Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor -- Other dynamic duos?

[bk400]

I was going through some of my old cards from back in the day and found a Harry Carson and an LT rookie card. (Not graded and well played with, of course.)

Got me thinking that in many ways, Lawrence Taylor may not have been who he was on the field without Harry Carson playing with him. Polar opposites in terms of personality, but the symbiotic relationship was obvious, especially in hindsight.

I would almost argue that Harry Carson was THE quintessential NY Giants defender. The guy who personified Bill Parcells and all he stood for.

Are there any other similar pairings in the NFL or other sports? Stockton and Malone, Jordan and Pippen, Oakley and Mason come to mind in the NBA. Richard Sherman and Cam Chancellor?

[D. Bergin]

Ah, my All-time favorite Giant pairing.

Always loved Carson. He's the #1 reason L.T. was able to freelance as much as he did.

Also, love everything about his Rookie Card. Close-up profile pic. He was 22 or 23 when the picture was taken, yet he looks like a grizzled 15 year veteran already.

The write-up on the back with the 30 sacks and 114 tackles at South Carolina State his Senior season ...yet he still wasn't picked until the 4th round.

He was a 9 time Pro-Bowler, but never a 1st Team All-Pro.

Always seemingly under-rated and under-appreciated.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Mike Singeltary and Wilbur Marshall? Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier? Csonka and Kiick?

[bk400]

I recall Carson going out there for the coin toss in the Super Bowl against Denver. He went out there alone, and I swear, he looked bigger than the 5 guys the Broncos sent out to midfield.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Art Shell and Gene Upshaw.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Art Shell and Gene Upshaw.

Ooooh, that's a great one

[Shoeless Moe]

Gretzky & Messier

Super Mario (Lemiuex) & Mario Jr (Jagr) - Fun Fact: if you re-arrange the letters in Jaromir Jagr's first name it does in fact spell Mario Jr.
(kinda like if you rearrange the letters in Jim Morrison's name you get Mr. Mojo Risin')

...and the obvious ones in baseball:

Ruth & Gehrig
Mantle & Maris

[Chuck9788]

[G1911]

from 1952 to 1960 the 49ers had Joe The Jet Perry and Hugh McElhenny at running back. From 1954-1956 they were joined by John Henry Johnson. 3 HOF RB's at once.

All 3 appear with the 49ers in 1955 Bowman.

[Chuck9788]

The 1955 San Francisco 49ers enjoyed the 3 HOF backs (mentioned above) and 3 other offensive HOF players (YA Tittle, Bob St. Clair, Leo Namollini) yet the team finished with a poor 4-8 record. I don't think the players reacted well to the new coach Red Strader.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Chuck9788

The 1955 San Francisco 49ers enjoyed the 3 HOF backs (mentioned above) and 3 other offensive HOF players (YA Tittle, Bob St. Clair, Leo Namollini) yet the team finished with a poor 4-8 record. I don't think the players reacted well to the new coach Red Strader.

I'm going to check Football Reference and see if there's ever been a team with 6 future HOFs on offense playing at the same time that didn't have a winning record. I'm guessing that if there are any, it's not a lot.

[G1911]

I would not be surprised if this Niners team has the worst performance of an offense with so many HOFers on it. It's interesting, because it wasn't like they were a lot of old and washed up players who had been great but weren't anymore. Just a lot of off years aligning at the same time. Johnson was heavily limited on playing time. McElhenny had something of an off year and reduced numbers from sharing time. Perry fell off form his 1954 MVP but had an excellent season. Tittle had his worst season of his years in SF but did lead the league in touchdown passes (and interceptions). Nomellini wasn't an All-Pro or Pro Bowler for the only time in his career before his age 38 season. St. Clair was an All-Pro.

The other 3 also appear in 1955 Bowman. The small set sizes and offense focus in the old football cards means a lot of HOFers are usually missing every year, but Bowman got all the big 49ers that year.

[chalupacollects]

Originally Posted by bk400

I was going through some of my old cards from back in the day and found a Harry Carson and an LT rookie card. (Not graded and well played with, of course.)

Got me thinking that in many ways, Lawrence Taylor may not have been who he was on the field without Harry Carson playing with him. Polar opposites in terms of personality, but the symbiotic relationship was obvious, especially in hindsight.

I would almost argue that Harry Carson was THE quintessential NY Giants defender. The guy who personified Bill Parcells and all he stood for.

Are there any other similar pairings in the NFL or other sports? Stockton and Malone, Jordan and Pippen, Oakley and Mason come to mind in the NBA. Richard Sherman and Cam Chancellor?

Mantle and Maris
Mays and McCovey
Aaron and Mathews
Spahn and Sain
Montana and Rice