Former Giants Pro Bowler Greg Larson dead at 84: ‘He was our leader’

Former Giants Pro Bowl lineman Greg Larson, who only missed three games in 13 seasons, died in late June at 84 years old “with his wife of 63 years at his side.”

A cause of death was not revealed, according to his obituary.

Larson, named one of the top 100 New York Giants ahead of the team’s 100th anniversary season earlier this year, played in 179 games from 1961-73, which at the time was second in team history only to running back and wide receiver Joe Morrison.

“He was our leader, our captain, one of the most popular players that we had,” Giants president John Mara said at the Giants 100 event in June. “Just a great all-around individual. He really epitomized what it meant to be a Giant in that era.”

The Giants reached the NFL Championship Game in each of his first three seasons.

“The fans went absolutely nuts in New York,” Larson recalled in 2001. “It was a special town to be in. People came out of the woodwork. People were really intense. You’ve got to understand that Giants fans go back a long time. That was their team. At that time the Giants encompassed the whole eastern area. They just loved us along the whole East Coast.”

Larson’s best individual season was in 1968 when the center was selected to the Pro Bowl along with teammates Fran Tarkenton, Homer Jones and Spider Lockhart.

He retired in 1974 due to knee injuries

“If I hadn’t had surgery,” he told The New York Times, “I definitely wouldn’t have given retirement a thought and would have come back. But the leg wasn’t responding the way I would like, and I said last year if I ever had another operation, that would be it.”

Larson had been a star for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was a team captain on the 1960 championship team, a year in which he was First-Team All-Big Ten.

He was drafted by the NFL’s Giants and AFL’s Chargers, choosing to sign with New York.

After his playing career, he ran a sporting goods business in Minneapolis with his wife before they sold it in 2010.

Despite his impressive playing career, he didn’t live in the past.

“It doesn’t mean that much to me,” he said in 2001. “I always live for the moment, not the past so much. I’ve done that all my life. It is great to know that you have done those things. As you get older those friends that you had do become more meaningful.”

He is survived by his wife, four children, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.