Ex-Giants Pro-Bowler dies at 84

Former Giants center Greg Larson died on June 20 at SummerWood Presbyterian Senior Living in Plymouth, Minnesota. He was 84.

In the 1961 draft, Larson was drafted by the AFL San Diego Chargers and the NFL New York Giants after graduating from the University of Minnesota. He accepted the Giants offer and played with New York for 13 years. In that time, he missed just three games and he’s ninth in Giants history for number of games played. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1968.

He played all of those games in his career while also undergoing seven football-related surgeries (including two on each knee). He retired from football in 1973 and this year he was named one of the top 100 New York Giants of their 100 year history.

Via a Giants press release:

Greg was born to Evelyn (Lachowitzer) and Kenneth Larson in Minneapolis where he was raised with his younger brother Bruce. Greg attended Roosevelt High School where he participated in football, basketball and track, earning basketball state titles in his junior and senior years. Eventually, Greg was inducted into the Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame. Upon graduating, Greg attended the University of Minnesota and was an unrecruited walk-on player for the football team. After his stand-out year as a freshman playing both offense and defense, the University offered him a full scholarship to continue with the team. A three-year letterman, he was the team captain and All-Big Ten selection when the Golden Gophers won the national championship in 1960. He was ultimately enshrined into the M Club Hall of Fame in 2010.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Bridget Hyland may be reached at bhyland@njadvancemedia.com.