Free Republic

Earlier, Mara had spoken of his father’s unshakeable Catholic faith. “My father’s faith was his strength,” Mara said. “It never wavered no matter what happened in his life, no matter how sick he was. He and my mother went to Mass every day and made sure that we went on every Sunday and Holy Day. Long after we were married with children of our own, he would still call to remind us about an upcoming Holy Day of Obligation. Each year at Christmas time, the confession schedule of our parish was hung on the refrigerator door with a little handwritten...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Amani Toomer thought he had a chance to make the NFC Pro Bowl team in 2002, but when the votes were counted with two games remaining in the season, the Giants’ wide receiver came up short. But Toomer was an All-Pro to an important man who didn’t have a vote, Wellington Mara, and that meant more to him than the conference-wide ballot. “He said, ‘You made my Pro Bowl,’” Toomer said today. “That’s all I needed. I was happy the next day. I said, ‘Okay, I made the Pro Bowl this year.’ It made me feel...

(Oct. 26, 2005) -- I've read and heard so many wonderful things this week about Giants owner Wellington Mara, who passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 89. First and foremost is the unselfishness that he displayed years ago when he consented to and supported the concept of revenue sharing. That business decision alone sums up everything that Wellington Mara was about. Think how much money that probably cost the New York Giants. But Mara was willing to do it because it benefited the league as a whole. Then again, maybe it didn't cost the Giants more money --...