The New York Giants hold the 89th overall selection in this year’s NFL draft. It will be only the second time in the 88 years of the draft the Giants will select in that slot.
Here is the one player the New York selected at No. 89.
Ralph Starkey, 1954
No, not Richard Starkey. He would go on to other fame. Ralph Starkey was a 6-foot-3, 245-pound tackle out of West Virginia who the Giants took with the 89th overall selection in the eighth round of the 1954 NFL draft.
Starkey would never play a down for the Giants, or in the NFL for that matter. A knee injury ended his football career before it even started, but that was only the beginning of Starkey’s legacy.
Starkey, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 79, would go on to become a pillar of society in his hometown of Circleville, Ohio.
From the Circleville Herald:
After a knee injury in the 1950s ended his football career with the New York Giants, Starkey returned to Ohio to begin a career in the juvenile justice system. Employed by the state Department of Youth Services for more than 35 years, Starkey was instrumental in establishing good working relationships between the department and the juvenile courts, according to Linda Modry, deputy director of parole and community services.
“He made such an impression on people and was such a great leader that we still talk about him,” Modry said. “His style of working with the community was probably one of the bigger contributions he made because he really taught people how to work together and how to work on behalf of kids.”
Starkey held many positions in the DYS throughout his career, she said, and was instrumental in bringing the Circleville Juvenile Detention Facility to Pickaway County. In fact, she said, the school at the facility was named after Starkey since its inception.
What can Giant fans expect at No. 89?
The 89th selection is near the end of Round 3 on Day 2 of the NFL draft.
The last five players selected with at No. 89 are as follows:
- 2022 – Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard (Buffalo)
- 2021 – Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins (Houston)
- 2020 – Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler (Minnesota)
- 2019 – Stanford linebacker Bobby Okereke (Indianapolis — now with the Giants)
- 2018 – TCU offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom (L.A. Rams)
