting passed over by a committee of sports writers, falling short of the necessary votes for seven straight years.

In 2004, Carson become so disenchanted with the process he asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from consideration. Fortunately, that request was denied.

A member of the Giants' first Super Bowl-winning team in 1987, Carson wasn't the best player on those great defensive teams. That honor would belong to fellow linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who many say revolutionized the position. But Carson was the spiritual leader, the glue that held everything together, a teammate whom everyone admired and enjoyed playing with.

Carson also is credited with starting the now common practice in which the winning coach gets doused with a bucket of Gatorade. Carson started it during the 1986 season. You can still him, wearing a trench coat over his uniform and egged on by the Giants Stadium crowd, sneaking up behind Giants coach Bill Parcells, who soon would be soaking wet. The crowd loved it, and the practice became a tradition throughout the NFL.

During the 1970s, the Giants were an embarrassment and arguably reached the lowest point in the storied franchise's history in 1979 with a play that simply became known as "The Fumble". With time running out in a game against the Eagles, all quarterback Joe Pisarcik had to do was take a knee. Inexplicably, he tried a handoff and messed up the exchange. Pisarcik fumbled and the ball bounced right into the hands of Herman Edwards, the future Jets coach, who returned it for a touchdown, giving the Eagles one of the most improbable wins in NFL history.

That was the last straw. Commissioner Pete Rozelle decided that he could no longer allow the Giants, one of the NFL's marquee franchises, to embarrass the league. He ordered - or at least strongly suggested - that the team's feuding owners - Tim and Wellington Mara - hire George Young as general manager. Young in turn hired Parcells, who put in place the pieces that led to a pair of Super Bowl victories. Carson, already a mainstay when Parcells arrived, was a huge part of the Giants' first Super Bowl triumph.

In retrospect, maybe it was a blessing No. 53 had to wait because he was inducted with arguably the greatest class in NFL history. It certainly was an eclectic group that included the late Reggie White, coach turned broadcaster John Madden, quarterbacks Warren Moon and Troy Aikman and offensive tackle Rayfield Wright.