The New York Giants may not be in the Super Bowl this year, but they will always be a special part of Fairfield University history. “We knew that the Giants held their summer training right here on campus during the 1960s,” says University Archivist Elise Bochinski. “The annoying thing is we could never locate any photos of the team beyond one or two generic publicity shots.”
With the approach of the University’s 75th Anniversary in 2017, the need for historical photographs for various anniversary projects intensified. In the hopes of finding new material, the archives staff dug even deeper into their unprocessed collections. One intern spent the summer creating a rough inventory for several hundred film negatives originally stashed in interoffice envelopes, a time-consuming process that yielded unexpected gold.
Carl “Spider” Lockhart of the New York Giants football team signs autographs for a group of young fans during their summer practice at Fairfield University. Alumni Hall and the newly constructed Campus Center can be seen in the background.“I was actually looking for photos of Homecoming Weekend for the anniversary calendar,” says Bochinski. “Then I realized the dates covered the summer as well. I was blown away – these photos never made it into the student newspapers or yearbooks.” Using a light box and loupe to view the black-and-white negatives up close, the archives staff could see uniformed players and bits of familiar buildings on the university campus. The photographs, taken in July and August 1966, show New York Giants starting quarterback Earl Morrall and defensive back Carl “Spider” Lockhart, among others. Alumni Hall can be spotted in the background.
“It’s a great birthday present for Fairfield University’s 75th,” says Bochinski. “Even better, through our digital collections we can make these available to the world.”
To view the photographs, click here: http://digital.fairfield.edu/cdm/search/collection/fuhp/searchterm/giants/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/order/title