At first glance, Michael Strahan didn’t look like anything special.
He was a second-round pick by the New York Giants in 1993 from Texas Southern, an HBCU located in Houston.
While in college, Strahan made a name for himself as a sack artist, setting a school record for career sacks.
The Giants then drafted him to continue harassing quarterbacks in the NFL.
At times, Strahan looked overmatched and collected just 5.5 sacks combined in his first two years.
The great Michael Strahan had just 18 sacks in his first 4 seasons.
He then recorded 123.5 sacks in his final 11 seasons.
6 of those seasons recording double-digit sacks.
And, not to mention, the great 22.5 sack 2001 campaign. pic.twitter.com/z8tquG2IrN
— Gridiron Media (@Gridiron_Media_) May 29, 2024
By 1997, however, Strahan had become the terror that New York envisioned.
From ‘97 through 2005, Strahan posted double-digit sacks in six of nine seasons.
That included a, somewhat, controversial single-season NFL record 22.5 in 2001.
During his Giants tenure, Strahan and the team played in two Super Bowls, winning one.
Then, after retiring following the 2007 season, Strahan became a fixture on daytime television including analyst work for Fox Sports and as a regular on Good Morning America.
This is the story of Michael Strahan.
Strahan’s Football Roots
Michael Anthony Strahan was born on November 21, 1971, in Houston, Texas.
Strahan’s path to becoming a professional football player began with a shove in the right direction by his father, Gene.
The family moved to Germany for Gene’s career in the U.S. Army when Michael was in elementary school.
While in Germany, Strahan played linebacker for a Department of Defense high school team.
He wasn’t planning on a future in the sport until his father intervened.
When he was 15, Michael sprouted in size almost overnight and Gene realized he might have an athletic prodigy on his hands.
“Michael had talent, but I thought it would be wasted if I didn’t get him back to Houston,” Gene said. “I wanted him to get a season of high school training and see what happened.”
The Strahan family had to remain in Germany, but Gene’s brother, Arthur, was still living in Houston.
Circa 89’! My high school yearbook, do you notice what is wrong? #ThrowSomeRespectOnMyName #NotAnExtraLetter pic.twitter.com/iY25qpCGx4
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) August 18, 2020
Arthur Ray Strahan had been a Tasmanian Devil as a defensive end at Texas Southern before playing a few years in the NFL.
“Uncle Ray” was the ideal person to show young Micheal the nuances of the sport.
Although Michael wanted to stay with his family, he didn’t question his father’s direction.
“My dad had told me he thought I was good enough to get a football scholarship,” Michael said. “I’d only played football a year (in Germany), but he told me to do it, that I was good at it, and I believed him.”
Tough Love from Uncle Ray
Strahan returned to the States with a shy demeanor and severe homesickness.
Who is ready for some football? Throwing it back to my days at Westbury High School, good luck boys. #Letsplayfootball #TBT pic.twitter.com/RfMqTWVkme
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) August 23, 2018
Uncle Ray enrolled his nephew into Westbury High School in Houston and Strahan had a tough time playing Texas high school ball.
“I never thought I could (play high school football),” Strahan said. “I had to figure it out as I went. I thought I was just a guy on the field to take up space, but it was because of my lack of knowledge more than anything else, and not my desire.”
When he wasn’t playing football for the Huskies, Uncle Ray put Strahan through the paces.
“He was going from one level to another, and I used to get him in my front yard and beat him up just like he was in the NFL,” Art said. “I had to make him mentally tough. I had to develop an attitude where you had a right to get tired, but you didn’t have a right to quit. I didn’t want to give him an excuse for failure. I told him, ‘Michael, you’ve got to kill the will of the man across from you because pain don’t discriminate.’”
Strahan didn’t have great stats while playing defensive end for Westbury.
“Westbury wasn’t exactly a powerhouse school. I was not necessarily an over-dominant, powerhouse player. I remember getting one sack in high school,” Strahan recalled in 2021.
However, he played just well enough during his lone season of high school football that Strahan was invited to walk on at his Uncle’s alma mater, Texas Southern.
“Strahan Rules”
When Strahan arrived at TSU in 1989 it was head coach Wally Highsmith’s first year.
Highsmith initially placed Strahan at tight end but quickly discovered that offense wasn’t in the kid’s immediate future.
“I didn’t even have any film on him, but I knew he had good bloodlines,” Highsmith said. “I soon realized he wasn’t a tight end, that he belonged on the defensive side of the ball, so we moved him.”
Although Strahan was raw, he refused to be outworked and applied everything Highsmith taught him.
“Michael was a workaholic, and I worked the hell out of him. He was gifted, and he wanted to be good. The harder he worked and the more he learned about the game, the better he became,” said Highsmith. “I told Michael, ‘Wherever you go, don’t you let anyone outwork you,’ and he hasn’t. No matter what he’s done, he’s always wanted to be the best at it.”
TSU went 3-7-1 in ‘89 then 5-6 in 1990.
The Tigers didn’t get much better in 1991, finishing 5-5-1.
However, Strahan worked hard enough to become one of the best defensive ends in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Fun Fact of the Day:
Legendary Hall-of-Famer and 7x Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan played football at Texas Southern University pic.twitter.com/ztrUSRqj0h
— Texas Sports Life (@TXSportsLife) July 3, 2017
During his junior year in ‘91, he sacked opposing quarterbacks 14.5 times.
The 6’5”, 250-pounder was so slippery at his position that he was frequently double-teamed.
“At first it pisses you off, then you have to look at is as a compliment. That means I’m good.”
Michael Strahan discusses how his mind changed when faced with the “Strahan Rule” double-teams 👀pic.twitter.com/7ObrVpA8Eu
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 1, 2022
That led TSU coaches to quip that opponents had to impose the “Strahan Rules” in order to try and stop him.
Of course, even those rules didn’t always work.
Senior Year
In 1992, the Tigers won just five times for the third consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Strahan was named a first-team All-American by several media publications.
During the season, he had an astounding 19 sacks (a school record) to pair with 32 tackles for a loss.
Two media outlets then selected Strahan as the Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year.
He was also voted the SWAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and the Black College Defensive Player of the Year.
Michael Strahan attended Texas Southern University where he holds the sack record (41.5). He went on to become a now Super bowl Champion, TV Personality, and journalist. #CelebratingHbcuExcellence #BlackHistoryAlways pic.twitter.com/vbuCweGGV5
— Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge (@MEAC_SWAC) February 28, 2021
His 41.5 career sacks are still a school record.
“At TSU, I grew from a boy to a man in a lot of different ways,” Strahan said. “I didn’t know anything when I got there, and I was around all these guys who were big and tough and strong and fast and grew up playing football. I had to grow up really fast.”
In 2014, Strahan was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame and he was added to the Texas Southern Hall of Fame in 2024.
Strahan continued to look back at his college days with fondness after he retired from the NFL.
“I was supported every day on that campus,” Strahan said in 2021. “I look back and I think, ‘How blessed was I to go to an HBCU and sit on that campus every day?'” he continued. “I wish I would have enjoyed it a little bit more than I did when I was there. It is such a different environment than most people ever experience, but it was definitely perfect for me.”
Dissed by Dallas
In the weeks leading up to the 1993 NFL Draft, Strahan was one of the best defensive ends on the board despite hailing from a small school.
Several NFL clubs were interested in drafting the TSU star, including the Dallas Cowboys.
At the time, Dallas was on the verge of becoming a dynasty again after just winning Super Bowl XXVII.
Then-head coach Jimmy Johnson wanted to add Strahan to an already potent roster and help the franchise return to the Super Bowl.
“Jimmy [Johnson] promised he was going to draft me to the Cowboys and flew me to Dallas,” Strahan said in 2024.
However, the Cowboys waited too long and the New York Giants selected Strahan with the 40th overall pick in the second round.
As a kid growing up in Germany and Texas, going to New York was scary, but I believed in myself and my skills to get the job done. #TBT to my #NFLDraft experience! Good luck to all the young men waiting to hear their names called. This is just the beginning! pic.twitter.com/6bs5XO7YGL
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) April 29, 2021
Years later, Strahan poked fun at Johnson about not selecting him sooner.
“I say to Jimmy, ‘You lied. You promised me,'” Strahan said with a laugh. “He said, ‘Well, you know I thought you were going to drop, and I can get you a lot lower–plus I didn’t know you were going to be any good.'”
Slow Start
Initially, Strahan didn’t look like he would live up to his promise.
In his rookie season, he couldn’t beat out any of the veteran defensive ends and only appeared in nine games, collecting all of one sack.
New York did just fine without him, ending the year 11-5 and advancing in the playoffs until being eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
Then, in 1994, Strahan started 15 games yet only brought down quarterbacks 4.5 times.
The next two years brought some improvement.
In 1995, he had 7.5 sacks (including three in one game against Green Bay) and also picked off two passes.
On this date in 1995, Michael Strahan blocked a punt for the second-longest safety in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/ekQljcZg3w
— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) November 19, 2021
One year later, Strahan started every game for the 6-10 Giants yet only had five sacks.
The 1996 season represented three consecutive years of playoff-less football.
Something had to change, quickly, for the Giants and Strahan.
Success at Last
Not long after the conclusion of New York’s 6-10, 1996 season, head coach Dan Reeves left and was replaced by former Giants assistant Jim Fassel.
In the 1997 NFL Draft, the team picked Virginia running back Tiki Barber.
Then, after a pitiful 1-3 start, the G-Men got their acts together and reeled off five straight wins.
By the end of the season, the team was 10-5-1 and qualified for the playoffs as a wild card.
Strahan finally came into his own that season and bagged quarterbacks 14 times while also tallying 68 combined tackles.
“If somebody pushes me, I push back twice as hard,” said Strahan. “There’s no polite to it.”
He was voted to his first career Pro Bowl and played in the all-star contest after New York lost in the wild-card round to Minnesota.
(1998) Michael Strahan pulling off a big 2-sack performance.
Powerful. 🔥#michaelstrahan #michael #strahan #newyorkgiants #nygiants #newyork #ny #giants #giantsnation #letsgogiants #gogiants #football #sack #sport #iconic #classic #legend #greatness pic.twitter.com/dNdM2Y2ZIB— In The Showcase (@intheshowcase) January 20, 2023
The Giants went 8-8 in 1998 while Strahan had 15 sacks and also picked off a pass against Washington Redskins quarterback Gus Frerotte in Week 1 and returned it for a touchdown.
His impressive stats led to another Pro Bowl.
By that time, Strahan had a lot to smile about and was famous for his ever-present gap-toothed grin.
Surprise! Michael Strahan still has his tooth gap in epic April Fools' joke https://t.co/JRjP8Gdiw7 pic.twitter.com/SvGPRVFi76
— New York Post (@nypost) April 2, 2021
In 1999, his sack totals dropped to 5.5 but Strahan had another pick-six against the Eagles and played in his third consecutive Pro Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXV
When New York completed its 7-9 season in 1999, no one expected the franchise to do much in 2000.
However, the Giants started 5-2 before the bye week and ended the season with a 12-4 record.
Strahan had 9.5 sacks and knocked down four passes but was not selected for the Pro Bowl.
That didn’t matter because New York was in the midst of an unexpected Super Bowl run.
After defeating the Eagles in the divisional round, the Giants hammered Minnesota in the NFC Championship game, 41-0.
The next stop was Super Bowl XXXV against the Baltimore Ravens and their talented defense led by linebacker Ray Lewis.
OTD 2001
°° SUPER BOWL XXXV °°#Baltimore's defense suffocates Giants (5 turnovers, 152 net yds allowed) as #Ravens roll NY for their 1st SB title, 34-7.• MVP: Ray Lewis
• Back-to-back kick return TDs (NYG: R. Dixon, BAL: Je. Lewis)
• NYG: 4 offensive snaps in BAL territory pic.twitter.com/QxA1TjsQxO— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) January 28, 2019
Unfortunately, Baltimore proved to be a much more athletic bunch and handed the G-Men their backsides, 34-7.
During the contest, Strahan sacked Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer once and had six total tackles.
DPOY and a Controversial Sack Record
New York began the 2001 season with a 3-1 record and envisioned returning to the Super Bowl to complete unfinished business.
That never happened as the team won only two of their next seven games and ended the year 7-9.
Despite the poor showing, Strahan was on fire.
In a Week 5 game against the St. Louis Rams, he had four sacks and two three-sack games during the season as well.
Before the final game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 17, Strahan was sitting at 21.5 sacks, just a half sack shy of former New York Jets defensive end Mark Gatineau’s all-time record.
He had already set a franchise record with his 21st sack, breaking Lawrence Taylor’s 1986 record of 20.5.
With less than three minutes left in a losing effort against the Pack, Strahan sacked Brett Favre for the record.
January 6, 2002: Michael Strahan breaks the single-season sack record after “sacking” Brett Favre for his 22.5 sack on the season.
pic.twitter.com/YwYDvOnib2— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) January 7, 2024
When Strahan approached Favre, the quarterback simply fell to the turf in a heap and Strahan landed on him for sack number 22.5.
The play led many in the NFL and the media to believe that the record was tarnished as Favre appeared to give up and give Strahan a gift.
Years later, Gastineau was still upset that he no longer held the all-time mark.
“It’s a good record and it took me a long time to get that,” Gastineau said in 2020. “It took a lot of work, a lot of work to get that record. So many years I worked my butt off to get it, and I finally got it, and it shouldn’t have been cheapened like it was. It’s like a tarnished record.”
Post-season award voters didn’t consider the controversy and named Strahan the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award and he was selected for his fourth Pro Bowl.
Strahan and the Giants Return to the Super Bowl
In 2002, Strahan had 11 sacks and Pro Bowl number five before leading the NFL with 18.5 sacks in 2003.
Besides Strahan, the 2003 season was a huge letdown for Giants fans.
One year after returning to the playoffs, the organization won just four times, leading to Fassel’s resignation.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin was hired to replace Fassel and many team veterans, including Strahan, despised the coach’s military-style leadership (although Coughlin eventually softened).
During the 2004 draft, Coughlin and the Giants selected NC State quarterback Phillip Rivers in the first round and then traded him to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning.
Then, a 4-1 start gave way to a 1-9 stretch from October through December and ended in a 6-10 record.
As bleak as things looked at the time, the franchise was slowly rebuilding.
Name an athlete who only played for one team their entire career.
I'll start: Michael Strahan. pic.twitter.com/YRV2vxLWqI— altheboss (@AlTheBoss03) December 8, 2022
By 2005, Strahan had a great group of defensive linemen surrounding him including Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.
With Manning under center and playing better in his second year, the Giants rebounded in ‘05 and returned to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.
Strahan was getting older but still held his own with 11.5 sacks and a career-high 82 total tackles, leading to another Pro Bowl selection.
“I know it sounds like a cliché, but to see someone who was that hungry go out there and because he wants to physically impose his will on somebody, he finds success, that rubbed off on you when you’re watching and learning from him,” said Umenyiora in 2020.
Two years later, Strahan was feeling the weight of 15 years in the NFL and was considering retirement.
Thankfully, New York went on an unexpected run after a 10-6 record in 2007 and beat Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay all on the road.
Strahan and his teammates would next meet Tom Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XLII
The Pats had been the talk of the league in 2007 as Brady and receiver Randy Moss blew through the competition for an undefeated record.
New England’s 16th victory just so happened to be at the hands of the Giants in the final week of the regular season.
Then, in the playoffs, the Pats beat Jacksonville and the Chargers to set up a rematch with New York.
Not many prognosticators gave the Giants a chance (New England was favored by 12 points).
Several in the media proclaimed that New England would be just the second team in NFL history to win all their games in one season with a victory in the Super Bowl.
Strahan and company had other ideas.
The score at halftime favored the Pats, 7-3, and no points were scored in the third quarter.
New York then led 10-7 on a David Tyree touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Late in the quarter, Brady found Moss for a six-yard touchdown to put New England up, 14-10.
On the ensuing possession, the Giants were against the ropes with a third-and-five on their 44-yard line.
On the next snap, Manning was nearly sacked before he heaved a pass in Tyree’s direction.
"The Helmet Catch"
Eli Manning to David Tyree
SUPER BOWL XLII#Giants–#Patriots
February 3, 2008 pic.twitter.com/LfBoIayPb2— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) February 3, 2024
Against all odds, the receiver pinned the ball against his helmet and gave New York new life with his unbelievable catch.
Just a few plays later, Manning found receiver Plaxico Burress for a 13-yard score and one of the biggest upsets in title game history.
Michael Strahan (141.5 career sacks) with the cross chop/club. Strahan lands the chop on the elbow, clubs & reduces his hitting surface. You go from seeing his front numbers to seeing his back numbers. This would be @michaelstrahan’s last NFL sack (Super Bowl XLII) #passrush pic.twitter.com/95OgJbI5nT
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) October 21, 2022
During New York’s improbable 17-14 win, Strahan had three tackles including a sack in the third quarter.
Strahan Retires
On June 9, 2008, Strahan decided to go out on a high note and retired.
During his 15-year career, Strahan had 141.5 sacks (fifth-best in NFL history at the time), 854 combined tackles, 131 tackles for loss, 15 fumble recoveries including one returned for a score, 24 forced fumbles, four interceptions for 124 return yards and two pick-sixes.
Additionally, Strahan was a seven-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, Super Bowl champion, NFL Defensive Player of the Year once, two-time NFL sack leader, and a co-leader in forced fumbles with six in 2001.
He was later selected for the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Giants’ Ring of Honor and had his number 92 retired by New York.
Michael Strahan Pro Football Hall of Fame bust from Canton. #NFL100 pic.twitter.com/1uDAvjPWcJ
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) June 20, 2024
In 2014, Strahan was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“My career has far exceeded all expectations,” he said, at times getting choked up. “I was hoping to get in maybe three years and move back in with my parents. That was my goal. As far as accomplishments, personally, Wow! You hear about games played and sacks and [being mentioned with] Lawrence Taylor and all these guys. To do the things I’ve done, it just doesn’t seem real.”
Second Career in the Media
By the end of his playing career, Strahan had become one of the biggest personalities in all of pro sports.
His engaging demeanor and mega-watt smile landed him as an analyst with Fox NFL Sunday (along with his old buddy, Jimmy Johnson).
Strahan also became the co-host, with Kelly Ripa, for Live! With Kelly and Michael in 2012.
In 2016, he became a co-host on the set of Good Morning, America.
Michael Strahan makes his debut as full-time host on "Good Morning America" https://t.co/Ost7Y52PQb pic.twitter.com/iiPOjTyJ04
— HuffPost BlackVoices (@blackvoices) September 6, 2016
Somehow, the former defensive end has also found time to host the game show The $10,000 Pyramid on ABC along with a host of other television gigs.
When he’s not on television, Strahan keeps himself busy with several other pursuits including being the tallest man to fly into space on the Blue Origin NS-19 in 2021.
Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella, has finishrd her chemo treatment for her battle with brain cancer.
Prayers to the entire Strahan family.
📸: @GMA#NFL #MichaelStrahan #Giants pic.twitter.com/y4g0UmTfuF
— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) June 20, 2024
Recently, one of Strahan’s three daughters, Isabella, finished chemo treatment for a brain tumor diagnosed in 2023.
Strahan praised his daughter and called her a “Superwoman.”
References
http://www.easfootball.com/michael-strahans-path-to-hall-of-fame-started-in-houston/
https://www.foxsports.com/personalities/michael-strahan/bio
https://people.com/sports/michael-strahan-says-high-school-was-just-survival-for-him/
https://vault.si.com/vault/1995/12/04/michael-strahan
https://www.chron.com/sports/article/michael-strahan-texas-southern-19206234.php
https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/podcast/new-york-giants-dallas-cowboys-michael-strahan
https://www.nfl.com/news/michael-strahan-through-the-years-09000d5d80732f6f
https://www.giants.com/news/michael-strahan-single-season-sack-record-tj-watt-brett-favre-week-18
https://www.giants.com/news/michael-strahan
https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/big-blue-plus/michael-strahan
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/michael-strahan/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/StraMi02.htm
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