True Gridiron

First Family of Giants Football

- Tom Mackie

As Giants fans are well aware, the Mannings are known as the First Family of Football. Archie Manning was a productive Pro Bowl QB despite having very little support during his distinguished career. Then he proved to be even more productive off the field, as the father to two future Hall of Fame QBs. Peyton and Eli have 4 Super Bowl championships between them to secure the First Family of Football pedigree.

So, who is the First Family of Giants Football? Well, if we’re talking players and not Maras, it would be hard to discount Steve and Zak DeOssie. Son Zak is now in his 11th season with the Giants, the 2nd most tenured Giant player on the team with the exception of, ahem, Eli. The DeOssies hold the distinction of being the only father-son duo to win a Super Bowl for the same team.

Steve, who played 4 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Giants from 1989-93, was the team’s long snapper and the starting linebacker in the team’s Super Bowl XXV victory over the Buffalo Bills. It was Steve’s precision snap on Matt Bahr’s 42-yard field goal as time expired that gave the Giants a victory over the 49ers in the 1990 NFC Championship game.

Coincidentally, 21 years later, on a wet, muddy field, again in Frisco, it was his son Zak DeOssie’s snap on Lawrence Tyne’s 31-yard field goal in OT that gave the Giants a victory over the 49ers in the 2011 NFC Championship game.