Lawrence Taylor was a member of the iconic “Big Blue Wrecking Crew,” which led the New York Giants to success in Super Bowls XXI and XXV. He wasn’t just any member. Taylor was the centerpiece of this legendary defense, which was once the most feared in the league.
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Taylor is not someone you forget easily. However, he seems to have been treated like a forgotten entity by his own team.
” You know, I played for the Giants for 13 years, you know, and I thought I made a name for myself until I came here to watch the practice and everything, and I had to wear a name tag,” Taylor said in an Instagram video. “Damn.”
Taylor also attended a gathering celebrating the 1986 team, with those former teammates all clad in Giants jackets. They all posed for photos.
Only weeks earlier, the former linebacker had attended the Dallas Cowboys game at MetLife. He didn’t have to wear a nametag then.
The New York Giants are set to honor their 1986 Super Bowl championship team on its 40th anniversary during Sunday’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Ahead of the matchup, Taylor also got to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
After posting a 14-2 record in the 1986 season, the Giants overwhelmed San Francisco and Washington in the playoffs, putting up a tally of 66-3 combined. They followed that dominant run with a 39-20 Super Bowl victory over the Broncos at the Rose Bowl stadium.
“This anniversary is about honoring a team that defined Giants football and delivered one of the most dominant championship runs in NFL history,” Giants owner John Mara said in a statement in May. “We look forward to celebrating these legends while giving our fans unique opportunities to relive and connect with that unforgettable season.”
But Taylor really needs no introduction. The former linebacker is easily one of the best defenders in team history, having gotten the best of numerous quarterbacks. Taylor finished his 13-year run with 142 sacks and 10 straight Pro Bowl nods. Imagine that.
“They’re talking about the greatest to ever play — a game-changer. They’re talking about LT,” former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck once said. “He was that kind of difference-maker — a unique talent, a unique teammate.”
Taylor was known for his aggressive play. He showed his toughness in a 1988 game against the New Orleans Saints, playing through a torn pectoral muscle with his shoulder secured by a harness. He finished with seven tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles in the Giants’ 13-12 win. This reputation for playing hard football earned him the nickname “Superman” amongst his teammates.
With the speed to get past offensive linemen and the power to muscle through them, Taylor quickly established himself as an intense force. His rookie season also marked the start of a 10-year run in which the Giants reached the playoffs six times and won two Super Bowls.
CBS NFL insider Pat Kirwan once had a conversation with former football head coach Bill Parcells.
“It was Taylor’s second year in the NFL, 1982, and really the first year he made his presence known as a pass rusher,” Kirwan wrote in CBS report in 2013. “As Parcells tells it they were playing Philadelphia at home and there was a defensive call made on the field that required LT to drop into coverage. He rushed the quarterback instead and sacked him.”
This journey made way for Taylor to get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. All this fame, but he still received a name tag at the Super Bowl party.
However, Taylor sure can expect a thunderous crowd welcoming him back to the ground where he made his name, when the Giants celebrate the 1986 team.