Giants' Malik Nabers to wear jersey number that had been retired for nearly 90 years

New York Giants ' first-round pick Malik Nabers wore the No. 9 throughout training camp and the preseason, but it was understood he would be switching numbers for the regular season. On Wednesday, the Giants finally announced his new jersey number: No. 1.

For the first time since 1935, a Giants player will wear the No. 1 in a game. The single digit belonged to the legendary Ray Flaherty, the famous defensive end and end, who won two NFL championships as a head coach, and one as a player. Flaherty also became the first professional football player to have his number retired.

This is such a special privilege, that Ray Flaherty Jr. told the New York Post that the number will be retired again once Nabers' Giants career is over.

"Re-retired if you will," Flaherty Jr. said.

"Thank you to the Flaherty family for allowing me to wear Number 1 for the New York Giants," Nabers said in a statement. "I understand the responsibility, and I will do everything in my power to honor the Flaherty family and this organization. I will wear the number with great pride. Can't wait for the season to start."

The expectations for Nabers continue to grow. In 2023, the unanimous All-American at LSU caught 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. Nabers was one of the best to ever come through the school many refer to as "WRU," as he recorded the most receptions (189) and receiving yards (3,003) in program history.

"It's a nice story because it will maybe remind people why No. 1 was retired in the first place and they'll learn a little bit about Ray Flaherty," Giants president John Mara said. "It's a nice story for us to be able to educate people about who he was."