When a handful of Giants legends joined the team for practice on Tuesday, they found out they were going to be immortalized in franchise history next month when Big Blue faces its biggest rival.
Running backs Ottis Anderson, Rodney Hampton, and Joe Morris, as well as defensive end Leonard Marshall, were told by Giants president John Mara during that session that they, along with three others, will be added to the team’s Ring of Honor in a ceremony at halftime of the Giants’ September 26 game against Dallas.
Senior vice president of medical services Ronnie Barnes and two deceased players – defensive back Jimmy Patton and running back/wide receiver Kyle Rote – will join them in the seven-member Ring of Honor Class of 2022.
"We are proud to add these deserving and legendary figures in Giants history to our Ring of Honor," Mara said, per Giants.com. "Each of the players was among the very best at his position to wear a Giants uniform. All of them helped our franchise win championships and enjoy long-term success, as has Ronnie Barnes, who has been an invaluable and beloved member of our organization for decades."
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The seven-man class brings the total enshrinement in the Giants’ Ring of Honor to 50 members, and while all six players won championships with the Giants (and Barnes has been with the team for all four Super Bowl wins), there are now nine players from the Super Bowl XXI Championship team alone with the additions of Anderson, Morris, and Marshall.
Other accolades the class brings include the Nos. 2 and 3 rushers in franchise history (Hampton and Morris), the franchise leader in rushing touchdowns (Morris), and Top 3 franchise leaders in interceptions in a career (Patton at No. 2) and single-season (also Patton, whose 11 in 1958 is tied for the franchise record), sacks (No. 3 Marshall), and touchdown receptions (No. 2 Rote).
Oh, yeah, and a Super Bowl MVP in XXV star Anderson, and member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in Barnes, too.
The seven-man class will be the second-largest to be inducted in a year, behind the inaugural 30-man class in 2010. It is the sixth Ring of Honor class in team history, with all six coming in pairs of back-to-back years: 2010-11 (30 and five), 2015-16 (four and three), and now this group following last year’s lone inductee, Eli Manning.
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