Thursday, September 4, 2014

1967 Profile: Allie Sherman

Head Coach
"Anybody who came out of the wilds of Brooklyn and admits he played on his high school handball team and was a left-handed quarterback at Brooklyn College can survive anything. Allie Sherman is such a man, and his background, as well as his good sense, have inured him against the pitfalls, catcalls and pratfalls that have accompanied his last few seasons as Giant coach.
He's in a town that is proud of its winning football tradition - one that he himself sustained between 1961 and 1963 when the Giants won three consecutive Eastern Conference titles, and for which Allie was twice named Coach of the Year.
But when the Giants began their slide in 1964, the fans asked, 'But what have you done for us lately?' and followed with choruses of 'Good-bye, Allie' which have been ringing in his ears ever since. After the Giants sank to their worst season in history in 1966 with a 1-12-1 record, he said, 'What happened last year is over and done with. Our total effort now is aimed at this year, and what can be done to strengthen our ball club.' To prove his point, he went out and traded for Fran Tarkenton and hired a whole new flock of assistant coaches, including defensive mentor Harland Svare, former L.A. Rams coach and an old Giant hero.
Don't sell the kid from Brooklyn short."

-Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1967

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